“A wise decision,” Hannah said, hoping that Amber had overheard something useful. “So you sat in your car and waited?”

“That’s right. But I did something I’m a little ashamed of. I left the door open a little so I could listen.”

“Of course you did!”

“But I know I shouldn’t have done that. I was eavesdropping on a private conversation and that’s never nice.”

“Of course it’s not, but I don’t think you could find a single person in Lake Eden who wouldn’t have done exactly what you did.” Hannah stopped to give Amber an encouraging smile. “And you had a good reason for listening.”

“I did?”

“Absolutely. You had to know when Dean and Burke stopped yelling so that you could deliver the coffee.”

“That’s right.” Amber smiled right back. “I really like the way you think, Miss Swensen.”

Hannah glanced down at her notebook. “All right. While you were sitting in your car waiting for them to end their altercation, what did you hear?”

“Mostly it was just yelling at each other about who did something. You know how that goes.”

“I probably do, but tell me anyway.”

“Mr. Anson was saying, ‘I know you did it, Dean!’ And Mr. Lawrence was saying, ‘You’re crazy. I had nothing to do with it.’”

“Did you ever find out what they were arguing about?”

“Not really. It just went back and forth after that and each time it got louder. Mr. Anson kept telling Mr. Lawrence to remember last Tuesday, and Mr. Lawrence kept saying that he had nothing to do with it.”

Hannah jotted down Last Tuesday with a question mark. “And they never mentioned what happened last Tuesday?”

“Not once. But something must have, Miss Swensen. They were sure hot under the collar about it. The only other thing that Sally thought you might want to know is what Mr. Anson said right before he stormed out of Mr. Lawrence’s trailer.”

Hannah leaned forward, her pen poised to record something of great import. “What did he say?”

“If I find out you did it, you’re going to pay!”

“Okay, Amber.” Hannah jotted down Burke’s final threat and returned the notebook to her purse. “Thanks a lot for telling me.”

After Amber left, Hannah just sat there for a minute, thinking about what she’d learned. The fight between Burke and Dean was interesting, but it didn’t shed any real light on Dean’s murder. Burke certainly hadn’t switched the prop gun for a real one, not when he was about to hold it up to his own head and pull the trigger. It had to be someone else, perhaps another person who was involved in whatever had happened the previous Tuesday. She’d ask Ross about that and if Ross didn’t know, she’d ask Michelle to quiz the other members of the crew about it.

LEMON CREAM TORTE