Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (Hannah Swensen #1)(47)

Moishe yowled again and Hannah assumed that it was a change he didn’t appreciate. He also knew that she was going out again and he didn’t appreciate that, either. She dabbed on a bit of perfume from the bottle of Chanel No. Five that her old college roommate had given her years before, and headed off to the kitchen to appease the beast that lived under her roof.

Several kitty treats later and Moishe was happy again. Hannah paced across the floor, waiting for Norman. She didn’t dare sit down. Her new dress was black and every chair in her apartment was inundated with orange cat hair. She was just crossing the living room for the sixteenth time when her doorbell chimed.

“Stay!” Hannah used the command voice the dog trainers on television used and Moishe looked startled. It probably didn’t work on cats, but there was really no danger of Moishe escaping when she opened the door. He had a full food bowl and he knew when he had a good thing going.

“Hi, Hannah.” Norman looked a little nervous as he thrust out a florist’s box. “Uh…these are for you.”

Hannah smiled and ushered him in. To her surprise, Norman looked much better in his formal clothing than she’d thought he would. “Thanks, Norman. Just let me get my coat and I’ll be ready to go.”

“You’d better put those in water first.” Norman gestured toward the box. “My mother wanted me to get you a corsage, but I told her that this wasn’t a prom date.”

Hannah laughed and led the way to the kitchen to get out a vase. She filled it with water, opened the box, and smiled as she took out a large bunch of pink, white, and yellow daisies. “Thank you, Norman. They’re beautiful and I like them much better than a corsage.”

“You didn’t tell me you had a cat.” Norman stared at Moishe, who had lifted his head from the depths of his food dish to examine the stranger who had invaded his kitchen.

Hannah quickly thrust the flowers in the vase and turned to Norman in alarm. “Sorry. I didn’t think to tell you. You’re not allergic, are you?”

“Not at all. Cats are some of my favorite people. What’s his name?”

“Moishe.”

“After Moshe Dayan?”

“That’s right. He’s blind in one eye.”

“Perfect name.” Norman bent down and extended his hand. “Come here and meet me, big guy.”

Hannah watched in amazement as Moishe padded over to Norman and rubbed up against his hand. Her cat had never been this sociable before. Norman scratched him under the chin and she could hear Moishe’s purr all the way across the kitchen. “He likes you.”

“I guess he does.”

Hannah watched as Norman scooped Moishe up and tickled his belly, something Moishe usually hated. But her cat just lolled in Norman’s arms and looked as blissful as a cat could look.

“Okay, Moishe. We have to go.” Norman carried him out to the living room and set him down on the couch. “Do you leave the television on for him?”

Hannah nodded, hoping Norman wouldn’t think she was crazy. “It’s company for him when I’m gone.”

“That makes sense. I’ll do it while you get your coat. Which channel does he like?”

“Anything except Animal Planet. They run vet programs and he hates vets.” Hannah went to the closet and grabbed the coat she’d chosen, a previously owned cashmere that she’d found at Helping Hands. When she came back into the room, Norman was frowning. “Is there something wrong, Norman?”

“I was just kicking myself for forgetting to tell you how gorgeous you look. I should have said that right away. Mother would have a fit if she knew.”

Hannah laughed. “So would my mother. Delores made me promise to tell you how nice you looked and I forgot. If we run into them at the party, we won’t mention it. How’s that?”

“Good.” Norman opened the door and waited for Hannah to step through. “Uh…Hannah?”

“Yes, Norman?” Hannah double-locked the door with her key and they walked down the stairs to the ground floor.

“We’re going to run into them at the party. As a matter of fact, we’ll see them before that.”

Hannah winced. “Don’t tell me we’re picking them up!”

“Not exactly. I did that already, before I came to get you. They’re both waiting for us in the backseat of my car.”



Hannah felt as if she were stuck in a time warp as they drove to the Woodleys’ mansion. It was a lot like being a kid again, dragged off to a party by her mother. To make matters worse, Norman’s mother had brought a camera and she’d blithely announced that she planned to take pictures of them. Hannah had feared that this evening might turn out to be an ordeal, but it was going to be even worse than she’d anticipated.

The Woodley mansion was ablaze with lights and when they pulled up, a red-jacketed valet came forward to take Norman’s car. Another parking attendant opened the doors, and Hannah and their mothers were assisted out of the car and up to the front entrance.

Hannah gazed around her as she entered the foyer on Norman’s arm. It had been decorated for the occasion with banks upon banks of tropical blooms. Of course they were imported. Birds of Paradise, Royal Poinciana, and Chinese Hibiscus didn’t grow in Minnesota, even in the summer. They had been transported from warmer climates, and Hannah knew they had to have been outrageously expensive.