Peach Cobbler Murder (10 page)

Hannah was in a slightly pensive mood as she gazed around at the wedding guests. Had the traditional Norwegian wedding cake been created to make a point about marriage? The exterior was gorgeous, but the inside would be disappointing to those expecting a perfect treat. It was precisely what not to look for in choosing a bride or a groom, and it reminded Hannah of Shawna Lee Quinn. The southern sister was gorgeous on the outside but she was a pretty shell without an ounce of taste or substance. She’d promised Dick that she’d be there with her peach cobbler in plenty of time for the dessert buffet, and the prime space in the center of the table was still filled with the vase of flowers that Sally had stuck there while they were waiting for her to arrive.

“You’re doing a great job, Hannah.” Sally, who was stationed behind the dessert buffet to help people dish up the things they couldn’t reach, sidled closer to Hannah’s wedding cake station at the end of the table. At the same time Sally, the perfect hostess, kept up a running conversation with the guests who were trying to decide which desserts to take. “Oh, hello, Gail. Did you try the Pineapple Whip? Marge brought it and it’s absolutely delicious. So, where is she?”

It took a moment for Hannah to realize that Sally’s question was aimed at her. “Which she are you talking about?”

“The one you don’t want to see. How about some fresh strawberry pie, Sam? I know it’s your favorite. I’m talking about Shawna Lee.”

“I don’t know. You’d think she would have called if she’d had car trouble.”

“Maybe she’s stuck on the road,” Sally suggested, turning to look out the series of picture windows that overlooked the lake. “It’s coming down a little harder now. Would you like me to help you with that chocolate mousse, Lucille?”

Hannah looked out at the snow on the ground. Barely an inch had fallen and anyone could drive through that. “No way she’s stuck. She just got a brand-new SUV with enough power to go through a lot more snow than what we’ve had today.”

“I forgot about that. A big piece or an even bigger piece, Ed? It’s made with butter from Lake Eden cows. Well, maybe she changed her mind and she’s not coming.”

“You think?” Hannah felt a surge of hope.

“Not really. She loves the chance to impress people and there are a lot of people here. Let me put that in a parfait glass, Eleanor. It’s so pretty that way. I thought for sure she’d show. Do you think I ought to try to call the bakery and ask her if she’s coming?”

Hannah thought that over and then she shrugged. “It can’t hurt. Maybe she’s tied up or something.”

Sally gave Hannah a sharp look as she spooned caramel sauce on top of a serving of custard. “Whipped cream on that, Joyce? I didn’t think so. I thought I remembered you liked it plain. Mike’s not here yet, either. And didn’t you say he asked you to save the first dance for him?”

“Yes.”

“Do you think they might be together?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Hannah said, visions of Shawna Lee and Mike in a clinch to end all clinches dancing on the screen of her mind.

“You don’t have to choose, Barbara. You can have a little of each. Just as soon as this line ends, I can call the bakery.”

“What good will that do?”

“If she answers, I’ll listen for the sound of someone else in the background. You know . . . like breathing or coughing, or anything like that. Do you want to know? Or would you rather not know?”

“I want to know if you don’t hear anyone in the background, but don’t tell me if you do.”

“Got it.” Sally waved over a waitress to take her place. “I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.”

As Sally headed off to the phone in the kitchen, Hannah was already regretting her words. She really didn’t want to know if Mike was with Shawna Lee, at least not right now. And she’d set herself up without realizing it. If Sally came back and said nothing, it would mean she’d heard someone in the background. Why hadn’t she instructed Sally not to tell her, either way? That would have been the smart thing to do.

“Your truck’s parked in the lot,” Andrea said, arriving at the cake station without Hannah noticing her.

“Andrea!” Hannah gasped, jumping slightly and feeling a bit foolish for doing so. “You startled me.”

“Sorry. Here’s your key ring. The limo driver thought your heater was broken, but I told him it was always like that. What’s the matter? You look like you just lost your best friend.”

“I may have. At least one of them.”

“Mike?” Andrea asked, proving that as the consummate wedding consultant, she knew precisely which guests had not arrived. When Hannah nodded, she reached out and patted her hand. “I noticed that, and she’s missing, too. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re together. Don’t forget that Mike had to work. If there was an emergency, they might have asked him to stay on longer at the station.”

“Right.”

“Well, that could be it.”

“Absolutely. And since he’s right near the phone and he knew I’d be disappointed when he didn’t show up for the dance he asked me to save for him, he called out here and told me he’d be late.”

“He did?” Andrea asked, starting to smile. “Well, that’s okay then!”

“I was being sarcastic. He didn’t call. And it’s not okay.”

“Well . . . try to lighten up a little. This is a wedding and everybody’s supposed to act like they’re having a good time, whether they are or not.”

As Andrea walked away, Hannah thought about what her sister had said. How many other wedding guests were smiling on the outside and frowning on the inside? Actually, her own situation wasn’t that bad. Norman was here and he’d danced with her. She had enjoyed that. And even though Hannah knew that Delores had sent him over, Winthrop had arrived at the cake table to ask Hannah to take what he’d called “a turn around the floor.”

Hannah wasn’t enthusiastic about the man who’d caught her mother’s interest, but she had to admit that Winthrop was an excellent dancer. He’d held her confidently, led with assertion, and made the waltz they’d danced into a showing worthy of a dance competition. It pained Hannah to admit it since her father had been an excellent dancer, but Winthrop Harrington the Second was even better.

Norman, dressed formally in a dark suit, white shirt, and tie, walked up to the cake table with his digital camera. “Stay, Don’t you dare take a picture of me!”

“Don’t you dare take a picture of me!” Hannah said, laughing over the absurdity as he snapped the picture.

“Works every time. The minute people say the words, they laugh. This is a good one of you . . . want to see?”

Hannah took the camera Norman handed her and peered at the small preview screen. It was a good picture, perhaps the best anyone had ever taken of her. Her eyes were sparkling, her smile was genuine, and she looked highly amused. Norman had been right to replace Say Cheese on his photographer’s vocabulary list.

“I think I got some great shots so far. Do you want to see them when the reception’s over? I could follow you home and hook my camera up to your television.”

Hannah laughed. “That’s a pretty sneaky way to ask for an after-party date.”

“You’re right. I would have asked you before, but I thought you’d be with Mike.”

“You did?” Hannah frowned slightly. “Why did you think that?”

“Because he told me he asked you when I ran into him this morning.”

Hannah began to do a slow burn. “Did he tell you I said yes?”

“Not exactly. I just assumed . . . “

“Assumption is the mother of misunderstanding,” Hannah interrupted. “Never assume.”

“Yes, ma’am. So did you say yes when he asked you?”

“No. I haven’t talked to him since then and it doesn’t matter anyway, because he’s not here. So yes, I’d love it if you followed me home and showed me your photos after the party’s over.”

The next few minutes were busy at the dessert buffet. Guests had finished their first helpings and were back for seconds or thirds. Lake Edenites, or whatever collective noun the language pundits assigned to the residents of Hannah’s hometown, loved their desserts. When Tracey was three, she’d looked up at her aunt and asked, “Why don’t we have dessert for breakfast?” Hannah had figured that was a legitimate question, especially in Lake Eden.

When Andrea had sent out the wedding invitations with the announcement that there would be a dessert buffet at the reception, she’d received hundreds of calls from people who’d wanted to bring a dessert. Andrea had told them all to bring whatever they wished, and there were pies, cakes, puddings, custards, fruit bowls, pastries in all shapes and forms, and frozen desserts that matched the temperature outside. Hannah had no doubt that the calorie count from the collective treats on the table and in Sally’s kitchen waiting to be served would be enough to feed a small country for several weeks.

“Hi, Miss Swenson,” Amber Coombs greeted her. She was wearing one of Sally’s waitress uniforms and Hannah assumed that she was working out at the Lake Eden Inn on the weekends during her senior year of high school.

“Hi, Amber. How’s your mom?”

“She’s great. She got a promotion out at CostMart and she manages the whole cosmetic section now. I’m supposed to relieve you so you can have fun. Sally said.”

“Thanks!” Hannah was delighted to be relieved. She’d been standing behind the wedding cake station for almost an hour and the unaccustomed high heels she was wearing made her feet hurt. “Where’s Sally?”

“In the kitchen. Dick’s showing her how to work the new cappuccino machine. She told me to hurry out here and tell you not to worry, that no one answered the phone. does that make sense?”

“Somewhat,” Hannah said, giving Amber a wave and walking gratefully away from the table. She was free to mingle, and even more important, she was free to sit down!

After sinking into the first unoccupied chair she encountered, Hannah thought about Sally’s message. She was almost positive that Shawna Lee would have answered the phone if she’d been at the Magnolia Blossom Bakery. After all, a phone call might be a catering order that she could shove down Hannah’s throat. No answer meant she wasn’t there and that meant Shawna Lee and Mike weren’t closeted in her apartment above the bakery. This was a big relief and Hannah had set out for the reception on time, but a careless driver had run her off the road. The other driver had kept on going, not realizing that she’d gone in the ditch, and now Hannah’s rival in both business an boyfriend was freezing her tail off, hiking to the nearest farmhouse in her party clothes.

When Lisa spotted Hannah at the table, she made a beeline for her friend and partner with her new groom in tow. Hannah noticed that she’d changed to her “going-away” outfit, a red woolen dress with a matching jacket, even though they wouldn’t be going away. Neither Lisa nor Herb wanted to be far away from her father and they’d decided to stay in the honeymoon suite at the Lake Eden Inn for a week, rather than hop a plane to Hawaii, or Tahiti, and worry bout him the whole time they were gone.

“I’m glad you’re finally sitting down,” Lisa said, giving Hannah a smile.

“Me, too,” Herb echoed Lisa’s sentiment. “We saw you standing there for over an hour cutting those incredible wedding cakes.”

“Do we have a lot of leftovers from the buffet?” Lisa asked.

“Two more wedding cakes, one of each kind, and seconds of almost every dessert that was out on the table. Practically everyone in town brought something.”

“That’s so nice,” Lisa said with a smile. “Herb and I noticed that there was quite a lot left, and we thought we should donate it to charity.”

“The soup kitchen, the retirement home, places like that,” Herb explained. “WE were wondering if you’d . . . “

“Say no more,” Hannah interrupted, using one of her favorite lines from an old Monty Python routine.”

“Pull out anything you’d like and take it,” Lisa offered.

“No, thanks. It was all wonderful, but my hips don’t need it.”

“How about Moishe?” Herb asked. “Do you ever give him dessert?”

“Only ratberry pie and chocolate mouse,” Hannah replied, her quip earning a merry laugh from both bride and groom.

“Thanks, Hannah!” Lisa reached out to give her a hug, an action that was unusual for her. Although Lisa was a warm and loving person, she seldom made affectionate gestures in public. “This was the best wedding in the whole world and none of it would have happened without you and Andrea!”

After a few more moments of chatter about the wedding and the reception, Lisa and Herb joined the dancers on the floor. Hannah leaned back in her chair — it was surprising how comfortable a folding chair could be when she was too tired to feel the metal digging into back — and wiggled her feet out of her shoes.

Wishing for a foot massage, or the luxury of a steaming Jacuzzi, Hannah made do with flexing her feet under the table. She winced slightly in the process and a moment alter, Delores and Winthrop came rushing up to her table.

“Are you all right, dear?” Delores looked concerned.

“I’m fine, by my feet aren’t. I’m not used to wearing high heels.”

“Speaking of heels, have you heard from Mike?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m talking about your date with him, the one he asked for on the card with your flowers.”

“How do you know about that?” Hannah stared at her mother in shock. She’d told Lisa about the flowers Mike had sent and his clever way of asking her for a date, but she hadn’t mentioned it to anyone else.

“The deliveryman told me when he brought the bouquet that Winthrop sent, beautiful pink ea roses in a crystal vase.”

“That’s nice,” Hannah said perfunctorily, giving Winthrop a polite smile. “How did the deliveryman know what was on my card?”

“Kyle was the one who wrote it down,” Delores explained. “Mike phoned in his order and dictated his message.”

“Oh.” Hannah gave a little sigh. So much for privacy. Her mother was a charter member of the Lake Eden gossip hotline and by now, everyone at the wedding reception knew that Mike had asked her for a date and he still hadn’t show up.

“He’s not here, is he?” Delores asked.

“You know he’s not.”

“And he hasn’t called you?”

“No, he hasn’t tried to contact me at all. I think it’s safe to say that he stood me up.”