coffee for them.
“Shall I cut the pie for us?” she asked as she brought them cups of coffee.
Hannah shook her head. “Save it for tonight, so you can share it with Benton.”
“Thanks. Benton’s going to love it. He’s always asking me when I’m going to learn to bake, but that’s not going to happen anytime soon.”
Once Danielle had seated herself at the table, she turned to Hannah with a smile. “I was wondering when you’d get around to interviewing me.”
“You were?”
“Yes, I figured someone would tell you about Darcy and Benton, and I was prepared to call you tomorrow if they didn’t.”
“What about Benton and Darcy?” Andrea asked, leaning forward.
“You must have heard the gossip, Andrea.” Danielle gave a little sigh. “Darcy was always trying to pick up on Benton. She even left little notes in his pocket inviting him to come to her place.”
“Did you see any of the notes?” Hannah asked her.
“I saw all of them. Benton showed them to me and we talked about what he could do to discourage Darcy without being mean.”
“What did you decide?” Andrea asked her.
“We decided that nothing could discourage Darcy when she had her mind set on flirting with someone. We just . . .” Danielle stopped speaking and sighed again. “I kind of hate to say this, after what happened to Darcy, but it turned into a little joke between the two of us.”
“But weren’t you jealous?” Andrea asked. “I don’t know how I’d feel if someone like Darcy came after Bill.”
“If you were smart, you’d laugh about it. And that’s exactly what we did. To tell the truth, I was a little jealous at first, until I was convinced that Benton wasn’t interested in Darcy. You’d probably react the same way I did.”
“Maybe,” Andrea said, but Hannah noticed that her sister didn’t seem all that convinced. “Did you ever confront Darcy? Tell her to back off?”
Danielle shook her head. “No, I thought that might make her think she was making inroads.”
“But she wasn’t?” Hannah asked.
“Of course not. Benton spends every night he can over here with me.”
“How about the night that Darcy was killed?” Hannah couldn’t help but ask.
“Yes, and I’m really glad he did!” Danielle looked very relieved. “We were together all evening. We took Del with us to dinner at the Lake Eden Inn. We had six o’clock reservations and we were there until eight. Then we drove Del back to his place, and Benton came home with me.”
Andrea looked concerned. “Was Benton with you the entire night?”
“Yes. We had another glass of wine and watched a movie on television.”
“Would you be willing to swear to that in a court of law?” Hannah asked her.
“Yes, I would,” Danielle said quickly, “but I won’t have to.”
It was clear that Andrea was puzzled. “Why not?”
“Simple logic,” Danielle said, beginning to smile. “It’s because Hannah always catches the killer. And I know that Benton didn’t do it.”
A few moments later, Andrea and Hannah took their leave so that Danielle would have a few minutes to herself before her next dance class. They climbed down the staircase and Andrea turned back to Hannah as she opened the street door. “That’s an awesome responsibility, Hannah.”
Hannah was puzzled. “What’s an awesome responsibility?”
“Danielle’s counting on you to catch the killer to clear Benton, Lonnie’s counting on you to do it to clear him, Michelle’s counting on you to save Lonnie, Cyril’s counting on you to save his son, Rick’s counting on you to save his brother, Mike’s counting on you to save his partner, and Bill’s counting on you to solve the case because he can’t use any of his detectives except the new guy.”
Hannah gave a deep sigh. “You’re right, Andrea. It is an awesome responsibility.”
“What are you going to do if you can’t find Darcy’s killer?”
Hannah thought about that for a moment, and then she shrugged. “I think it’s best if I put that possibility right out of my mind.”
“How are you going to do that?”
“I’m just going to concentrate on doing what everyone expects of me and keep at it until I do.”
PEAR AND APPLE PIE
Preheat oven to 350°F., rack in the middle position.
Hannah’s Note: This pie was inspired by Lyn Jessup’s pear crisp and Mom’s Apple Pie.
The Crust:
One 8-inch or 9-inch frozen deep-dish piecrust (I used Marie Callender’s—you can also make your own if you wish)
The Filling:
¾ cup white (granulated) sugar
¼ cup flour
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg (freshly ground is best, of course)
½ teaspoon cinnamon (if it’s been sitting in your