Cinnamon Roll Murder

ladies room and you can try on your wig. It’s going to look great on you, Hannah. You’ll see.”

Less than a minute later, they were seated in a four-person booth. There weren’t many people in the restaurant, and their waitress came up to them almost immediately.

“Good morning,” she said, giving them both a big smile. “Would you like coffee to start?”

“Yes, please,” Andrea replied. “And I think coffee is all we’re going to have.” She turned to Hannah. “Unless you want something.”

“Just coffee for me, too. Black.”

“Cream and sugar for you, Ma’am?” The waitress turned to Andrea.

“Cream, unless it’s that coffee whitener.”

“It’s real cream and it comes in those little covered cups. Do you want one, or two?”

“Two please. Where’s your ladies room?”

The waitress gestured toward the rear of the restaurant. “Back there. The ladies is the first door on your right.”

“Let’s go,” Andrea said as soon as their waitress had left. “I want to see how that wig looks on you. Bertie gave me a sock for your hair.”

Hannah was puzzled as she slid out of the booth and followed her sister. “A sock?”

“It’s like a hairnet, but she called it a sock. It’s made out of stretchy material, and you just gather up all your hair into a high ponytail on top of your head. Then you fasten the ponytail inside the sock. It’s easier to put on the wig if your own hair doesn’t get in the way.”

“Makes sense,” Hannah said gathering her hair into a high ponytail the way Andrea had instructed. She took the fastener Andrea gave her and secured the ponytail. “Can you put on the sock?” she asked. “I can’t see to do it.”

“No problem. Just crouch down a little, will you? You’re a lot taller than I am.”

A lot taller, a lot heavier, and a lot less pretty, Hannah thought to herself. Andrea and Michelle had inherited their mother’s petite frame and classic good looks, while Hannah looked more like her tall, big, gangly, and unhandsome father. When they were children and Delores had taken her three daughters out to lunch, or for an afternoon outing, everyone commented on the family resemblance and how you could certainly tell that Andrea and Michelle were Delores’s daughters. No one ever made that comment about Hannah. They probably assumed that she was a step-daughter, or perhaps a friend who’d been kindly included in the mother- daughter outing.

Hannah crouched, and Andrea slipped the elastic sock over her ponytail. She took the wig out of the wig box and settled it on Hannah’s head. Then she did something with a comb, pulling down sections of hair to frame Hannah’s face. At least Hannah thought that was what she was doing. Since her back was to the mirror, she had no way of actually knowing.

“All done,” Andrea said. “You can stand up and turn around now. I want to know what you think of it.”

Hannah stared at the stranger in the mirror. She blinked several times, and then she stared some more. It had to be her reflection. When she raised her arm, the stranger in the mirror raised her arm. And when she turned toward Andrea, the stranger mirrored her motion.

“Well?” Andrea prompted her. “What do you think?”

“I think I need a new name.”

“What?”

“I said, I think I need a new name. And then I think I need to go down to CIA headquarters and fill out an application for deep undercover work. Nobody will ever recognize me in this wig.”

“I knew it.” Andrea looked proud. “But you didn’t tell me. Do you like it?”

“I love it! The minute we get back to Lake Eden, I’m going to buy this wig from Bertie.”

“Because you like your new look so much?”

“Not exactly. I’ll buy it because it’ll be so much fun to wear it to the next potluck dinner, and see if Mike tries to pick up the new gal in town.”

“Here we are.” Andrea pulled up in front of a house that was eerily similar to the one the Cleavers had owned on every Leave it To Beaver rerun that Hannah had watched.

“It’s awfully big for just one person,” Hannah commented.

“It’s not just one person. You’re moving your whole family here. I told you that you were married with children, didn’t I?”

“Yes. My husband’s name is Phillip and I have two kids. They’re both in school so I’m concerned about the local elementary schools in the area.”

“Good. And your name is?”

“Joyce Newhall.”

“And you’re from?”

“Royalton. I drove up here today to house hunt while my husband’s at work and the kids are in school.”

“That’s just fine. You sound very convincing. Now why are you moving to Minneapolis, Hannah?”

“It’s Joyce, and I’m moving to the Cities because my husband just accepted a job at Xcel Energy. It’s a Fortune Five Hundred company, and Phillip is a tax attorney.”

“Excellent. You’re ready.”

“I know, but are you?”

Andrea looked puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“Do you have a plan for getting the DNA sample?”

“Not yet, but don’t worry. I’ll think of something when we get there. Now let’s hurry up and take a look at this house so that we can go next door.”

After a quick glance in the mirror on the passenger side visor to make sure her wig was on straight, Hannah got out of Andrea’s Volvo and followed her up the front walkway. Once her sister had retrieved the key from the lockbox and opened the front door, they stepped inside.

“Gorgeous!” Hannah said, catching sight of the massive curved staircase that led up to the second floor. Then she turned to shut the front door, and noticed the round, faceted window that was at least fifteen feet above the front door. “Look at that window, Andrea.”

Andrea glanced up. “It’s beautiful and it must have cost a bundle.”

“Not that. I can tell it’s expensive. But it’s way up there. How do you clean it?”

“I should have known that would be the first question you’d ask.” Andrea gave a little laugh. “The answer is, you don’t clean that window. You hire someone to come in every month with a special ladder, and they clean that window.”

“But ... wouldn’t that be expensive?”

“Of course it would be expensive. But you don’t care about that because Phillip makes huge pots of money, and he needs to impress everyone with his expensive home.”

“Right.” Hannah trotted obediently after her sister as Andrea led the way to a massive kitchen that would be almost impossible for one ordinary housewife to keep clean, several powder rooms on the main floor, and a small bedroom, living room, and bathroom that Andrea called the maid’s suite.

The second floor was next, and Hannah counted six roomy bedrooms with walk-in closets and three full bathrooms. The master suite was behind doors and boasted a Jacuzzi in the massive bathroom, and a double fireplace that was built into the wall between the sitting room and the bedroom. There was even a refrigerator and a wine cooler in the sitting room, presumably there so that the master and mistress of the manor wouldn’t have to trek all the way down the stairs to get their late-evening libations.

Hannah was glad when Andrea locked the door behind them. All this luxury coupled with the enormous asking price of the house they’d just seen was making her head spin. It was a relief to go next door to the modest two- story home that belonged to Doctor Bev’s mother.

“If Diana’s not home, I’ll have to find something of hers to take with me,” Andrea said as she prepared to ring the doorbell. “I hope she invites us in.”

Hannah wasn’t sure what she expected when Mrs. Thorndike answered their knock on the door, but it certainly wasn’t the woman standing there. Bev’s mother was the polar opposite of Delores although they were roughly the same age. Doctor Bev’s mother was pleasantly plump, while Delores was sleek and svelte. And while