Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (Hannah Swensen #1)(71)

Hannah was about to ask her the neighbor’s name when she realized that it didn’t really matter. If the neighbor hadn’t signed, he’d have no motive to kill Max.

“Why don’t you sit down, Hannah? You look beat and it’s only eight-thirty. And think seriously about taking the day off. You know I can handle things here.”

“Thanks, Lisa. I’m really tempted.” Hannah sat down on the stool at the end of the work island and thought about a day off. She could go home, brush Moishe, watch a little television, and call in a million times to find out what was happening. It was better to stay here, in the thick of things. “Thanks for offering, but I wouldn’t rest anyway.”

“Okay, but if you change your mind, just let me know. What do you want me to bake when I finish with the Black and Whites?”

“The Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookies,” Hannah answered. “They should be chilled by then. There’s only one batch of dough.”

“Do you want me to roll them in white sugar, or mixed?”

“Just white. When they’re cool, pick out a dozen of the best and pack them for shipping. I promised to send a sample box to the Woodleys’ caterer.”

Lisa looked pleased. “New business?”

“Maybe. You haven’t said anything about the party. Did you have a good time?”

“It was fantastic, Hannah. I’ve never been to such a fancy party before. It’s just too bad that we had to leave early.”

“Herb was called out to the accident scene?”

“No, but he thought he should go anyway. I had him drop me off at home before he went out there. I didn’t feel like staying at the party alone. He called me later and he said it was a miracle no one had been killed. Seventeen cars! Can you imagine that?”

“Unfortunately, I can. I’d better go up front, Lisa. It’s almost time to open.”

As she went through the swinging door, Hannah thought about the massive car pileup she’d almost joined on the interstate last year. All it took was one patch of ice, a lapse in judgment, and several drivers following too closely. She’d taken the shoulder to avoid hitting the huge Red Owl grocery truck ahead of her and she’d considered herself fortunate to wind up in a soft snowy ditch.

It was a dark morning and Hannah switched on the lights. She wasn’t looking forward to the dark winter season with sunrise at nine and sunset at four. It was even worse for people like Phil Plotnik, who worked the night shift at DelRay Manufacturing. It was dark when he went to work, dark when he came home from work, and if the sun didn’t shine on the weekends, he missed out completely.

A car pulled up in front of the shop and Hannah recognized Bill’s old clunker. She hurried to unlock the door and scanned Bill’s face in the light flooding out of the windows as he walked up to the door. He was smiling and Hannah was relieved. Bill wasn’t the type to hold a grudge and it was clear that he’d forgiven her for involving his wife in her sleuthing last night.

“Hi, Hannah.” Bill came in and hung up his coat on the strip of hooks near the door. “I found out about that rental car that Andrea’s client saw. The name of the company is Compacts Unlimited.”

Hannah ducked behind the counter to pour Bill a mug of coffee. “I’ve never heard of them.”

“They’re a small outfit. Their main office is in Minneapolis and they’ve got a total of fourteen lots all over the state. I talked to the woman in charge of reservations. She said their office didn’t rent to anybody with a Lake Eden address, but she’s sending me a printout of everyone who’s rented from them in the past two weeks.”

“When?”

“ASAP. She doesn’t know how to gather the data from the other locations, but she said she’d call in their computer expert.”

“So you’ll have it today?”

“That’s doubtful. The computer guy went away for the weekend, but she’s trying to find him.” Bill’s gaze shifted toward the cookies behind the counter. “Are those Chocolate Chip Crunches?”

Hannah nodded and set out two cookies for him. This wasn’t the time to remind him that he should probably watch his weight. “Did you get a chance to look at the files that were in Max’s old safe?”

“Mmm.” Bill swallowed. “Max made a lot of loans to a lot of people. Some of them were old, but I found about ten active ones. That’s ten more suspects I’m going to have to check out.”

Hannah shook her head. “I think that’s a waste of time. If someone shot Max to get his loan papers, he wouldn’t have left them behind.”

“Good point. What do you think I should do with them?”

“Make a list of the names and then lock them up in the evidence room.”

Bill looked confused. “Why should I make a list of the names when none of those people are suspects?”

“So that you can check them against any gossip we hear. If somebody talks about one of Max’s active loans and it’s not on your list, it could point to the killer.”

“That’s very clever, Hannah. I’ll do it just as soon as I get to the station. Did you think of anything else that I should do?”

“Not really, but at least we’ve got a theory.”

“Is it the same one you told me about the other night?”