Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (Hannah Swensen #1)(89)

“I won’t slip up,” Judith sounded very confident. “It’s simple, Hannah. I’m going to walk you outside, shoot you in the back of your truck, and drive it down to the lake on the back of our property. Once I release the brake and push your truck down the hill, it’ll sink without a trace.”

Hannah shivered and picked up her teacup to take another sip. Hearing about the disposal of her very alive body in such a cold-blooded way made her mouth go dry. “That’s very clever. But how about your housekeeper? She knows I’m here and she’ll hear the shot.”

“She’s gone. I dismissed her for the remainder of the day. We’re quite alone, Hannah, and Benton and Del won’t be home for hours. They have a late meeting at the plant.” Judith motioned with the gun barrel. “That’s enough talking. Put down your teacup, Hannah. This tea set is a priceless family heirloom. It’s been in my family for almost two hundred years. It was a gift from King George the Third, and my paternal grandmother brought it here from England. I’m really quite fond of it.”

Hannah thought fast, still holding the teacup. “My mother’s a collector. This is Wedgwood, isn’t it?”

“Of course.” Judith gave an amused laugh. “Even an amateur collector would recognize its value immediately. Do you know that I’ve been offered over a hundred thousand dollars for the set?”

“You should have taken it,” Hannah blurted out, an idea beginning to form in her head. “It’s a fake.”

“What?” Judith gasped, staring at her in disbelief.

“Here, I’ll show you.” Hannah put down her teacup and lifted the lid of the pot to examine the mark that was stamped on the underside. “A lot of people don’t know it, but I made a study of Wedgwood for my mother. This tea set is very rare and Wedgwood put a double maker’s mark right here. Yours has only one maker’s mark and that proves it’s not authentic Wedgwood. See what I mean?”

Hannah transferred the lid to her left hand and the gun barrel dropped an inch or so as Judith leaned over to look at the mark. This was it. Hannah knew she’d never have a better chance. She grabbed the teapot with her right hand and threw the steaming tea directly at Judith’s face. Judith reacted by jumping back and Hannah tackled her before she could catch her balance. The gun went flying out of Judith’s hand, and Hannah knocked her to the floor as hard as she could, grinding her down into the nap of the expensive Aubusson carpet.

Judith flailed out with long manicured nails, but she was no match for Hannah’s adrenaline rush. It also helped that Hannah outweighed her by a good thirty pounds. In no time at all, she had flipped Judith over on her stomach, twisted her hands behind her back, and bound them firmly with the Hermès silk scarf that Judith had been wearing around her neck.

Hannah’s hands were shaking as she picked up the gun and trained it on the back of Judith’s head. “One move and you’re dead. You got that, Judith?”

There was no reply from the quaking socialite on the floor, but Hannah hadn’t expected one. She marched to the phone, intending to tell the secretary at the sheriff’s station to get Bill on the line, when the very brother-in-law that she was about to call rushed into the room.

“I’ll take over now, Hannah.” Bill sounded proud of her, but Hannah was a bit too rattled to react. “You can give me the gun.”

Hannah shook her head. She wasn’t about to take any chances with the woman who’d almost killed her. “Cuff her first, Bill. She’s tricky and that silk scarf might not hold.”

“Okay.” Bill started to grin as he walked over to Judith and slipped on the cuffs. “She killed Max and Ron?”

“That’s right. Read her her rights, Bill. I sure don’t want this case dismissed on a technicality.”

For a moment Hannah thought she’d blown it, because Bill gave her one of those “Just who do you think you are?” looks. But he must have decided to cut her some slack because he proceeded to read Judith her rights.

“How did you know I was here?” Hannah asked when Bill had finished with the legalities.

“I got your message about the rental car folder and I drove out to DelRay to talk to Del. He said he hadn’t seen you and I figured that you must be here. I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner, but it looks like you handled it just fine. Maybe I can take a few lessons from you.”

“Whatever,” Hannah said modestly. She wasn’t about to admit that she’d been saved by a combination of serendipity, fortuity, and blind dumb luck.

The next few minutes seemed to fly by in a rush. Backup arrived to take Judith into custody, Bill took Hannah’s statement in the Woodleys’ massive kitchen, and Judith’s sitting room was roped off with yellow crime-scene tape. Hannah warned Bill to tell the deputies to be careful with the tea set; it actually was a priceless antique. Then Bill walked her out into the crisp night air she’d never thought she’d enjoy again.

The night was incredibly peaceful. Gentle snowflakes were falling and it seemed a fitting end to a day that had been filled with confusion, frustration, fear, and finally a sense of a job well done. Hannah was about to climb into her Suburban when she remembered what she’d seen on the counter in the Woodleys’ kitchen. “I forgot something, Bill. I’ll be right back.”