“There was no suffering, was there, Hannah?”

Hannah set the box down and turned to Edna. “What?”

“With Ron. I’ve been thinking about it all day. He was such a nice boy. If it was his time to die, I hope it was quick and painless.”

Hannah didn’t believe that everyone had a prearranged time to die. Thinking like that was too much like buying a lottery ticket and figuring that it was your turn to win the jackpot. “Bill told me he thought it was instantaneous.”

“I guess we should be grateful for that. And to think that he was right here, only minutes before he was murdered! It’s enough to give a body chills!”

Hannah placed her lemons on one of Edna’s chopping blocks and began to cut them into paper-thin slices. “Then Ron made his delivery this morning?”

“Of course. That boy never missed a day. He was real conscientious and he took pride in his work.”

Hannah added this tidbit to the small stockpile of facts she’d gathered. Ron had stocked Jordan High’s cooler this morning, for whatever that was worth. “Did you see him this morning?”

“No. I never do. I don’t come in until eight and he was long gone by then. But the cooler had been stocked.”

Hannah unpacked her heavy-duty plastic punchbowl and handed it to Edna. She only used the glass one for formal functions like weddings and the senior prom. Then she picked up the huge thermos of lemonade and the bowl of lemon slices she’d cut, and led the way into the main part of the cafeteria. A table had already been set up for refreshments, covered with a blue paper tablecloth, and there was a cardboard file box at the head of another similarly covered table.

“Gil came down on his free period to set up,” Edna told her. “He said to tell you that he’s bringing a balloon centerpiece.”

“Okay, I’ll leave room for it.” Hannah motioned for Edna to put the punchbowl down. Then she opened the thermos and started to pour the lemonade into the bowl. “You didn’t notice anything unusual about the way Ron left the kitchen?”

“Can’t say as I did. What’s in those ice cubes, Hannah? They look cloudy.”

“They’re made out of lemonade so they won’t dilute it when they melt. I do the same thing with any punch I make.” Hannah finished transferring the lemonade and floated the slices of lemon on the top. As she stepped back to admire the effect, she noticed that Edna was frowning. “Do you think it needs more lemon slices?”

“No. It looks real professional. I was just thinking about Ron.”

“You and everybody else. Come on, Edna. I’ve got to unpack the cookies.”

Edna followed her back to the kitchen and she gasped when Hannah lifted the lid on the box. “Just look at that! Those are real pretty, Hannah.”

“I think so, too.” Hannah smiled as she arranged the cookies on a tray. Lisa had piped on yellow and blue frosting in the shape of the Boy Scout logo. “Lisa Herman did the decorations. She’s getting to be an expert with the pastry bag.”