Blueberry Muffin Murder

by Joanne Fluke

  Hannah glared at him. “Is it fair that I should lose my business because a killer committed murder in my pantry?”

  “Of course it’s not fair, but I have to follow procedure here.”

  Hannah knew that Mike was a by-the-book cop. When it came to procedure, nothing would budge him. “Could you bring out my muffins? They’re on a shelf in the pantry in plastic containers, and I need to deliver them this morning.”

  “Sorry. There could be prints on some of the containers.”

  Hannah gave a resigned sigh. Her muffins would be history by the time the crime scene guys got around to lifting the prints. “How about the cookie dough I mixed up last night?”

  “That depends. Where is it?”

  “In the cooler, and that’s completely separate from the pantry. Since Connie Mac brought her own ingredients, there was no reason for her to go in there.”

  “If we don’t find any suspicious prints on the cooler door, I’ll release your cookie dough. In the meantime, try to find an oven you can use temporarily.”

  Once Mike had left to go back inside, Norman pulled Hannah close again. “It’s not the end of the world. All we have to do is find you another oven to use. Let’s go to the clinic and I’ll help you make some calls.”

  “It won’t be that easy.” Hannah was about to explain the difference between a home oven and a commercial oven when she saw another car pull into the alley. “Oh-oh! There’s Mother. She’s convinced I’m on a perpetual safari for dead bodies just so I can embarrass her.”

  Delores fishtailed to a stop when she noticed the sheriff’s cruiser. She rolled down her window and called out to Hannah. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine, but Connie Mac’s dead.”

  With no regard for any other traffic that might come along, Delores left her car in the center of the alley and got out. When she arrived at Hannah’s side, she was breathless. “Did you say dead?”

  “That’s right,” Norman said, moving close to Hannah. “Someone killed her last night while she was baking the Winter Carnival cake.”

  “In my shop,” Hannah added. “Now it’s a crime scene and Bill and Mike are going to close it down.”

  “That’s terrible!” Delores gasped.

  “Yes,” Hannah said, not sure if her mother was referring to Connie Mac’s demise, or the fact that The Cookie Jar would be closed.

  “A murder scene right next door,” Delores moaned. “Now no one will come to tour the Ezekiel Jordan House.”

  Hannah glanced at Norman, who was having trouble keeping a straight face. Delores wasn’t concerned that her daughter’s business would be closed, or the fact that Connie Mac was dead. Her only worry was that people wouldn’t come to see her historic re-creation. “Relax, Mother. Most people are fascinated by murder scenes. Since they can’t get into The Cookie Jar, they’ll take your tour and peek through the windows.”

  “Do you really think so?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Maybe you’re right. I went to a lot of work, you know, and everything is absolutely authentic for the…” Delores stopped speaking and her eyes narrowed. “Who found her?”

  Hannah winced. It would come out sooner or later, and it might as well be now. “I did.”

  “Hannah! You’ve simply got to stop finding bodies. I swear you attract them like a magnet. If you’re not careful, everyone’s going to get the wrong impression of you.”

  “That’s unfair,” Norman objected. “Hannah just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

  “That’s exactly what I thought…the first few times. But five? That’s enough to make people wonder. If she’s not careful, no decent person will want to associate with her.”

  Norman gave Hannah’s hand a squeeze and then he stepped up to Delores. “I’m not afraid to associate with Hannah, and I certainly don’t have the wrong impression of her.”

  “Well…I’m glad to hear it.” Delores backed off slightly. “You’re a good man, Norman.”

  “I try to be.”

  Delores turned back to Hannah. “Where did you find her?”

  “In my pantry.”

  “Don’t tell anyone. If people hear that she died in your pantry, they won’t want to eat your cookies. You’d better throw everything out and start fresh.”

  Hannah didn’t follow that logic at all, but she nodded. “Yes, Mother. I’ll do that just as soon as they let me back in.”

  “Good. If you’re sure you’re all right, Hannah, I have to run. You have no idea how many last-minute things I have to do before we open to the public.”

  “I’m fine, Mother. Go ahead.”

  “I’d stay to lend moral support, but—”

  Norman held up his hand to interrupt her. “Don’t worry, Delores. I promise I’ll take care of Hannah.”

  “All right, then.”

  Hannah watched as Delores turned and walked back to her car. Then she looked over at Norman. “You’ll take care of me?”

  “Just a figure of speech. I figured she’d like that sort of thing.” Norman glanced up as another car turned into the alley. “Is that Andrea?”

  “Yes, and Tracey’s with her. Bill must have called her to tell her what happened.”

  Andrea pulled up and got out of her Volvo. The passenger door remained closed, and Hannah assumed that she’d told Tracey to stay in the car until she assessed the situation.

  “Hannah! You poor thing!” Andrea rushed up to her. “Bill told me all about it. Have they taken her away yet?”

  “Not yet. Doc Knight’s still in there.”

  Andrea waved and the passenger door opened. A moment later, a small blond-haired bundle in a bright pink parka hurtled across the snow toward Hannah.

  “Hi, Aunt Hannah.” Tracey gave her a hug. “Mommy said you found another one, and now Grandma’s going to be so-o-o mad at you.”

  Hannah glanced down at Tracey’s earnest face, and she had all she could do not to laugh. “Oh, well. That’s nothing new.”

  “Grandma never gets mad at me. Why does she get mad at you, Aunt Hannah?”

  “Because I’m all grown up and I’m supposed to be perfect. You’re four years old and you’re still allowed some mistakes.”

  Tracey thought about that for a moment and then she nodded solemnly. “We came to tell you that you can use our oven for your cookies. It’s a really nice oven and Mommy’s only used it once.”

  “From the mouths of babes,” Hannah commented, glancing at Andrea who was having trouble keeping a straight face. Then she turned back to Tracey. “That’s really nice of you, honey, but I can’t use your oven. I need to find one that’s a lot bigger.”

  Tracey looked very disappointed. “But I was going to help you and everything. I need to learn how. I heard Daddy ask Mommy why she never bakes cookies and she said it’ll be a cold day in…”

  “That’s enough, Tracey,” Andrea warned, but Hannah could tell that she was more amused than angry. “Give Aunt Hannah a kiss and then go back to the car. We need to talk about some grownup things.”

  “I never get to listen when you talk about the good stuff,” Tracey said with a sigh. “Grownups get to have all the fun.”

  Norman turned to Tracey. “I know something you can do for fun. If your Mom says it’s okay, I’ll take you next door to see the house your grandma made.”

  “Can I, Mommy?” Tracey asked, starting to smile again.

  Andrea nodded. “That’s fine if Norman doesn’t mind taking you.”

  “Oh, good.” Tracey slipped her hand in Norman’s. “Let’s go, Uncle Norman.”

  “Uncle Norman?” Hannah asked when Tracey and Norman were out of earshot.

  “Tracey wanted to know what she should call him, and I couldn’t think of anything else.” Andrea looked a bit embarrassed. “‘Doctor Rhodes’ was just too formal, you know? Tell me what happened, Hannah. You know how Bill is when he calls me from the field. He never tells me any details.”

  Hannah had just
begun to tell the story again when the back door opened and Mike came out. He strode across the snow, greeted Andrea, and then he turned to Hannah. “More bad news, I’m afraid.”

  “What now?” Hannah snapped. She was in no mood to be charitable to the man who’d just closed down her business.

  “You said that Janie Burkholtz was here with Connie Mac last night?”

  “That’s right. They were baking when Norman and I left.”

  “Well, she’s disappeared. I just called the inn, and no one’s seen her since she left with Connie Mac yesterday afternoon. I sent one of the maids up to check her room, and all her luggage is gone.”

  “Oh, no!” Andrea’s face turned pale and she reached out to grab Hannah’s arm. “Connie Mac’s killer must have kidnapped Janie!”

  “Calm down, Andrea. A killer wouldn’t stop at the inn on his way out of town to let Janie collect her belongings.”

  Andrea thought about it for a second, and then she looked a bit sheepish. “You’re right. I didn’t think about that. But…what happened to Janie?”

  “We’ll find her,” Mike promised. “Our CIO pulled her picture from the DMV file and we put out an APB.”

  Hannah swallowed hard. She’d been around Mike long enough to know that when he started to speak in initials, it was serious business. Connie Mac was dead, she’d been an impossibly nasty boss, and now Janie was missing. Hannah didn’t think for a moment that Janie had killed Connie Mac and fled town, but she couldn’t blame Mike for being suspicious. “Is Janie a suspect?”

  “I’m afraid so.”

  Andrea’s face was still pale, but her eyes were blazing. “Janie didn’t kill Connie Mac. That’s impossible.”

  “You could be right,” Mike backed off when he saw how upset Andrea was. “Miss Burkholtz could have a perfectly innocent reason for leaving town, but we won’t know what it is until we ask her.”

  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 for 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 mad 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.”

  Chapter Eight

  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 cinnabun 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 killed 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! Wh
at 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 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.”

  As Hannah joined her sister on the bench, she recalled that Andrea had eaten two large pieces of coffee cake at Lisa’s. For someone who never did more than nibble at a slice of toast for breakfast, she was uncharacteristically hungry. Hannah had been off at college when her sister had been pregnant with Tracey, but Bill had mentioned that she’d gained ten pounds in the first month. Was the stork about to pay another visit to the Todd household?