“No, he waited around the corner for me. I was in pretty bad shape, Hannah. I almost scraped the side of my Lincoln when I pulled into the garage.”

Hannah nodded and waited for her to go on. She could sympathize with Danielle, but this wasn’t the time. She still needed more information from her.

“I went inside to check the answering machine again, and then I walked down the alley to meet Ron. He drove me to his apartment and we stayed up all night, drinking coffee. That’s exactly what happened, Hannah. I swear it!”

“Why did you go to work with him?”

“Ron was late and he didn’t have time to take me home until later. I went along on his home delivery route and then we went back to the dairy and he loaded up for his commercial customers. I only went to one commercial place with him. Right after we stocked the school cooler, he dropped me off at home.”

“What time did Ron bring you home?”

“It was seven-twenty. I looked at my watch before I got out of his truck. I figured that my neighbors might be up by then, so I ducked in the alley and went in through the garage.”

“Do you think you would have noticed if anyone was following Ron’s truck?”

“I don’t know.” Danielle looked frightened. “I’ve been thinking about it all day, but I don’t remember seeing anyone behind us.”

Hannah leaned forward. If Danielle knew where Ron had been planning to go when he’d dropped her off, it could be very helpful. “Think hard, Danielle. Did Ron say anything about where he was going when he left you?”

“He didn’t say anything except goodbye,” Danielle’s voice quavered and she dabbed at her eyes again. “I tried to talk him into going to the dentist for his tooth, but I don’t think he did. Ron had this thing about being totally reliable and making his deliveries on time.”

Hannah’s eyebrows shot up. “His tooth? What was wrong with his tooth?”

“I think it was cracked. He got into a fight with one of the casino bouncers when he tried to hand out some pamphlets inside. His jaw was all swollen up and it was hurting him a lot. I made him put ice on it. That’s good for the swelling.”

Hannah flashed back to the last time she’d seen Ron alive. He’d been standing by his truck, cupping the side of his face. She’d thought that he looked pensive, but he could have been holding his hand over a cracked tooth. “Was Ron’s cracked tooth on the left side, Danielle?”

“Yes!” Danielle gasped and stared at Hannah as if she’d just pulled a rabbit out of a hat. “How did you know?”

“I saw him loading the truck when I drove to work this morning and he was cupping the left side of his jaw. But I didn’t see you.”

“That’s because I was scrunched down in the seat. I didn’t want anyone to spot me with Ron and get the wrong idea.”