“More business for me,” Norman said, causing the three of them to laugh. But Hannah noticed that her mother and Carrie each took a cookie immediately.

“Excuse me for just a minute,” Hannah said, getting up from her chair. “I see Frances over there and I need to ask her a question.”

“About the murder?’ Delores wanted to know.

“In a way, but only indirectly. I’ll be right back.”

Frances was standing in front of the statue, obviously guarding it from curious onlookers. She was a substantial woman with curves that were apparent even under her bulky parka, and she had curly brown hair and wire-framed glasses. Despite her jeans and boots, Frances looked like she should be passing out signup forms at a P.T.A meeting and she reminded Hannah of a painting she’d once seen, titled, Everyone’s Mom.

“Hi Frances,” Hannah said, coming up to stand beside her. Winnie’s brother’s granite likeness of Ezekiel Jordan, the first mayor of Lake Eden, had been wrapped in furniture pads and tied with twine. It resembled a badly wrapped package on Christmas morn, something a child might have done all by himself. “You got stuck guarding Ezekiel?”

“Ross told me to stand here and make sure no one touches the statue. He promised Mrs. Henderson he wouldn’t let anyone lay a hand on it until after the crane picked it up and put it back in place. What’s the deal with her anyway? Is she crazy?”

“I think she’s just protecting a family treasure. Her brother sculpted the statue years ago and placed it here. Then he gave the land to the city for a park, but Winnie has control of it until her death. Her brother never married and now that he’s gone, the statue is his only legacy. Winnie feels an obligation to keep it safe from harm.”

“I guess that makes sense.” Frances glanced around her nervously and leaned a little closer to Hannah. “Do you think she killed him?”

“Who are you talking about?”

“Mrs. Henderson. Do you think she switched the guns and killed Dean?”

“I don’t think so. Winnie’s a pretty straightforward person. If she’d wanted to kill Dean to keep him from moving her brother’s statue, she would have taken a stand right here and shot him when he tried to do it.”

“That’s exactly what Michelle told me. I was just wondering, that’s all.”

“Who do you think switched the guns?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t think anyone hated Dean that much. I mean, he could be a real pill, but he never actually hurt anyone that I know of.”

“So you never found anything when you cleaned his office.”

“Like what?”

“Like hate mail, or evidence that someone was blackmailing him, or any compelling reason someone might have to want him dead?”