Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (Hannah Swensen #1)(64)

“It’s a nice color combination,” Andrea commented. “The only thing that doesn’t match is Max’s desk chair.”

Hannah glanced at the old brown leather swivel chair that sat behind the modern, executive-style desk. “I guess Max was going for comfort, not style.”

Two smaller chairs faced the front of the desk for visitors and there was a small round table between them. A conversational grouping was arranged at the side of the room and there were three doors: the one they’d just entered, another that Hannah assumed connected to Betty’s office, and a rough-hewn antique door in the center of the back wall.

“What’s that door?” Andrea pointed to the only door that didn’t match the decor.

“That leads to the old dairy,” Hannah told her, “the one in the picture that Max’s mother painted. It’s the original door and Max told us about it when we took the tour. He said the old dairy was a landmark and he decided to preserve it, even though it cost more money to incorporate it into his expansion plans. He called it his contribution to the history of this area.”

Andrea laughed. “And you bought it?”

“Bought what?”

“Max didn’t keep the old dairy intact out of the goodness of his heart. He got a huge tax break for preserving a historical landmark. All you have to do is connect one of the original walls to the new construction.”

“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.” Hannah just shook her head. “Everyone’s always said that Max is a shrewd businessman.”

Andrea reached down to touch the velvety carpet. “Max must have spent some of the money he saved to buy this carpet. It’s the deepest pile they make and it’s just like walking on pillows. I wanted it for our bedroom, but I decided that it would be too hard to keep up. It marks every time you step on it. It’s hideously expensive, too. For the price you’d think they could make something that’s easier to care for.”

Hannah spotted a leather-bound appointment book on the credenza near the door and she walked over to page through it. Wednesday’s date was marked: TSB Convention. She recognized Betty’s handwriting. There was another note at the top, scrawled in what she assumed was Max’s untidy hand. It said: Meet W.

“Look, Hannah.” Andrea sounded insistent. “See all the footprints on this carpet?”

Hannah looked down at the carpet and saw footprints in the deep pile. “You’re a genius, Andrea. If you hadn’t mentioned it, I might have trampled right over them. Follow me and keep to the sides of the room. Let’s see if we can find any footprints in front of Max’s desk.”

Hugging the wall, Hannah moved forward until she was even with the front of Max’s desk. Andrea was right behind her, and Hannah pointed to the tracks in front of one of the chairs. “There! That proves someone was in here with Max.”

“And we know Max was here. See those marks from the wheels of his chair?”

“I see them,” Hannah acknowledged, and then she pointed to another series of tracks. “But I’m more concerned about those.”

Andrea studied the indentations in the pile of the carpet. “They’re going right to that door.”

“The original dairy. Max must have taken his visitor in there. We’d better check it out.”

“Why would he take someone in there?”

“He told us that he used it for the storage of old records,” Hannah explained. “Come on. Let’s see if it’s open.”

With Andrea following at her heels, Hannah pushed open the door and found the light switch. She gestured toward the shelves of file boxes lining the small brick building. “I guess he’s still using it for storage.”

“Is that the original safe?” Andrea pointed to the old safe in the corner.

“It must be. It looks old.” Hannah walked over to examine the safe door. It was standing open, but it didn’t look damaged in any way. “Max must have opened it for some reason.”

As Hannah searched through the contents, she kept up a running commentary so that Andrea would know what she was doing. “There’s no sign of a robbery or anything like that. Here’s a bundle of cash and a jewelry box.” Hannah snapped open the box and looked inside. “It’s a pair of gold cufflinks. They look like antiques. Maybe they belonged to Max’s grandfather. And here’s an antique pocket watch and a man’s diamond ring. There’s a Rolex, too. That must be fairly new. I don’t think they made them when Max’s father was alive. I didn’t notice any kind of a safe in Max’s house, so I guess this is where he keeps his personal valuables.”

Her eyes were drawn to a few stapled papers on one of the shelves, and Hannah reached out for them. “Here’s the speech that Betty typed for Max, just sitting on top of these files. Max must have picked it up from Betty’s desk before he came in here.”

Hannah set the speech aside and opened one of the files. There were legal papers inside and it looked like a loan agreement. Her eyes widened as she read the name. “I found the loan papers that Norman’s parents signed. They’re stamped ‘Paid In Full’ and Max initialed it. Hold on a second and let me look through some of these files. I want to see if there’s anyone else we know.”

“Here’s one for Frank Birchum.” Hannah glanced at the contents of another folder. “And his papers are stamped ‘Foreclosed.’ The Birchums moved away about six years ago, didn’t they?”