"Wonderful," Andrea said in a tone that clearly said it wasn"t.

"Anyway," Norman turned back to Hannah. "I"m afraid I have to leave. Something"s come up. Do you want me to give you a ride to The Cookie Jar to get your truck?"

Hannah shook her head. "No, I"ll stay here with Andrea for a while."

"Okay then. Thanks for a fun evening and...I"ll probably see you tomorrow."

Both Hannah and Andrea watched as Norman turned and headed for the exit. Once they lost sight of him in the crowd, Andrea turned to Hannah. "What was all that about?"

"I haven"t the foggiest idea. Something"s been bothering Norman ever since he came back from the Cities and he hasn"t told me what it is."

Andrea looked concerned. "Do you think he"ll tell you?"

"I"m sure he will...eventually. But in the meantime, both of us are here without partners...right?"

"That"s right."

"Good. Does Lake Eden Realty still handle rentals on that new apartment complex at the community college?"

"Yes. I rented a unit just the other day."

"Is there a master key that will let you into all of the apartments?"

"Yes, but..." Andrea stopped and stared at Hannah in disbelief. "You want me to let you into Bradford Ramsey"s apartment?!"

"Bingo," Hannah said. And smiled.

Chapter Twenty.

"I shouldn"t be doing this," Andrea whispered as the elevator doors opened and they stepped in.

"Would you rather wait in the truck?" Hannah asked.

"No. Bill told me he was a real ladies" man. Is that true?"

"That"s what I heard," Hannah replied, hoping Andrea didn"t ask her for details.

"Well, I want to see if he"s got one of those bachelor pads you read about in magazines, the ones with the round beds, and the mirrors on the ceiling, and fur bedspreads."

Hannah was about to laugh when she remembered Bradford"s old apartment. There had been a fake fur bedspread.

The hallway was deserted, and the two sisters walked quickly to Bradford"s door. Andrea used the master key and pushed the door open. "Flashlights?" she asked, once they"d both stepped inside.

"Yes," Hannah said, after one glace at the living room window. It faced a wooded area, but there was a patio with tables and chairs next to the building. Any resident who stepped out on the patio could see the lights and they"d wonder why someone was in Bradford"s apartment on the night after his death. "Let me close the drapes before we turn them on."

The moon shining in the large window made hulking shapes of the furniture. Hannah made her way cautiously past a large leather armchair and stepped around the corner of a ma.s.sive wooden coffee table. It would be worse than embarra.s.sing if she broke her ankle by stumbling over furniture in a place they weren"t authorized to enter. She"d tried to think of some excuse in case someone happened to catch them, but nothing seemed plausible. No one would believe that the sheriff"s wife was showing her older sister the apartment because Hannah thought she knew someone who might want to rent it.

After a close encounter with a leather-covered ha.s.sock, Hannah made it to the window and drew the drapes. "Okay," she whispered. "You can turn on your flashlight."

There was an audible click in the stillness and Andrea"s flashlight sent out a beam of yellow light. A split second later, Hannah"s did the same.

"Where shall we start?" Andrea asked. "And what are we looking for, anyway?"

"I"ll know it when I see it. Just point out anything that looks out of place."

They started in the kitchen, a room so small Hannah would have called it a kitchenette. "If you were listing this place, what would you say about the kitchen?" she asked Andrea.

"I"d call it a cozy dream of a kitchen," Andrea said.

"In real-estate-speak, cozy means small?"

"That"s right. And s.p.a.cious means medium-sized."

Andrea started with the refrigerator while Hannah checked the cupboards. It was quickly evident that Bradford Ramsey hadn"t done much cooking since food supplies were almost nonexistent. Hannah found a box of crackers, several cans of soup, two boxes of natural grain, heart-healthy cereal, and a jar of instant coffee. "Anything?" she asked, turning to her sister.

"Not really." Andrea shut the refrigerator door. "A dozen eggs, milk with an expired date, and some dried-out cheddar cheese."

The living room was next, and it yielded equally unsatisfying results. There was nothing but dust under the cushions of the couch and chair, and only books on the bookshelf. It was surprising how little evidence there was to indicate that a living, breathing, human being had called this home.

Hannah left Andrea to go through the second bookcase and went ahead to the bathroom. There wasn"t much to look at in the shower besides a bar of soap and a razor. The medicine cabinet didn"t yield much either, only a bottle of Pepto Bismol and a half-empty tin of throat lozenges. If Bradford had been dealing illicit drugs for extra cash, he certainly hadn"t stashed any in his medicine cabinet!

After the obligatory peek into the watery depths of the toilet tank simply because she"d once seen it in a movie, Hannah emerged from the room frowning. There was a matching frown on Andrea"s face. So far their search had been fruitless.

"The bedroom?" Andrea whispered.

"Yes. I"ll go in first and check out the windows."

When Hannah entered the bedroom, she saw that the curtains were already drawn. She parted them enough to look out and realized the reason they"d been closed. The window looked out on an ivy-covered brick wall that formed the side of the hallway leading to the indoor spa and swimming pool. The only view was of the wall, and although Bradford had probably kept the curtains open during the day for the sunlight that would shine in, it made sense to close them at night rather than look out at the darkness.

"If you shut the door, you can turn on the lights in here," Hannah said, motioning Andrea into the room. This window faces a blank wall."

Andrea flicked the wall switch and a large lamp on the dresser turned on. Hannah walked over to turn on the other two lamps, one on either side of the bed, and then she turned to find Andrea just staring at the room.

"What"s the matter?" Hannah asked her.

"It"s just a bedroom."

"You sound disappointed."

"I am. I thought it would be more...exciting."

Hannah was amused, but she didn"t dare show it. There were times when Andrea wasn"t very worldly, but that could be because she"d married Bill right out of high school and she"d never left Lake Eden for any length of time.

"Let"s see what we can find," Hannah directed. "Why don"t you start with his dresser drawers."

"Ooh! I love to go through people"s drawers. You never know what secrets you"ll find."

Hannah laughed. Perhaps Andrea would find something. People did hide things in dresser drawers. "Have fun. While you"re doing that, I"ll check the closet."

It was an eerie feeling going through a dead man"s clothing, especially a dead man you"d known. Hannah checked the upper shelf, but nothing was there. And the only thing on the floor was a large shoe tree with pairs of shoes neatly arranged on its tubular holders. The clothes were neatly hung on hangers, and there was nothing of interest that she could see.

"Hannah?" Andrea called her softly from the bedroom.

"Yes?"

"Come out here quick! I think I found something!"

Hannah hurried out of the closet. She found Andrea sitting on the edge of Bradford"s bed holding something that glittered brightly in her hand. "What is it?"

"An earring. I think it"s sapphire with diamonds all around it. It"s not costume jewelry. I know the real thing when I see it."

Hannah looked down at the earring that rested on her sister"s palm. "Where was it?" she asked.

"On the floor behind the headboard. I got down on the rug to look under the bed and I spotted it. Have you ever seen anything like it before?"

Hannah drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Yes," she said. "I have."

"Who do you think...what"s that?!" Andrea grabbed Hannah"s arm and pointed toward the living room.

There was a swishing sound as the outside door opened, and a click as it shut again. Someone had come into Bradford"s apartment!

"Quick! Under the bed!" Andrea whispered, but Hannah grabbed her arm and pulled her the other way.

"The closet," she whispered, opening the door and shoving Andrea inside. A second later, she joined her sister in the walk-in closet and not a moment too soon, for they heard footfalls on the carpet coming toward the bedroom.

"The earring," Andrea breathed, pa.s.sing it to Hannah in a rush, almost like they"d done in the games of Hot Potato they used to play with their grandparents. The only difference was that this time there wasn"t any music...only the sound of someone walking into the bedroom and stopping by the bed.

The door to the closet was louvered and Hannah moved to a better position. She could barely make out a woman bent over at the waist, peering under the bed. She might not have known who it was if she hadn"t seen that outfit earlier.

"Can you see who it is?" Andrea whispered, close to Hannah"s ear.

"Stephanie Bas...o...b.. Take a deep breath and stay right here. I"m going out to confront the first lady of Lake Eden."

There was an audible gasp from Andrea, but Hannah didn"t worry about that. As Stephanie straightened up and whirled to face the closet, Hannah pushed the door open and stepped out, shutting it behind her so that Andrea would remain hidden.

"Hannah!" Stephanie exclaimed, her hand fluttering toward her throat. "What are you doing here?"

Hannah didn"t bother to answer. She just crossed the floor to Stephanie and held out her hand. Then she opened it so Stephanie could see the earring. "Looking for this?" she asked.

"Yes! But it"s not what you think. I lost it on Monday afternoon when Bradford and I met to discuss the talent show."

Hannah raised her eyebrows. "Really?"

"We had to work out the order of the contestants, and how long he should speak, and things like that."

Hannah had the urge to ask Stephanie how her earring had gotten into the bedroom if all they"d done was discuss the talent show, but she didn"t. It really wasn"t any business of hers.

"So..." Stephanie stopped and swallowed with difficulty. "Could I please have my earring now?"

"Of course." Hannah waited until she visibly relaxed before she threw in the condition she"d decided should be invoked. "But first you have to tell me where you were between the time the curtain went down after the first act on Wednesday night and the time the police went backstage."

Stephanie"s mouth dropped open. "Surely you don"t think that I would ever..."

"No, I don"t think you did," Hannah interrupted her. "But I still need to know exactly where you were during intermission."

Stephanie thought for a second. "I left my seat with Richard and we walked back to the lobby. We stood in line for coffee and turnovers, and then we joined Stan and Lolly Kramer, and Al and Sally Percy. They"re some of our biggest supporters, you know."

"Were you with them until the gong sounded to signal the end of intermission?"

"Heavens, no! Richard and I made the rounds. We talked to your mother and Bud Hauge." Stephanie paused and frowned slightly. "She"s not really interested in him...is she?"

"Bud"s an old friend, I think."

"That"s what I thought, since I saw her with Doc Knight at the Blackjack table tonight. He"s a much better catch."

"I don"t think Mother is looking to catch anything other than a good night"s sleep. Let"s get back to Wednesday night. Did you talk to anyone after you left Mother and Bud?"

"Hal and Rose MacDermott. And after we left them, we talked to Howie and Kitty Levine. Then we went on to George and Pam Baxter, Eleanor and Otis c.o.x, and Lorna Kusak."

"Who else?"

"That was it. The gong rang and we went back in to sit down."

"And you sat there with Mayor Bas...o...b..until the authorities came?"

"That"s right. I never left my seat." Stephanie gave an exasperated sigh. "Could I please have my earring back now?"

"Certainly." Hannah held out her hand and Stephanie s.n.a.t.c.hed up the earring. "By the way...how did you get into Bradford"s apartment tonight?"

"I still had his key."

"You still had his key?"

The color fled from Stephanie"s face. She knew she"d incriminated herself, and Hannah could almost see the wheels turning in her mind, looking for the perfect excuse. "That"s right. He gave me his extra key," she said. "I told him I thought I"d lost my earring in his apartment, and he told me to drive out and get it after the talent show was over. He said he was going out with friends and he wouldn"t be back until late."

Quick thinking, Hannah thought. I almost believe you. But all she said was, "I see."

"Well...if there"s nothing else..." Stephanie took two steps toward the door, but then she turned. "I hope you won"t mention this to anyone."

"I won"t," Hannah said. And then when Stephanie had made a quick exit from the bedroom, she added under her breath, "Not if your alibi checks out."