Free Cherry Cheesecake Murder by Joanne Fluke Page B

Delores. “Michelle told me how you decorated your store to look like the first mayor’s house for the Winter Carnival.”
    “That’s right. We didn’t have pictures, of course, but there were letters from the first mayor’s wife to her sister back east and she didn’t stint on words describing the new house that her husband built for her. With a little more research, Carrie and I were able to replicate that house. It was a showplace for its day, built shortly before the turn of the century.” She gave a little laugh. “The last century, that is. Eighteen ninety-three, to be exact.”
    “Very impressive. I know it’s a lot to ask, but Michelle thought you might be able to do it again, but this time make it a house in the nineteen fifties.”
    “We could do it, Delores!” Carrie spoke up excitedly.
    “Well…I’m sure that we could, but…” Delores stopped to give a little sigh, but Hannah, who was watching her mother closely, saw the gleam of avarice in her eyes. “It would be a lot of work. And we’d have to store the antiques from other periods.”
    “I have a whole crew at my disposal and my carpenters can build you a temporary storage facility. Actually, we could do it according to code and make it permanent. That way, you’d be able to keep it for future use.”
    “That would be nice. We could always use more storage.”
    “Of course my crew would be at your beck and call for painting, wallpapering, moving furniture, whatever you’d need. It would be a matter of just dressing the downstairs. Michelle showed me pictures of the inside and we won’t need any structural changes. We might have to take out a window or two to get a particular shot, but naturally we’d replace those.”
    “How long would we have to decorate it?”
    “That’s part of the problem. I’d need it by Wednesday afternoon.”
    Ross turned to look at Carrie, who was wise enough to realize who was running the show. “That’s up to Delores,” she said.
    “Delores?” Ross gave her a smile. “Did I mention that you’d be paid very well for your trouble? And that after we’re through shooting, my crew will put everything back exactly the way it was?”
    “No, you didn’t mention that.”
    Cut to the chase , Hannah thought, but both Ross and her mother remained silent. Perhaps it was time for her to take the initiative and get this thing settled before the whipped cream on top of Edna’s Jell-O parfait turned into a milky lake.
    “How about screen credit?” Hannah threw out her suggestion.
    “Good idea! Screen credit for both you and Carrie. And there may be a part in the movie for you. Just a small walk-on with one line apiece, but that might be fun for you. Do we have a deal?”
    Delores glanced at Carrie, who was nodding like one of the old-fashioned dipping birds that Doc Bennett used to set up on his windowsill to keep his young patients occupied while he drilled.
    “We have a deal,” Delores said.
     
    “Thank you all for inviting us here this afternoon,” Ross stood in front of the crowd at the podium Mayor Bascomb usually used to open town meetings or call everyone to the table at potluck dinners. “You’ve shown real hospitality by inviting the cast and crew to brunch. I’ve got to tell you that if this movie is half as good as the food we had here today, it’ll be a huge box office success.”
    There was laughter and Ross waited until it had died down. Hannah was impressed. When she’d first known him, he’d been shy around people, but he’d certainly gained a lot of self-confidence in the years they’d been out of touch.
    “Michelle Swensen is my local production assistant, and she tells me that in a town the size of Lake Eden, all you have to do is mention something to one person and before the day’s out, everybody in town knows about it. Does everyone know that we need extras for the crowd scenes and we’re hoping you’ll help us out?”
    There was more applause and a couple of whistles