Blueberry Muffin Murder

Delores fishtailed to a stop when she noticed the sheriff's cruiser. She rolled down her window and called out to Hannah. 'Are you all right?'

'I'm fine, but Connie Mac's dead.'

With no regard for any other traffic that might come along, Delores left her car in the center of the alley and got out. When she arrived at Hannah's side, she was breathless. 'Did you say dead?'

'That's right,' Norman said, moving close to Hannah. 'Someone killed her last night while she was baking the Winter Carnival cake.'

'In my shop,' Hannah added. 'Now it's a crime scene and Bill and Mike are going to close it down.'

'That's terrible!' Delores gasped.

'Yes, Hannah said, not sure if her mother was referring to Connie Mac's demise, or the fact that The Cookie Jar would be closed.

'A murder scene right next door,' Delores moaned. 'Now no one will come to tour the Ezekiel Jordan House.'

Hannah glanced at Norman, who was having trouble keeping a straight face. Delores wasn't concerned that her daughter's business would be closed, or the fact that Connie Mac was dead. Her only worry was that people wouldn't come to see her historic re-creation. 'Relax, Mother. Most people are fascinated by murder scenes. Since they can't get into The Cookie Jar, they'll take your tour and peek through the windows.'

'Do you really think so?'

'Absolutely.'

'Maybe you're right. I went to a lot of work, you know, and everything is absolutely authentic for the . . . ' Delores stopped speaking and her eyes narrowed. 'Who found her?'

Hannah winced. It would come out sooner or later, and it might as well be now. 'I did.'

'Hannah! You've simply got to stop finding bodies. I swear you attract them like a magnet. If you're not careful, everyone's going to get the wrong impression of you.'

'That's unfair,' Norman objected. 'Hannah just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.'

'That's exactly what I thought . . . the first few times. But five? That's enough to make people wonder. If she's not careful, no decent person will want to associate with her.'

Norman gave Hannah's hand a squeeze and then he stepped up to Delores. 'I'm not afraid to associate with Hannah, and I certainly don't have the wrong impression of her.'

'Well . . . I'm glad to hear it.' Delores backed off slightly. 'You're a good man, Norman.'

'I try to be.'

Delores turned back to Hannah. 'Where did you find her?'

'In my pantry.'

'Don't' tell anyone. If people hear that she died in your pantry, they won't want to eat your cookies you'd better throw everything out and start fresh.'

Hannah didn't follow that logic at all, but she nodded. 'Yes, Mother. I'll do that just as soon as they let me back in.'

'Good. If you're sure you're all right, Hannah, I have to run. You have no idea how many last-minute things I have to do before we open to the public.'

'I'm fine, Mother. Go ahead.'

'I'd stay to lend moral support, but ' '

Norman held up his hand to interrupt her. 'Don't worry, Delores. I promise I'll take care of Hannah.'

'All right, then.'

Hannah watched as Delores turned and walked back to her car. Then she looked over at Norman. 'You'll take care of me?'

'Just a figure of speech. I figured she'd like that sort of thing.' Norman glanced up as another car turned into the alley. 'Is that Andrea?'

'Yes, and Tracey's with her. Bill must have called her to tell her what happened.'

Andrea pulled up and got out of her Volvo. The passenger door remained closed, and Hannah assumed that she'd told Tracey to stay in the car until she assessed the situation.

'Hannah! You poor thing!' Andrea rushed up to her. 'Bill told me all about it. Have they taken her away yet?'

'Not yet. Doc Knight's still in there.'

Andrea waved and the passenger door opened. A moment later, a small blond-haired bundle in a bright pink parka hurtled across the snow toward Hannah.

'Hi, Aunt Hannah.' Tracey gave her a hug. 'Mommy said you found another one, and now Grandma's going to be so-o-o mad at you.'

Hannah glanced down at Tracey's earnest face, and she had all she could do not to laugh. 'Oh, well. That's nothing new.'

'Grandma never gets mad at me. Why does she get mad at you, Aunt Hannah?'

'Because I'm all grown up and I'm supposed to be perfect. You're four years old and you're still allowed some mistakes.'

Tracey thought about that for a moment and then she nodded solemnly. 'We came to tell you that you can use our oven for your cookies. It's a really nice oven and Mommy's only used it once.'

'From the mouths of babes,' Hannah commented, glancing at Andrea who was having trouble keeping a straight face. Then she turned back to Tracey. 'That's really nice of you, honey, but I can't use your oven. I need to fin done that's a lot bigger.'

Tracey looked very disappointed. 'But I was going to help you and everything. I need to learn how. I heard Daddy ask Mommy why she never bakes cookies and she said it'll be a cold day in . . . '

'That's enough, Tracey,' Andrea warned, but Hannah could tell that she was more amused than angry. 'Give Aunt Hannah a kiss and then go back to the car. We need to talk about some grownup things.'

'I never get to listen when you talk about the good stuff,' Tracey said with a sigh. 'Grownups get to have all the fun.'

Norman turned to Tracey. 'I know something you can do for fun if your Mom says it's okay, I'll take you next door to see the house your grandma made.'

'Can I, Mommy?' Tracey asked, starting to smile again.

Andrea nodded. 'That's fine if Norman doesn't mind taking you.'

'Oh, good.' Tracey slipped her hand in Norman's. 'Let's go, Uncle Norman.'

'Uncle Norman?' Hannah asked when Tracey and Norman were out of earshot.

'Tracey wanted to know what she should call him, and I couldn't think of anything else.' Andrea looked a bit embarrassed. ' 'Doctor Rhodes' was just too formal, you know? Tell me what happened, Hannah. You know how Bill is when he calls me from the field. He never tells me any details.'

Hannah had just begun to tell the story again when the back door opened and Mike came out. He strode across the snow, greeted Andrea, and then he turned to Hannah. 'More bad news, I'm afraid.'

'What now?' Hannah snapped. She was in no mood to be charitable to the man who'd just closed down her business.

'You said that Janie Burkholtz was here with Connie Mac last night?'

'That's right. They were baking when Norman and I left.'

'Well, she's disappeared. I just called the inn, and no one's seen her since she left with Connie Mac yesterday afternoon. I sent one of the maids up to check her room, and all her luggage is gone.'

'Oh, no!' Andrea's face turned pale and she reached out to grab Hannah's arm. 'Connie Mac's killer must have kidnapped Janie!'

'Calm down, Andrea. A killer wouldn't stop at the inn on his way out of town to let Janie collect her belongings.'

Andrea thought about it for a second, and then she looked a bit sheepish. 'You're right. I didn't think about that. But . . . what happened to Janie?'

'We'll find her,' Mike promised. 'Our CIO pulled her picture from the DMV file and we put out an APB.'

Hannah swallowed hard. She'd been around Mike long enough to know that when he started to speak in initials, it was serious business. Connie Mac was dead, she'd been an impossibly nasty boss, and now Janie was missing. Hannah didn't think for a moment that Janie had killed Connie Mac and fled town, but she couldn't blame Mike for being suspicious. 'Is Janie a suspect?'

'I'm afraid so.'

Andrea's face was still pale, but her eyes were blazing. 'Janie didn't kill Connie Mac. That's impossible.'

'You could be right,' Mike backed off when he saw how upset Andrea was. 'Miss Burkholtz could have a perfectly innocent reason for leaving town, but we won't know what it is until we ask her.'