Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (Hannah Swensen #1)(32)

“Sure,” Norman agreed. “I know you’re helping your brother-in-law solve the case, but I just don’t have any more information to give you.”

“Hold on, Norman. I haven’t told anybody that I’m helping Bill. How did you guess?”

“Nobody’s that nosy about a twenty-minute dental appointment,” Norman pointed out. “And when your mother told me that your sister’s husband was working on the case, I just put two and two together.”

“Please don’t tell anyone, Norman.”

“Relax, Hannah. I won’t give you away. Do you have any other questions for me? Or can I ask you my question?”

“There’s one more.” Hannah took a deep breath. She had to find out if Norman had an alibi for the time of Ron’s death. “Did any other patients come in right after you treated Ron?”

“Just one. It was another fissured molar, but it was part of a bridge, so it was simple to repair. She was in and out in less than thirty minutes.”

Hannah felt strangely relieved that Norman had an alibi. She was really beginning to like him. All she had to do was check with Norman’s second patient of the morning and he’d be in the clear. “I need to know her name, Norman.”

“You don’t know?”

“How could I? Look, Norman, I know your patient list is confidential, but all I need is her name. I have to ask her if she saw Ron when she came in.”

Norman began to grin. “I guess you haven’t called your mother back yet.”

“I called her. She wasn’t home and I got her machine. What does my mother have to do with it?”

Norman’s grin grew wider. “I thought she would have told you by now. Your mother was my second appointment.”

“That’s just great!” Hannah gave a deep sigh. “Mother left me a dozen messages saying that she had something important to tell me, but she’s always got something important to tell me. Did she talk to you about seeing Ron?”

“Yes, but she didn’t actually see him. And she didn’t realize it was important until she got home from the mayor’s fund-raiser. She saw Ron’s truck driving away when she parked in front of the office.”

Hannah decided she would check with her mother at the Regency Romance Club meeting, but it seemed as if Norman had an ironclad alibi. If Delores had been with him, he couldn’t have followed Ron and killed him. That made Hannah wish that there were some way to stop Andrea in midsnoop.

“Now, Hannah?”

“Now what?” Hannah looked up at him, startled.

“Are you ready to listen to my question now?”

“Of course I am. What is it, Norman?”

“I was in dental school when my parents moved here and I only came to vist a couple of times. I really don’t know much about Lake Eden.”

“There’s not much to know.” Hannah grinned.

“But I’m invited to the Woodleys’ party and my mother says it’s the social event of the year. She’s never had the chance to go. Mom and Dad always took their vacation the last week in October and they were out of town. She says that I should go and try to promote new business for the clinic.”

“Your mother’s right. All the important people in Lake Eden are invited and it’s a great party. I think you should go, Norman. You need to meet all the local families if you want your practice to be a success.”

“Then I’ll go. Tell me about the Woodleys. I’ve never met them.”

Hannah sneaked a peek at her watch again and she was surprised to see that twenty minutes had already passed. “Delano Raymond Woodley is one of the richest men in Lake Eden. He owns DelRay Manufacturing and the company employs over two hundred local workers.”

“Delano?” Norman picked up on the name. “Is the Woodley family related to the Roosevelts?”

“No, but they’d like to be. From what I hear, Del’s mother and father were strictly middle-class. His mother just wanted to give him a famous name. It must have worked because Del married a Boston socialite. Her name is Judith and her family’s in the social register.”

“Judith, not Judy?”

Hannah laughed. “I called her Judy once and she nearly took my head off. She comes from ‘old money,’ but one of Mother’s friends did some research and found out that Judith’s father squandered it all away. All Judith has left is her social standing, and that’s more important to her than anything.”

“So he’s a rich social climber and she’s a destitute blue blood who married him for his money?”

“You got it. I couldn’t have put it any better myself.”

“You’re going to their party, aren’t you?”

Hannah thought of her new dress and smiled. “Of course I am. I do all right, but I’m still on a jug-wine and jelly-glass budget. This is my one chance to sip Dom Pérignon out of fine crystal.”

“Do you have a date?”

“You must be kidding!” Hannah was amused. “Think about it, Norman. You saw Mother in action on Tuesday night. Would she try to set me up with every guy in town if I already had a date for the biggest party of the year?”

Norman shrugged, but he was grinning. “I guess not. Would you like to go to the party with me, Hannah? It’ll get you off the hook with your mother.”