-12- Hannah had just finished stashing the last bowl of cookie dough in Sally's walk-in cooler when Andrea came into the kitchen. There was a smile on her face and she looked excited.
"Hi, Hannah. Sally said I'd find you in here. I got tons of information from Bill and I wrote it all down." Andrea patted her leather organizer. "And I've got something else, too."
Hannah watched as Andrea opened her large leather purse and pulled out a bulky packet. "My recipe file?"
"That's right. Bill snitched it when Mike's back was turned. He told me this kind of surface couldn't be dusted for fingerprints anyway, but you know what kind of a stickler Mike is when it comes to procedure. He wasn't even going to let you take your purse this morning until Bill got after him."
"Thank Bill for me. This saves me a whole lot of time." Hannah gave a big sigh of relief as she took the packet. She'd been planning to drive back to her condo to pick up copies of her recipes, and Bill had saved her the trip.
"Before I forget, I'm supposed to tell you that Lisa's on her way. Bill spotted them at one of the venues and he told her that you were all setup to bake out here." Andrea took the stool next to Hannah's and stared at her sister for a moment. "Okay. What's wrong? Did you have a fight with Mike?"
"Not exactly."
"But Mike did something, right?"
"You could say that."
"Just give me the highlights," Andrea coaxed. "I need to know what Mike said, so 1 can compare it to what Bill told me. That's the only way we'll know if they're holding out on us.?
Hannah hesitated. She didn't really want to talk about her conversation with Mike, but she had learned some things about the official investigation. "Okay. Mike said they haven't found Janie, Doc Knight put Connie Mac's time of death between ten and midnight, the murder weapon was a heavy, rounded object, and Paul's alibi is Alan Carpenter. Both of them claimed they were together at the boutique last night and they didn't get back here until after midnight. Unless it's a conspiracy, they're both in the clear."
"Bill told me all that. What else?"
"What makes you think there's anything else?"
"I can read it on your face."
Hannah caved in. Andrea had always been able to tell when she was upset. "Mike told me that Norman's a suspect."
"Our Norman?" Andrea's mouth dropped open when Hannah nodded. "But. . . why?"
"Bill didn't tell you?" Hannah answered her sister's question with one of her own.
"Bill didn't say a word about Norman. Why does Mike think he's a suspect?"
"Mother."
"Our mother?"
"One and the same. She told Mike that Connie Mac was nasty to Norman and now Mike thinks that Norman went back to The Cookie Jar last night to get even with her."
"That's crazy! Bill was with Mike when they talked to Mother, and he didn't say anything about Norman being a suspect."
"Maybe he didn't want to tell you."
Andrea shook her head. "Bill would have told me. He tells me everything. And that means Bill doesn't think that Norman did it, but Mike must have some reason to . . ." Andrea stopped in mid-sentence, and a huge grin spread over her face. "Of course. I get it."
"What do you get? And why are you grinning like that?"
"Because it's so obvious. Mike's the only one who thinks Norman is a suspect. And that's because he wants Norman to be guilty. Don't you get it, Hannah?"
Hannah thought about it for a moment and then she shrugged. "Not really. It can't be personal. Mike's always said he liked Norman."
"Naturally. He can't admit that he's jealous. That would make him look bad. So what does Mike do? He accuses his rival of murder. I bet he even told you to stay away from Norman. He did, didn't he?"
Hannah nodded. "Yes, but. . ."
"I knew it. I'm right! And you didn't even see it!"
"See what?" Hannah was puzzled.
"Mike's in love with you, Hannah. That's the reason he suspects Norman."
"That sounds like something Doctor Love would say." Hannah referred to the psychologist who answered callers' questions on KCOW talk radio. "Have you been listening to her show?"
"Of course not. I don't have any reason to listen. I have a very happy marriage."
"I'm glad to hear it," Hannah said, and she was, especially since she suspected that her sister's family was about to increase by one.
"It's like this, Hannah. Men in love behave irrationally. Since Mike is behaving irrationally, he must be in love in you. That's simple logic."
"That's bad logic," Hannah corrected her. "You're affirming the consequent."
"I'm doing what?"
Hannah thought about explaining, but this wasn't the time to give her sister a lecture in Logic 101. "Never mind. But if Mike is in love with me, why didn't he just send me a valentine?"
"Because Valentine's Day is over and maybe he wasn't in love with you then. He might have just realized it this morning. I know I'm right, Hannah. Mike is definitely in love with you."
Hannah made a face. "If that's love, I don't need it. Telling me that Norman was a suspect was an awful thing for Mike to do. He lied to me."
"Mike didn't lie. Norman is a suspect, at least in Mike's mind. I'm sure he believes he has some kind of case against Norman."
"But Norman didn't kill Connie Mac."
"I know that, and you know that, but Mike doesn't."
Hannah frowned as the full implication of her sister's words sunk in. "But Mike's a good cop. I can't believe that he would make up a case against Norman."
"Of course he wouldn't, but he's going into this investigation with a bias. Innocent people have been convicted be- fore, you know. And police work is so objective."
"Subjective."
"Okay, subjective. I always get those two mixed up. I tell you, Hannah, Mike doesn't even know he's biased against Norman. It's totally unconscious."
"Subconscious."
Andrea rolled her eyes at the ceiling. "Stop correcting me. I'm trying to make a point here. I'm sure Mike will come to his senses eventually, but Norman could find himself in a lot of hot water in the meantime."
Hannah thought about that for a moment and then she sighed. "I hate to admit it, but you could be right. We'd better find out if Norman has an alibi."
"Hi, you two." Lisa breezed into the kitchen. "I dropped Dad off at the seniors' center and Tracey's in the dining room with Bill and Mike. They're having breakfast and she's snitching their bacon."
"That's fine." Andrea nodded absently.
Lisa walked over to join them, but she stopped short as she noticed their serious expressions. "What's wrong?"
"Mike thinks Norman's a suspect," Hannah told her.
"Norman Rhodes?"
"That's right," Andrea confirmed it. "Did you happen to see him last night between ten and midnight?"
"Not me," Lisa replied, sitting down next to them, "but I'll ask Herb. He bowled last night and then he came over for night lunch."
"What's night lunch?" Andrea asked her.
"That's what Herb's mother calls the little snack you have before bedtime so you won't get hungry in the middle of the night. She told me to try it with Dad and it's working just great. He never wakes up and wanders around in the dark anymore."
Hannah tried to keep her mouth shut, but she just had to ask. "How is Marge getting along with your dad?"
"They're just great together," Lisa said with a smile. "Marge is always offering to come and sit with him when Herb and I want to go out. They used to date in high school, you know. Now that Mom's dead and Herb's father is gone, I keep thinking that Marge and Dad might have gotten together again, if only. . . you know."
Hannah understood what Lisa wasn't saying, and she reached out to give her arm a sympathetic pat. Marge Beeseman had never been credited with being a martyr, and it was unlikely that she'd choose to marry a man who'd been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. "A lot of times life isn't fair."
"I'd better let you two get to work," Andrea said, rising to her feet. "I'm going up to talk to Francine and I'll take Tracey along. She adores babies, and she hasn't seen little Danny yet. I'll check in with you right afterwards, Hannah."
Lisa waited until Andrea had left, and then she turned to Hannah. "I didn't want to say anything in front of your sister, but Tracey might have gotten us into trouble."
"What happened?"
"We ran into Edna Ferguson when I dropped Dad off at the seniors' center, and she was in a panic about what to serve for dessert at the banquet."
Hannah groaned, guessing the rest. It wasn't the first time her precocious niece had volunteered her services. "Did Tracey promise Edna that we'd bake the Winter Carnival cake?"
"I'm afraid she did. She told Edna that her Aunt Hannah could do anything."
Hannah laughed. "I guess I should be flattered, but there's no way we can replace Connie Mac's cake. We could bake it, no problem, but cake decoration isn't my long suit."
"Mine, either. I can decorate cookies, but doing a cake is a huge project. Do you want me to call Edna and tell her that we can't do it?"
Hannah shook her head. "We'll just give her buckets of Little Snowballs for dessert."
"Snowballs?" Lisa looked shocked. "You're joking, aren't you?"
"I'm perfectly serious. The snowballs I'm talking about are cookies that my Grandma Ingrid used to bake. We'll present them in the crystal ice buckets Sally uses to chill champagne, and they'll fit right in with the Winter Carnival theme."
"They sound just perfect." Lisa glanced over at the swinging door as it opened. "Here comes Alex. Sally introduced us when I came in through the dining room."
Alex spotted them sitting at the counter and hurried over. "Sally said to tell you that you could use anything in the pantry, and she sent me in to help you bake."
"That's great," Hannah told her. "We can use all the help we can get. Just let me check my recipe file and I'll give you a list of what we need."
While Lisa and Alex retrieved the bowls of cookie dough from the cooler, Hannah found her grandmother's recipe and made a list of the ingredients. When she was through, she handed it to Alex. "Could you gather these up for us? We'll bake the cookies for the Winter Carnival first, and then we'll start in on the Little Snowballs."
"Go do what you have to do, Hannah," Lisa said after Alex had left them. "I'll handle the baking with Alex."
"Are you sure?" Hannah felt a little guilty. Every time she got involved in an investigation, Lisa ended up doing all the baking.
"I'm positive. The faster you solve Connie Mac's murder, the faster we can get back into our own kitchen." Lisa gestured toward the bowls of dough they'd set on the counter. "I should have these ready for you by noon."
"Great. I'll drop them off at the venues. You shouldn't have to do everything."
"Okay, but only if you want to."
"I do. I have to go out there anyway. Norman's a judge at the dogsled competition, and I need to warn him that he's a suspect."
"I hope he's got an alibi, and I won't forget to check with Herb. Is there anything else I can do?"
Hannah started to shake her head, but then she thought of something. "See if you can get Alex talking about her background. I need to know everything I can about her."
"I can do that," Lisa said, and then she began to frown. "Do you think Alex killed Connie Mac?"
"No, but everyone's a suspect until we can eliminate them. And there's something about Alex that puzzles me. She was really upset when she found out that Janie was missing, and they only met a couple of days ago. I thought she overreacted, and I'm wondering why."
"Okay. I'll find out everything I can for you," Lisa promised. "Working with you, I've learned how to get people to spill their guts."
Hannah went out the door with a smile on her face. Perhaps some people wouldn't regard what Lisa had said as a compliment, but she did.
* * *
"Look, Aunt Hannah. Isn't Danny wonderful?" Tracey looked up and smiled. "He's got all his toes. Francine took his booties off so I could count."
Hannah laughed. She'd been keeping Tracey occupied while Andrea spoke to Sally's stepmother, an attractive silver-haired lady whose smile seemed to be a permanent fixture on her face. "Does Danny have all of his fingers?"
"Oh, yes. He has eight and that's just right."
"Not ten?" Hannah couldn't resist teasing her niece a bit.
"Of course not, Aunt Hannah. You know that people have only eight fingers. The other two are thumbs."
"That's right. I was just testing you. Thumbs aren't fingers."
Tracey nodded. "But they're really important. They're opposable and we couldn't pick up things if we didn't have them. Watch and see how Danny does it." Tracey picked up a rattle and dangled it front of Danny. The baby reached up to grab it, and Tracey leaned down to kiss the top of his head. "Good boy, Danny. You did that just fine."
"Did Miss Cox teach you that in school?" Hannah asked, wondering how Janice Cox, Tracey's teacher at Kiddie Komer, was managing to cope with such a bright four-year-old.
"No, Mr. Herman told me about it when we looked at his animal collection. Monkeys and gorillas have opposable thumbs, and there was another animal, too. I think it had something to do with oranges."
"Orangutans?"
"That's it."
Hannah reached out to ruffle Tracey's blond hair. "You liked Mr. Herman?"
"Oh, yes. He knows lots of things, but he told me that sometimes his memory turns into a butterfly."
"A butterfly?"
Tracey nodded solemnly. "He has to sneak up on it if he wants to catch it and there's a trick he uses. If he can't re- member something right away, he makes himself think of something else. Then it flutters straight into his mind."
"Ready, Tracey?" Andrea came over to take her daughter's hand. "Thank Francine for letting you play with Danny."
After Tracey had thanked Francine, Andrea herded her toward the door. Hannah lagged behind to take one last peek at Danny. He'd fallen asleep with his fist in his mouth, and as she stood there, she found herself wishing that her life had taken a different turn. If she'd married, she'd probably have children by now.
"He's a very good baby," Francine said softly, reaching out to straighten his blanket. "Sally and Dick are so lucky."
"Yes, they are. I'd better go. I'll see you later, Francine."
Hannah walked out and shut the door softly behind her. Danny was sweet and he'd definitely awakened her maternal instincts.
"What took you so long?" Andrea called out from the end of the hallway.
"I was just looking at Danny." Hannah hurried to catch up with her sister and her niece. They had a murder to solve, and she could think about her lack of progeny later.