“Thank you for your concern, Hannah.” Judith gave her a small, cold smile. “If you’ll give me a moment, I’ll locate those tickets for you. They’re probably in Benton’s suite. Just wait right here and I’ll find them.”

Hannah gave a big sigh of relief when Judith left the room. That comment she’d made about saving the family from embarrassment had worked. She’d also saved Bill from embarrassment. Judith wasn’t the type to be intimidated by the authorities and she might have sued the Winnetka County Sheriff’s Department for harassment if Bill had dragged Benton in to interrogate him.

The seconds ticked by and Hannah reached for a sandwich. She’d skipped lunch and her stomach was rumbling. The sandwiches weren’t bad, definitely watercress, but they weren’t what she’d call substantial. She could scarf up the whole tray and they still wouldn’t make a decent meal. Hannah was just lifting the top off another—perhaps there were some with chicken or tuna mixed in somewhere—when she heard Judith’s footsteps approaching in the hallway. She replaced the bread just in time and pasted a smile on her face.

“Here they are.” Judith was carrying a silk shawl over her right arm and her voice was trembling slightly. It certainly wasn’t cold in the room, but perhaps just knowing that Benton was a suspect in a homicide had given her a chill. She sat down in her chair with the shawl on her lap and handed Hannah the tickets with her left hand. “If you’ll open the folder, you’ll see that Benton’s plane didn’t land until twelve-seventeen. I assume that this will clear him as a suspect?”

Hannah examined the tickets. “Yes, it will. I’m really sorry that I had to bring it up and I hope that I didn’t upset you too much. It was just that the circumstantial evidence against Benton seemed overwhelming.”

“Overwhelming?” Judith’s eyebrows shot up. “How can that be? A killer requires a motive. What possible motive could Benton have for killing Max Turner?”

“Actually,” Hannah hesitated, choosing her words carefully, “it concerns the personal loan that your husband had with Max Turner.”

“What are you talking about, Hannah?”

Judith looked flustered, not at all like her usual poised self and Hannah wondered if she should backpedal. But Judith had been very forthcoming and she deserved the truth. “I’m sorry I have to tell you, Judith, but Del secured a personal loan from Max Turner. I just learned about it this afternoon. And I know that Del was having some problems making the payments. You can see how this all fits together, can’t you?”

“Yes, I can.” Judith’s voice was hard and Hannah assumed that she was embarrassed. “You thought that Benton shot Max so that Del wouldn’t have to honor the loan. Is that right?”

“That’s it. I’m really sorry, Judith, but it did make sense. You’ve got to admit that.”

Judith dipped her head in a nod. “You’re right, Hannah. It did make sense. Does your brother-in-law know about the loan?”