Part 6 (2/2)
”Oh my, yes!” Delores turned to smile at him. ”Are you sure you don't want a percentage? Mrs. Voelker had some valuable dishes and gla.s.sware.”
LEMON MERINGUE PIE MURDER 63.
Norman shook his head. ”It's all yours and Mother's. I've been living with her rent-free and it's the least I can do.”
”Well... that's very generous. Just wait until I tell Carrie and Luanne. They're going to be in alt over these fabulous dishes.”
Hannah chuckled as she climbed down from the chair. In alt? It was obvious that her mother had attended a meeting of her Regency Romance group recently. Delores had explained that alt referred to alt.i.tude, and the heroines in Regency novels often spoke of being in alt when something took them to the heights of pleasure.
When they'd packed up the gla.s.sware and dishes and Norman had carried the boxes out to the truck, Delores gave one last glance around. ”I think that's all. I've looked in every room.”
”How about the bas.e.m.e.nt?” Norman asked. ”I haven't been down there, but Rhonda said her great-uncle used to do some woodworking.”
”Antique tools!” Delores's eyes began to gleam. ”They're going for a premium right now. Do you have time for me to take a quick peek?”
”I've got time. How about you, Hannah?”
”It's fine with me.” Hannah handed Delores the ap.r.o.n she'd discovered hanging over the back of a kitchen chair. ”You'd better put this on, Mother. It might be dusty down there.”
Delores tied on the ap.r.o.n and headed for the bas.e.m.e.nt stairs. ”Aren't you coming, dear?”
”I can if you need me,” Hannah said, giving her mother an exaggerated wink.
”Of course I...” Delores caught the wink and interpreted it correctly. ”Actually, I don't. I'm perfectly capable of exploring the bas.e.m.e.nt by myself. Stay right here and keep Norman company. You're both so busy, you don't get much time to spend together and I know you'd like to discuss your plans for the house.”
”Right,” Hannah said, rolling her eyes at the ceiling. Her
64.
mother was about as subtle as a sledgehammer. ”Holler if you need us and we'll come right down.”
Norman waited until Delores had switched on the light and gone down the stairs, and then he turned to Hannah. ”What do you think about a picture window in the kitchen? Since it faces the woods, it would be a nice view.”
”Yes, it would.” Hannah could picture herself sitting at the kitchen table in the morning, sipping a freshly brewed cup of coffee and watching the deer emerge from the trees. That thought was dangerous to her preferred single state, so she quickly asked another question. ”How about the living room? That window will face the lake, won't it?”
”That's right, but the master bedroom will have the best view. That's where I'm building the balcony.”
Hannah didn't want to think about the master bedroom with its wood-burning fireplace and incredible view. It was just too appealing. She changed the subject again, asking Norman about how he planned to furnish the house. That was interesting and it was only when she glanced up at the old kitchen clock on the wall that she realized almost fifteen minutes had pa.s.sed and they hadn't heard a peep out of Delores.
”Maybe I'd better check on Mother. She's been down there a long time.”
”I'll go with you.” Norman led the way to the bas.e.m.e.nt doorway. ”Delores? Are you all right down there?”
Hannah stood behind Norman, waiting for her mother to respond. When there was no answer, she felt a jolt of fear. ”Move over, Norman. I'm going down there.”
”Not without me, you're not.” Norman had gone down three steps when he stopped abruptly. ”Here she comes, now. Back up to give her room.”
Hannah backed up, but she gazed over Norman's shoulder to watch her mother climb the stairs. Delores didn't appear to be hurt, but her mouth was set in a tight line. Something had happened in the bas.e.m.e.nt. And judging by the way her LEMON MERINGUE PIE MURDER 65.
mother was gripping the handrail, that something wasn't good.
”Water,” Delores croaked as she reached the top of the stairs, and Norman rushed to get her a gla.s.s. She took one sip, handed the gla.s.s back to him, and s.h.i.+vered visibly.
”You look like you just saw a ghost,” Hannah commented and immediately wished she hadn't when her mother's face turned even paler.
Delores gave a small smile, so small that it could only be cla.s.sified as a grimace. ”Not a ghost. I found... a body!”
Chapter Six.
Delores sighed and leaned back against the headrest in the pa.s.senger seat of Hannah's truck. ”You were right, Hannah. The chocolate helped.”
”Chocolate always helps.” Hannah held out the bag of leftover Chocolate-Covered Cherry Cookies. When she'd started her business, she'd vowed never to sell day-old cookies. She always had some in her truck and she gave them away as samples, telling everyone that if they thought her leftover cookies were good, they should come in and taste them fresh out of the oven. People did, and they were hooked. Business at The Cookie Jar was thriving. ”Have another cookie, Mother. I guarantee you'll feel even better.”
Norman peered closely at Delores. ”Your color's coming back and you're beginning to look like yourself again. When you feel up to it, tell me exactly what you saw. I need to go down to the bas.e.m.e.nt to check it out.”
”I'm not going with you!”
”n.o.body expects you to,” Hannah a.s.sured her. ”I'll go with Norman if you'll tell us exactly where to look.”
”In the furnace room, just like I said. It's way in the back. I was standing by a shelf filled with jars when I saw the pile of dirt.”
LEMON MERINGUE PIE MURDER 67.
”Okay,” Hannah said, reaching in through the open window to pat her mother's arm. ”Do you want to come inside with us and sit in the kitchen while we look?”
”No! I'm not setting foot inside that house again, not with that dead body in there. I'll stay right here, thank you very much.”
”That's fine, Mother. Just honk the horn if you need us. And if it makes you feel better, roll up the windows and lock all the doors.”
Norman led the way toward the house and Hannah followed. They went down the hallway to the kitchen and approached the bas.e.m.e.nt door.
”You don't have to go, Hannah.” Norman turned to look at her. ”I can take care of it.”
”And let you have all the fun?” Hannah gave him a grin. ”I want to be there when we discover it's a pile of rags, or a bag of old clothes.”
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