Excerpt of Chocolate Cream Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke

“And now we have a special request from Hannah Swensen,”
Reverend Bob told them. “She’d like to say a few words to
you before the social hour.”

Hannah stood up and slid out of the pew. She walked up the
aisle at the side of the church on legs that shook slightly
to join Reverend Bob. She cleared her throat and then she
began to speak.

“Almost everyone in the congregation today attended my
wedding to Ross Barton in November. Most of you were also
at the Lake Eden Inn for the reception.”

There were nods from almost everyone in attendance and
Hannah went on. “I asked to speak to you today because I
need to apologize. I think you all know that Ross is gone,
and my family and I told you that he was on location for a
new special that he was doing for KCOW Television. That is
not true. I’m sorry to say that we lied to you and we owe
you an apology for that.”

“If Ross isn’t out on location for a special, where is he?”
Howie Levine asked.

Hannah wasn’t surprised by the question. Howie was a lawyer
and he always asked probing questions. “Ross is in
Wisconsin.”

“Is he filming something there?” Hal McDermott, co-owner of
Hal and Rose’s Café, asked.

“No. I’ll tell you why he’s there, but first let me tell
you what happened on the day Ross left Lake Eden.”

Haltingly at first, and then with more assurance, Hannah
described what had happened on the day Ross left. The words
were painful at first, but it became easier until all the
facts had been given.

“Did Ross leave you a note?” Irma York, the wife of Lake
Eden’s barber, asked.

“No, there was nothing. His car was still there, his
billfold was on top of the dresser, where he always left it
when he came home from work, and he’d even left his
driver’s license and credit cards. It was almost as if he’d
packed up his clothes and . . . and vanished.”

“You must have been very worried,” Reverend Bob said
sympathetically.

“Not at first. I was upset that he hadn’t called me to say
he was leaving, but I thought that he had been rushed for
time and he’d call me that night. Then, when I didn’t hear
from him that night or the next day, I got worried.”

“Of course you did!” Grandma Knudson, Reverend Bob’s
grandmother and the unofficial matriarch of the church,
said with a nod.

“After three days,” Hannah continued, “I was afraid that
something was very wrong and I asked Mike and Norman to
help me look for Ross.”

Mike stood up to address the congregation. “It took us
weeks of searching, but two of my detectives finally found
Ross. Right after I verified his identity, Norman and I
went to Hannah’s condo to tell her.” He turned around to
face Hannah. “Go on, Hannah.”

“Yes,” Hannah said, gathering herself for the most
difficult part of her apology. “When I came home that
night, Mike and Norman were waiting for me. Both of them
looked very serious and I knew right away that something
was wrong. That’s when Mike said that they’d found Ross,
and . . .” Hannah stopped speaking and drew a deep,
steadying breath. “Mike told me that Ross had gone back to
his wife.”

“His wife?” Grandma Knudson looked completely shocked. “But
you’re his wife, Hannah! We were all right here when you
married Ross!”

There was a chorus of startled exclamations from the
congregation. Hannah waited until everyone was quiet again
and then she continued. “Ross was already married when he
married me. And that means my marriage to him wasn’t
legal.”

“You poor dear!” Grandma Knudson got up from her place of
honor in the first pew and rushed up to put her arm around
Hannah. Then she motioned to her grandson. “Give me your
handkerchief, Bob.”

Once the handkerchief was handed over, Grandma Knudson
passed it to Hannah. “What are you going to do about this,
Hannah?”

“I . . . I don’t know,” Hannah admitted truthfully. “I just
wanted to tell all of you about this today because my
family and I lied to you and we needed to set the record
straight.”

“Hannah could sue Ross for bigamy,” Howie pointed out. “And
since bigamy is a crime, Ross could be prosecuted. Do you
want to press charges, Hannah?”

“I’m not sure. All I really know is that I never want to
see him again.” There was a murmuring of sympathy from the
congregation as Hannah dabbed at her eyes with the borrowed
handkerchief. “I know all of you thought I was married. I
thought I was married, too, but . . . but I wasn’t. And
since you gave me wedding presents under false pretenses,
I’d like to return them to you.”

“Ridiculous!” Grandma Knudson snorted, patting Hannah’s
shoulder. And then she turned to face the worshippers. “You
don’t want your wedding gifts back, do you?”

“I don’t!” Becky Summers was the first to respond. “Keep
the silver platter, Hannah. Consider it an early birthday
present.”

“The same for me!” Norman’s mother chimed in. “You keep the
crystal pitcher, Hannah.”

Several other members of the congregation spoke up, all of
them expressing the same wishes, and then Grandma Knudson
held up her hand for silence. “If anyone here wants a
wedding gift back, contact me and I’ll make sure you get
it. And in the meantime, I think we’ve kept Hannah up here
long enough.” She turned to Hannah. “I know you brought
something for our social hour, Hannah. I saw Michelle run
down the stairs with a big platter. What wonderful baked
goods did you bring today?”

Hannah felt a great weight slip off her shoulders. It was
over. She’d come and accomplished what she’d set out to do.
Now she could relax and spend a little time with the people
she knew and loved.

“I brought Valentine Whippersnapper Cookies,” she told
them. “They’re a new cookie recipe from my sister Andrea.
Since we’re about ready to start baking for Valentine’s Day
at The Cookie Jar, Andrea and I really want your opinion.
Please try a cookie and tell us what you think of them.”

Grandma Knudson turned to the congregation. “I’ll lead you
downstairs so you can start in on those cookies. And then
I’m coming back up here for a private word with Hannah.”

She took Hannah’s arm, led her to the front pew, and
motioned to her to sit down. “I’ll be right back,” she
said. “Just sit here and relax for a few moments.”

Hannah watched as the church emptied out with Grandma
Knudson leading the way. Then she closed her eyes for a
moment and relished the fact that the tension was leaving
her body. She felt good, better than she had for a long
time. Perhaps Reverend Bob was right and confession was
good for the soul.

Hannah turned around when she heard the sound of footsteps.
Grandma Knudson was coming back. “Thank you,” she said, as
Grandma Knudson sat down next to her.

“You’re welcome. I heard some very interesting things down
there, Hannah. I’m really glad I got those fancy new
hearing aids.”

“I didn’t know you had hearing aids!”

“Neither does anyone else except Bob, and I swore him to
secrecy. I’ve changed my opinion about a lot of people in
this town. Why, the things I’ve heard could fill a gossip
column!”

“But you wouldn’t . . .”

“Of course not!” Grandma Knudson said emphatically. “But I
may not tell anyone about my hearing aids for a while. It’s
a lot of fun for me.”

Hannah gave a little laugh. It felt wonderful to laugh and
she was grateful to Grandma Knudson for giving her the
opportunity. “Seriously, Hannah,” Grandma Knudson began,
“you haven’t heard from Ross since Mike and his boys
located him, have you?”

Hannah shook her head. “No, not a word.”

“All right then. If Ross calls you, tell him that if he
knows what’s good for him, he’d better never show his face
in Lake Eden again. I heard Earl say he wanted to run Ross
down with the county snowplow, and Bud Hauge asked Mike and
Lonnie to give him five minutes alone with Ross if they
picked him up. And Hal McDermott claimed he was going to
leave out Rose’s heaviest frying pan so he could bash in
Ross’s head.”

Hannah was shocked. “But do you think they’d actually do
it?”

Grandma Knudson shrugged. “If I were Ross, I wouldn’t
chance it. And I can tell you one thing for sure. If Ross
comes back and winds up dead, you’re going to have a whole
town full of suspects!”