“He must have had money, that’s for sure!” It was Bertie Straub’s voice and Hannah smiled. Bertie had probably left her clients under the dryers and dashed down the street to listen to Lisa’s story so that she could go back and repeat it to them when she combed them out.

“Dark brown hair, hazel eyes, and not an ounce of fat on him. I saw him and he looked like he worked out almost every day,” Lisa continued her description.

“How about jewelry?” It was Jon Walker from Lake Eden Neighborhood Pharmacy, just down the street. Jon must have walked up on his lunch break to hear Lisa’s story.

“The man had a high school ring and we’re working on identifying the school it came from,” Lisa told them. “I have a photo right here if you want to see it. Why don’t you pass it around? Maybe someone here will recognize the seal.”

“Smart thinking,” Hannah said under her breath. Lake Eden had quite a few residents who’d come from other towns and cities and perhaps one of them would recognize the seal on the ring.

As she zested an orange and added the zest to her bowl, Hannah listened for any response from Lisa’s audience. All was silent for a minute or two and then Lisa went on with her story. “He had a diamond embedded in his left front tooth.”

“Eeeuww!” Hannah heard a woman say, but she didn’t recognize the voice from such a short exclamation.

“Do you think he was a gang member?” This time Hannah did recognize the speaker. It was her business neighbor, owner of Beau Monde Fashions next door, Claire Rodgers Knudson.

“Sounds more like a pimp to me, especially if it’s a real diamond! Gang members don’t usually have that kind of cash unless they deal drugs.”

Hannah recognized the voice and she started to laugh. She couldn’t help it. She laughed so hard, she had to clamp her hand over her mouth so that she wouldn’t be heard by the customers in the coffee shop. The speaker had been Grandma Knudson, grandmother of Claire’s husband, Reverend Bob Knudson, pastor of the Lake Eden Holy Redeemer Lutheran Church. Hannah had no idea how the matriarch of the church knew about pimps, gang members, and tooth jewelry, but she obviously did. There were times when Grandma Knudson surprised them all.

“Can someone get the diamond out to find out if it’s real?” It was Bertie Straub’s voice again.

“Norman Rhodes removed it on Saturday. And he’s taking it out to the jewelry stores at the mall to have it appraised.”

“Do you think it’s real?” It was Grandma Knudson’s voice again.

“Andrea does. Norman showed it to her.”

“It’s real then,” Bertie Straub said. “Andrea knows her jewelry. Was it big?”

“Andrea said it was at least a carat, maybe more.”