“Absolutely not,” Hannah agreed quickly. She could imagine the damage that Boyd would inflict on his wife if the word got out that Danielle was supporting them. He might even borrow a page from the storybook and kill the goose that laid the golden egg.

Chapter Twenty-Four

“I know it’s confusing,” Hannah tried to explain as she walked back into her condo. It was clear by his startled expression that Moishe didn’t know what to make of her comings and goings today. “I’ve come back to make a few phone calls. What do you say I keep you busy with a dish of ice cream?”

Moishe rubbed against her ankles as Hannah pulled a carton of French vanilla out of the freezer and scooped some into a dessert dish. She carried it out to the living room, set it down on the coffee table, and patted the surface. Moishe didn’t need a second invitation. He approached the dish, sniffed at the mound of icy white, and then tasted it with the tip of his tongue. The cold must have surprised him because he drew back to stare at it, but that didn’t stop him from going back for a second lick.

While Moishe was busy exploring this intriguing new foodstuff, Hannah flopped down on the couch and reached for the phone. She had to call Dr. Holland to confirm that Boyd Watson had kept his appointment on Wednesday morning.

Five minutes later, Hannah had her answer. She’d pretended to be a medical claims adjuster and she’d asked Dr. Holland’s receptionist to verify the time of the appointment. The receptionist had told her that Mr. Watson had seen Dr. Holland at seven in the morning and that his appointment had lasted the usual fifty minutes.

“I don’t know whether I should be relieved, or disappointed,” Hannah confided to her feline roommate. Boyd Watson wasn’t the killer and he was free to batter Danielle whenever he felt the urge.

But there was still that photo of the rental car folder in the snapshot that Norman’s mother had taken. And Woodley also started with a W. Hannah went to the kitchen to fetch herself another diet Coke and thought about the rental car that someone in the Woodley household had used. She didn’t think that either Judith or Del would have rented a nondescript black compact, not when they had a whole garage full of luxury vehicles to choose from. But there was Benton and his name wouldn’t have raised any red flags for the manager at Compacts Unlimited because his driver’s license would still show his East Coast residence. Benton could have rented a compact car to drive from the airport to Lake Eden. He’d told Andrea and Bill that he’d taken the shuttle, but that didn’t necessarily mean it was true.

Hannah picked up the phone and got the number for the shuttle service at the Minneapolis airport. There was only one shuttle that ran to Lake Eden and that made her job a little easier. She punched out the number of their airport office and rehearsed what she would say to get the information she needed. She’d picked up a new skill by listening to Andrea on the phone with the hotel clerk at the Buttermakers’ Convention. It was possible to get all sorts of information if the person on the other end of the line really wanted to help you.