means she probably saw her husband. Don't think that's important?'
'It's important, and I'm glad you noticed.' Hannah felt a little guilty for jumping on her sister. Andrea always noticed what other women were wearing. Usually it bored Hannah to death, but this time it had come in handy. 'I think it would help if we tried to reconstruct Connie Mac's afternoon. What time did you finish the tour, Andrea?'
'Three-thirty. I looked at my watch when Spencer dropped me off at my car. I wanted to see if I had time to stop at the cleaners before I picked Tracey up at preschool.'
Hannah wrote the time in her notebook. 'So Connie Max got here at three-thirty and she had time to change clothes before Sally saw her at four?'
'She barely had time,' Andrea corrected her. 'I don't think Connie Mac was the type to go out in public unless she looked perfect. And don't forget that she had to switch purses. I figure she had about two minutes to spend with her husband, just long enough to give him his orders for the rest of the day.'
Hannah chuckled at her sister's turn of phrase. Andrea's opinion of Connie Mac had obviously hit rock bottom. 'So you think it wasn't an ideal marriage?'
'Not on your life! Any woman who doesn't spend more than two minutes with her husband especially after they've been separated for five days, is a really lousy wife.'
'I'll take your word for that,' Hannah said, turning back to her notebook. 'Was Connie Mac angry about anything when you left her, Andrea?'
'Not that I could see. She was all smiles and she even invited me to the grand opening of her boutique. Something must have happened after she went up to her suite.'
'At least we know she didn't have a fight with her husband. There's no way he could make her that angry in two minutes.' Hannah looked up from her notes as Sally and Andrea started to laugh. 'What did I say?'
Sally tried for a straight face, but it didn't work. 'You don't understand, Hannah. Dick can say something to make me mad in less time than that.'
'And Bill can do it in thirty seconds flat,' Andrea added. 'You don't know much about marriage.'
'And I'm not sure I want to. Then you two think she might have had a fight with Paul?'
'It's certainly possible,' Andrea answered, 'but it's also possible that something happened on her way down to the bar.'
'That's true. How long did she stay in the bar, Sally?'
'Five minutes tops. She went out the same way she came in, as mad as a wet hen. She was really on the warpath, and she heard Connie Mac yelling at Kurt Howe in his room. She was so loud, Francine could hear her right through the closed door.'
'What time was that? And who's Kurt Howe?'
'A quarter after four. Kurt Howe works for Savory Press, the people that publish her cookbooks. He's a nice young guy and he's got a tough job. He told me that they sent him here to handle Connie Mac, and it wasn't easy.'
'That's got to be the understatement of the year,' Hannah said, venturing a grin, 'especially when Connie Mac's the one who's used to doing the handling. Does Francine know why she was yelling at him?'
'Not really. She just caught the tail end of it. But she did hear Connie Mac say that she was going to call the publisher in the morning and have Kurt fired.'
Hannah almost choked on a sip of coffee, and Andrea reached over to thump her on the back. 'Are you all right, Hannah?'
'I'm fine, but we've discovered five suspects already and we just started. Sally's right. It looks like everyone had a reason to want Connie Mac dead.'
'Five suspects?' Sally looked confused. 'I thought you had only four.'
'The van driver's number one. He must have been steaming about being fired. And Alan Carpenter is number two. Connie Mac threatened to fire him and have him disbarred.'
'We have to include Paul,' Andrea said, taking over the count, 'at least until we find out if he has an alibi. If they had a fight, he was probably just as mad as she was. And Kurt Howe is suspect number four. He could have
'It's important, and I'm glad you noticed.' Hannah felt a little guilty for jumping on her sister. Andrea always noticed what other women were wearing. Usually it bored Hannah to death, but this time it had come in handy. 'I think it would help if we tried to reconstruct Connie Mac's afternoon. What time did you finish the tour, Andrea?'
'Three-thirty. I looked at my watch when Spencer dropped me off at my car. I wanted to see if I had time to stop at the cleaners before I picked Tracey up at preschool.'
Hannah wrote the time in her notebook. 'So Connie Max got here at three-thirty and she had time to change clothes before Sally saw her at four?'
'She barely had time,' Andrea corrected her. 'I don't think Connie Mac was the type to go out in public unless she looked perfect. And don't forget that she had to switch purses. I figure she had about two minutes to spend with her husband, just long enough to give him his orders for the rest of the day.'
Hannah chuckled at her sister's turn of phrase. Andrea's opinion of Connie Mac had obviously hit rock bottom. 'So you think it wasn't an ideal marriage?'
'Not on your life! Any woman who doesn't spend more than two minutes with her husband especially after they've been separated for five days, is a really lousy wife.'
'I'll take your word for that,' Hannah said, turning back to her notebook. 'Was Connie Mac angry about anything when you left her, Andrea?'
'Not that I could see. She was all smiles and she even invited me to the grand opening of her boutique. Something must have happened after she went up to her suite.'
'At least we know she didn't have a fight with her husband. There's no way he could make her that angry in two minutes.' Hannah looked up from her notes as Sally and Andrea started to laugh. 'What did I say?'
Sally tried for a straight face, but it didn't work. 'You don't understand, Hannah. Dick can say something to make me mad in less time than that.'
'And Bill can do it in thirty seconds flat,' Andrea added. 'You don't know much about marriage.'
'And I'm not sure I want to. Then you two think she might have had a fight with Paul?'
'It's certainly possible,' Andrea answered, 'but it's also possible that something happened on her way down to the bar.'
'That's true. How long did she stay in the bar, Sally?'
'Five minutes tops. She went out the same way she came in, as mad as a wet hen. She was really on the warpath, and she heard Connie Mac yelling at Kurt Howe in his room. She was so loud, Francine could hear her right through the closed door.'
'What time was that? And who's Kurt Howe?'
'A quarter after four. Kurt Howe works for Savory Press, the people that publish her cookbooks. He's a nice young guy and he's got a tough job. He told me that they sent him here to handle Connie Mac, and it wasn't easy.'
'That's got to be the understatement of the year,' Hannah said, venturing a grin, 'especially when Connie Mac's the one who's used to doing the handling. Does Francine know why she was yelling at him?'
'Not really. She just caught the tail end of it. But she did hear Connie Mac say that she was going to call the publisher in the morning and have Kurt fired.'
Hannah almost choked on a sip of coffee, and Andrea reached over to thump her on the back. 'Are you all right, Hannah?'
'I'm fine, but we've discovered five suspects already and we just started. Sally's right. It looks like everyone had a reason to want Connie Mac dead.'
'Five suspects?' Sally looked confused. 'I thought you had only four.'
'The van driver's number one. He must have been steaming about being fired. And Alan Carpenter is number two. Connie Mac threatened to fire him and have him disbarred.'
'We have to include Paul,' Andrea said, taking over the count, 'at least until we find out if he has an alibi. If they had a fight, he was probably just as mad as she was. And Kurt Howe is suspect number four. He could have
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