“What mess?” Hannah had visions of homes burglarized, motorists carjacked, public buildings vandalized, and murder victims stacked up like cordwood. But if crime was running rampant in Lake Eden, she certainly hadn’t heard about it. And how could she possible be the only one who could fix it?

“It’s Mike. You really did a number on him, Hannah. One minute he’s on top of the world, telling everybody that you’re bound to choose him. The next minute he’s all down in the mouth, absolutely sure that you’re going to ditch him and marry Norman.”

Hannah did her best to think of something to say. It wasn’t her fault that Mike couldn’t handle the stress of waiting while she made up her mind which proposal to accept. It had been only a week. A girl, even one whose mother thought her old enough to qualify as an old maid, was entitled to all the time she needed for such an important decision.

“Look, Hannah. I know it’s not totally your fault, but I’ve got a dangerous situation here.”

“Dangerous?”

“That’s right. Mike’s supposed to be my head detective, my right hand when it comes to solving crime. The way he’s acting right now, he couldn’t catch a perp even if the guy stood in front of his desk holding a sign that said, I DID IT. I mean, what if we have a real murder, or something like that? What’ll happen then?”

Hannah let out her breath. She hadn’t even realized she’d been holding it. “So what do you want me to do?”

“Make up your mind so Mike can get back to work. Fish, or cut bait

you know?”

“But I can’t rush my decision. It’s just too important.”

“I understand,” Bill said with a sigh, “and I’m not really trying to influence you. I just know it’ll be Mike in the long run. If you love him as much as I think you do, you’ll accept his proposal today and put him out of his misery. He’s the right one for you and that’s not just my opinion. Everybody in the department thinks so, too.”

“I’ll

uh

think about it,” Hannah said, settling for the most noncommittal reassurance in her arsenal.

“Think fast. And keep your fingers crossed that we don’t need Mike for anything until you give him a yes.”