Hannah motioned to Honey and both of them got out of the car. Hannah led the way up the stairs, unlocked the door, and caught Moishe in her arms. This elicited a laugh from Honey, the first laugh Hannah had heard from her, and they went inside.

“I called Norman to come and stay with you so you won’t be alone,” Hannah told her. “He should be here any minute. Just help yourself to anything you want in the refrigerator, and don’t let anyone in.”

“How about this Norman? I’m supposed to let him in, aren’t I?”

“You don’t have to let Norman in. He has a key. And he’ll probably bring his cat to play with Moishe. Her name is Cuddles.”

“That’s a cute name. I like cats,” Honey said quite unnecessarily since she was standing by the back of the couch scratching Moishe under his chin.

Hannah was just getting ready to leave when there was a knock on the door. “That’ll be Mike,” she said, not bothering to look through the peephole before she opened the door.

“Wrong,” a female voice said, and Hannah found herself staring into the barrel of a pistol that was pointed at her head. “Back up, lady! Where’s Honey?”

A million thoughts flashed through Hannah’s mind in the space of a nanosecond, but none of them did much good. She’d miss her mother’s wedding if she died right now, Honey would end up dying too, and Norman and Mike would discover their bodies. Delores would grieve for her, that was certain, and she’d probably wear ugly black outfits for years. Hannah’s mind clicked. Her last thought had been so incongruous, it had given her an idea.

She made a motion behind her back that she hoped Honey would catch. It was a wave that was intended to tell Honey to run and hide in the safest, most obscure place she could find. And then Hannah deliberately took a step closer to the woman in the doorway.

“Where ever did you get that incredibly horrible outfit?” Hannah asked in her best authoritarian voice.

“Wha . . . ?” Lady Die was clearly taken aback, and she did as Hannah hoped she would do. She looked down at the outfit she was wearing.

“Mistake!” Hannah said, grabbing the barrel of the gun and knocking it away. At the same time she planted her foot in Lady Die’s midsection and kicked her back as hard as she could.