Cinnamon Roll Murder (Hannah Swensen, #15)(51)

Less than a minute later, they were seated in a four-person booth. There weren’t many people in the restaurant, and their waitress came up to them almost immediately.

“Good morning,” she said, giving them both a big smile. “Would you like coffee to start?”

“Yes, please,” Andrea replied. “And I think coffee is all we’re going to have.” She turned to Hannah. “Unless you want something.”

“Just coffee for me, too. Black.”

“Cream and sugar for you, Ma’am?” The waitress turned to Andrea.

“Cream, unless it’s that coffee whitener.”

“It’s real cream and it comes in those little covered cups. Do you want one, or two?”

“Two please. Where’s your ladies room?”

The waitress gestured toward the rear of the restaurant. “Back there. The ladies is the first door on your right.”

“Let’s go,” Andrea said as soon as their waitress had left. “I want to see how that wig looks on you. Bertie gave me a sock for your hair.”

Hannah was puzzled as she slid out of the booth and followed her sister. “A sock?”

“It’s like a hairnet, but she called it a sock. It’s made out of stretchy material, and you just gather up all your hair into a high ponytail on top of your head. Then you fasten the ponytail inside the sock. It’s easier to put on the wig if your own hair doesn’t get in the way.”

“Makes sense,” Hannah said gathering her hair into a high ponytail the way Andrea had instructed. She took the fastener Andrea gave her and secured the ponytail. “Can you put on the sock?” she asked. “I can’t see to do it.”

“No problem. Just crouch down a little, will you? You’re a lot taller than I am.”

A lot taller, a lot heavier, and a lot less pretty, Hannah thought to herself. Andrea and Michelle had inherited their mother’s petite frame and classic good looks, while Hannah looked more like her tall, big, gangly, and unhandsome father. When they were children and Delores had taken her three daughters out to lunch, or for an afternoon outing, everyone commented on the family resemblance and how you could certainly tell that Andrea and Michelle were Delores’s daughters. No one ever made that comment about Hannah. They probably assumed that she was a step-daughter, or perhaps a friend who’d been kindly included in the mother-daughter outing.

Hannah crouched, and Andrea slipped the elastic sock over her ponytail. She took the wig out of the wig box and settled it on Hannah’s head. Then she did something with a comb, pulling down sections of hair to frame Hannah’s face. At least Hannah thought that was what she was doing. Since her back was to the mirror, she had no way of actually knowing.

“All done,” Andrea said. “You can stand up and turn around now. I want to know what you think of it.”

Hannah stared at the stranger in the mirror. She blinked several times, and then she stared some more. It had to be her reflection. When she raised her arm, the stranger in the mirror raised her arm. And when she turned toward Andrea, the stranger mirrored her motion.

“Well?” Andrea prompted her. “What do you think?”

“I think I need a new name.”

“What?”

“I said, I think I need a new name. And then I think I need to go down to CIA headquarters and fill out an application for deep undercover work. Nobody will ever recognize me in this wig.”

“I knew it.” Andrea looked proud. “But you didn’t tell me. Do you like it?”

“I love it! The minute we get back to Lake Eden, I’m going to buy this wig from Bertie.”

“Because you like your new look so much?”

“Not exactly. I’ll buy it because it’ll be so much fun to wear it to the next potluck dinner, and see if Mike tries to pick up the new gal in town.”





“Here we are.” Andrea pulled up in front of a house that was eerily similar to the one the Cleavers had owned on every Leave it To Beaver rerun that Hannah had watched.

“It’s awfully big for just one person,” Hannah commented.

“It’s not just one person. You’re moving your whole family here. I told you that you were married with children, didn’t I?”

“Yes. My husband’s name is Phillip and I have two kids. They’re both in school so I’m concerned about the local elementary schools in the area.”

“Good. And your name is?”

“Joyce Newhall.”

“And you’re from?”

“Royalton. I drove up here today to house hunt while my husband’s at work and the kids are in school.”

“That’s just fine. You sound very convincing. Now why are you moving to Minneapolis, Hannah?”

“It’s Joyce, and I’m moving to the Cities because my husband just accepted a job at Xcel Energy. It’s a Fortune Five Hundred company, and Phillip is a tax attorney.”

“Excellent. You’re ready.”

“I know, but are you?”

Andrea looked puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“Do you have a plan for getting the DNA sample?”

“Not yet, but don’t worry. I’ll think of something when we get there. Now let’s hurry up and take a look at this house so that we can go next door.”