“Good,” Hannah said, motioning toward an empty stool. “Did Michelle cue you in about my goof with Norman?”
“Yes, between delivering cookies and refilling coffee cups, I got the whole story in eleven parts and we’ll be glad to help you out.” She glanced at the empty package of sweetened dried cranberries on the counter. “Are you making Boggles? Or cranberry muffins?”
“No, but you’re close. I’m not making cookies and I’m not making muffins. I’m baking Cranberry Biscuits.”
“Are they an experiment?” Lisa guessed.
“Yes. If they turn out all right, we’ll serve them for dinner Thursday night.”
Just then the timer rang. Lisa followed Hannah to the oven and watched as she opened the door. “They smell good,” she said. “Hold on for a second and I’ll get the empty baker’s rack.”
Hannah waited until Lisa wheeled the rack into position and then she took out the first two pans of biscuits. She slid them onto the rack and was just turning around to grab another set of pans when Lisa spoke again.
“They look good, too. I think you’ve got a winner, Hannah.”
“We’ll have to taste them before we know for sure,” Hannah said as she took out another two pans. As she placed them on the racks, she decided that Lisa was right. The biscuits were a beautiful golden color and they smelled so good her mouth began to water.
“I don’t know if I can wait until they cool,” Lisa said, her eyes fixed on the top rack as Hannah removed two more pans.
“Wait for what?”
Both Hannah and Lisa turned to see Michelle standing in the doorway.
“Wait for these cranberry biscuits of Hannah’s to cool,” Lisa explained.
“You’ll have to wait a few minutes at least,” Michelle informed her. “Everyone is clamoring for you to tell the Judge Colfax story again. Bertie Straub is back for the fourth time today.”
Lisa turned back to Hannah. “Promise to save one of those cranberry biscuits for me?”
“I promise, but I don’t think that’ll be a problem. I just baked eight pans.”
Lisa hurried back into the coffee shop and Michelle went to the full baker’s rack to fill the empty display jar Lisa had brought in with Peanut Butter and Jam Cookies. “Mike came in a couple of minutes ago. He said he wanted to listen to Lisa’s story. Do you want me to send him back here when Lisa finishes so that you can invite him to dinner in person?”
Hannah almost groaned. She really didn’t want to see Mike. She’d already done the wrong thing with Norman and that made her leery of doing the wrong thing with Mike, too. She wanted to ask Michelle to invite him, but since she’d invited Norman, she supposed it was only right to invite Mike herself and not rely on a third person to do it. When she did, she’d be very careful what she said.
“Okay,” Hannah gave a little nod. “Tell Mike I’d like to see him. I’ll be right here, reading over the notes I made at the courthouse this morning.”
After Michelle left, Hannah got out her notes. Dave had given her the names of five suspects. One was Chad Norton. She’d already written his name on her list, but she made a notation next to it.
Temper
, she wrote.
Court ordered anger management course
.
The next suspect she’d added was Sheila Dortweiler. She noted the fact that Sheila had inherited from her father and that she was supporting her musician son. Hannah would definitely go to visit Sheila in Annandale.
Seth Dortweiler was the third suspect on Hannah’s list. She’d talk to Michelle about going to see Seth when he was performing with Liquid Steel.
And then there was Nora Colfax, Judge Colfax’s widow. Hannah added her name to the suspect list because family members of the victim were always suspect until proven innocent.
That left only two other suspects and Hannah wrote in Margaret George and her daughter. As she wrote them down, she frowned slightly. She’d met a woman with the last name of George, but she couldn’t remember where. She had a feeling it was right here in Lake Eden, but she wasn’t sure. It was a pity that Delores couldn’t answer her cell phone while she was on the ship. She knew everyone in Lake Eden and if there was a woman named Margaret George, in town, Hannah’s mother would know of her.
The enticing aroma of the Cranberry Biscuits pulled Hannah off her stool. She followed the scent like a hunting dog and touched a biscuit on the top rack. It was still a bit on the hot side of warm, but she didn’t care. She simply had to taste one to see if she’d succeeded.
Hannah didn’t bother with a napkin. She juggled the hot biscuit from hand to hand as she walked back to the workstation. She broke it open, dropped the two halves quickly, and went after the butter. She got a stick out of the walk-in cooler and placed it on a plate. Of course, she’d prefer softened butter, but the biscuits were still so hot, they’d melt the butter in no time at all.
A moment later, part of the biscuit was buttered. She’d been right. The butter melted almost immediately. Hannah picked up her creation and bit into it, chewing rapidly so that she wouldn’t burn the inside of her mouth. The cranberries were tender and the taste was good. As a matter of fact, it was much more than good. Her Cranberry Biscuits were incredibly delicious and that meant she’d succeeded!
Chapter Fifteen
“H
i, Hannah,” Mike said, coming in the swinging door from the coffee shop. “How are you?”
“I’m fine,” Hannah said.
“How was Vegas?” Mike asked. “I was going to ask you right away, but I had a lot on my mind when I saw you at the courthouse yesterday.”
Interrogated me would be a better description than saw me
, Hannah’s mind said.
And of course you couldn’t ask me when you came to the condo, because you were too busy continuing to interrogate me!
“Vegas was good.” Hannah answered, leaving it at that. She knew that Mike was going to pump her for information right after he’d finished with the niceties. That was his pattern. She also knew because he was wearing the perfectly innocent expression that she’d seen on Moishe’s face as he waited for exactly the right instant to pounce on a mouse. “The wedding was great.”
“That’s what Norman told me. He said that Ross was Doc’s best man. And he told me that Ross is coming to Lake Eden for an interview at KCOW Television.”
“That’s right.”
“Is he moving back to Lake Eden?”
There was no hint of jealousy in Mike’s voice and Hannah realized that Norman hadn’t acted very jealous either. Perhaps neither one of the men she’d dated would be upset if Ross got the job and returned to Lake Eden. Hannah wasn’t sure if she should be relieved, or upset so she tabled that thought to think about later. “I don’t know if that’ll happen or not, but we have an invitation for you. Michelle and I are throwing a little dinner party for Ross on Thursday night. Can you come?”
“Sure. It’ll be good to see Ross again. What time?”
“Six o’clock. We’ll probably eat around six-thirty.”
“Okay. What are you baking, Hannah? Whatever it is, it sure smells good.”
That was a hint if she’d ever heard one! Hannah’s lips twitched in amusement. Mike was never subtle. “I have some Secret Spice Cookies that should be cool enough to eat. Would you like to try one?”
“That’d be great! I had a couple of Lovely Lemon Bar Cookies in the coffee shop, but I missed lunch and it wasn’t quite enough.”
Hannah plucked three cookies off the top shelf of the baker’s rack and carried them to Mike. “Here you go. This is a new recipe from Lisa’s Aunt Nancy. Let me know what you think.”
Mike took a bite and chewed. “Nice spice,” he said, taking another large bite. “These cookies are really good. They’re unusual, too. I can taste cinnamon and nutmeg and maybe cloves, but there’s some spice in there I can’t identify.”
“I know,” Hannah said, getting up to fetch another couple of cookies as Mike wolfed down the second one. She carried them to the work island, set them down, and said, “It’s ketchup.”
“
What
?!”
“There’s ketchup in these cookies.”
“You mean like what you put on hamburgers?”
“The very same thing. Lisa’s Aunt Nancy fools people with these cookies all the time. Nobody can guess the secret spice.”
Mike took another cookie and chewed thoughtfully. “I can almost taste it, but not quite. And I never would have guessed it. I’ll buy two dozen before I leave and take them out to the sheriff’s department. Wait until Lonnie and Rick taste these! They’ll never believe what’s in them. Are you going to serve them for dessert Thursday night? I bet Ross won’t be able to guess it either.”
“Probably not. Aunt Nancy says nobody ever has. But I’m serving Tangerine Dream Cake on Thursday.”
“That’s a great cake! I’ll be there unless I’m arresting Judge Colfax’s killer. And that reminds me. How’s your investigation coming?”
Hannah shrugged and tried to look casual. She was glad she’d asked Mike to dinner before he’d started to grill her about what she’d learned. If she’d waited, she might not have felt like asking him. “It’s going okay, I guess. I haven’t gotten very far yet.”
“You got far enough to interview Dave Johansen at the courthouse this morning.”
Mike knew, and that meant he was keeping tabs on her. Hannah didn’t like it, but there was nothing she could do about it. “Yes, I went out to talk to him,” she admitted. “When I met Dave yesterday, Howie mentioned that Dave had worked there for years, and I thought talking to him would be a good place to start. I’m assuming that you interviewed him, too?”
“That guy knows everything about everybody involved with the courthouse.”
“That’s exactly what Howie said about him.” It was a good opening and Hannah wanted to find out what Dave had told Mike. “Did Dave tell you about Judge Colfax’s first wife?”
“Yeah. He said that it was a bitter divorce so I’ll go to talk to her. The son is another person I want to contact. Kids from broken homes can have big grudges against the absent parent. I’ve seen that more times than I can count. His name is Seth, right?”
“That’s what Dave said.”
“Did he mention anyone else?”
“He talked about Chad Norton first. He told me that Chad has a hair-trigger temper, and one of the judges found him in contempt of court and ordered Chad to complete an anger management course. I added his name to my suspect list.”
“He’s on my list, too. Actually, he’s my prime suspect right now, but that could change. I’m calling him in this afternoon to see if he’s got an alibi.”
“Will you let me know?”
“Why?”
“Because I thought we were sharing information.”
“We are. Just don’t forget that you’re a civilian. Law enforcement is privy to certain information that civilians aren’t.”
Same old, same old
, Hannah thought, but she didn’t say it. She just sat there and waited to hear what else Mike would say.
“I know it’s not fair, but those are the rules. As a sworn law enforcement officer, I can’t break the rules.”
Hannah knew she should remain silent, but she simply couldn’t. “You’ve broken those rules before.”
“I know, but I won’t do it again. It’s not the sort of thing an ethical cop should do.” Mike glanced down at his notebook. “Let’s get back to business. Is there anyone else on your suspect list?”
Hannah dropped her gaze so that Mike couldn’t see how angry she was. He expected her to share her information with him, but he wasn’t willing to return the favor. Was he holding out on her? There was only one way to find out.
“Any other suspects on your list?” Mike asked her again.
“I gave you my suspects,” she said, quite truthfully. She
had
given him her suspects. Perhaps not
all
of her suspects, but information sharing was a two-way street. “It’s time for you to reciprocate, Mike. Are there any other suspects on your list?”
Mike looked down at his list. “Nope. That’s it for now.”
He was lying! Either that, or Dave hadn’t told him about Margaret George and her daughter. Whatever the case, Hannah wasn’t about to share Dave’s information with Mike, at least not until she had the chance to ask Delores about Margaret George.
There was an uncomfortable silence and then the swinging door opened and Tracey came running in. “Hi, Aunt Hannah. Mom said I could go to the mall with you to get your new phone. I did a little research online and I found some new ones that are super and have lots of apps.”
“You’re going out to the phone store?” Mike asked her.
“Yes. I decided it was time to upgrade when I tried my old phone and it wouldn’t turn on.”
Mike’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Did you forget to charge it again?”
“I don’t remember, but it doesn’t really matter. It’s an old flip phone and it’s time to replace it.”
“It sure is!” Tracey said, plunking down on a stool next to Hannah. “That phone is a real dinosaur.”
“What kind of dinosaur?” Mike asked her.
Tracey thought for a moment and then she smiled. “A Brachiosaurus.”
“Why did you compare it to a Brachiosaurus?” Hannah asked her. Tracey always had a reason and she wanted to hear it.
“Because the Brachiosaurus could weigh up to forty-five metric tons and your old cell phone is heavy. It’s big, too, and a Brachiosaurus could grow as long as eighty-five feet.”
Mike whistled. “That’s long!”
“Yes, it is. It’s more than three-quarters the length of the football field at Jordan High!”
“That’s right,” Hannah said. “I’d hate to have something that big coming after me.”
“The Brachiosaurus is an herbivore,” Tracey informed her. “They only eat plants, but they eat a lot. They could eat through almost nine hundred pounds of plants a day.”
“Were they the biggest dinosaur?” Mike asked her.
“No. That’s the T-Rex.” Tracey turned back to Hannah. “Another reason I chose the Brachiosaurus is because some of them lived right here in the United States. Not only that, but the first fossils were found by a farmer and we have a lot of farmers around here.”
“Those are all good reasons,” Hannah told her. “Just hearing them convinced me that I should buy a new phone. If I keep my Brachiosaurus cell phone, we won’t have any plants left in my whole condo complex.”
Tracey giggled and Hannah was gratified. She loved to hear both of her nieces laugh.
“I’ll take you both out to the mall with me,” Mike offered. “I have to pick up a new phone, too. I had a little accident with my phone this morning.”
“Thanks, Uncle Mike,” Tracey accepted his offer before Hannah could say a word. “What happened to your phone?”
“I . . . uh . . . I dropped it in the toilet.”
“You don’t have to be embarrassed about that,” Tracey told him. “My dad’s done it three times already. Mom told him not to take his phone with him in the bathroom anymore, but Dad says he has to check his e-mail first thing in the morning.”
“That’s exactly what I was doing,” Mike said.
“Toilets and cell phones don’t play well together,” Tracey said, looking wise. “This boy in my class, Calvin Janowski, did the same thing and his mother took his cell phone away for a whole month! Do you have yours with you?”
“It’s in a bag in the cruiser.”
“Oh, good! We’re going in the cruiser?” Mike nodded and Tracey looked delighted. “Can I sit in back and pretend to be a dangerous criminal?”
“If you want to.”
“Thanks, Uncle Mike. It’ll be fun.”
“But it’s just pretend, right?” Hannah asked. “You don’t really want to be a dangerous criminal, do you?”
“Of course not!” Tracey was clearly shocked. “I just want to practice my acting skills since Uncle Ross is coming to town. You’re coming to dinner, aren’t you, Uncle Mike? Our whole family is going to be there.”
“I know. Your Aunt Hannah told me. I’ll be there.”
“Maybe you can help me teach Aunt Hannah how to use her phone, especially if you get the same kind. I’ll download the instruction manual on Mom’s computer at work. They’ve got a faster printer than we do.” Tracey turned to Hannah. “You’d better make sure you have your credit card, Aunt Hannah. New cell phones are expensive.”
“I’ll go check right now,” Hannah said and went off to get her purse. It was hanging by the back door and even though she was out of sight, she could still hear Tracey and Mike’s conversation.
“Mom said Aunt Lisa and Uncle Herb are coming, too,” Tracey told him. “And Uncle Norman is bringing Cuddles so she can see Moishe. Maybe they’ll play chase and bang into the table leg again.”
Hannah smiled. She
knew
they’d play chase, especially if she baited them with bits of her pork chop.
“I can hardly wait to pick out Aunt Hannah’s phone,” Tracey said, sounding excited at the prospect. “She needs lots of help with technology. And I’m glad we’re all going shopping together.”
“Me, too,” Mike said. “I’m just thinking that maybe I should upgrade my phone, too. It’s almost two years old.”
“That’s ancient,” Tracey told him. “Are you due for an upgrade from your provider?”
“Not yet, but I’ll just buy it out-of-pocket.”
“You might not have to. Check with the clerk at the phone store. Sometimes you can get a new phone or some kind of a discount if you switch providers.”
“That’s a good idea. I’ll do that.”
“And take your old phone in anyway to have it dried out. That way you can give it to Helping Hands to sell in their thrift store, and take a deduction on your income tax. That’s what my mom did with her old cell phone. I’m going to try to convince Aunt Hannah to do the same thing with hers.”
“Maybe you’d better hold off until you talk to someone at Helping Hands,” Mike cautioned.
“Why should I do that?”
“Because they might not take dinosaurs.”
“That’s a good one, Uncle Mike!” Tracey gave a little giggle and then she broke into delighted laugher.
Mike joined in and Hannah smiled at the sound of their mirth.
When their laughter trailed off, Tracey spoke again. “Thanks for inviting us to go with you, Uncle Mike. It’s kind of warm this afternoon and it would be hot inside the cookie truck. Aunt Hannah’s air-conditioning doesn’t work right.”
“I know. Her climate-control system is practically nonexistent. Your Aunt Hannah’s truck has four-sixty air-conditioning.”
“What’s that?”
“Four windows rolled down at sixty miles an hour. It’s the only way you can cool off in her cookie truck.”
Buying a new phone didn’t take long and Hannah was glad to get back to The Cookie Jar. When she walked in the back door, she found Lisa and Michelle waiting for her in the kitchen.
“Did you get it?” Michelle asked.
“Yes. It’s beautiful, but I have to wait until tomorrow night to learn how to use it.”
“Why?”
“Because that’s when Tracey promised to teach me.”
“You don’t have to wait,” Lisa said, looking extremely confident. “You can always get the instructions online. That’s what I did when I got my new phone.”