Double Fudge Brownie Murder (Hannah Swensen series Book 18) (29 page)

“Did you keep in touch with the Worthington family?” Hannah asked him.

“Just with Clay. Why?”

“I’d really like to talk to Senator Worthington. Perhaps he could tell me something about Judge Colfax’s background that might relate to his murder. Do you think you could presume on that old acquaintance and convince him to see me?”

“I’m almost sure I could. I’ll call him tomorrow and see what I can do.”

“Thanks, Ross. If they worked in the same law office, they’ve known each other for a long time. Sometimes old friends know things about each other that not even their families know.”

“You’re trying to find something in Judge Colfax’s background that connects to his murder?”

“Exactly. I’ve struck out with everyone who was in Judge Colfax’s current life. Maybe an old friend from the past like Senator Worthington can help.”

 

It had been one of the happiest evenings of Hannah’s life and she didn’t want it to end. “Will you come in for a while, Ross?” she asked, when he opened the car door for her.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

They walked up the stairs arm in arm, and when they came to the landing, Hannah stopped. “Do you remember what Moishe does when I open the door?”

“I remember. Do you want to catch him or shall I?”

“You can. He’d like that. But brace yourself. He was twenty-four pounds the last time Doctor Bob weighed him.”

Hannah unlocked the door and opened it to release the flying orange and white blur.

Ross grunted when he caught Moishe in midair, and then he chuckled. “You
are
a big boy, aren’t you?”

“Just put him on the back of the couch,” Hannah instructed. “It’s his favorite perch.”

Once Moshe was settled, she shut and locked the door. Then she went to check on Michelle and found that her youngest sister wasn’t back from her dinner with Lonnie. “Would you like coffee?” she offered when she came back to the living room.

“Sure,” Ross said. “Michelle’s not home yet?”

“Not yet.” Hannah turned to go to the kitchen, but strong arms caught her and warm lips nuzzled her neck.

“I don’t think I want that coffee after all,” Ross said.

 

H
annah woke up to the smell of freshly brewed coffee and a purring cat nestled on her head. She dislodged the cat, thrust her arms into her robe and her feet into her slippers and went in search of the coffee. She found Michelle standing at the kitchen counter, similarly dressed and sipping a cup of the aromatic brew.

“Here you go,” Michelle said, pouring another cup for Hannah. “Go sit. I’ll bring it.”

“Good thing. I’d probably drop it,” Hannah mumbled, sinking down onto one of her favorite vinyl-covered antique kitchen chairs. It was a clone of the other three chairs arranged around the Formica-topped table, but it was exactly where she wanted to sit.

The other chairs had views that did not lend themselves to work mornings. Two faced the wall between the kitchen and the laundry room that was hung with an array of collectible plates Delores had placed there when Hannah had first moved in. Hannah had never bothered to change them to something she liked better. They were pretty and were probably expensive, but she didn’t want to even pretend to assess their value before she’d consumed at least a whole carafe of coffee. As far as she was concerned the plates were a nice, innocuous wall decoration, nothing more.

The third chair faced the wall phone, hanging above her favorite chair. Hannah didn’t want to look at the phone. If she faced the phone, it could possibly encourage it to ring. And the last thing she wanted to do when she got up at the crack of dawn was to deal with an early telephone call.

Her favorite chair faced the clock shaped like an apple, and that was perfect for morning viewing. It reminded her that she didn’t have to go to work quite yet, but it wouldn’t let her tarry too long. It ticked off the seconds in a predictable manner that only a dead battery could halt. It moved very slowly when she trained her eyes on it and it granted her time to sip, stare, and cogitate until the little hand neared the numeral five and the big hand halted at the numeral nine. Two more sweeps of the red minute hand and it was time to rise from the chair, walk down the hallway, and take her morning shower. Ten minutes later, she would finish her shower, dress, feed Moishe, and arrive at work on the dot of five-thirty.

“You got a text. I heard Big Ben,” Michelle told her.

“Thanks,” Hannah said. It was time. The little hand was nearing the five, the big hand was on the nine, and the red minute hand had finished its second sweep and was well on its way to the third.

It only took a moment to retrieve the text. Hannah read it, smiled, and put the phone in her purse. Ross loved her, he was going to work, and he’d meet her at The Cookie Jar before five-thirty tonight. When he called Senator Worthington, he’d text her again and tell her what time the senator could see them.

Twelve minutes later Hannah had finished her shower, toweled off and dressed, and was walking down the hall toward the kitchen for one last cup of coffee.

“Hurry up, Hannah!” Michelle called out. “He’s got another one!”

Hannah covered the last five feet of the hallway in two steps and burst into the living room, only to see Michelle holding a pink, frilly baby bonnet in her hand.

“Moishe?” Hannah asked, staring at the baby bonnet.

“Yes. He had it in his mouth when I came out of the guest bedroom. Andrea never had anything like this for Bethie, did she?”

“No. Bethie was a winter baby. She wore knit hats. That’s a summer bonnet. Look at the flowers on the side.”

“Do you think it could have been Tracey’s?”

“I doubt it. Tracey’s birthday is in September and it was already getting cold when she was born. Andrea bought her hoodies made of sweatshirt material, and Tracey had one in almost every color.”

“Then it’s the cat burglar,” Michelle said with a sigh. “Do we have time to look at the tape?”

“We’ll make time,” Hannah decided. “I don’t know about you, but this is really bothering me. It’s almost as frustrating as trying to solve Judge Colfax’s murder.”

 

Of course there had been nothing on the tape and by the time Hannah and Michelle got to work, they were an hour late.

“The cat burglar?” Lisa guessed when they came in the kitchen door.

“Yes. We repositioned the camera in the kitchen. It’s the only room we haven’t tried,” Hannah sighed deeply, “but I really don’t have much hope.”

“You can’t give up now,” Aunt Nancy told them. “Grandma Knudson thinks you’re close to the answer. She was listening yesterday and we got to talking later. Between the two of us, we came up with an idea about what you should do next.”

“You did?” Hannah was delighted. Grandma Knudson was a wise woman and Aunt Nancy had a good head on her shoulders. “What do you think I should do?”

“We want you to hold a yard sale next Saturday, but not a yard sale for money. Just make a display, right here at The Cookie Jar of all the items Moishe has appropriated. Lisa says everybody comes in here on Saturdays and somebody is bound to recognize something. If they do, you’ll know at least one place Moishe went when he got out.”

“That’s a wonderful idea! I wonder why I didn’t think of it myself.”

“Because you’re too close to the problem. And you’re too busy with other things. Will you do it?”

“Yes, I’ll do it.”

“Good. We’ll start telling people about the yard sale that isn’t a yard sale to display the cat burglar’s loot.”

 

It was eleven o’clock when the text came in. Hannah heard her phone chime and hurried to take it out of her purse. Just as she expected, it was a text from Ross.

 

While Hannah was reading Ross’s text, another text message came in. Again, it was from Ross.

 

“What’s the matter?” Michelle asked, coming into the kitchen just in time to see the disappointment on Hannah’s face.

“Nothing, really. It’s just that Ross was going to go with me to see Senator Worthington, but he has to work late.”

“Do you want me to go with you?”

“No, that’s okay. If you really want to help, start something for dinner. Ross should be at the condo by eight-thirty.”

 

Hannah was dressed and ready to go. She’d had another phone lesson from Tracey, baked several more batches of cookies, and rushed back to the condo to change into an outfit that was appropriate for meeting a state senator. As she dressed, she thought of something that Howie had mentioned months ago, some rumors about how Judge Colfax had done a favor for someone powerful and gained his judgeship in the process. She knew that Howie was in his office on Saturdays so she glanced at the clock, saw that it was not yet five, and dialed Howie’s office number, hoping that he hadn’t left early.

“Levine Law,” Howie answered on the second ring.

“Hi, Howie. It’s Hannah. Are you going to the dinner at the courthouse?”

“What dinner?”

“Worthington Law is having their annual reunion and they rented the courthouse for a catered dinner. Senator Worthington is the guest speaker.”

“Hmmm! This is the first I’ve heard about it. Of course, I never worked for Worthington Law so I guess I wouldn’t be invited.”

“Well, I’m glad I caught you. I have a meeting out there with Senator Worthington and I remembered something you told me a couple of months ago. You said there were rumors about Judge Colfax getting his judgeship in return for doing a favor for a powerful person.”

“That’s the rumor I heard. It’s just a rumor, though. Nobody seems to know what the favor was or who asked him to do it.”

“Oh.” Hannah was disappointed. She’d hoped that Howie would know more than that. “I did find out that Judge Colfax was the senator’s mentor when he was a law clerk at Worthington Law. It’s entirely possible that Senator Worthington might know something about that old favor.”

“Tread carefully, Hannah.”

“Why’s that?”

“What if the favor was for the Worthington family?”

“Oh. Yes, I see what you mean. That would be putting my foot in it, wouldn’t it?”

“I’ll say. I’ve got to go, Hannah. Kitty’s making sauerbraten tonight and that’s one of my favorites. I don’t want to be late.”

“Tell her hi from me,” Hannah said and hung up the phone. She glanced at the clock, picked up her purse, slung it over her shoulder, and headed down the outside staircase to the garage. There was no way she wanted to be late, not when Senator Worthington had so generously worked her into his busy schedule. She just hoped that their meeting would be productive and she’d discover something that would lead to the identity of the person who’d killed Judge Colfax.

 

H
annah found a parking spot right in front of the courthouse. There were no other cars on the street. She thought that was odd until she remembered that almost all of the guests coming to the Worthington Law reunion would be lawyers, and lawyers had preferred parking in the underground garage.

She glanced at her phone to check the time. It was five-twenty so she texted Ross.

 

Something prickled at the back of her mind as she climbed the courthouse steps. She was inside, heading up the first set of stairs when she realized what it was. She hadn’t seen any caterer trucks. They’d better get here in a hurry if dinner was at six.

Her footsteps echoed hollowly on the marble staircase that led to the courtrooms on the second floor. The courthouse had a deserted feel and it made her a bit uneasy. Had she gotten the wrong day? Ross had said she should meet Senator Worthington tonight, hadn’t he?

Hannah stopped and pulled out her phone to check Ross’s earlier text message. Yes, her appointment with the senator was tonight. She was to meet him in Judge Colfax’s chambers on the third floor at five-thirty. He would give her thirty minutes of his time before the six o’clock dinner. But how could there be a dinner at six o’clock if the caterers weren’t here yet? They would need time to set up and she’d seen no one hurry past with trays of food or linens.

Something was wrong and she didn’t like it. Hannah felt a sense of dread as she stared at the railing that ran all the way up the staircase to the second floor and then curved around in an arc to start the down staircase on the other side. She tried to tell herself that everything was all right, that she was simply nervous at the prospect of meeting such an influential person. That didn’t work, not even for an instant. Every fiber of her being was vibrating with the sense of danger. Something was wrong. Terribly wrong. There had to be a reason why her mouth was dry and her heart was pounding like a caged bird in her chest. Silly or not, overactive imagination or not, she was getting out of the courthouse right now!

Hannah turned around on the step and that was when she saw a tall figure standing near the heavy oaken doors. He had dark hair, carefully styled and streaked at the sides with silver. He had the well-muscled body of an athlete who had stayed in shape, and he looked even more imposing than he had in the newspaper photos she’d seen. There was a smile on his face, a smile that was knowing and threatening, a smile that made her knees start to shake. Hannah was certain that the gloating expression on Senator Eric Worthington’s face was one his constituents had never seen.

“So you finally figured it out,” he said in an impassionate voice. “Unfortunately for you, it’s a little too late.”

“Figured what out?” Hannah asked, hoping her voice didn’t reveal how terrified she was.

“That there is no reunion and that I lured you here. You may even have figured out that I killed Geoffrey.”

“You . . . did?” Hannah asked, taking a step back up the stairs so that she could put more distance between them. “But how did you murder him without being seen?”

Senator Worthington laughed and it was not a pleasant laugh. “I didn’t kill him personally. I’d never do that. Geoffrey was a friend. As a matter of fact, we were going to have lunch together. That’s how my man got into the courthouse. Geoffrey sent me a one-time pass for the parking garage.”

Hannah moved back until she felt the next step up behind her heels. “If he was your friend, why did your man kill him?”

“Geoffrey had become a very dangerous liability. He was losing his mind, you know. For periods of time, he was living in the past. And that was not a good thing for me.”

“I . . . didn’t know that his mind was going. I never noticed that.”

“But I did. You wouldn’t notice. You didn’t know him when his colleagues claimed that he had a mind like a steel trap.”

“He was a brilliant lawyer?” Hannah asked, hoping he wouldn’t notice when she took another step upward.

“Oh, yes. He made junior partner at Worthington Law before he was thirty. That’s a rarity. But years passed, and his mind weakened so much that I couldn’t depend on him to keep my secret any longer.”

“But wouldn’t people have thought that anything he said was the product of his confused mind?” Hannah asked, moving back until her heel was against the next step up.

“Perhaps. But somebody would have looked into it. You know how the media operates. Ever since the evening news began to get ratings, they’re on the lookout for good, juicy stories, the more scandalous, the better.” The frozen smile on his face as he moved forward was chilling.

Keep him talking!
her mind told her, and Hannah knew that it was good advice. If she were lucky, Ross or Howie or Michelle would check on the Worthington Law reunion and discover that it wasn’t being held tonight.
Ask him a question
, her mind prodded.
Hurry!

“You were afraid Judge Colfax would slip and tell the secret about your son?” she asked, rising another step.

“You’ve done your homework.” He took a step forward. “Too bad it won’t do you any good.”

“What do you mean?” Hannah took another step up. She was almost halfway up to the second floor.

“It’s a pity, but now that you know, I’ll have to kill you. And I’ll do it personally this time. You see, my dear, you know too much. Contrary to most teachings, too much knowledge is a very dangerous thing.”

Hannah wondered if she could whirl and run. But he still had the body of an athlete and she had no doubt that he could take the marble staircase with a speed that would far exceed hers. She had to climb a bit higher to give herself an advantage. “I haven’t told anyone,” she said, moving up another step.

“I’m glad to hear that. And I’m very glad that Ross didn’t come with you. I wouldn’t have liked getting rid of that boy. He was a good friend to Clay.”

“I won’t say anything,” Hannah said, gaining another step upward. “No one’s found out about it and no one needs to.”

“Oh, my dear,” he said in mock sympathy. “It’s very generous of you to offer to protect me, but I can’t take that chance. I’m declaring my candidacy for governor next Monday. If the press finds out that I influenced the autopsy and toxicology reports, it could keep me from winning the election. You see how that could happen, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do.”

“The local papers compared it to Chappaquiddick at the time, but they backed down when the case was dismissed for lack of evidence.”

“And now everyone’s forgotten about it,” Hannah said in a way she hoped would he would find reassuring.

“But
you
could change all that.”

Hannah knew she had to keep him engrossed in telling her the story. “I don’t understand. How could you have influenced the autopsy and toxicology reports when they’re done by outside labs?”

“Everyone has a price. It was simple. My father was the governor. He could help their careers. He bribed them all with promises and they did whatever he asked. That’s how politics works.”

“Did your father keep those promises?” Hannah asked, taking another step toward the landing on the second floor.

“Of course he did. My father was an honorable man.”

It would have been funny in any other context, but this situation had no humor in it. Hannah rose another step and asked another question. “I still don’t understand why you had to kill Judge Colfax.”

“Of course you do. I just told you.”

“Tell me again. I guess I didn’t understand.”

“My father bought him for me, just like he bought the medical examiner and the head of the police lab. He bribed them with political favors because he had big plans for me. My father knew that if they learned that Raymond was drunk and he left that girl in the car to drown, it could be the death of his dream and my political career.”

“But how about Judge Colfax? Did your father bribe him, too?”

“Of course he did. There was a judgeship available and he promised to give it to Geoffrey.”

“And did he?” Hannah asked, even though she already knew the answer to her question.

“Of course he did. My father always kept his word. That’s the reason I was forced to silence Geoffrey. It wasn’t something I wanted to do, but it was necessary. He knew and his judgment was becoming impaired.”

“I understand now,” Hannah said, gaining another step up.

“I have to govern this state. My father knew that. It’s why he made sure that there were no impediments to my rise in politics. The governorship is my legacy. I must fulfill it!” He took another step forward in tandem with her step upward and the dying rays of sunlight spilling from the high windows built into the rotunda illuminated his features. His eyes were glittering with a consuming zeal and Hannah realized that Senator Eric Worthington was completely mad. He would kill her. There was no doubt in her mind. The time for talking was over. She had to escape
now
!

Without hesitation, Hannah hurled her heavy purse at the man who was advancing toward her. Then she whirled and took the last steps at a run. She dashed down the hallway and through a door at random. It was the courtroom where her bail hearing had been held. She had to hide before Senator Worthington saw her!

She headed for the raised judge’s bench and that’s when she saw it, the hidden door in the paneled wall behind the bench. She was in the courtroom with the handicapped elevator and she could use it to escape!

Where was the call button for the elevator? It stopped her for a brief moment, but she realized that it had to be within easy reach. She dashed behind the bench and found it almost immediately, under the center of the bench. Hannah pressed it and the hidden door in the wall slid silently and smoothly open.

The elevator it revealed was small and reminded Hannah of a cage. Even though she’d never liked tight, closed spaces, she forced herself to get inside. She had no other choice and there was no time to waste. She wanted to go down to the garage, but the outside gates would be locked and closed. She couldn’t get out of the building that way and there would be nowhere to hide in the deserted concrete space. He would expect her to go down so she would go up to the third floor. As she pressed the third-floor button, she heard Senator Worthington running down the hallway in her direction. A door slammed in the adjacent courtroom and she held her breath as the door in the wall slid closed and the elevator began to rise.

Text someone!
her frenzied mind gave her instructions.
Do it now, before it’s too late. They have to know where you are!

Thank goodness her phone was in her pocket! Hannah pulled it out and pressed the button that Tracey had shown her. It was something her niece had called
broadcast
and Tracey had explained that it sent a group text message to everyone on Hannah’s contact list.

For one panicked moment, Hannah wondered if Tracey had gotten around to entering the cell phone numbers on the list she’d made. But there was no way to ask and all she could do was hope that Tracey had done it. With shaking fingers, Hannah typed in a terse message.

 

She hit the send button and sent up a silent prayer that she’d done everything right.

The elevator opened on the third floor and Hannah gasped as she stepped out and realized it had taken her to Judge Colfax’s chambers. Senator Worthington was responsible for one murder that had taken place in this very spot. Would he find her there and accomplish another murder with her as his victim? Would he guess that she used the handicapped elevator to come up here? Howie had told her that the elevator had been installed less than a year ago. Perhaps Senator Worthington didn’t know that the elevator existed and she would be safe.

He’s a state senator
, Hannah’s mind vetoed that possibility.
He’s bound to know. He probably voted on the proposal.
But there wasn’t time to consider that. She could hear him running up the stairs to the third floor. She had to find a safe hiding place!

There was nowhere to hide. He would find her and kill her! Hannah’s frantic eyes searched the room and focused on the elevator door. That was it! She’d seen the emergency button that would stop it between floors. She’d be inside and he couldn’t get to her. She’d be safe!

Hannah made a lunge for the elevator and threw herself inside. The hidden door slid closed and just as she pressed the button to go down, she heard the door to Judge Colfax’s chambers bang open. He was there! But she was no longer within reach. She was traveling downward, away from Senator Worthington and danger.

The indicator dial showed the second floor, and she held her breath as the elevator continued to descend. She was almost down to the garage when the light for the second floor began to glow and the elevator slowed. He must have realized that she was in the elevator and he’d pressed the call button. Senator Worthington was attempting to bring his victim back up to him for the kill!

There was only one thing to do and Hannah did it. She hit the emergency stop button. It took a heart-stopping second or two, but the elevator halted just short of the garage. She sent a silent thank you to Mr. Otis and everyone else who’d developed the first elevator and breathed a big sigh of relief.