to the clubhouse, you’ll tip him off that you know. Besides, why would he go in the condo clubhouse and use his binoculars? It just doesn’t make sense.
Oh, yes it does! I thought you were the rational one here! Just let me explain it to you. Clara took a photo of Tom and Tom knew it. He didn’t want to be seen right outside the condo complex so he pushed Clara down, stole her phone and her door key, got in the clubhouse, and probably stayed there for several nights.
That tells us what you think he might have done, but why would Tom stay in the clubhouse instead of going to Minneapolis? And why did he need those binoculars?
Hannah thought about the table where she’d found the binoculars. It faced her building and it would enable Tom to watch for anyone entering her condo.
Very good! both sides of her mind exclaimed at once. And then her suspicious mind carried it even further. Tom was watching to see if Ross would come out to her condo.
But how will you discover if that’s true? the rational part of her mind asked.
The Buffalo Plaid hat! the suspicious part of Hannah’s mind answered the question. Tom left his coat and hat on the rack by the front door in the coffee shop. All I have to do is figure out some way to look at that coatrack.
“Let me put on another pot of coffee,” Hannah said, smiling at Tom. “You’re still shaking from the cold and you’re going to need more than one cup. I’m going up front to grab your coat from the rack. You have to get warm for the drive out to the Lake Eden Inn.”
“Thanks, Hannah,” Tom said, still cupping his hands around his coffee mug and lifting it to take a sip. “But am I keeping you here when you want to lock up and leave?”
“Not at all,” Hannah said quickly, gesturing toward the chocolate cooling on the work station. “I still have to dip some peanut butter candy balls in this chocolate and put them in the cooler for the night. Don’t worry, Tom. I was going to work for another half hour or so anyway. Just let me put on that pot of coffee and I’ll get your coat.”
Hannah refilled Tom’s mug, put on another pot, and then she made her escape to the coffee shop. She hurried to the coatrack by the front door, lifted Tom’s parka from the hook, and gave a little gasp as she spotted his hat. It was black-and-green Buffalo Plaid exactly like the one in the photo that Norman had enhanced! She had to tell Mike right away!
If you call him on the phone, Tom will hear you, her rational mind cautioned.
That was true and Hannah knew it. Instead of using the wall phone, she drew her cell phone from the pocket of her apron and took a photo of the cap. Then she typed in a short message that read, TOM LARCHMONT’S HAT. COME TO FRONT DOOR QUICK! HERE AT TCJ!
Leaving the hat on the hook, Hannah hurried back to the kitchen, clutching Tom’s coat. “Here,” she said, slipping the parka over Tom’s shoulders. “This should help.”
“Thanks, Hannah.” Tom slipped his arms in the sleeves and pulled the parka closely around him. “It’s helping. I’m feeling warmer already.”
“Good. Just let me get the peanut butter balls and start dipping them in chocolate. Then, as soon as they cool, you can have one.”
Hannah made a quick trip to the freezer to retrieve her frozen peanut butter balls and brought them back to the work station. Then she picked up one of the frozen balls by the end of the food pick and dipped it into the melted chocolate. After she’d coated it, she set it on the cookie sheet that was lined with wax paper. “I’m thinking about buying a pair of binoculars,” she said in a way she hoped would sound casual. “Have you ever used binoculars, Tom?”
“Yes, when I go out to a job site, I sometimes use them to survey the work in progress before I actually talk to the contractor.”
“You survey construction sites?” Hannah was puzzled. “But I thought you were an investment counselor for large, corporations.”
“That’s right and I sometimes recommend investing in real-estate projects like sports arenas, shopping malls, and apartment and condo complexes. I always check out past projects and those in progress to make sure the work being done matches the blueprints the