For a moment, Hannah was startled. Then she remembered that Michelle was staying with her. She flicked on the lights and apologized. “I’m sorry if the phone woke you. Everything’s okay. You can go back to bed.”

“But what is it?”

“Mike. He wants me to meet him in the garage.”

Michelle stared at Hannah for a moment. Then she giggled.

“What?”

“I guess the bloom’s off the rose if you’re going out to meet Mike like that.”

Hannah glanced at her reflection in the big mirror that hung on her living room wall. The apparition that stared back at her wasn’t pretty. “I’m not getting dressed for him. He doesn’t deserve it. For all I know he killed Ronni.”

“You know better than that.”

Hannah thought about that for a moment. “You’re right. I do. If Mike decided to kill Ronni, he would have figured out a way to do it so it looked like an accident.”

“Exactly right. Do you want me to package up some bar cookies for him? There’s about a dozen left.”

“Sure. I’ll put on the coffee and take him a cup. He doesn’t deserve it, but I’ll do it anyway.”

Once the coffee was ready and the bar cookies were packaged, Hannah zipped up her parka and started down the stairs. Fourteen minutes had elapsed since Mike’s call, and she was right on time. She shivered a bit as a gust of wind threatened to whip the knit cap from her head, and she was glad to reach the underground garage where the absence of wind chill caused the air to feel considerably warmer.

“Psssst!”

A shrill hiss greeted her as she approached the Dumpster. Hannah had all she could do not to laugh as Mike stepped out. He was clothed entirely in black and he had a black ski cap on his head, rolled down low to almost cover his eyes.

“Thanks for coming, Hannah,” he said.

“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. I’m just sorry my cloak and dagger were at the cleaners.”

“Very funny. It’s just that I promised I wouldn’t see you, and I could lose my job over this.”

Hannah nodded to show she understood and moved a few steps away from the Dumpster. Someone had dined on fish…several days ago. “I brought you some bar cookies and some coffee.”

“Thanks, Hannah.” Mike accepted the package of bar cookies and the coffee. “That was really nice of you.”

“You said it was important?”

“Yes. I just wanted you to know that there was nothing between Ronni and me. I know it looks bad, but there wasn’t.”