Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (Hannah Swensen #1)(72)

“Absolutely. I was watching Klute and that’s what gave me the idea. We’ll know if it’s right just as soon as the ballistics reports come back.”

“That’ll take a while, but I talked to Doc Knight this morning. He’s got a good eye and he told me that it looked like the same type of bullet that killed Ron.”

Hannah laughed. “I could have told him that!”

“Me too. Lake Eden’s too small to have more than one murderer. Tell me your theory again, Hannah. I want to see if everything fits.”

Hannah poured a mug of coffee for herself and sat down on the stool behind the counter. “Ron saw Max meeting with the killer at six-fifteen on Wednesday morning. After Ron left, the killer shot Max. The killer was afraid that once Max’s body was found, Ron would put two and two together and identify him. That’s why he tracked Ron down and shot him.”

“But didn’t the woman with the pink lipstick say that they weren’t followed?”

“She did, but that doesn’t rule anything out. Don’t forget that Ron’s route was posted on the wall right outside Betty’s office. The killer could have checked it and caught up with him later.”

“That makes sense.” Bill took another bite of his cookie and chewed thoughtfully. “Then you’re saying that Ron was killed just because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time?”

“That’s it. If Ron hadn’t gone into the dairy to pick up that extra box of Cozy Cow pens, he’d be alive today.”

Bill winced. “Talk about bad luck! Are you sure that Max was killed because of a loan he made?”

“I’m not sure of anything, but it makes the most sense. The safe in the old dairy was open, but there’s no way we can tell if anything is missing. I doubt that even Betty knows what was inside.”

“She doesn’t.” Bill looked smug. “I called her this morning to ask. She told me that Max was the only one with the combination and she’d never even seen him open it. They kept all the cash from the dairy in the new safe that’s in her office.”

“How’s Betty holding up?”

“She’ll be all right. She’s usually off on the weekends, but she said she’s going in anyway, that someone needs to be there to answer the employees’ questions and handle the phones. You got to hand it to her, Hannah. Betty was really upset when I told her about Max, but she’s going to put her personal grief aside and keep on handling things just the way Max would have wanted her to, even if it means working overtime.”

Hannah couldn’t hide her grin. There was no way that Betty would miss this weekend at the dairy, and it wasn’t for any altruistic reasons. Betty was happiest when she could hear all the gossip firsthand, and the phones would be ringing off the hook. “Did she tell you anything else?”

“She gave me the name of Max’s lawyer and I checked with him to see who’d inherit. That’s another good motive, you know.”

“You’re right, Bill. I didn’t even think of that. What did the lawyer say?”

“Max left everything to his nephew in Idaho. The lawyer is going to contact him today and get his instructions.”

“How about those footprints on the carpet? Were you able to tell anything about the killer from them?”

“Not really. They photographed them as part of the crime scene, but there weren’t any clear impressions.”

“How about the W in Max’s appointment book? Do you have any leads on that?”

Bill shook his head and held out his mug for a refill. “I went through all the files, but there weren’t any W names. And we don’t know if the W is a last name, a first name, or a nickname. Once we get a suspect, we can use it as part of the circumstantial evidence, but it’s pretty hard to narrow down now.”

The phone rang and Hannah reached out to answer it. “The Cookie Jar. This is Hannah.”

“Hannah. I’m glad I caught you. This is Norman.”

“Hi, Norman.” Hannah frowned slightly. She didn’t want to get involved in another lengthy phone conversation when this might be her only chance to talk to Bill all day. “What’s up?”

“I developed the film of the party. I can bring in the prints at noon if you’ll be there.”

“I work here. Where else would I be?” The moment the words had left her mouth, Hannah realized that she’d been too abrupt. Norman was only trying to be nice. And if Norman came in at noon, she’d be able to give him his mother’s loan papers. “Sorry, Norman. I’m really in a rush here. I’ll see you at noon and I’ll save a couple of my best cookies for you.”

When Hannah hung up, she noticed that Bill was grinning. “What?”

“Did Norman just ask you out on another date?”

“No, he just wants to show me the pictures from the party.” Hannah decided to change the subject fast. Bill’s expression was a lot like her mother’s when she played matchmaker. “Norman’s just a friend, so get that idea right out of your head. Tell me more about this new detective from Minneapolis. I don’t even know his name.”

“Mike Kingston. I talked to his former partner and he says that Mike’s a great cop and a really nice guy.”

“You haven’t met him yet?”