“The snowflake bracelet?” Carrie repeated when Hannah had posed the question to her. “Of course I remember. Is Norman still on, dear?”
“No. Would you like to ...”
“No! I just don’t want him to know how much I paid for it. You see, I always pick up a few extra Christmas presents every year. People visit over the holidays and if they bring gifts, I like to give them something in return. I call them Annies, just like my mother used to. That’s for Annie-body. Isn’t that cute?”
“Yes, it is,” Hannah said quite honestly. She also bought some generic gifts for Christmas drop-ins, and so did Delores.
“Well, that bracelet was an Annie. I had no idea Norman was going to drop by with her. And since she brought me flowers, I gave her one of my Annies.”
“Do you remember where you got it?”
“Oh, yes. It was on-sale at CostMart for twenty-five dollars. I bought three, but that’s the only one I used this year.”
“Do you know if they were a popular item?” Hannah asked, hoping that Carrie might have asked at the jewelry counter about them.
“Oh, yes! They were very popular. The lady in line ahead of me was buying four, and the lady behind me had two in her cart. I heard the clerk tell the lady in front that they’d gotten in a shipment that morning and they were already almost sold out. They were online, too. Earl checked for me. I don’t know where CostMart got them, but they were just darling, the design was gorgeous, and they were a great value for the price.”
“Stop, Carrie!”
“What?”
“You’re making me want to go to CostMart and see what they’ve got. And I hate to shop.”
“Well, just call me any time you want to go and I’ll go with you. I’ve got my CostMart Constant Customer Card, and I get an automatic fifteen percent off.”
Hannah gave a little groan, and Norman looked worried. “What is it?” he asked.
“Your mother’s convincing me I should go to CostMart with her. She’s very convincing.”
Carrie laughed on the other end of the line. Of course she’d heard their conversation. “I told you. Anytime you want to go, just call me. Oops! I’ve got to go. Earl’s calling me, and that means his favorite program is on. Talk to you later, Angel.”
“What’s the matter?” Norman asked, noticing the puzzled expression on Hannah’s face as she hung up the phone.
“Nothing really, but ... your mother just called me Angel. She’s never called me Angel before.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure. She said, Talk to you later, Angel. And then she hung up. What does that mean?”
“It means she really likes you.”
“I know she likes me.”
“You don’t understand. It means she really likes you. The only people she calls Angel are Earl and me. And now you.”
“She’s that pleased that I might want to go to CostMart with her?”
“No, I think it’s more than that,” Norman said. And then he reached out to give her a hug.
It was precisely nine-thirty when the phone rang. They were in the kitchen, watching Michelle bake Doc’s Bran-Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies and Norman reached out to answer it. “Hello. It’s Norman,” he said. He listened for a minute and then he said, “Hold on for a second, okay? I’ll be right back with you.”
Hannah knew who it was the moment that Norman got up from the kitchen table and went off into the den with the remote phone. Doctor Bev was checking in on her intended. Bev, she mouthed to Michelle, and Michelle nodded. And they were perfectly silent until Norman had closed the door to the den behind him.
“Tight rein,” Michelle commented.
“And how! I’m surprised she doesn’t have spies out to make sure he’s not visiting Cuddles, and ... uh-oh! There goes my cell phone. I wonder who it is.”
“Answer it and you’ll know,” Michelle suggested, simply stating the obvious.
“Good idea.” Hannah pulled her cell phone out of her purse and flipped it open. “Hello?”
“Hannah! Where are you?” Mike, Hannah mouthed the word to Michelle. “I’m at Norman’s with Michelle. Where are you?”
“Between a rock and a hard place.”
“No. I mean where are you?”
“Oh. I’m about forty-five minutes away. I’m with Lonnie, and he wanted to stop by to see Michelle. Can we come out to Norman’s house?”
“Of course,” Hannah said, not even thinking twice. “Come on out and we’ll see if we can rustle you up something to eat. You’re hungry, right?”
“A working detective is always hungry. Wha’cha got?”
“I don’t know. I’ll have to touch base with Michelle on that.”
“Fine. With both of you cooking, it’s bound to be good, whatever it is. Thanks, Hannah. Oh ... is Norman there? I mean right there?”
“No, he’s on the phone with Bev in the den.”
“Good. I just wanted to find out if you got that DNA sample. And before you ask me how I know, let me just remind you that I’m a detective and I can see right through the excuses that Andrea gives Bill. You went to see Bev’s mother, didn’t you?”
“Of course we did. Does Bill know?”
“If he does, he’s never going to admit it. Think about it, Hannah. Bill’s the Winnetka County Sheriff. He can’t admit he knows his wife entered into a conspiracy with his sister-in-law to do something like that. So did you get it?”
“Just let me repeat Andrea’s words when we walked into The Cookie Jar this afternoon. She said, Mission accomplished .”
“Good work. Look, Hannah. I can do something to rush this through our DNA lab. And I can pick up the sample tonight.”
“Thanks Mike, but we’ve got it covered. Doc Knight has a friend at a DNA lab, and he’s driving the samples there tomorrow. His friend is going to expedite the whole thing.”
“That’s a relief! I was going to offer to run it through the police DNA lab, but I’d be risking my job on a civilian matter like that.”
“But you still would have done it?”
“Sure I would have done it. Norman’s my friend and there are some things more important than jobs.”
“You’re a good guy, Mike.”
Mike chuckled. “Only some of the time. And when I’m bad, I’m really bad. But that’s part of my appeal ... right, Hannah?”
“Maybe.” Hannah began to smile. Mike was attractive when he was being slightly wicked, and he was slightly wicked a lot of the time. She was just getting ready to say goodbye and take a look in Norman’s freezer and refrigerator to figure out what they could serve to two very hungry detectives when Norman walked back into the room.
“Hi, Norman,” she said, holding out her cell phone. “Mike’s on my cell phone. He wants to know if he can come over with Lonnie.”
Norman grabbed the cell phone and greeted Mike. “What’s your ETA?” he asked. He listened for a moment or two, and then he laughed. “That’s fine. I’ll start thawing the steaks and see what the girls can put together. See you in about forty-five then.”