Hannah stifled a grin, these club meetings always made her mother spout Regency phrases, but she wasn"t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Delores could afford to be generous. Hannah"s grandfather had invested heavily in the fledgling Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, and over the years 3M stock had split more times than Hannah could count. "Did Claire tell you what I paid for the dress?"

"I asked, but she said that it was just between the two of you. How much was it, dear? I"ll write you a check."

Hannah sighed as she listened to the hoofbeats of the gift horse gallop off into the sunset. She couldn"t tell her mother what the dress had cost. She"d promised Claire not to mention the price. "I can"t say, Mother. Claire gave it to me at cost and I promised that I wouldn"t tell anyone what I paid."

"Not even moi moi?"

"Not even you, Mother." Hannah had trouble keeping a straight face. Her mother sounded just like Miss Piggy when she referred to herself as moi moi.

Carrie leaned close to whisper something in Delores"s ear, and her mother began to smile again. "That"s a wonderful idea. You"ll need a new purse and a pair of shoes, Hannah. Why don"t you let me pick up the tab for those?"

"I have a black clutch, Mother. You gave it to me two years ago. And my black heels are perfectly-" Hannah stopped and began to frown as she remembered that her only pair of black dress shoes needed to be resoled. "You hit it on the nose, Mother. I could use a new pair of shoes."

"Then I"ll buy them for you. Choose Italian, dear. They"re the only ones that last. And make sure you walk around the store at least twice to make sure they don"t pinch. I could go out to the mall with you and help you shop."

Hannah winced as she remembered the last shopping trip she"d taken with her mother. Delores had wanted her to buy a dress coat instead of her all-purpose parka. "That"s all right, Mother. I know how busy you are. And that reminds me, how"s your tooth?"

"My tooth?" Delores appeared startled, and Hannah bit back a grin. Did her mother think that the news on the gossip grapevine traveled in only one direction? "It"s fine now, dear. Norman"s a marvelous dentist. Did I tell you that I saw Ron LaSalle driving away?"

"No, but Norman did. You didn"t talk to Ron, did you?"

"He was pulling out when I drove up and all I saw was the back of his truck. For all I know, it wasn"t even Ron." Her mother looked very fl.u.s.tered. "Do you think that I should report it to Bill?"

"Definitely. Bill"s trying to account for Ron"s actions on the morning that he died, and what you saw might help."

Carrie shivered slightly. "It"s frightening to think that someone we all knew could be shot down in broad daylight on our streets."

"I know." Delores sighed. "As far as I"m concerned, it"s Herb Beeseman"s fault. That boy spends all his time writing tickets and he"s never where he"s really needed. If he"d stuffed that citation book in his pocket where it belongs, he might have been there in time to save Ron"s life!"

Hannah knew she should keep her mouth shut, but she couldn"t do it. "Herb was hired to enforce Lake Eden"s traffic regulations, not to patrol the streets hunting for would-be killers."

"She"s right, Delores," Carrie said and then she turned to Hannah. "It must have been terrible for you, dear. Imagine something like that happening right in back of your shop!"

Delores didn"t look very sympathetic. "Hannah can handle things like that. She"s always been strong. She gets it from me. Isn"t that right, Hannah?"

Hannah managed to keep her lips pressed firmly together. This from the woman who"d fainted when she"d found a dead squirrel on her back doorstep!

"We"d better move along, Delores." Carrie nudged her. "You know how upset these older women get when someone holds up the line."

Hannah came very close to losing it. With the exception of Mrs. Priscilla Knudson, the Lutheran minister"s grandmother, Carrie was the oldest lady in the group.

After Hannah had served the remaining women in line, she picked up her cookie tray and stepped out to mingle. She had quite a few takers. Her Regency Ginger Crisps were going over big. She"d just finished serving Bertie Straub, the owner-operator of the Cut "n Curl, when she overheard part of a conversation that Maryann Watson, Coach Watson"s sister, was having with one of the secretaries at DelRay, Lucille Rahn.

"You have no idea how generous my brother is when it comes to Danielle," Maryann confided. "He paid an absolute fortune for her birthday present."

Lucille took a dainty bite of her cookie. "Really? How could he afford to buy something that expensive on a teacher"s salary?"

"He"s been saving all year. It"s her thirtieth, you know, and he wanted to get her something special. He asked me to meet him at the Mall of America on Tuesday night to help him shop. I swear we went to every single jewelry store in the entire mall before he found something that he wanted."

Hannah slipped into her invisible caterer mode, setting her tray down at the far end of their table and busying herself by rearranging the stacked cookies on her tray. Neither woman seemed aware of her, but Hannah could hear every word they spoke.

"What did he buy?" Lucille looked very curious. "You can tell me, Maryann."

Maryann leaned forward, about to confide the delicious secret. She seemed perfectly oblivious to Hannah. Waiters, maids, and caterers were always treated to all the gossip, whether they wanted to hear it or not. "He got her a perfectly gorgeous ruby ring, but you can"t tell a soul. It"s supposed to be a surprise."

Lucille raised her eyebrows. "A ruby? That does does sound expensive." sound expensive."

"It was," Maryann confirmed with a nod of her head. "It cost him over a thousand dollars. And Boyd even paid extra to have it engraved on the inside of the band."

"Is that why you missed the Dorcas Circle meeting on Tuesday night?"

"Yes, we had to stay over because the ring wasn"t ready until the next morning. Boyd asked me to take it home with me for safekeeping, and you know what that that means." means."

Lucille looked thoroughly puzzled. "What does it mean?"

"Danielle must snoop through his things."

"That doesn"t really surprise me. Jill Haversham was Danielle"s third-grade teacher, and she said that all the Perkins girls were nosy."

"I"ll never understand why Boyd married her." Maryann sighed deeply. "He could have had anyone, and it wasn"t like he had had to, you know. But I guess there"s no accounting for taste." to, you know. But I guess there"s no accounting for taste."

"That"s what they say. Did you stay over with your mother?"

"Yes, and she was so glad to see us. Boyd went out to get doughnuts for breakfast the next morning and he came back with a huge box. That"s so she"d have leftovers. We"re not sure she"s eating right, now that she"s all alone."

Hannah stifled a grin. She didn"t think that doughnuts for breakfast fell into the realm of "eating right," but she wasn"t one to talk. A lot of her customers ate cookies for breakfast.

"She"s lonely, now that Dad"s gone," Maryann continued, "and she just rattles around in that house of hers. The neighborhood"s turning industrial, and that"s not good, either."

"Where is it?" Lucille asked.

"Right off the Anoka exit on the ninety-four. It used to be a nice quiet suburb before they put in the freeway, but it"s going downhill in a handbasket. Boyd and I think she should sell and move into one of those nice apartment buildings for seniors."

Lucille raised her eyebrows. "Wouldn"t she rather move in with you or Boyd?"

"My place isn"t big enough. You"ve seen my apartment. I barely have room to turn around. Boyd"s got plenty of room, but I don"t think that Danielle wants her. Not that he"s said anything about it. He wouldn"t, you know. Boyd"s as loyal to that woman as the day is long. He treats her like a princess, dressing her up in expensive clothes and buying her everything she could possibly want. He even bought her that house, you know, and let me tell you, that"s got to be a real drain."

"Financially?"

"Their mortgage payments must be sky-high, and there"s always something that needs to be fixed. Boyd tries to do it all himself, but heaven knows he"s not a plumber or an electrician. I swear Danielle doesn"t appreciate how hard he works, but what else can you expect, coming from a family like hers?"

"She doesn"t work, does she?" Lucille asked.

"Of course not. She wouldn"t lift a finger to help them out. Boyd says he doesn"t want want her to work, but I think he"s just covering up for the fact that she"s too lazy to hold down a job." her to work, but I think he"s just covering up for the fact that she"s too lazy to hold down a job."

Hannah had heard quite enough criticism about Danielle. She picked up her tray, stuck on her "May I serve you" smile and walked over to tap Maryann on the shoulder. "More cookies, ladies?"

"h.e.l.lo, Hannah." Maryann seemed surprised to see her. "These are wonderful cookies, dear. And to think that they"re authentic! I was just commenting on how delicious they were, wasn"t I, Lucille?"

Lucille smiled. "We"re so lucky to have you back in town, Hannah. I don"t know how the Lake Eden Regency Romance Club ever managed to serve refreshments without you."

"Thank you. I"m so glad you like the cookies." Hannah waited until both Maryann and Lucille had taken another cookie and then she moved on to another table. The Mall of America didn"t open until eleven and Coach Watson had been with his sister until then. One more suspect had been eliminated and if her luck ran true to form, the bouncer at Twin Pines would have an alibi, too. Then she"d be back to square one.

Hannah sighed as she finished serving the cookies and went back to fetch the carafes of coffee and tea. Solving crimes certainly wasn"t as easy as they made it seem in the movies.

Chapter Twelve.

Hannah pulled into the parking lot at the Tri-County Mall and turned to Lisa with a frown. "I hate hate to shop!" to shop!"

"It won"t be so bad, Hannah. All you need is a pair of shoes. And it"s really nice of your mother to pay for them."

"Oh, yeah?" Hannah turned to her with lifted eyebrows. "Mother"s gifts always have strings attached. The shoes have to be Italian and they can"t have more than a three-inch heel."

Lisa shrugged. "Italian is good and you never wear high heels anyway."

"Wait, there"s more. I"m not supposed to buy anything except fine leather, no man-made materials allowed, and I have to ask the salesman to guarantee that the color won"t run if it gets wet. She made me promise to put them on and walk around the store twice to make sure they don"t pinch my feet."

"That doesn"t sound so hard. Come on, Hannah. The mall closes at seven and it"s already six-thirty."

Hannah sighed and got out of her truck. A light snow was falling and the temperature had dropped ten degrees since the sun had gone down. She didn"t like to go to the mall at the best of times and this was the worst. The parking lot was packed with cars, she was pressed for time, and she needed to buy the shoes tonight. As far as Hannah was concerned, this hasty shopping trip to buy a last-minute item was a perfect recipe for disaster.

Lisa led the way across the slushy lot and into the rear door of Sears. They cut through the hardware, paint, and household appliance sections and sped down the path of green indoor-outdoor carpeting to the indoor entrance of the mall itself.

As they walked into the huge dome-shaped area, Hannah"s eyes were immediately drawn to a giant red plastic sleigh and eight plastic reindeer frozen in midprance. She blinked twice and then she turned to Lisa. "It"s not even Halloween yet and they"re all decorated for Christmas!"

"They put up the decorations right after Labor Day. I guess a lot of people like to do their Christmas shopping early and they buy more if the mall"s decorated."

"Has your father seen it yet?"

"I bring Dad out every Sunday. There"s an animated Santa"s Workshop in the lobby of Dayton"s and he"s just fascinated by it. He must have seen it a half-dozen times, but he always points out what all the elves are doing for me."

"That must be the upside of Alzheimer"s. Every time your father sees it, he thinks he"s seeing it for the first time." Hannah"s words popped out before she could think about them, and she winced when she realized that she"d sounded flippant. "I"m sorry, Lisa. I didn"t mean to joke about such an awful disease."

"That"s okay, Hannah. You have have to joke about it. I do it, too. And it could be a lot worse. Dad"s not in any pain and he"s forgotten about all his problems. Most of the time he really enjoys himself." to joke about it. I do it, too. And it could be a lot worse. Dad"s not in any pain and he"s forgotten about all his problems. Most of the time he really enjoys himself."

"Where should we start first?" Hannah decided it was time to change the subject.

"Let"s go to Bianco"s. They"re new. Rhonda Scharf was in the other day and I heard her telling Gail Hanson that they had a better selection than any of the other shoe stores."

Hannah followed Lisa through the crowd of shoppers without seeing a familiar face. That wasn"t surprising. The Tri-County Mall was twenty miles from Eden Lake and it served all the small towns within a forty-mile radius. She saw several teenage boys wearing Little Falls Flyer team jackets and a group of giggling girls, standing near the video store, were sporting Long Prairie High School sweatshirts.

Lisa ducked into a brightly lit store displaying the Italian flag as a background in its window. Rows of shoes lined the shelves on the wall, and every few feet a round plastic display shelf jutted out with a pair of shoes arranged at eye level. Hannah followed and she immediately spotted a pair of black shoes near the back of the store. They had low heels, they were probably made of leather, and they looked comfortable.

"I think I"ll take these, Lisa." Hannah walked over to point to the pair of shoes. "They look just right."

"They"re too plain, Hannah. You need something fancier to go with your gorgeous dress."

"How much fancier?" Hannah wasn"t willing to cave in quite so easily. The black shoes would go with almost anything, and plain was fine with her.

"Try this pair." Lisa s.n.a.t.c.hed a pair from the display and handed them to Hannah. "They"ll be perfect. Trust me."

"Trust me" was the same phrase her mother had used when she"d talked Hannah into buying a totally ridiculous velvet skirt one Christmas, and Hannah was leery as she examined the shoes. They met all the requirements, but the thin leather strap that buckled around the ankle would draw attention to her legs.

"Just try them, Hannah. If you don"t like them, you can choose something else."

"Fine." Going shopping with Lisa was a lot like shopping with her mother. "I wear a nine and a half narrow."

"I"ll get a clerk."

Lisa hurried off and within a few moments she came back with a man with black hair and a mustache. He was wearing white pants and a striped shirt and he looked exactly like Hannah"s conception of a Venetian gondolier.

"This is Tony," Lisa introduced him. "He"ll help you."

In record time Hannah"s feet were measured, and Tony had slipped the shoes on her feet. Hannah stood up gingerly, took a few steps, and started to smile. Lisa was right. The shoes would be perfect with her black c.o.c.ktail dress. "I"ll take them."

"Not so fast," Lisa warned. "You have to walk around the store first. You promised."

Hannah sighed and walked up and down the aisles. She was glad she did, because she noticed a sign near the register that advertised a second pair of shoes for five dollars. She rushed back to Tony and gestured toward the sign. "A second pair is only five dollars?"

"That"s right. It"s still our grand opening. You want to look at a second pair?"

Hannah shook her head and pointed at Lisa. "No, she she does and I"m paying. She"d like to try..." Hannah glanced around. She"d noticed that Lisa had been staring at a pair of shoes when they"d first walked in, and there had been a wistful expression on her face. She located the shoes, a pair of gold sandals with five-inch heels, and hurried over to retrieve them and carry them back to Tony. "She wants to try this pair." does and I"m paying. She"d like to try..." Hannah glanced around. She"d noticed that Lisa had been staring at a pair of shoes when they"d first walked in, and there had been a wistful expression on her face. She located the shoes, a pair of gold sandals with five-inch heels, and hurried over to retrieve them and carry them back to Tony. "She wants to try this pair."

"You"ll be wasting your money," Lisa objected. "They"re beautiful, but I wouldn"t have anywhere to wear them."

"So what? I want you to have them. Every woman needs a totally fantastic pair of shoes once in a while, even if they just sit in her closet."

"But, Hannah..."

"Don"t forget that I"m your boss," Hannah interrupted her. "And I"m ordering you to get those shoes."

Lisa began to laugh. "You win. Do you have them in a six, Tony?"

Twin Pines was only ten miles from the Tri-County Mall and the snow was still falling as Hannah pulled into a recently vacated spot near the entrance. It wasn"t snowing hard, but she wondered what it would be like to get s...o...b..und at a casino. Perhaps it was a good thing she hadn"t brought any of her credit cards with her.

"It"s huge, Hannah. And it looks nice." Lisa eyed the flashing neon signs as they walked up to the entrance, and there was a childlike wonder on her face. "I"m glad you asked me to come with you. I"ve never been inside a casino before."

A bouncer was stationed at a spot just inside the front door and Hannah held her breath. She hoped that Lisa was old enough to gamble. Then she noticed a sign that read: "YOU MUST BE 18 OR OLDER TO GAMBLE." She breathed a sigh of relief. She turned to look back at the bouncer again. His face was free of scratches and bruises and he certainly didn"t have a black eye. There was no way that he"d been the recipient of Ron"s punches, and Hannah decided to wait until they"d eaten before she asked any questions about the bouncer who"d been on duty Tuesday night.