Blueberry Muffin Murder

Andrea didn't look entirely pacified, and Hannah decided to change the subject. 'Come on, Andrea. I have to go out to the inn. You and Tracey can come along.'

'Hold it.' Mike reached out to grab her arm. 'Why are you going out there?'

'I have to find another place to bake and Sally's got a whole bank of commercial ovens in her kitchen.'

'You're not going out there for any other reason?'

'I have to bake somewhere,' Hannah said, putting on the most innocent expression she could muster 'You're not going to tell me I can't use Sally's ovens, are you?'

'No. As much as I'd like to, I can't legally keep you away from the inn. Just stay away from Mrs. MacIntyre's employees and don't talk to anyone connected with the case. That's a direct order, Hannah. If you interfere with our ongoing investigation, I'll charge you with obstruction.'

Several retorts occurred to Hannah, but she was wise enough to voice none of them. She simply turned to her sister and said, 'Come on, Andrea. We've taken up enough of Mike's time.'

Five minutes later, they were zipping through town in Hannah's cookie truck, heading fro the house that Lisa shared with her father. It was a slight detour, but Hannah wanted to tell her partner what had happened before she heard it from someone else.

'Hannah?' Andrea asked, glancing in the back to make sure that Tracey was engrossed in one of the books she'd brought along for the ride.

'Hmm?'

'Are Sally's ovens the only reason we're going out to the inn?'

'That's what I said.'

Andrea looked disappointed. 'You mean you're just going to let Mike tell you what to do?'

'He's an officer of the law, Andrea. He has the right to tell me what to do.'

'But you're not going to listen, are you?'

'Let's see. . . one of our oldest friends has been accused of murder, I'll have to scrub for hours to get the bloodstains out of my pantry floor, Mother's still made at me for finding another body, and Mike just shut down my business. What do you think?'

Andrea gave a big smile of approval. 'That's just what I thought. I'll help.'

-8-

Lisa opened the door of her father's house, and she smiled as she saw Hannah, Andrea, and Tracey standing on the front step. 'What a nice surprise! Come on in out of the cold. I've got coffee and cinnamon-apple coffee cake in the kitchen.'

As they followed Lisa to the cheery yellow kitchen in the rear of the house, Hannah silently blessed her for not asking what they were doing at her front door at seven in the morning.

Lisa's father, Jack Herman, was seated at the table, finishing a slice of Lisa's coffee cake. When he spotted them, he held out his hand and gave a big welcoming smile. 'Hello there, friends. Did you come for a piece of Lisa's cake?'

'Not exactly, but it looks delicious.' Hannah walked over to Lisa's father and shook his hand. Jack Herman had Alzheimer's, and even though he'd known Hannah all his life, there were times when he didn't remember her. 'I'm Hannah Swensen, Lisa's partner at The Cookie Jar.'

'Of course you are, ' Jack said, giving her hand a squeeze. 'I recognized you right off today. And that's your sister?'

Andrea reached out to take his hand. 'Andrea. And this is my daughter . . . '

'Tracey.' Tracey interrupted her mother and promptly took the chair next to Jack. 'I'm four. How old are you?'

'I'm older than that, but I used to have a daughter just your age. Did you know that?'

'Lisa?' Tracey glanced over at Lisa and giggled.

'That's right. Would you like to have a piece of her cake?'

'Yes, please.' Tracey nodded and Lisa served her a piece. Once Tracey had tasted it, she looked up at Lisa and smiled. 'This is the best cinnamon apple coffee cake I ever had. When Daddy says it's okay for The Cookie Jar to open up again, you should bake this for breakfast.'

Lisa looked confused and she turned to Hannah. 'The Cookie Jar is closed?'

'Mrs. Mac got killer there,' Tracey explained, before Hannah could even think about answering, 'and Daddy and Uncle Mike put yellow tape over the doors.'

Andrea shot Hannah and Lisa a warning glance and then she turned to her daughter. 'Tracey, honey, I really think it would be better if ' '

'It's okay, Mommy,' Tracey interrupted, hopping down from her chair and retrieving her plate. 'I'll just go into the other room to finish my cake.' She started off toward the door to the living room, but then she turned back to Lisa's father to explain. 'Mommy never lets me listen when they talk about the really good stuff.'

Jack Herman's eyes twinkled, but he nodded seriously 'I know just what you mean. Hold on a second and I'll go with you.'

'They don't want you to listen either?' Tracey looked surprised.

'I don't think so.' Jack picked up Tracey's glass of milk and pushed back his chair. 'I'll set up a tray for you in the living room. And when you're finished with Lisa's cake, I'll show you my animal collection.'

'That would be nice,' Tracey said, beginning to smile. 'Are your animals real?'

'They look real, but they're carved from pieces of wood. And they're much smaller than real animals.'

Tracey nodded, stepping aside so that Lisa's father could lead the way 'Do you have a hippopotamus? They're my favorites.'

'I don't remember. Let's go look and see.'

Hannah, Andrea, and Lisa kept their lips zipped until Jack had left the room with Tracey. Then Lisa leaned forward across the table. 'Is it true?'

'I'm afraid so.' Hannah sighed deeply. 'Connie Mac was murdered last night while she was baking the Winter Carnival cake. I found her in our pantry when I came in this morning.'

Lisa shivered. 'Good heavens! I didn't like her much, but . . . murdered?'

'Somebody must have liked her even less than you did.'

'I guess! What about Janie? Is she all right?'

'We think so. The only problem is, Janie's disappeared.'

It took a moment for this news to sink in. When it did, Lisa looked worried. 'You don't think she saw the murder and the killer . . . ?'

'No,' Andrea said quickly. 'Janie packed up all her things and left the inn last night. Bill and Mike are looking for her to find out if she saw anything. As of right now, Janie's a suspect.'

Lisa was frowning as she turned to Hannah. 'Are you going to prove that she didn't do it?'

'Yes.'

'That's good. Did they say how long we'd be closed down?'

'Mike wouldn't give me a definite answer, but he admitted that it could be as long as it takes them to catch Connie Mac's killer.'

'I don't like the sound of that.' Lisa looked very worried. 'I guess we'd better find another place to bake.'

'We're working on that. Andrea and I are going to run out to the inn to ask Sally if we can use a couple of her commercial ovens.'

'That's a good idea,' Lisa said, and then she turned to Andrea. 'I'll keep Tracey with me this morning. Dad loves kids, and we'll take her out to some of the Winter Carnival venues with us That'll give you two a chance to set up your headquarters out at the inn.'

'Headquarters?' Andrea looked puzzled.

'For sleuthing. If Sally lets us use her ovens, I'll handle all the baking. The sooner you can catch Connie Mac's killer, the faster we can get back into The Cookie Jar.'

'Something sure smells good!' Andrea exclaimed as they stepped into the rustic lobby of the Lake Eden Inn.

'And how!' Hannah began to smile. 'It must be Sally's breakfast buffet.'

Andrea sat down on the long wooden bench that was attached to the boot rack and pulled off her boots. She placed them on the rack and unzipped her tote bag, preparing to switch to her shoes. 'Hurry up and I'll treat you to breakfast. I didn't get to eat this morning and I'm starving.'