a minute or so, but then a startled expression crossed Norman’s face.
“Oh, boy!” he said under his breath.
Hannah smiled. What had been obvious to Mike had also alerted them. It was another avenue of investigation, and it could very well be the reason that Darcy had been murdered. Darcy had been two months pregnant when someone had killed her.
Hannah read the second and final page, handed it to Norman, and looked over at Andrea. Andrea gave a little nod of acknowledgment, and Hannah knew that Andrea had also spotted the fact that Darcy had been pregnant. No wonder she’d said that Doc’s autopsy report was a shocker when she’d given it to them!
“Well?” Mike asked them. “What pitfalls do you see because of what you’ve discovered?”
Mike obviously regarded himself as their instructor in the art of investigating and for one brief moment, Hannah resented his attitude. Then she forced herself to think positively. Perhaps they didn’t need Mike’s guidance, but it couldn’t hurt to let him play Professor Sherlock. Mike was understandably upset over the fact that the circumstantial evidence was stacked against Lonnie because Lonnie had been there when the murder was committed.
It was clear that Norman was waiting for her to respond to Mike’s query, so Hannah hid the last shred of her resentment and jumped right in to answer Mike.
“Darcy’s dead. So, it’s obvious she won’t be telling us who the baby’s father is. That might be a pitfall!”
Andrea chimed in. “Maybe Darcy didn’t tell anyone she was pregnant, including the baby’s father.”
Norman looked thoughtful “Then it wouldn’t be a motive for murder, would it?”
“You’re right,” Mike said. “But what if Darcy confided in someone?”
“Then we’ll have to talk to Darcy’s friends and co-workers to find out if any of them knew,” Hannah said.
“True,” Mike said. “But you’ll have to be careful that you don’t alert Darcy’s killer.”
“And her killer could still be the baby’s father,” Andrea said.
“You’re right,” Noman said. “Nothing rules that out.”
Hannah shook her head. “Well, Darcy was engaged to Denny Jameson, but he might not be the father.”
“But why would Darcy get engaged to him if he wasn’t . . .” Andrea stopped speaking and made a face. “I get it. If Darcy couldn’t marry the father of her baby, she might have gotten engaged to Denny and pretended that the baby was his. That happens in movies all the time.”
“Conjecture,” Mike labeled it. “Let’s get back on track here. What’s the first thing you have to investigate?”
“The identity of the father,” Andrea answered quickly.
“Norman?” Mike asked, turning to him.
“That’ll be tricky. A baby doesn’t come with a wristband with the name of the father printed on it.”
Hannah couldn’t help it. She started to laugh. The thought was so totally ridiculous. Andrea gave a little giggle even though she’d been the one to bring up that idea, Norman laughed, and Mike chuckled. They all felt better because of the levity.
Once the moment was over, Mike turned back to Norman. “So what can you do to attempt to find the father?”
Andrea thought about that for a moment. “We could start by finding out if she went to a doctor.”
“How?” Mike asked.
“We could start with Doc,” Andrea suggested. “And if he wasn’t Darcy’s doctor, he could ask around to find out who was.”
“That’s a possibility,” Hannah said.
Mike shook his head. “That’s the least helpful avenue to take. Doctors have issues with confidentiality. They’re not going to tell you anything about their patients.”
“But that doesn’t matter, does it?” Andrea asked. “Darcy’s dead.”
“Believe me, it matters!” Norman disagreed. “The same rules apply to dentists. A medical professional can lose his or her license if he or she gives out information without the patient’s consent.”
“But that doesn’t make sense if the patient is dead and can’t object,” Andrea pointed out.
“Maybe not, but it’s still the rule,” Mike told her. “Forget the doctors. You’ll never get information from them directly.”
“So, we start by interviewing Darcy’s friends and coworkers,” Hannah said.
“Right,” Mike agreed. “You may luck out and find someone who can tell you something pertinent.”
Andrea started to smile. “I can help you with that, can’t I, Hannah?”
“Of course you can,” Hannah answered quickly. When Andrea was first dating Bill, he bragged that she could get anyone to talk and it was true. Andrea was a great listener.
“And we’ll ask Lisa, Marge, and Aunt Nancy to keep their ears open for any gossip they hear in the coffee shop,” Hannah said.
“I can help you with that, too,” Andrea offered. “I