Джоанна Флюк: Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder

“I understand, Hannah. It was awful for you. You don’t know how many times I wished that I could think of something that I could do to help you.”

Tears gathered in Hannah’s eyes and she blinked them back. And then she reminded herself, as she had so many times before, that it had been an awful time, but now it was over.

“Here we are,” Hannah said, forcing herself to speak cheerfully. “Are you absolutely sure that you don’t want me to make some excuse so that you can go home?”

“I’m positive. I’m still furious at Mayor Bascomb and I’m so mad, I’m afraid I’d scare Tracey and Bethie. I’d rather stay here, Hannah. Bill’s meeting me here for dinner, and Grandma McCann is taking the girls out to the mall for hamburgers in less than an hour and then they’re going to a movie with her.”

“Okay then,” Hannah said as the old-fashioned elevator ground to a halt at the penthouse floor. “Let’s go have a glass of champagne with Mother. Dinner’s in the crockpot and all we have to do is serve the appetizers I fixed earlier.”

Hannah used her key to unlock her mother’s door, and both sisters walked in. As they went through the spacious living room, they heard voices coming from the penthouse’s domed garden.

“Somebody’s here this early?” Andrea asked, stopping short.

“I guess. Maybe Doc’s home from the hospital already. Do you want me to go see who’s here?”

“Yes. You can take out the appetizers when you go and get them started on those. I need another minute or two to calm down. I’m still mad at myself for not telling the mayor what I really think of him!”

Hannah hid a smile. It had sounded to her and Terry as if Andrea had told the mayor exactly that!

“I should have slapped him harder,” Andrea insisted, taking the champagne out of the refrigerator. “I had the perfect chance to really teach him a lesson and I blew it!”

“I think you taught him something, Andrea.”

“I hope so! He had it coming! Nobody’s ever yelled at me like that before!”

Hannah turned to look at her younger sister. Andrea’s eyes were blazing with hate and she looked positively unhinged. “Whoa! Take it easy, Andrea, it’s over now!”

“He really made me mad, Hannah!”

Hannah walked over and put her arm around her sister’s unyielding shoulder. “I know he did. We heard. And you were right to get mad. I probably would have killed him.”

“Maybe I should have, he’s scum of the earth! The way he treats women is a disgrace! He uses them and then he throws them away like . . . like trash! I don’t know how Stephanie puts up with him”

“That’s true, too. Careful opening that champagne, Andrea. The way you feel right now, you’ll pop that cork and put a hole right through the ceiling!”

That did it. Andrea laughed. “No, I won’t. This is Perrier-Jouët and it’s really expensive champagne. I might be tempted with something cheaper, but not this!”

Hannah was smiling as she carried the appetizer trays out to the penthouse garden, but her smile faded in a hurry when she saw who her mother’s guest was. “Hello, Mrs. Bascomb,” she said politely, setting the appetizer trays down on the tables her mother had set out for her guests.

“Call me Stephanie, dear,” the mayor’s wife responded. “I’m over here so often, there’s no need to be formal.”

Oh, boy! The rational part of Hannah’s brain responded. You’d better hurry back in the kitchen and tell Andrea that the mayor’s wife is here! But it was too late. Andrea had just stepped into the garden with the open bottle of champagne.

“Hello, Mother,” Andrea said, setting the silver champagne bucket on the table closest to Delores. “And hello ”—Andrea turned to look at the chair across from Delores—“Mrs. Bascomb ?”

“Hello, Andrea,” Stephanie Bascomb greeted her. “Your mother told me that you went to see my husband this afternoon. How did that go?”

“I . . . I . . .” Andrea shot Hannah a panicked look.

“It didn’t go well,” Hannah said quickly, since Andrea seemed incapable of finishing her sentence.

“I was afraid of that. It’s like I was telling your mother . . . Richard has been a bear all week, yelling at poor Terry for nothing at all and coming home to me in a foul mood. Sit down and have a glass of champagne, Andrea. And let me say that what Richard did to your husband was absolutely horrible! I tried to tell him that last night and I swear he came close to taking my head off. One of his little conquests must have put him in a bad mood. I wish I knew who the new one was so I could congratulate her for getting his goat. Now tell me exactly what happened so I can read Richard the riot act later.”

Andrea exchanged startled glances with Hannah. “Well . . . I did my best to stay calm and collected, but I’m afraid I . . .” She stopped and glanced at Hannah again.

Hannah picked up the story. “He shouted at her. Terry and I could hear him even though the door to his office was shut. Andrea was amazing, really she was. She kept her temper for a lot longer than I would have if someone had accused me of being stupid.”

A pained expression crossed Stephanie’s face. “That’s his favorite insult.” She turned to Andrea. “I hope you got up and marched right out of there before he could say another word.”

“Uh . . . not exactly,” Andrea admitted, and then she turned to look at Hannah for help again.

“When the mayor shouted that he’d listened to Andrea’s pathetic sniveling for long enough and she was as stupid as her husband, my sister . . . lost it.”

“I don’t blame you one bit, dear!” Delores slipped her arm around Andrea’s shoulders. “If he’d said something like that to me, I would have been furious.”

Andrea nodded. “I . . . I was furious. I was so furious, I . . . I slapped him!”

“Atta girl!” Stephanie gave a decisive nod. “I would have done exactly the same thing! What happened next?”

“My slap was so hard that he fell over backwards in his chair.”

“Exactly what he deserved!” Stephanie agreed. “Good for you, Andrea. No one else has ever had the nerve to stand up to him before. Richard’s problem has always been that he thinks he’s more important than anyone else. And he’s so full of himself he’s the only man I’ve ever met who can strut while he’s sitting down!”

Hannah burst into laughter and so did Delores. And both of them were pleased when Andrea joined in.

“I’m sorry he gave you such a rough time, Andrea,” Stephanie apologized for her husband. “Richard thinks that if he yells the loudest, he can intimidate everyone else.”

“But he doesn’t intimidate you, does he, Stephanie?” Delores asked her.

“Not anymore. I finally figured out the way to get his goat was to hit him in the pocketbook.” She turned back to Andrea. “Take a sip of champagne and try to put him right out of your mind, dear. Nothing bad is going to happen to your husband. I know that Richard threatened to fire Bill, but he can’t, not legally. Bill won the election fair and square, and none of the other mayors in the county will let Richard get away with railroading him. Just don’t let Bill get mad and quit. That’s exactly what Richard wants.”

“Can I tell Bill that tonight?” Andrea asked her.

“Yes, and you can also tell him that I’ll do my best to talk some sense into Richard when I see him.” She stopped speaking, glanced at her watch, and stood up. “And now, I’d better go. Richard promised to be home on time tonight, and I’m going to be armed and ready for any arguments he gives me.”

“Wait! Mrs. Bascomb . . .” Andrea started to say, but Stephanie interrupted her.