Part 23 (1/2)
”No problem. The pa.s.senger's name was Woodley?”
”That's right,” Hannah said, and spelled it out for her. ”Benton Woodley.”
”I'll have to put you on hold. Just a moment please.” There was a brief silence and then music spewed out from the little holes on the receiver. It sounded like the chorus from ”It's a Small World,” and Hannah was in the process of wondering whether Tammi had chosen the song when her cheerful voice came back on the line. ”Mr. Benton Woodley was our pa.s.senger on the two o'clock shuttle. I checked with the driver, but he said he didn't find anything except a pen and a monogrammed handkerchief. Maybe you should check with the airlines?”
”Good idea. Thanks, Tammi. I really appreciate your help.” Hannah hung up the phone and thought about what she'd learned. Moishe jumped up on her lap and started to lick her arm with his raspy tongue. He seemed to sense that she was upset and he was doing his best to comfort her. Hannah stroked him absently and thought about the times of the murders. The fact that Benton had taken the two o'clock shuttle didn't rule him out as the killer. He could have flown in the night before, rented a car from Compacts Unlimited, and made a round-trip to Lake Eden to kill Max and Ron. If he'd returned the car to the airport location, he could have walked to the shuttle station and boarded the two o'clock bus to give himself an alibi. But why would Benton want to kill Max Turner? He hadn't visited Lake Eden in years, and as far as Hannah knew, he'd never spoken more than a few words to Max.
Her mind spinning, Hannah reached for the phone again, intending to call Compacts Unlimited to find out if Benton had rented a car. But perhaps she should leave that to Bill. He knew the manager and he could get the information much faster than she could. Hannah punched out Bill's number and reminded herself of the things she had to tell him. There was the photo of the rental folder and her suspicions about Benton. Bill didn't know anything about that. There was also Boyd Watson and she had to tell Bill that she'd eliminated him as a suspect. She wouldn't mention Danielle's painful secret right now. It would be better to wait until she had Bill's full attention. Perhaps they could think of some way to put the fear of G.o.d into The Gull's head coach.
”Bill? I've got some information that...” Hannah stopped short as she realized she was talking to a recorded message. Bill wasn't at his desk. When the beep sounded, she almost hung up in sheer frustration, but better sense prevailed. ”Bill? It's Hannah. I eliminated Coach Watson as a suspect. He's got an alibi. But remember those pictures we took in Del Woodley's den? Norman brought them over on his lunch break and one of them showed a Compacts Unlimited rental folder. I figure that Benton must have rented it. Judith wouldn't be caught dead driving a compact and Del's got his fancy Mercedes. The W in Max's appointment book could stand for Woodley, but I don't have a motive. I'm going to nose around to see what else I can find out about the Woodleys.”
Hannah sighed and hung up, picturing Bill in the sheriff station's lobby, eating dozens of the cookies she'd baked for the open house and mingling with the people who'd driven out to see their new cruisers. He was probably having the time of his life while she was sitting here agonizing over clues that didn't fit and suspects that disappeared like s...o...b..a.l.l.s in the sun. She was supposed to be a.s.sisting Bill, not doing all of his legwork for him. Who was bucking for detective here, anyway?
Just then the phone rang, jolting Hannah out of her glum mood. She reached out to answer it, expecting Bill, but it was her mother.
”I'm so glad I caught you, Hannah. I have the most amazing news.”
”Yes, Mother?” Hannah held the phone an inch from her ear. Her mother could deafen the person on the other end of the line when she was excited.
”I'm here at the mall with Carrie. She needed a new battery for her watch. You'll never guess what I just saw at the jeweler's! What do you think it was?”
Hannah made a face at Moishe. She was almost thirty and her mother still wanted her to play guessing games. ”I'll never be able to guess, Mother. You'd better tell me.”
”It was Del Woodley's ring!”
”His ring?” Hannah didn't understand what was so startling about that. Everyone she knew took rings to the jeweler's when they needed repair or resizing.
”It was for sale, Hannah. The jeweler had it displayed in a gla.s.s case and he wanted twenty thousand dollars for it.”
”Twenty thousand dollars?” Hannah gasped.
”That's not unreasonable for a platinum setting and a diamond that size. Now why would Del Woodley's ring be up for sale?”
”I don't have the foggiest idea.” Hannah took a moment to ponder the question, but it really didn't make any sense. ”Are you sure it was Del Woodley's ring?”
”I'm positive. I admired it at their party last year and I noticed this tiny little scratch on the band. The ring I just saw at the jeweler's had the very same scratch. Do you want to know what I think?”
”Sure,” Hannah agreed. It wouldn't do any good to say no. Delores would just tell her anyway.
”I think Del's in financial trouble. That's the only reason he'd part with that ring. He told me that he just adored it.”
”You're right, Mother.” Hannah began to smile. This opened up all sorts of intriguing possibilities. ”Did you find out how long the ring has been there?”
”Of course I did. The jeweler said he'd had it for six months.”
”Did he confirm that it belonged to Del?”
”No, dear. He said that whenever he accepts any expensive jewelry on consignment, he keeps the ident.i.ty of the original owner confidential.”
Hannah thought about that for a moment while her mother went on to describe every detail of her conversation with the jeweler. The Woodleys had spared no expense at their party, but that meant nothing. Judith was proud and she was the type to keep up appearances. If Del's business was in trouble, he could have borrowed money from Max. And if Max had called in his loan, as he'd done with Norman's parents and several other people in town, Del Woodley would have had the perfect motive to murder him.
”I'm sure I'm right, Hannah,” her mother went on. ”You know how good I am at noticing little details. We stopped in at the antique shop, too. Do you remember those lovely dessert dishes I gave you?”
”Yes, Mother.” Hannah glanced over at the dessert dish she'd used for Moishe's ice cream.
”Be careful when you wash them. I only paid twenty dollars for the set at an auction, but they had two in the window of the antique store. They're selling for fifty dollars apiece now.”
”Really?” Hannah was highly amused. She could imagine her mother's reaction if she mentioned that Moishe had just finished eating from a fifty-dollar dessert dish.
”I've got to run, Hannah. Carrie wants to shop for some new linens, and there's a line of people waiting to use this phone.”
”I'm really glad you called, Mother,” Hannah said. And this time she meant it.
There was a spring in Hannah's step as she walked up to the Plotniks door and rang the bell. Delores didn't know it, but she'd been a big help. Phil Plotnik was a night supervisor at DelRay and he might know if Del's business was in trouble.
The door opened and Sue Plotnik stood there, juggling a dishtowel and a crying baby. She looked surprised to see her upstairs neighbor, but she smiled. ”Hi, Hannah. I hope Kevin didn't disturb you. He's got an ear infection and Phil's out getting his prescription refilled.”
”I didn't even hear him,” Hannah rea.s.sured her. ”Did I come at a bad time?”
Sue laughed. ”There isn't a good time, not with a new baby, but that doesn't matter. Come in and have a cup of coffee with me. I just made a fresh pot.”
Hannah didn't really want to intrude, especially when it looked as if Sue had her hands full, but she really needed to talk to Phil. At least she could help while Sue got the coffee.
”I brought some cookies for you.” Hannah walked in and placed the bag on the table. Then she held out her arms and smiled at Sue. ”Let me hold the baby for you. I'll walk him around while you get the coffee.”
Sue handed over the blanket-wrapped bundle with visible relief. ”Thanks, Hannah. He's been crying all morning and I dropped his bottle of medicine. That's why Phil had to make a run to the drugstore. Did you get my message about catering next week at Mommy and Me?”
”Yes. Thanks for thinking of me, Sue. I've already written it on my calendar.” Hannah jiggled the fussing baby a bit and then she started to pace the floor with him. Mich.e.l.le had been a colicky baby, and Hannah was no stranger to crying infants. As the eldest sister, almost eleven at the time, Hannah had taken over when Delores had needed a break.
It didn't take long for the baby to quiet. Hannah paced rhythmically back and forth with a satisfied expression on her face. It was pretty obvious that she hadn't lost her touch.
Sue came in with two cups of coffee and a plate for the cookies. She set them down on the coffee table and then she stared at Kevin with openmouthed amazement. ”How did you do do that?” that?”
”It's easy. You just have to keep your steps slow and a little bouncy. I used to pretend that I was an elephant in a circus parade. I'm going to put him down, Sue.”
Sue watched while Hannah walked over to the cradle and tucked the baby inside. There was an anxious expression on her face, but it faded after several long seconds of silence. ”You're a genius, Hannah.”
”No, I'm not. I've just had plenty of practice, that's all. Mich.e.l.le had at least four bouts of colic before her first birthday.”
”You should be a mother, Hannah. All that talent going to-” Sue stopped in midthought and looked very uncomfortable. ”I shouldn't have said that.”
”That's okay. Just do me a favor and don't mention it to my mother. It'll give her new ammunition.”
”She's still trying to fix you up with every man in town?” Sue gestured toward the couch and they both sat down.
”You could say that.” Hannah took a sip of her coffee and decided to change the subject. ”How's DelRay doing, Sue? That's really what I came down to ask you about.”