Blueberry Muffin Murder

'So what happened next?' Hannah did her best to get them back on track.

'Ezekiel swore on his deathbed that he'd come back for his desk and take revenge on everyone who played in that poker game.'

'Okay.' Hannah nodded. 'But that all happened a hundred years ago. Why is KCOW saying that Ezekiel's ghost is here now?'

Sally started to grin. 'Francine mentioned it to one of the reporters that's staying out here for the Winter Carnival. He must have called the radio station and told them about it.'

'But why did Francine tell the reporter about it?'

Sally poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down next to Hannah and Andrea. 'Do you want the long story on that? Or the short story?'

'The short story,' Hannah said, even though she suspected it would be the same length as the long story.

'Yesterday morning Francine met the reporter in the hall. He said he woke up in the middle of the night, looked out his window, and saw somebody walking around outside. Francine told him he must have seen Ezekiel Jordan's ghost coming back for his desk. Francine was just kidding around with him, but he must have taken her seriously. And now everybody's going to think our inn has a ghost. In a way, I'm glad Dick's gone. He'd be worried about how it would affect our business.'

'Dick's away?' Hannah was surprised. Sally hadn't said anything about it when Hannah had called her last week.

'He had to leave for Arizona on Sunday. His mother was going to wait until summer to have her hip fixed, but the doctors wanted to do it now. I told Dick that I could handle everything, but I didn't count on the ghost story. I just hope all our guests don't check out.'

'They won't,' Andrea said and she sounded very confident. 'People who don't believe in ghosts will ignore it. And the believers will stay right here, hoping for a sighting. It's a win-win situation, Sally. Ghosts sell.'

'They do?'

Andrea nodded. 'Remember the old Walker place? It was on the market for a solid year with no offers. Then someone started a story about how it was haunted by Beulah Walker's ghost and it sold for over asking price.'

Hannah turned to give her sister a searching look. 'You didn't!'

'No. But I might have, if I'd thought of it.'

Sally got the coffee pot and poured them all a second cup. I'll be right back. I just need to sell them to start setting out the buffet.'

Hannah watched as Sally walked over to an attractive dark-haired woman in her late forties. They spoke for a moment and then the woman began to direct the rest of Sally's kitchen staff as they loaded dishes on rolling carts and prepared to wheel out the buffet.

As the feast on wheels started to move past them, Hannah saw Andrea reach out to snatch a glazed doughnut. 'You had three of Sally's popovers and you're still hungry?'

'I'm starving. I just can't resist Sally's doughnuts.'

'And I can't resist her bacon,' Hannah commented, snagging several pieces as a second cart rolled by.

For several minutes the sisters chewed in silence, attempting to finish their pilfered bounty before Sally returned. Andrea had just swallowed the last of her doughnut when Sally headed back in their direction.

'Okay, that's done,' Sally declared, sitting down on her stool and turning to Hannah. 'Now tell me what dragged you out all the way out here when you must have tons of baking to do.'

Hannah hesitated. Everyone told her that she was too outspoken, but she couldn't think of any tactful way to tell Sally what had happened to Connie Mac. 'I'm glad you're sitting down, Sally, because your most important guest just got murdered.'

-9-

Sally's coffee was cold by the time Hannah had finished telling her about finding Connie Mac. She took one sip, made a face, and set the cup back down again. 'I'm sorry she's dead, but there's one good thing. When the news breaks, it'll knock our ghost story off the front page.'

'Maybe not,' Andrea mused. 'It all depends on how much mileage that reporter wants to get out of it. He could always say that Ezekiel's ghost took his revenge by killing Connie Mac.'

Sally looked puzzled. 'But Connie Mac wasn't in that p9oker game. It happened a hundred years ago.'

'I know she wasn't there personally, but while we were touring Mother's re-creation, Connie Mac mentioned that her family was one of the first to settle in Minnesota. With that kind of background, she could have been a shirttail relation to someone who was in F. E.'s poker game.'

'Andrea's right,' Hannah said. 'If you go back far enough, a lot of Minnesotans are related.'

Sally gave a resigned sigh. 'I hate to admit it, but you girls have a point. I guess our ghost story is going to be around for a while, at least until the real killer is caught. You're working on the case, aren't you?'

'Yes, but that's confidential,' Andrea told her. 'After Mike locked Hannah out of The Cookie Jar, he made her promise not to interfere.'

'You're locked out of The Cookie Jar?' Sally turned to Hannah.

'It's a crime scene and they roped it off. I know it's a lot to ask, but I've got all the Winter Carnival cookies to bake and . . . '

'Save your breath,' Sally interrupted her. 'You can bake here.'

'Are you sure you don't mind?'

Sally shook her head. 'That's what friends are for. Besides, it gives me the inside track on your investigation. You'll be out here and I can hear everything firsthand.'

'Thanks, Sally.' Hannah felt a giant weight slip off her shoulders. Her immediate problem was solved, but there was an even bigger one to tackle. 'Do you have a minute to tell me about the people who worked for Connie Mac? We need to find out if any of them had a reason to kill her.'

'If you ask me, they all had reasons. Connie Mac was a terror to work for.'

Andrea's eyes widened and she stared at Sally. 'Are you sure? She seemed so nice.'

'That was just her public image. She was a lot different when somebody crossed her.'

Hannah set down her coffee cup and pulled out her notebook. 'Then everyone who worked for Connie Mac is a possible suspect?'

'That's about the size of it. And don't forget my staff. Connie Mac was only here for a couple of hours, but, she managed to send four of my maids downstairs in tears.'

'I just can't believe it!' Andrea still looked shocked. 'She was really that bad?'

'She was worse. To tell the truth, I'm surprised someone didn't kill her long before this.'

Hannah glanced at her sister. Andrea was wearing an expression that reminded her of the first fish she'd ever caught. 'I think we should try to narrow the field,' Hannah said, turning her attention back to Sally. 'Is there anyone who had a particular grudge against Connie Mac?'

'There's the man who drove her supply van in the ditch. Earl Flensburg pulled him out and he let the guy use the phone in his tow truck. Connie Mac wouldn't even let him tell her what happened. She just fired him right over the phone.'

Hannah jotted a note to check with Earl. 'Anyone else?'

'There's Alan Carpenter. He's Connie Mac's lawyer and she threatened to fire him yesterday afternoon.'

'How do you know that?'

'I was there. I was filling in for my bartender and Alan was sitting at the far end of the bar. When Connie Mac came in, right after your tour, she really lit into him.'

'What did she say?' Hannah asked, her pen poised to take notes.

'Let me think.' Sally paused for a moment. 'I was heading over to take her order, and I heard her say, 'Half? But he can't do that!' And Alan said, 'He's already done it. It's signed and witnessed.' '

'Who's this he?' Hannah asked, silently apologizing to Miss Parry and her sixth-grade grammar class.

'I don't know, and I sure didn't ask. Connie Mac looked so mad, I backtracked to polish some glasses.'