Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (Hannah Swensen #1)(57)

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.”