Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (Hannah Swensen #1)(18)

Luanne gave her a shrewd look. “I heard that Norman moved here when his father died. Is your mother trying to fix you up with him?”

“Of course she is. You know Delores. She’s desperate to marry me off and she’s leaving no single, divorced, or widowed stone unturned.”

“And you don’t want to get married?”

“I’m just fine the way I am. It would take the combined efforts of Harrison Ford and Sean Connery to change my mind.”

“Me too,” Luanne said. “I’m really glad that lipstick isn’t for you, Hannah. I’d hate to miss out on a sale, but I’d already decided that I couldn’t let you walk out of here wearing a color that’s wrong for you. With that pretty red hair of yours, you need to choose from an earthier palette.”

“But you do have a lipstick in this shade?”

“Sure, I do. And your mother’s right. I’m the only one in Lake Eden who carries it. It’s called ‘Pink Passion’ and I stock it for a lady in town.”

“That’s great, Luanne. This is going to win me points with my mother.” Hannah was proud of herself. She knew where the lipstick had come from. Now all she had to do was get Luanne to tell her the name of the woman who wore it. “Tell me about the other woman who wears it. Mother gets upset if someone she meets is wearing the same hat or the same dress. She probably feels the same way about lipstick.”

“Oh, that’s no problem. I don’t think your mother and Danielle belong to any of the same groups.”

Hannah zeroed in on the name. The only Danielle she knew was married to Boyd Watson, the winningest coach Jordan High had ever had. “Are you talking about Coach Watson’s wife?”

“That’s right. I just about died the first time she ordered it, but it actually looks good on her. You’ve got to be a natural light blond to wear it. And Danielle’s hair is so blond, it’s almost white.”

“Are you sure that Danielle Watson is the only woman in town who wears Pink Passion?”

“I’m positive. No one else orders it from me and I’m the only Pretty Girl distributor around.”

“Thanks, Luanne.” Hannah was grateful, more grateful than Luanne knew. “If you’ve got a tube of Pink Passion, I’ll take it.”

“I’ve got it. Just sit tight and I’ll pull it out of my stock. And while we’re at it, I’ll give you a makeover. Let’s see how attractive you’ll look with the right foundation, a nice shade of eye shadow, and the perfect color lipstick.”

“Okay,” Hannah agreed. It would be rude to refuse and she could ask more questions about Danielle while Luanne played beautician. “Does Danielle order a lot of makeup from you?”

Luanne pulled out a huge sample case and set it on a table next to the dresser. It was much larger than a briefcase and it opened on both sides to expose several tiers. The top tier contained miniature sample tubes of lipstick, the second had small jars of foundation and blusher, and the third was filled with various shades of eye shadow, eyeliner and mascara. Jars of nail polish were arranged in the bottom and there was a lift-out tray with brushes, cotton swabs, and sponges.

“Danielle’s one of my best customers,” Luanne answered as she pulled out a jar of foundation. “She orders from our theatrical line.”

“She belongs to the Lake Eden Players?” Hannah named the community theater group that had opened a dinner theater in the old shoe store on Main Street.

“I don’t think so.” Luanne took out several old-fashioned hair clips, the ones that Bertie had stopped using at the Cut ’n Curl years ago, and gathered Hannah’s hair back from her face. “Let’s just get your hair out of the way.”

“Why does Danielle wear theatrical makeup?”

“She has skin problems.” Luanne began to apply foundation to Hannah’s face. “Close your eyes, Hannah. I need to do your eyelids, too.”

Hannah obediently closed her eyes, but she continued to ask questions. “What kind of skin problems?”

“Blemishes and rashes. Don’t say that I mentioned it. Danielle’s very self-conscious about her condition. She told me that she still breaks out like a teenager and it’s not just on her face. She gets horrible rashes on her upper arms and her neck, too.”

“And theatrical makeup covers that up?”

“Perfectly. Pretty Girl theatrical makeup will cover almost anything. Remember when Tricia Barthel got that black eye?”

“Mmm-hmm.” Hannah did her best to answer in the affirmative without opening her mouth. Luanne was in the process of applying foundation around her upper lip. She remembered Tricia’s black eye. Tricia had told everyone that she’d run into a door, but Hannah had heard the real story from Loretta Richardson. Loretta had told Hannah that her daughter, Carly, had thrown an algebra book at Tricia when Tricia had put the moves on Carly’s boyfriend.

“Tricia’s mother was really upset because they were taking senior pictures the next day. She called me in for a consultation and I used Pretty Girl’s theatrical foundation on Tricia. It covered her bruises perfectly and she’s ordered makeup from me ever since.”

“That’s amazing,” Hannah risked commenting. Luanne had moved on to her chin. “I saw Tricia’s picture when they ran all the senior photos in the paper and I didn’t see any bruises.”