Cinnamon Roll Murder (Hannah Swensen, #15)(66)

“Rolling Hills Vista Clinic. They’re leaders in the field of facial reconstruction. You’ve heard about the remarkable new face transplants, haven’t you?”

Hannah had. She was certainly in favor of transplants in general. She even had a donor card. But she wasn’t sure exactly how she felt about face transplants. It seemed almost like stealing a dead person’s identity, and she balked at the idea of someone else walking around wearing her face. On the other hand, if her face were destroyed through some horrible circumstance, she wouldn’t be eager to spend the rest of her life locked indoors where no one could see her, or hidden behind a dark veil. Then she might embrace the idea of wearing a donor’s face, but it still gave her shivers just thinking about it.

“Doc explained it to me on the drive out here,” Delores told them. “This isn’t a clinic that does ordinary facelifts, or nose jobs, or anything like that. They work with the most serious cases, and their goal is to give their patients a better life.”

“It’ll be a great opportunity for Ben,” Doc said. “I’m just glad Marlene is staying. She’s a real help to me. But enough about my interns. Who’s going to get the DNA sample from Norman?”

“Carrie volunteered to do it after we join their table for dessert,” Delores told him. “When Norman finishes his, she’s going to snitch his dessert fork and slip it to me under the table. I’m going to bag it and put it in my purse. I’ll give it to you when we get to the car.”

“Thank you, Natasha,” Doc said, winking at Delores.

“You’re welcome, Boris,” Delores said, winking right back.

Then both of them laughed, and Hannah laughed, too. Delores seemed happy and carefree tonight, even after a long day of work. Spending time with Doc Knight was obviously good for her.





Hannah watched as several of Sally’s busboys took extra chairs to Carrie and Earl’s table. Once everything was arranged, Carrie motioned to Delores’s party and they all got up and crossed the dining room.

Andrea took the chair next to Delores, while Michelle took the one next to Doc. There was only one chair left, the one between Carrie and Norman. Hannah walked over to it, wondering if the placement had been arranged in advance.

She felt a lump in her throat as big as a baked potato with a slew of toppings when she sat down next to Norman. It was difficult to speak around the potato-sized lump, but she managed to croak out a hello and a how are you?

“I’m fine,” Norman replied, but Hannah didn’t think he looked fine. He had dark circles under his eyes, and he reminded her of a man facing a hanging jury. Of course that could have been her imagination, but she was convinced that he wasn’t fine. “Mother said you needed my help?”

It was clearly a question and Hannah nodded. “That’s right. Andrea has a digital photo of a woman talking to the man we thought was Buddy Neiman. It was taken the night before he told his band manager that he had to get out of the Minneapolis area.”

“Whoa!” Norman stopped her by putting his hand over hers. “Buddy Neiman wasn’t really Buddy Neiman?”

“No. Doc discovered that his blood type didn’t match his donor card. We don’t know who he actually was.”

“Have you looked into Buddy Neiman’s background? The real Buddy Neiman, I mean?”

“There hasn’t been time. All I know about the real Buddy Neiman is his blood type and the fact that he gave blood at a blood bank in Seattle. You didn’t run into him while you were there, did you?”

“I don’t think so. I saw him with you that night at the hospital, but he didn’t look familiar. And I don’t recognize the name at all.”

“That may not be the name he used in Seattle. All we know is that he used that name when he joined Cinnamon Roll Six. He had a Minnesota driver’s license so he must have had his fake identification in place when he applied for that.”

“That makes sense, but wouldn’t he have used his own blood type on that blood donor card he carried?”

Hannah gave a little shrug. “Maybe, if he knew it. A lot of people don’t know their own blood type.”

“You’re probably right. Do you want me to do a little research on the real Buddy Neiman if there is one?”

“That would be wonderful! But ... do you have time?”

“I have plenty of time. Bev’s spending most of the weekend in the Cities. She wants to see her mother and her daughter, and discuss their move up here.”

Hannah had all she could do not to frown. Doctor Bev was already lying to Norman about where she was going and why. But there was no way Hannah was going to tell Norman that now. She’d wait until she had the complete picture before she hit him with the truth.

“What’s the matter? Is something wrong?” Norman asked.

“No. I was just thinking, that’s all. So ... you’re free tonight?”

“As free as a bird.”

You mean, As free as a jailbird! Hannah’s mind corrected him, but she didn’t repeat it out loud. She was too busy glorying in the fact that Norman wasn’t tied up with Doctor Bev for the weekend.

“Bev’s not coming back until three on Sunday afternoon. That’s when Claire asked her to come down to the dress shop to try on the dress she’s wearing to the wedding.”