“Sharks in a feeding frenzy,” Delores muttered. And then she turned to frown at Hannah as her eldest daughter gave a startled laugh. “Well, they are.”

“You could be right.” Hannah saw Carrie give Winthrop her sweetest smile, and she pulled her mother around to the other side of the Christmas tree where she wouldn’t be distracted.

“What’s so important?” Delores asked a bit sharply.

“Murder, Mother.”

“Murder?” Delores whirled to face Hannah instead of attempting to see Winthrop and the three women through the branches. “Here?”

“Yes.”

Delores rolled her eyes toward the angel at the top of the tree. “Don’t tell me you found the body!”

“Shhh!” Hannah cautioned, putting her finger to her lips. “Mike doesn’t want anybody to know about it yet.”

“You have got to stop finding dead people, Hannah! Winthrop’s going to get the wrong impression of you.”

“Right,” Hannah said, biting back several additional comments that would have assured her mother’s immediate defection.

“Well, who was it this time?”

“Martin Dubinski’s new wife. She was stabbed in the parking lot.” Hannah’ knew that discretion was the better part of valor and she decided not to mention that her mother’s antique cake knife was the murder weapon.

“Good heavens! Do they know who did it?”

“Not yet. That’s the other reason nobody can leave.”

Delores was nothing if not perceptive. Her eyes narrowed and she bent forward to stare at her daughter. “You mean … the killer could still be here?”

“That’s what Mike thinks. Anyway, I need your help with the mayor. Bertie overheard them fighting. She told Michelle that Mrs. Bascomb was accusing her husband of knowing Brandi in Vegas.”

“Knowing? As in the Biblical sense?”

“I think so. And that could be the reason Mrs. Bascomb was so upset.”

“Poor Stephanie,” Delores said with a sigh. “With his track record, she’s probably right. And you want me to ask him if it’s true?”

“Yes. I know you two go way back, and I think he’s still a little afraid of you.”

“He should be. Fear was the only thing that kept him in line the summer I worked for his mother. I’ll do this one on one. It’ll work better that way. You wait here and keep an eye on Winthrop. If he looks desperate, go rescue him.”

Fat chance, Hannah thought, taking a peek through the branches. Winthrop looked as happy as a clam to have three women doting on him. “Okay, Mother. Good luck.”

“Luck has nothing to do with it. Intimidation is an art form, and don’t you dare forget it!”

Hannah was just thinking about going over to spill some coffee on Carrie, who was definitely poaching in her mother’s absence, when Delores came up smiling broadly.

“You found out?” Hannah guessed.