Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (Hannah Swensen #1)(58)

“What happened?” Hannah asked, even though she guessed how this story was going to turn out. Betty had said that Max was a shark.

“Max waited until my parents were only a year away from paying off their house. Then he called in the full amount of the loan.”

“Is that legal?” Hannah asked.

“Yes. There was a clause that entitled Max to call in his loan early. And since it was a personal loan, ordinary regulations didn’t apply.”

“That’s terrible, Norman.” Andrea looked very sympathetic. “But your mother still owns the house, doesn’t she?”

“Yes. Dad called me in a panic and told me that they could lose their house and their business. I was working at a big dental clinic in Seattle at the time, and I managed to get a loan through my credit union. I wired them the money and they paid Max off just a day before the deadline.”

Hannah felt sick. Shark was too tame a word for Max Turner. It made her wonder how many other Lake Eden residents Max had nearly ruined. She had a feeling that all this somehow related to Ron’s murder, but she couldn’t quite figure out how the pieces fit together.

“You won’t mention this to anyone, will you?” Norman asked. “Mother’s still embarrassed about it. She’d die if anyone found out that they were so na?ve.”

“We won’t mention it,” Hannah promised. “It’s over now. Nobody needs to know.”

Norman looked relieved as he stood up and pushed back his chair. “If you’ll excuse me, I’d better dance with Mother. She made me promise. And just because I’m such a nice guy, I’ll dance with your mother, too.”

“Norman?” Hannah got up and took his arm. “Would you be terribly disappointed if I left now? There’s something I have to do and it can’t wait. You can stay. Andrea will drive me.”

“Okay.” Norman didn’t look crushed with disappointment, and that made Hannah’s ego twinge a bit. “Is it something about Ron’s murder?” he asked.

“Yes. I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you any more than that.”

“Go ahead, Hannah, but we’d better think up a really good excuse for our mothers. Somehow I don’t think that a headache will do it.”

“How about a migraine?” Andrea suggested. “A migraine’s always worked for me.”

Hannah shook her head. “I don’t get migraines, and Mother knows it.”

“No, but I do.” Andrea turned to Norman. “Just tell our mothers that I was in such bad shape, I begged Hannah to drive me home and stay with me until Bill got back.”

“That should work,” Norman said. “But what if she calls you and you’re not there?”

“No problem.” Andrea looked triumphant. “Mother knows I always turn off the phone when I have a migraine. I told her that I couldn’t stand the ringing.”

Norman patted Andrea on the back. “Very smart. I think you’re covered. I’ll go find the mothers and tell them.”

“Norman?” Hannah remembered her manners just in time. “Thank you for a lovely evening. I had a wonderful time.”

“Me too. You’d better move it, Hannah. And take Andrea’s arm and pretend you’re helping her walk. Here come the mothers and they look loaded for bear.”



Andrea climbed in behind the wheel and they drove down the long, winding driveway. When they reached the bottom, she turned to Hannah. “Where are we going?”

“To my place. You can drop me off there.”

“Drop you off?” Andrea slammed on the brakes and they skidded to a stop at the base of the driveway. “What do you mean, drop you off?”

Hannah sighed. She was the one who’d gotten Andrea interested in Bill’s case in the first place and she should have known that there would be trouble. “I have to do something and it could be dangerous. I don’t want to get you in trouble.”

“But you don’t care if you get into trouble?”

“Of course I care. I’ll be very careful. But you’ve got a husband and a daughter. You have to think of them.”

“I am thinking of them and I’m going along.” Andrea glared at her. “We’re talking about Bill’s promotion here. If there’s any way that I can help, I’m going to do it.”

“But, Andrea…you know that Bill would—”

“Let me take care of Bill,” Andrea interrupted her. “Where are we going, anyway?”

Hannah sighed and caved in. There was no dealing with Andrea when she got a bee in her bonnet, and this bee was as big as a buzzard. “First we’re switching to my Suburban. I’ve got two of those big flashlights in the back. Then we’re driving to Max Turner’s house.”

“Why are we going there?”

“Because Max didn’t leave for the convention when he was supposed to leave. He was still in his office at six-fifteen, having a meeting with someone. Ron saw them.”

“So?”

“So Max doesn’t have an alibi for the time of Ron’s death. We know he’s not at the convention and no one’s seen him since six-fifteen on Wednesday morning.”

“I get it. You think that Max killed Ron and then he took off. But why would Max kill Ron?”