The alarm clock was serenading her with its irritating electronic beep, and Hannah moved Moishe over so that she could reach out and shut it off. It was still dark outside, but the security light on the side of the building had come on. Since it detected any type of motion, Hannah figured that it had been set off by a winter bird that had swooped down to peck at the birdseed bell she’d hung outside her window.

“Okay, I’m getting up. I know it’s feed-the-kitty time.” Hannah levered her head from the warm comfort of her pillow and sat up in bed. She dangled her feet over the side of the mattress and searched with her toes for the pair of slippers she kept there. She nabbed one, then the other, and wiggled her feet into the gray scuffs that had once been powder blue.

When she got to the kitchen, the coffee was ready, and Hannah gave thanks for the timer she’d rigged to the kitchen outlet. Some of the older women in Lake Eden called strong black coffee “Swedish plasma” and Hannah agreed with that definition. She couldn’t even think, much less function, until she’d downed at least a cup. She poured herself a mug of the steaming, caffeine-laden brew, threw some kitty crunchies into Moishe’s bowl, and sat down at the table.

There was something very important on the docket for today. Hannah took a big gulp of her coffee, hoping to dispel the morning cobwebs that had gathered in her head during the night. It wasn’t a new catering job. She had her schedule set for this week.

The sound of loud chewing roused Hannah from her zombielike state and she turned to look at Moishe. His kitty crunchies were living up to their name. He was chomping so hard, he sounded as if he might break a tooth and…“Ron’s tooth! That’s it!”

Moishe gave her a startled look and then he buried his head in his food bowl again. Hannah grinned. He probably thought she was crazy for hollering out loud, but she’d just remembered what Tracey had told her, right before she’d discovered Ron’s body. Tracey had said she’d waved at Ron and he’d given her a “funny” smile. People who’d just come from the dentist had “funny” smiles, especially if the dentist had given them a shot of novocaine. And Danielle had said that she’d urged Ron to go to the dentist.

Hannah reached out for the yellow pad she kept on the kitchen table and jotted down a note to herself. Call every dentist in town. Did they see Ron yesterday morning? Then she grinned at what she’d written. Every dentist? There were only two dentists in Lake Eden: Doc Bennett and Norman Rhodes. Doc Bennett was retired, but he still kept a few of his former patients in enamel, and Hannah hoped that Ron had been one of them. She certainly wasn’t looking forward to the prospect of calling Norman. He might think that she was following up on her mother’s attempt at matchmaking and nothing could be further from the truth.