pulled up in front of Danielle Watson’s dance studio.
“Thank you for coming with me,” Hannah countered. “I need you on this one, Andrea. Danielle and I are friends, but you’re much closer to her than I am.”
“That might not be true after Danielle tastes your Pear and Apple Pie,” Andrea said, but one glance at her sister’s face told Hannah that Andrea was very pleased. “I just hope that Danielle will tell me if she can alibi Benton on the night that Darcy was killed.”
“So do I!” Hannah picked up the pie she had baked and walked toward the door with Andrea. “This pie is heavy. Will you open the door for me?”
“No problem.”
Andrea opened the door, and they both stepped in. Almost immediately, strains of music wafted down the staircase to meet them.
“Is that a waltz?” Andrea asked, starting to climb up the stairs to Danielle’s dance studio.
Hannah listened for several seconds. “It sounds like it to me. I think it’s the ‘Anniversary Waltz.’”
“The only song that Dad would dance to?”
“That’s right. Mother said the first time she danced with Dad was at his parents’ silver wedding anniversary party. And they started dating right after that.”
“Dad really didn’t like to dance, did he.”
It was a statement rather than a question and Hannah laughed. “He hated it. Mother said he was a pretty good dancer, but Dad was convinced that he had two left feet.”
“Mother was wrong.” Andrea said. “Dad danced with me once when I was learning how to waltz and he stepped on my toes.”
As they climbed upward, the music increased in volume and Hannah could tell that the waltz was almost over. “Someone must be having an anniversary party,” she commented.
“Right.” Andrea reached the top of the stairs and entered the area Danielle had set aside for a waiting room. “Here we are,” she said, taking a seat on one of the couches.
“Good,” Hannah agreed, sitting down on the couch across from her sister and doing her best not to breathe heavily. If she was out of breath from climbing Danielle’s staircase, perhaps it was time to consider that four-letter word she hated.
“I’m a little out of breath,” Andrea confessed, breathing in deeply. “That’s a really steep staircase.”
“It certainly is!” Hannah responded, but her spirits lifted a notch. Andrea wasn’t an ounce overweight and she kept herself in tip-top condition. It might not be time for a diet after all!
The two sisters didn’t have long to wait. After less than five minutes, two older couples that Hannah didn’t recognize came out of the interior. They smiled and nodded at Hannah and Andrea, walked through the waiting area, and left.
“Who were they?” Hannah asked, when she was sure that the couples were out of earshot.
“I don’t know, and I thought I knew almost everyone around here.” Andrea looked puzzled. “I’m almost certain I’ve never seen them before.”
“You haven’t,” Danielle said, coming into the waiting room just in time to hear Andrea’s comment. “They’re the Landsdown twins and they’re from Anoka.”
“The men are twins?” Hannah guessed.
“Yes, and so are the women.”
“You mean . . . two sets of twins married each other?”
“That’s right. They met at a twins convention in Minneapolis and they just moved to Long Prairie. They’re about to celebrate their wedding anniversaries and they wanted to learn how to dance for their joint anniversary party.” Danielle stopped speaking and stared at the pie in Hannah’s hands. “Something really smells great! What is it, Hannah?”
“Pear and Apple Pie. You know Charlie Jessup, don’t you, Danielle?”
“Everybody knows Charlie and his sled dogs.”
“Well, Charlie has a brother in California and his sister-in-law, Lyn Jessup, makes a really incredible pear crisp. Charlie brought me some the last time they flew out to visit. Lisa’s Aunt Nancy tasted it and we came up with this recipe for Pear and Apple Pie. The crumble on top is almost the same as the one on Lyn’s pear crisp.”
“I love apple crisp!” Danielle said with a smile. “And I bet I’d like pear crisp, too. I can hardly wait to taste this pie, Hannah.”
“Well, you won’t have to wait for long.” Hannah got up from the couch and handed the pie to Danielle. “Do you have a little time before your next class, Danielle?”
“Yes, fifteen minutes. Come in the back with me and I’ll make you a cup of coffee.”
Hannah and Andrea followed Danielle through the studio to the living quarters in the back. They waited at Danielle’s small kitchen table while she made