“Yes. Bill says it was nothing, that they walked out of Heavenly Bodies together about a week ago. The wind was blowing, and Ronni got something in her eye when he was walking her to her car. Bill leaned over her to see if he could tell what it was. He didn’t even think about how it would look to anyone passing by, but someone saw them and drew the wrong conclusion.”

Hannah got up and gave her sister a big hug. “It’s okay, Andrea. I’m sure it happened exactly the way Bill said it did.”

“So am I but I wouldn’t put it past Ronni to do something like that deliberately to cause trouble between Bill and me. That’s why I want you to solve the case fast and prove that my Bill had nothing to do with it.”

Chapter Fourteen

“Espionage is thirsty work,” Norman said, as Hannah opened the back door at The Cookie Jar.

“I’ve got coffee.”

“Coffee’s good.” Norman stepped inside the kitchen and gave her a hug.

It felt so good to be in Norman’s arms that Hannah just stayed there for a long moment. She felt safe and secure, and very loved. She also wondered whether she felt thinner to him. Of course it had only been a couple of days and a weight loss that Norman could notice by just hugging her was unlikely. Not only that, it didn’t really matter. She didn’t have to lose weight to attract Norman. He loved her just the way she was.

“That was nice,” Norman said, smiling down at her as she stepped back, out of their embrace.

“Yes, it was.” Hannah gave him an answering smile. “Have a seat and I’ll pour some coffee for you.”

“Hi, Andrea,” Norman greeted her as he took the adjoining stool.

“Hi, Norman. What’s all this about espionage?”

“Oh, um…” Norman glanced at Hannah for help.

“You can tell her. Andrea’s going to be helping us investigate. So is Michelle. She’ll be coming in on the bus around six, and she’s staying in my guest room.”

“I’ll pick her up and bring her out to your condo. How about Chinese? We can stop for that on the way. And after we eat, we can discuss the case.”

“Sounds good.” Hannah turned to Andrea. “Can you join us?”

“Sure. Bill has to stay late to meet Detective Parks and hand over the paperwork. Now what’s all this about espionage?”

“I’m delivering messages from Mike to Hannah about how to work the case. He had to promise not to contact her, not even by phone.”

“Bill told me about that.” Andrea turned to Hannah with a frown. “And you’re letting Mike tell you what to do?”