Part 9 (1/2)

”You must be kidding!” Hannah was amused. ”Think about it, Norman. You saw Mother in action on Tuesday night. Would she try to set me up with every guy in town if I already had a date for the biggest party of the year?”

Norman shrugged, but he was grinning. ”I guess not. Would you like to go to the party with me, Hannah? It'll get you off the hook with your mother.”

Hannah wished she hadn't been so flippant. Her big mouth had gotten her into trouble again. Now Norman knew she didn't have a date and he was asking her for one. And she really didn't know what to say.

Norman reached out and patted her hand. ”Come on. It'll be mutually beneficial. I'll drive so you can drink all the Dom you want, and you can introduce me to all the people you think I should know.”

Hannah thought fast. There didn't seem to be any graceful way out, and going to the Woodleys' party with Norman might not be so terrible. He was funny, he seemed to like her, and it might make her mother back off a little.

”Okay, it's a deal.”

Hannah drew a deep breath of relief when Norman escorted her back to the waiting room and Andrea was there. Her sister was seated on the new couch, idly flipping the pages of National Geographic. National Geographic.

”Hi.” Andrea gave them a guileless smile. ”Did you have a nice lunch?”

”Very nice.” Norman smiled and then he turned to Hannah. ”The Woodleys' party starts at eight. Shall I pick you up at seven-thirty?”

”Seven-thirty is fine.” Hannah saw the startled look that Andrea gave her out of the corner of her eye, and she knew she'd have to do some explaining. ”Do you need my address?”

”I've got it. It was nice to meet you, Andrea. Perhaps we'll see you at the party?”

Andrea put on a smile for Norman's benefit. ”You will. Bill and I wouldn't miss it for the world. Goodbye, Norman. It was nice to meet you, too.”

They walked out to Hannah's truck in total silence, and Andrea got into the pa.s.senger seat. But as soon as Hannah had slid in behind the wheel and closed the door, Andrea reached out to grab her arm. ”You were just kidding around, weren't you? I mean, you're not actually going to the party with him him!”

”Yes, I am,” Hannah confirmed it.

”But you can't can't!”

Hannah started the engine, glanced behind her to make sure that no cars were coming, and pulled out into the street. ”Why not?”

”Because he could be Ron's killer!”

”He's not.” Hannah s.h.i.+fted into second gear. ”Norman has an alibi. He was treating another patient when Ron was killed.”

That seemed to take the wind out of Andrea's sails and she frowned. ”Okay. Maybe he's not not Ron's killer, but there's no way you should go out with him!” Ron's killer, but there's no way you should go out with him!”

”Relax, Andrea. It's not like it's a real date or anything. He's just picking me up and we're going to the party together. Norman's very nice.”

”No, he isn't. It's not like you to be wrong about people, but this time you really blew it. While you were having lunch and accepting dates with this...this person you think is nice, I hit pay dirt in the storage room. I've got the goods on Norman Rhodes.”

”What goods?” Hannah took her eyes off the road for a moment to glance at her sister. Andrea looked very proud of herself.

”I'll show you the minute we get back to The Cookie Jar.”

Hannah's eyebrows shot up and she had all she could do to navigate the turn on Third and Main. ”You'll show show me? You didn't steal anything from Norman's office, did you, Andrea?” me? You didn't steal anything from Norman's office, did you, Andrea?”

”It wasn't exactly stealing. I know I promised not to take anything, but this was just too good to leave behind.” Andrea sat back and gave a smug smile. ”I'll tell you this much, Hannah. Mother didn't do you any favors when she introduced you to Norman. And he certainly isn't the man she thought he was!”

Hannah didn't ask any further questions. It was clear her sister wouldn't tell her any more until they'd arrived at The Cookie Jar. She turned into the alley, averted her eyes as she drove past the spot where Ron had breathed his final breath, and pulled into her parking spot.

When they came in the back door, Andrea was grinning like a Ches.h.i.+re cat, and Hannah was beginning to feel very uneasy. She hoped that Andrea had found something trivial, like a patient's complaint that he'd been overcharged, or a stack of unpaid bills.

”Tell Lisa you're back and we need to be alone,” Andrea advised as she hung up her coat. ”Hurry up. This is important.”

Hannah wasn't about to argue. She dashed into the shop, told Lisa to please handle the counter for a couple more minutes, and filled two mugs with coffee. Andrea didn't need the caffeine since she was jazzed enough as it was, but Hannah figured she might need a boost before all this was over. She raced through the swinging door to the back room, set the coffee mugs down on the work island, and slid onto a stool close to her sister's. ”All right, Andrea. This has gone on long enough. Out with it.”

Andrea was obviously enjoying this moment. She opened her purse with a flourish, pulled out a large manila envelope, and pushed it over to Hannah.

”What's this?”

”Open it,” Andrea instructed. ”And then tell me again how nice nice Norman is.” Norman is.”

Pecan Chews Preheat oven to 350 F, rack in the middle position.

1 cup b.u.t.ter (2 sticks, pound) (2 sticks, pound)3 cups brown sugar *** ***4 eggs, beaten (with a fork is fine) (with a fork is fine)1 teaspoon salt1 teaspoon baking soda3 teaspoons vanilla2 cups finely chopped pecans4 cups flourMelt b.u.t.ter and add brown sugar. Mix well and let cool. Add beaten eggs and mix. Add salt, baking soda, vanilla, and nuts. Mix well. Add flour and mix until flour is thoroughly distributed.Form dough into b.a.l.l.s with your fingers. (Make them the size of a walnut with sh.e.l.l.) (Make them the size of a walnut with sh.e.l.l.) Place them on a greased cookie sheet, 12 to a standard sheet. Press them down with a spatula. Place them on a greased cookie sheet, 12 to a standard sheet. Press them down with a spatula. (Spray it with Pam first, or grease it.) (Spray it with Pam first, or grease it.)Bake at 350 degrees F. for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cookies set up on sheet for one minute, then remove them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

(There's no problem if your recipe calls for dark brown sugar, or light brown sugar-just mix in mola.s.ses until it's the right color.) (Norman Rhodes adores these, and so does Bill.)Yield: 8 to 10 dozen, depending on cookie size.

Chapter Eleven.

Hannah couldn't say a word. Her tongue seemed glued to the roof of her mouth. She stared down at the stack of Polaroids and blinked hard. No, she wasn't imagining things. The images were still there. There were no faces, just pictures of women's torsos, and every one was nude to the waist.

”Hannah?” Andrea reached out to grab her arm. ”Are you all right?”

Hannah took a deep breath and nodded. ”Who are are they?” they?”

”Dental patients. You can tell where they were taken from the background.” Andrea jabbed her finger at the top print. ”See that picture on the wall? It's in the room that Norman uses for cleaning teeth. I checked.”

”This woman posed for Norman in his dental chair?”

”Make that these women these women.” Andrea fanned out the pictures so that Hannah could see. ”And I don't think they exactly posed. See the two canisters next to the chair? One is oxygen and the other is nitrous oxide.”

”Laughing gas?”

”I studied it in chemistry cla.s.s. If you mix it right, it's an anesthetic. A lot of dentists use it. But if you cut down on the oxygen, it can make you lose consciousness. A couple of whiffs of the increased mixture and these women would have pa.s.sed out cold.”

”He knocked them out and took nude photos of them?”

”That's what it looks like to me. When they came to, they wouldn't remember a thing.”

Hannah shook her head. ”I can't believe that Norman would do something like this. He seems so...normal.”