Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (18 page)

“Are you kidding? You don’t get as rich as Max is by selling cream and butter.”

“How do you know for sure?”

“You can’t work for a man for twenty years without picking up a word here and there. Max is a regular shark when it comes to buying up businesses, foreclosing properties, and turning big fat profits on them.”

Hannah was about to ask another question when she saw Andrea waving at her. She patted Betty on the arm and made her excuses. “Andrea’s waiting for me and I’ve got to run. Thanks, Betty.”

“But how about Max? Do you think he’s all right?”

“I’ll find out,” Hannah promised, and then she quickly added up the new facts she’d learned. Ron had seen Max on Wednesday morning and now Ron was dead. And Max was supposed to be at the Buttermakers’ Convention, but no one had seen him and he hadn’t called in. Had Max shot Ron and fled the country? It was a distinct possibility. It was also possible that Max was lying low at the convention and he’d call Betty when all the excitement had died down. If Max thought he was safe, he might even waltz back into town as big as you please and act all shocked and saddened about the horrible crime that had cost Ron his life.

“What is it, Hannah?” Betty looked anxious.

“I’m just thinking. When is Max due back?”

“On Tuesday night.”

If Max decided to call in, Betty might tell him about the questions she’d asked. That would alert him and he’d hop the first plane out of the country. Hannah couldn’t let that happen. Somehow, she had to keep Betty silent.

“I just realized something, Betty. You’d better not mention that you talked to me. If Max finds out that we’ve been discussing him, he’ll get really upset.”

“That’s true,” Betty agreed.

“If he calls in, don’t mention that I told you about his meeting. He’ll just think that we were nosing into his personal life. I’m concerned for your job.”

“You’re right, Hannah!” Betty’s eyes widened. “Max would fire me if he thought I was gossiping about him, even if I wasn’t!”

“Exactly. If anybody asks you what we were talking about tonight, just say that we were making small talk about the buffet table. I’ll say the same thing.”

“Thanks, Hannah.” Betty looked very grateful. “I sure don’t want to risk my job. I just love it at the dairy. My lips are sealed—you can count on that.”

“Mine too.” Hannah walked away, confident that Betty wouldn’t repeat their conversation. She’d also discovered a wonderful new tool for social intercourse. It was intimidation and it worked. And if the glower on Andrea’s face was any indication, Hannah knew that she was in for a dose of it herself.

Andrea sighed as they walked down the hall together. She still didn’t look happy about being left to dance with Norman for so long, but when Hannah had whispered that she’d been doing legwork for Bill, Andrea lightened up a little. “I still can’t believe that you stuck Norman with the Hollenbeck sisters. You know they’re going to chew his ear off for at least fifteen minutes.”

“That’s what I’m counting on. Norman said he wanted me to introduce him to prospective patients, and Marguerite seemed really interested in having her teeth whitened. If she does it, she’ll tell all her friends at the church and they’ll do it, too.”

“Here’s the ladies’ room.” Andrea stopped at the door.

“I know, but that was just an excuse. I need you to make a phone call for me, Andrea. You’re a lot better at sweet-talking people than I am.”

“You can say that again!” Andrea laughed and Hannah could tell that the last vestige of her anger had disappeared. “Who am I calling?”

“The Holiday Inn in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. That’s where they’re holding the Tri-State Buttermakers’ Convention.”

“You want me to talk to Max Turner?” Andrea sounded very reluctant. “I don’t think I should do that, Hannah. Bill hasn’t talked to him yet and he doesn’t know about Ron.”

“I don’t want you to talk to Max. I want you to get Gary Mielke from the Mielke Way Dairy on the phone. I need some information from him.”

Andrea looked dubious. “Does Bill know about this?”

“No. I just learned something from Betty and I have to confirm it with Gary.”

“But are you supposed to…I mean, shouldn’t Bill be the one to—”

“Bill’s not here and I am,” Hannah interrupted her. “This could be important, Andrea. It can’t wait for Bill to get back from the accident scene. We’ll use the phone in Del Woodley’s den. That’s private, and God knows the Woodleys can afford one long-distance call to Wisconsin.”

Andrea thought about it for a minute. “Okay, I’ll do it. Bill always says that I can sweet-talk anybody into anything.”

Hannah led the way to the den and got Andrea settled behind Del Woodley’s desk. Then she took a seat on the couch and listened in awe as her sister charmed the desk clerk into leaving his post to search for Gary Mielke. Bill was right. Andrea could talk anyone into anything, and knowing that caused a heavy load of guilt to drop from Hannah’s shoulders. Bill might want Andrea to quit her job, but her sister would just sweet-talk him into letting her go right on selling real estate.

H
annah was frowning as she approached the ballroom entrance with Andrea. What she’d learned had confirmed her suspicions. Max Turner wasn’t at the Buttermakers’ Convention. He’d been scheduled to give the opening speech, but he hadn’t shown up and Gary Mielke had filled in for him. Gary had arrived at the Holiday Inn on Tuesday night to meet some friends of his. They’d gone out to a late dinner and spent the night with some “other friends.” Hannah hadn’t asked whether those “other friends” had been male or female. It didn’t really matter. The point was that Gary Mielke had an alibi and he couldn’t have had anything to do with Max’s disappearance or Ron’s murder.

“Come on, Hannah.” Andrea took her arm. “We have to rescue Norman before the Hollenbeck sisters drive him crazy.”

“I know. I just wish I could go home and think about this. There’s something I’m missing.”

“Later. I’ll come over and you can run your theories past me. Bill won’t be home until late, anyway.”

“How do you know that?” Hannah turned to her in surprise.

“Reverend Knudson told me.”

“How does
he
know?”

“Sheriff Grant paged him a couple of minutes ago. He said that some of the crash victims needed spiritual comfort.”

“Uh-oh.” Hannah winced. “They don’t bring in the reverend unless it’s really bad.”

“I know. Sheriff Grant paged all
three
of them. Reverend Knudson is driving out there, and Father Coultas and Reverend Strandberg are riding with him.”

Hannah figured it must be a truly massive pileup. It would take a disaster of that magnitude to get all three local clergy into a common car. Father Coultas hadn’t spoken to Reverend Knudson since the Lutherans had beaten the Catholics at softball, and Reverend Strandberg had been privately denounced by the other two as a Bible-thumping zealot.

They found Norman still talking with the Hollenbeck sisters. He motioned for them to wait for just a moment and then he turned back to Marguerite. “I’ll see you at ten tomorrow, Miss Hollenbeck. I know you’ll be pleased with the new technique. It’s completely painless and you’ll walk out of the office looking so beautiful, your own sister won’t recognize you.”

Hannah waited until they had walked away and then turned to Norman.
“Your own sister won’t recognize you?”

“Okay. Maybe I was laying it on a little thick, but I know she’ll be happy. Say, how about coming in for—”

“Forget it, Norman,” Hannah interrupted him. “I know you’re in recruiting gear, but don’t even try. How about hitting the buffet tables before they pack up the food?”

Andrea, catching Hannah’s attempt to change the subject from dentistry to food, agreed. “Good idea. I had a bite with Bill, but I’m hungry again.”

Norman took Hannah’s arm. “That’s fine with me. My mother’s on a health kick and she doesn’t cook anything except chicken and fish. If I don’t get some red meat soon, I’m going to lose every ounce of my fabulous muscles.”

Andrea burst into delighted laughter and then she took Norman’s other arm. “You know, I’m really beginning to like you, Norman.”

“That’s what they all say.” Norman looked smug. “I tend to grow on people.”

“Like mold?” both Hannah and Andrea asked in unison and then broke into laughter with Norman.

As Hannah filled her plate from the array of food, she mulled over the new facts she’d learned tonight. Gary Mielke had told her that delivering the opening speech was an honor and there was no way that Max would have willingly missed it. Gary had also told her that he’d looked for Max when he’d noticed that his convention pass was still behind the counter at the hospitality booth. Since it was impossible to get into any of the meetings without it, he’d assumed that Max was ill and hadn’t been able to come.

Hannah followed Norman and Andrea to a table and began to eat her food. While she ate, she thought about the events that had occurred on the morning that Ron had been shot. Ron had seen Max in a meeting at six-fifteen. He’d even mentioned it to Danielle. But that was the last time anyone had spotted the owner of the Cozy Cow Dairy. She needed to find out who had been meeting with Max, but that seemed impossible.

Andrea and Norman were carrying on a conversation as they ate, but Hannah was silent. She was too busy thinking about where Max might have gone. She really didn’t know much about his private life and she wasn’t even sure if he had any friends. She’d have to remember to ask Betty about that.

Hannah finished eating and dabbed at her lips with a napkin. She glanced down at her plate and was surprised to find that she’d eaten every morsel.

“You must have liked the cod in aspic,” Andrea commented, noticing Hannah’s empty plate.

“That was cod?” Hannah made a face. She’d never liked cod and she despised tomato-based aspic. “I thought it was a Jell-O mold!”

Norman looked concerned. “You seem preoccupied, Hannah. Is there something wrong?”

“No, not really.” Hannah knew she had to think of some explanation. She didn’t want Norman to think that she wasn’t enjoying his company. “I was just thinking about Max. I really need to talk to him.”

“Max Turner?” Norman stared at her in alarm. “Whatever you do, don’t get involved in any business dealings with that man!”

“Why?” Hannah was puzzled by the angry note in Norman’s voice.

“He’ll eat you alive! I could tell you stories about—” Norman stopped, and looked embarrassed. “Sorry. It’s water over the dam now, but I still see red whenever I hear that man’s name.”

Hannah reached out to touch Norman’s sleeve. “Tell us about it, Norman.”

“My father borrowed some money from Max Turner and it was the biggest mistake of his life. He’d only been in business for a couple of months and he needed to set up his second examining room. Dental equipment is very expensive and he didn’t have the money for it.”

“Why didn’t your father go to the bank for a business loan?” Andrea asked.

“He did, but they told him that he hadn’t been in business long enough to establish an earnings basis. Max Turner offered to take my parents’ house for collateral, even though they’d just bought it and they didn’t have any equity. He told them that all they had to do was convert their mortgage to fifteen years and make every house payment. He even offered an interest-only loan on the money for the equipment, with payments on the principal whenever they had a good month.”

Andrea winced. “Uh-oh. I know something about loans, and that’s too good to be true.”

“It was, but my parents didn’t know that. My father believed Max when he said he wanted to encourage new business in Lake Eden and the town really needed another dentist.”

“What happened?” Hannah asked, even though she guessed how this story was going to turn out. Betty had said that Max was a shark.

“Max waited until my parents were only a year away from paying off their house. Then he called in the full amount of the loan.”

“Is that legal?” Hannah asked.

“Yes. There was a clause that entitled Max to call in his loan early. And since it was a personal loan, ordinary regulations didn’t apply.”

“That’s terrible, Norman.” Andrea looked very sympathetic. “But your mother still owns the house, doesn’t she?”

“Yes. Dad called me in a panic and told me that they could lose their house and their business. I was working at a big dental clinic in Seattle at the time, and I managed to get a loan through my credit union. I wired them the money and they paid Max off just a day before the deadline.”

Hannah felt sick.
Shark
was too tame a word for Max Turner. It made her wonder how many other Lake Eden residents Max had nearly ruined. She had a feeling that all this somehow related to Ron’s murder, but she couldn’t quite figure out how the pieces fit together.

“You won’t mention this to anyone, will you?” Norman asked. “Mother’s still embarrassed about it. She’d die if anyone found out that they were so naïve.”

“We won’t mention it,” Hannah promised. “It’s over now. Nobody needs to know.”

Norman looked relieved as he stood up and pushed back his chair. “If you’ll excuse me, I’d better dance with Mother. She made me promise. And just because I’m such a nice guy, I’ll dance with your mother, too.”

“Norman?” Hannah got up and took his arm. “Would you be terribly disappointed if I left now? There’s something I have to do and it can’t wait. You can stay. Andrea will drive me.”

“Okay.” Norman didn’t look crushed with disappointment, and that made Hannah’s ego twinge a bit. “Is it something about Ron’s murder?” he asked.

“Yes. I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you any more than that.”

“Go ahead, Hannah, but we’d better think up a really good excuse for our mothers. Somehow I don’t think that a headache will do it.”

“How about a migraine?” Andrea suggested. “A migraine’s always worked for me.”

Hannah shook her head. “I don’t get migraines, and Mother knows it.”

“No, but I do.” Andrea turned to Norman. “Just tell our mothers that I was in such bad shape, I begged Hannah to drive me home and stay with me until Bill got back.”

“That should work,” Norman said. “But what if she calls you and you’re not there?”

“No problem.” Andrea looked triumphant. “Mother knows I always turn off the phone when I have a migraine. I told her that I couldn’t stand the ringing.”

Norman patted Andrea on the back. “Very smart. I think you’re covered. I’ll go find the mothers and tell them.”

“Norman?” Hannah remembered her manners just in time. “Thank you for a lovely evening. I had a wonderful time.”

“Me too. You’d better move it, Hannah. And take Andrea’s arm and pretend you’re helping her walk. Here come the mothers and they look loaded for bear.”

Andrea climbed in behind the wheel and they drove down the long, winding driveway. When they reached the bottom, she turned to Hannah. “Where are we going?”

“To my place. You can drop me off there.”

“Drop you off?” Andrea slammed on the brakes and they skidded to a stop at the base of the driveway. “What do you mean,
drop you off?”

Hannah sighed. She was the one who’d gotten Andrea interested in Bill’s case in the first place and she should have known that there would be trouble. “I have to do something and it could be dangerous. I don’t want to get you in trouble.”

“But you don’t care if
you
get into trouble?”

“Of course I care. I’ll be very careful. But you’ve got a husband and a daughter. You have to think of them.”

“I
am
thinking of them and I’m going along.” Andrea glared at her. “We’re talking about Bill’s promotion here. If there’s any way that I can help, I’m going to do it.”

“But, Andrea…you know that Bill would—”

“Let me take care of Bill,” Andrea interrupted her. “Where are we going, anyway?”

Hannah sighed and caved in. There was no dealing with Andrea when she got a bee in her bonnet, and this bee was as big as a buzzard. “First we’re switching to my Suburban. I’ve got two of those big flashlights in the back. Then we’re driving to Max Turner’s house.”

“Why are we going there?”

“Because Max didn’t leave for the convention when he was supposed to leave. He was still in his office at six-fifteen, having a meeting with someone. Ron saw them.”

“So?”

“So Max doesn’t have an alibi for the time of Ron’s death. We know he’s not at the convention and no one’s seen him since six-fifteen on Wednesday morning.”

“I get it. You think that Max killed Ron and then he took off. But why would Max kill Ron?”

“Think about what Norman just told us and you’ll have a possible motive.”

Andrea was silent for a moment. “I got it. You think that Ron overheard Max making some kind of shady business deal? And Max followed Ron on his route and killed him so that he couldn’t tell anyone about it. But how do you know that Ron saw Max?”

Hannah frowned. She should have known that Andrea was going to ask that. “My snitch told me.”

“Your
snitch?”

“Actually, she’s more of a witness. The woman with the pink lipstick told me about it. She didn’t see Max or the other person, but when Ron came back out to his truck, he told her that Max was in his office, meeting with someone.”

Andrea stared out through the windshield for a long moment and then turned to Hannah with a frown. “There’s something I don’t understand. Norman said that what Max did was legal. Why would Max kill Ron if his business deals were legal?”

“I don’t know,” Hannah admitted. “All I
do
know is that I have to check out Max’s house.”

Andrea put the Volvo into gear. “You’re absolutely right. Your place first?”

“That’s right.”

They started off for Hannah’s condo complex. They’d only driven a mile or so when Andrea started to laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Hannah asked.

“You. Checking out Max’s house won’t be dangerous at all. Max isn’t stupid. If he killed Ron he wouldn’t hole up there, just waiting for someone to put the pieces together and arrest him.”

“That’s true.”

Andrea took her eyes off the road to shoot her a curious glance. “Then why did you tell me that it could be dangerous?”

“Because Max’s house will be locked up tight, and Bill might just kill both of us if we get arrested for breaking and entering.”