Peach Cobbler Murder (14 page)

“What?” Norman asked her.

“I think I just discovered a new weight loss program. I’ll call it the Busy Day Diet, open diet centers all over the country, and make millions by giving people so much to do that they won’t have time to eat.”

Before Norman had time to respond, the phone rang again. This time it was Andrea and she wanted to know exactly what Hannah had seen when she’d entered the Magnolia Blossom Bakery.

Hannah gave Andrea the same description she’d given their mother with one added fact. “And guess what I saw on the counter.”

“What?” Andrea sounded intrigued.

“A box of Betty Jo’s Frozen Peach Cobbler.”

“I knew it!” Andrea exclaimed. “Remember when I said I thought I’d tasted that peach cobbler before?”

“I remember.”

“And do you remember when Norman said it tasted like something you’d get at a twenty-four-hour coffee shop?”

“I remember that, too.”

“Well, Betty Jo’s is a chain of coffee shops in Georgia. The Jordan High cheerleaders stopped at one once when we went to that national competition in Atlanta.”

“How about that!” Hannah exclaimed. “Just wait until I tell Norman he was right.”

“Right about what?” Norman asked.

“Shawna Lee’s peach cobbler tasting like the kind you’d get in a coffee shop. It was from Betty Jo’s and Andrea says that’s a chain of coffee shops in Georgia.”

“Norman’s with you?” Andrea asked in Hannah’s ear, lowering her voice slightly.

“That’s right.’

“Does Mike know you took Norman home with you?”

“What does it matter? He gave up all right when he didn’t bother to show up for our date.”

“I know, but you wouldn’t want to get him too jealous. He’s the lead investigator and he might decide to zero in on you. After all, you’re the one with the most to gain.”

“What’s the matter?” Norman asked, noticing Hannah’s disturbed expression when she hung up the phone.

“Andrea thinks I could be a suspect.”

“That’s ridiculous!”

“You know that and I know that, but Mike doesn’t.”

“Well, he should.”

“Maybe, but you’ve got to admit I’ve got the best motive.”

“You mean because she was cutting into your business?”

“That’s only part of it,” Hannah said, ticking the reasons off on her fingers. “One, she was my rival in business. Two, she was dating Mike and so was I.”

“Was?” Norman interrupted her in mid tick.

“The way I feel right now, it’s past tense. And three, there was no love lost between us and everyone in town knew it.”

“But there must have been other people with motives. Who else would want to kill Shawna Lee?”

“The wife of almost every deputy at the sheriff’s station for starters. She flirted with all the guys when she worked out there and she didn’t seem to care if they were married or not.”

“Are you going to try to find out who killed her?”

“I think I’d better,” Hannah said with a sigh, “just to prove that I’m not the only suspect. Of course I might be cleared when Doc Knight declares the time of death. If I’m lucky, I was serving cake to a hundred-plus people when Shawna Lee was shot.”

Hannah yawned and Norman took his cue. He stood up and smiled at her. “I’d better head for home. You look like you’re going to pass out if I keep you awake any longer.”

“It’s been a long day.” Hannah got to her feet and walked him to the door. “Are you available for a consultation tomorrow?”

“I’ll make myself available. Is it a dental problem?”

“No, it’s a murder problem.” Hannah gave a little laugh. “Since Lisa’s on her honeymoon, and Andrea’s gone back to Lake Eden Realty to work part-time, I need someone to help me sleuth. I have to be at The Cookie Jar during the day, so we’ll have to work at night. Do you mind spending a couple of nights with me?”

“I thought you’d never ask,” Norman said. And he pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

Hannah filled the last of the display jars with the day’s selection of cookies and placed them on the shelf behind the counter. It surprised her how much she missed Lisa. It wasn’t the work. Hannah had handled the baking alone before Lisa had joined her. Although it was easier and faster with another set of hands, she could accomplish it herself. What she missed more than anything was Lisa’s company.

Once she’d poured a fresh cup of coffee, Hannah sat down at her favorite table in the back of the coffee shop and tried to relax. She’d come in early on purpose, not knowing precisely how long it would take her to do everything alone. She’d erred on the side of caution and now she had almost an hour to wait until it was time to open.

As Hannah sat there sipping and sampling a new recipe she’d tried for the first time that morning, she wondered if someone at the sheriff’s department had managed to contact Vanessa. Hannah felt sorry for Shawna Lee’s sister. Vanessa had lost her husband in December and now, two months later, her sister was dead.

Hannah was about to get up and take another cookie, when a familiar car pulled up in front of The Cookie Jar. She watched as Andrea emerged, a vision in a dark purple suit and a matching cloak. She looked as if she could have been named fashionable female executive of the year with one small exception. The jarring note came from the pin she was wearing, a large, garish, red flower.

As Andrea hurried to unlock the door, she noticed that the flower pin was decidedly lopsided and one of the petals appeared to be missing. “Tracey?” she asked, as she let Andrea in.

“What?”

“Did Tracey make your pin?”

Andrea nodded, slipping out of her cloak and hanging it up on the rack. “Of course Tracey made it. Do you think I’d go out and buy something like this?”

“No. As a matter of fact, I’m surprised you’re wearing it. It doesn’t exactly go with your suit.”

“Look who’s talking,” Andrea said, giving Hannah an assessing glance. “You’re black and blue.”

“Where?”

“Your outfit. You’re wearing a navy blue sweater with black jeans. That’s a fashion no-no.”

Hannah glanced down at her sweater. Andrea was right. “But I have an excuse,” she said.

“What’s that?”

“It was still dark when I got dressed and I thought I grabbed a black sweater.”

Andrea laughed and so did Hannah. They were two sisters who enjoyed needling each other, as long as the barbs didn’t get too sharp.

“They’ve got the whole bakery cordoned off,” Andrea told her, gesturing toward the window. “You can see part of it from here. There’s a crime scene tape on the front and it’s on the back door, too. I drove down the alley to check. I just hope you baked lots of cookies, because everybody in town will be in.”

”Because they can’t go there?”

“That’s part of it, but the other part is that they’ll want to ask you what happened. Jake and Kelly mentioned that you found the body on KCOW radio this morning.”

“Uh-oh,” Hannah groaned, wondering if she’d baked enough cookies.”

”You’re going to try to find out who killed Shawna Lee, aren’t you?”

“I think I’d better. You convinced me that Mike’ll put me at the head of his suspect list.”

“He will. Bill thinks so, too.”

“Bill told you that?”

“Not exactly. He just didn’t deny it when I asked him and that’s the same as saying it. So what do you want me to do? I can nose around after I’m through showing houses and before I pick up Tracey.”

Hannah thought about it for a minute. “Do you think you can find out the time of death? That’s the first thing I need to know.”

“I can try.”

“Thanks. So Tracey asked you to wear her pin today?” Hannah asked, getting back to the subject.

“That’s right. I just couldn’t say no. She made it all by herself. Bill’s mother took her out to the craft store and helped her pick out the kit.”

“Do you ever get the feeling that your mother-in-law hates you?”

“All the time,” Andrea replied with a laugh. “And before you mention it, I know I could stash the pin in the car and put it on again before I go home. But it took Tracey hours to glue on all that macaroni and paint it. The least I can do is wear it.”

Hannah stared at her sister in shock for a moment and then she reached out to pat her shoulder. “Good for you!”

“Thanks. Besides, it’s going to be a great sales gimmick. If I tell all the clients that my daughter made it, they’ll think I’m unselfish, caring, and honest. And then they’ll believe everything I say about the property I’m showing.”

“Right,” Hannah said. So the fashion leopard hadn’t changed her spots after all “How about some coffee and cookies?”

When Andrea nodded, Hannah ducked behind the counter to pour another mug of coffee and put two cookies on a napkin.

“What are these?” Andrea asked, glancing down at the cookies when Hannah set them down in front of her.

“They’re molasses raisin cookies. I just came up with the recipe this week, and I don’t have a good name for them yet.”

Andrea took a bite. “They’re good. Very simple and you can really taste the molasses. Just look at this one.”

“I’m looking,” Hannah said, peering at the cookie that was left on Andrea’s napkin. “What about it?”

“It’s got three raisins on top, two for the eyes and one for the mouth. It looks a little like the pancakes you used to make me for breakfast. Remember?”

Hannah remembered. Andrea had been a picky eater and she wouldn’t touch a pancake unless it had a “face” of chocolate chips.

“Can you put just three raisins on each cookie?”

“Sure. They’re not in the dough. They’re just sprinkled on top.”

“If you do that, they’ll look like little doll faces. They’re too scrunched up to be baby dolls, or fashion dolls, so they’ll have to be old people dolls.”

Hannah put on a perfectly straight face, even though she was screaming with laughter inside. “Somehow I don’t think customers will buy them if we call them Old People Doll Cookies.”

“I guess not!” Andrea started to laugh and Hannah joined her. When the laughter faded she said, “They look a lot like the Early American dolls with faces carved out of apples. You know the kind?”

Hannah knew the dolls well. She’d tried to carve a head for one in a college art class and ended up with several cuts on her fingers. “They do look a little like that, but I can’t call them Apple Doll Cookies when there’s no apple in the recipe.”

“I know, but you can call them Doll Face Cookies. Everyone will love that. each cookie will be a little different and they’ll have to buy a couple to compare them.”

“You’ve got a real talent for marketing,” Hannah said, smiling at her younger sister.

“Of course I do! It’s part of the training. I’m a real estate professional and we’re expected to sell things that are over-priced an substandard every day.“ Andrea reacted to Hannah’s frown and gulped audibly. “Of course that doesn’t apply to your cookies. They’re not overpriced and substandard. I was just speaking generically.”

“You mean generally. And that was a good catch.”

Once Andrea had left, Hannah finished her coffee and got up to switch to her serving apron. She still had fifteen minutes before it was time to unlock the door, but she was about to turn the sign from CLOSED to OPEN in the hopes that some early bird would come in and she’d have someone to talk to, when she heard a noise in the kitchen.

Hannah felt a prickle of unease. She was almost positive she’d locked the back door behind her when she’d come in. “Is anyone there?”

“Hi, Hannah!” a familiar voice called out from the kitchen, and a moment later, Lisa came into the coffee shop.

“Lisa!” Hannah was glad to see her partner, but she was also puzzled. “What are you doing here? Are you pining away for work after only one day with your new husband?”

Lisa gave a radiant smile. “Not exactly. It’s just that Herb and I woke up early this morning and we turned on the News At O’Dark-Thirty to see what was happening in town. Jake and Kelly were talking about Shawna Lee’s murder and they said you found the body.”

“So you want to know all about it?”

“That, too. But Herb and I thought you’d need me to fill in here while you figured out who killed her.”

“What about your honeymoon?”

“I’m still on it. We’ll stay out at Lake Eden Inn for a week, exactly as we planned, but I’m coming in to work until you get this whole murder business settled.”

Hannah wanted to show her generous nature and tell Lisa to go back out to the Lake Eden Inn and enjoy herself. But what her partner had said was true. She really needed Lisa’s help. Some of the confusion must have shown on her face, because Lisa reached out to touch her arm.

“Herb and I wouldn’t be together anyway,” Lisa said, doing her best to alleviate any guilt Hannah might feel about pulling her back from her honeymoon. “He volunteered to help Dick all week.”

“Doing what?”

“Entertaining the men. Do you know about the Pretty girl Cosmetics retreat that’s starting today?”

Hannah shook her head. “This is the first I’ve heard of it.”

“Their corporate headquarters reserved every room except the bridal suit. Sally and I talked about it, and she told me that if this one goes well, Pretty Girl might hold their corporate retreat there every February.”

“That’s good news. Now that the winter carnival’s been moved to January, February’s a slow month for Dick and Sally.”

“It’s the reason why Herb is helping Dick entertain the husbands while the wives hold their motivational meetings. He figured it was the least he could do after the incredible wedding gift we got from Gloria Travis.”

Hannah felt like the fictional Alice after she’d fallen down the rabbit hole. “What incredible wedding gift? And who’s Gloria Travis?”

“She’s the personal assistant to the CEO of Pretty Girl. And she’s also the person who picked the Lake Eden Inn as the site of this year’s retreat. Do you happen to remember the dark-haired lady in the light blue silk dress who was sitting at the table with your mother during dinner?”

“I remember her very well,” Hannah said. When she’d gone over to say hello to Mother and Winthrop, Gloria Travis had been friendly and nice.

“I’m surprised you remember her. She didn’t say much and she left early.”