Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (Hannah Swensen #1)(51)

They found Andrea and Bill by the buffet tables, and from the satisfied look on Bill’s face, Hannah suspected that he was about to enjoy his second or third helping of food.

“Hi, Hannah. Good to see you, Norman,” Bill greeted them. “Some spread, huh?”

Hannah turned to Norman. “Will you keep Bill company, Norman? I really need to talk to Andrea for a minute.”

Bill gave her a conspiratorial smile, and for a moment Hannah was confused. Then she realized Bill thought she was giving him the opportunity to ask Norman about Ron’s dental visit.

Hannah took her sister’s arm and led her away to a relatively private place by the side of the room. “I’m sorry, Andrea. I came over to warn you the minute I saw Benton, but it was already too late.”

“Warn me?”

“Yes.” Judging from the puzzled expression on her sister’s face, Hannah knew she’d better explain. “I just thought it might be uncomfortable for you to run into Benton again.”

Andrea stared at her for a minute and then she began to smile. “I get it. That was nice of you, Hannah, but seeing Benton didn’t bother me at all. I got over him ages ago.”

“Good! I never liked his attitude and I still don’t. Do you know that he called The Cookie Jar ‘a quaint little shop’?”

Andrea sighed and shook her head. “Don’t mind Benton. He was always a snob. Did he tell you that he came back to help his father at DelRay?”

“That’s what he said.”

“He told us the same thing, but it was a lie. He was flicking his fingernail with his thumb when he said it.”

“What?”

“It’s something Benton does when he’s lying,” Andrea explained. “I picked up on that when we were dating and it came in handy. It’s one of those unconscious gestures that people make when they’re trying to pull something over on you.”

“Did Benton tell you any other lies?”

“He told us he was glad to be back home in Lake Eden and that he was really looking forward to working at DelRay.”

“And he was flicking when he said it?”

“Click, click, click. The only time he didn’t flick was when he said that I looked ravishing.”

“You always look ravishing.” Hannah smiled at her sister, but she thought back to when Benton had told her the same thing. Perhaps it was a good thing she hadn’t known about the fingernail-flicking lie detector test until now. “Did he tell you how long he’d been in town?”

“Bill asked him that. Benton said he’d flown in on Wednesday and taken the shuttle from the airport.”

“Was he flicking then?” Hannah was curious.

“I couldn’t see. He turned toward Bill to answer him. Can we talk about something else, Hannah? Benton Woodley bores me to tears.”

“Sure.” Since Andrea was so observant, Hannah decided to ask her about Danielle Watson. “I talked to Coach Watson’s wife at the mayor’s fundraiser. What do you think of her?”

“Danielle?” Andrea looked thoughtful. “She seems nice enough, but I can’t help feeling sorry for her.”

“Why?”

“Because Boyd is such a control freak. I’ve seen them at parties and he doesn’t like to let her out of his sight. It must be stifling. I bet Danielle has to ask his permission before she can even go to the ladies’ room.”

Hannah remembered how Danielle had whispered in her husband’s ear right before she’d left him at the mayor’s fundraiser. “I think you’re right.”

“I know I am. Thank God Bill’s not like that!”

“Would it work if he were?”

“No way!” Andrea laughed and then she gestured toward a corner of the huge ballroom. “There’s Danielle over there. I guess Boyd doesn’t mind how much she spends on her clothes. She’s wearing the peach dress that I saw at the mall, and I know it cost over five hundred dollars.”

“Where?” Hannah’s eyes searched the crowd.

“Right by that flowering hibiscus tree. She’s standing there with a perfectly polite little smile on her face, waiting for Boyd to finish talking to Queen Judith.”

Hannah grinned. Her sister had started to call Judith Woodley “Queen Judith” right after she’d begun to date Benton. “I see her.”

“I really don’t understand women like Danielle. She’s got a great figure and she always covers it up. Either Boyd’s the jealous type, or she’s really shy about her body.”

Hannah realized that her sister was right. She’d never seen Danielle wear anything even close to revealing. Tonight was no exception. The peach dress had long sleeves and a high mandarin collar. “Can you and Bill keep Norman amused for a couple of minutes? I really need to talk to Danielle.”

“All right. Just don’t take too long. If Norman starts telling me that I need to have my teeth cleaned, I’m going to run for the hills.”

“He won’t. Norman’s not like that at all. He’s got a great sense of humor. If you just get to know him, you’ll like him.”

“If you say so.”

Andrea shrugged and headed back to the table while Hannah made her way through the crowd toward Danielle. As Hannah moved closer, she saw that Coach Watson was deep in conversation with Judith Woodley, and judging from the intense look on his face, Hannah figured that he was trying to drum up a donation for new team uniforms.