“I see what you mean,” she said, turning around to face Dick again.
“As I told you, I couldn’t recognize the man, but I’d recognize his shoes if I saw them again. It was pretty obvious he’d hung up his coat and changed to shoes in the cloakroom before he went past here on his way to the dining room, because he was wearing sneakers and it was snowing that night.”
Hannah felt her heartrate increase tenfold. “Anything unusual about his shoes?”
“Yes. They were black with silver laces and a silver stripe on the sides. I’d never seen sneakers like that before.”
“And you haven’t seen them since?”
Dick shook his head. “I haven’t. Of course, he could have been in here wearing different shoes.”
“Thanks for telling me, Dick. It could be important.”
“I hope that helps, Hannah. I’m going to really miss Tori. She used to come out here quite a bit with the mayor and Stephanie. She’d have a couple of vodka martinis and then she was the life of the party. You should have seen her on Karaoke Night. It figures, since she was on the stage, but Tori could really belt out a song.”
*
“Come in, Hannah.” Sally stood up, grabbed some papers, and came out from behind her desk. “I’ve got a curtained booth reserved for us. Dot’s working lunch today so she’ll be our waitress. I told her it was important and she’s going to make sure our conversation doesn’t go any further than the two of us.”
“Great. Thanks, Sally.”
“Here.” Sally handed her the papers. “These are for you.”
“What are they?”
“The recipe for Peanut Butter Cheesecake. Since Michelle ordered three pieces, I figured she’d want it.”
“You figured right. She reminded me to ask you for the recipe this morning. I had half of her slice last night. It’s a great cheesecake, Sally.”
“Thanks. Dick likes it, too.” Sally led the way down the hall and into the main dining room where Dot was waiting to show them to their booth.
Sally waited until they were seated and Dot had left and then she leaned forward toward Hannah. “Tori called to reserve this booth every time she made a reservation. And that was at least three times a week.”
“Dick said she was in the bar quite often. And she enjoyed singing on Karaoke Night.”
“Tori was good. Usually I was too busy to duck in there to hear her, but I saw her perform a couple of times. The mayor’s not bad, either. They did a duet one night that would knock your socks off. It was ‘I Got You, Babe,’ the song that made Sonny and Cher famous.”
“I didn’t know Mayor Bascomb could sing!”
“Neither did Stephanie from the look on her face. I’ve seen freshly caught trout that looked less surprised than she did.”
“Was she angry with the mayor for getting up to sing?”
“Oh, no! Stephanie loved it, once she realized he had a good voice. He even coaxed her up there to do one song with them.”
“Sounds like a fun-filled night.”
“It was, but not until Tori got rid of the man she met for dinner. Their waitress told me that they were fighting all the way through their meal. And Tori wouldn’t let her come in to serve their food. She just told her to leave it on the stand outside the curtains and they’d bring it in themselves.”
“Did your waitress recognize the man?”
“No. She said she never got a good look at his face. Every time she pulled back the curtain, he turned his face away from her. And she probably wouldn’t have recognized him anyway. She lives twenty miles away and drives in to work here. She described his shoes, though. Did Dick tell you he saw the man come in?”
“Yes, he did. Did the waitress tell you anything else about the fight they had?”
“She did. She said Tori told him to get lost, that she never wanted to see him again, and that it had been a mistake in the first place. He tried to bring her around, but she didn’t want to hear it, and he ended up leaving halfway through the entrée.”
“Did Tori go after him?”
Sally laughed. “Heavens, no! The waitress said she looked relieved that he was gone. She ordered another vodka martini, chatted with the waitress for a few minutes, and ate her dinner. As a matter of fact, she even ordered dessert, so I guess she couldn’t have been too upset about breaking up with him, if that’s what it was.”
“What did Tori do after she finished her dinner?”
“She used her cell phone to call the mayor and Stephanie and ask them to join her in the bar. I checked the bill and she’d had three vodka martinis by that time and she was pretty sloshed. And that’s what I wanted to tell you about. It might not have anything to do with Tori’s murder, but you never know.”
“You’re right. You never do. Thanks for telling me, Sally.”
“You’re welcome. I ordered for you, if that’s all right. I’ve got a new warm duck salad that I want you to try.”
“Perfect!” Hannah said, and she meant it. She loved duck and Sally prepared it beautifully.
The salad was every bit as wonderful as Hannah expected it to be, and they chatted about inconsequential things over lunch.
*
Hannah thanked Sally again for the lunch, the information, and the cheesecake recipe, waved at Dick on her way out, and went to the cloakroom to change into her boots and put on her parka.
Since she’d parked in a spot very close to the entrance, it didn’t take Hannah long to start her cookie truck and drive back to town. Once there, she went straight to Jordan High to see if Michelle was through with her rehearsal.
*
“I told you he’d break your heart!”
“But Mother . . . I know he loves me! And he promised me that he’d never . . .”
“Men always promise,” the woman playing Tricia’s mother interrupted her. “Believe me, dear. It means nothing.”
“But I know he means it, Mother.”