“I don’t like this, Hannah. I feel like I’m losing my way. And even worse, I feel like I’m losing my . . . my humanity. And that’s why I need your help on this case. I can’t solve it on my own, Hannah. And I’m not sure that Lonnie can, either. Let’s go over your notes, Hannah. Maybe it’ll help.”
Hannah’s head was spinning as she went over her notes with Mike. She could tell that Mike’s heart wasn’t in it, even though he asked some good questions.
“Tell me something, Mike,” she said, when they’d finished discussing the suspects.
“What do you want to know?”
“You always balked a little about my help on a case. And this time you’re asking me to help you. Do you care who ends up solving Sonny’s murder case?”
Mike took a full minute to think about that, and then he shook his head. “I don’t think I do.”
Hannah reached out to take his hand. “Is there anything I can do to help you?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never, ever felt like this about a case before. I’m not sure what’s happening to me. . . .”
Chapter Twenty-one
Hannah did her best to erase the worried expression from her face as she left the bar and walked down the hallway to the lobby. She’d assured Mike that, of course, she’d continue to work on the murder investigation, and solve the case if she could. But she wished there were something else she could do to help her friend. She loved Mike dearly, and it hurt her deeply to see him so troubled. Perhaps another law officer could help him, but she had no idea who . . .
“Stella!” she said aloud, as the answer came to her. She would call Stella at the Minneapolis Police Department to see if Stella could help.
Hannah was about to cross the lobby to the elevator when she noticed who was sitting behind the reservation desk. It was Craig, the night desk clerk.
“Craig!” she called out to greet him as she hurried over to talk to him. “What are you doing here this time of day?”
“I’m pulling a double shift again,” Craig said with a smile.
“But . . . didn’t you just get off work a few hours ago?”
“Yes, eight hours. And I went straight upstairs and went to sleep. Someone’s bringing me my lunch in a few minutes and I don’t have to do a thing except sit here, answer the phone, and answer any questions that the guests have for me.”
“That sounds good,” Hannah told him. “So it’s working out well, now that you’re staying here at the Inn?”
“It’s perfect for me. I don’t have to wash my clothes, shop for groceries, or commute back and forth. And since I’m not taking any classes right now, it works out great.” Craig’s smile grew even wider. “Not to mention the extra money. That’s a big help for next year. If Sally keeps me on as night desk clerk and if I’m able to arrange all my classes in one block of time, I might be able to give up my apartment and live out here.”
“That sounds great,” Hannah said.
“It is great, especially the food. I don’t have to shop for or cook anything. All I have to do is find out what they have in the kitchen and pick up the phone to order room service. It’s a dream job, Hannah.”
Hannah smiled. “And it sounds like Sally has found her dream employee.”
“Thanks for the compliment, Hannah. Are you going upstairs to catch a nap now?”
Hannah considered that for a moment and then she shook her head. “No, I’m going to the kitchen. I have to bake brownies for Lonnie’s birthday dinner tonight, and I might even start the cookies for tomorrow.”
“So, do you need another cookie recipe?” Craig asked.
“I can always use cookie recipes. Do you have one?”
“Actually I do. My grandmother used to make me special cookies for my birthday.”
“When is your birthday?”
“Not until two days after Christmas and that meant everyone combined my Christmas present with my birthday present. The only one who ever gave me a separate present for Christmas, and then a second present for my birthday, was Grandma.”
“And she gave you cookies?”
“That’s right. Grandma made special cookies from a recipe her mother had given her. They were made with potato chips, and I love potato chips!”
“Do you have the recipe with you?”
Craig nodded and reached inside the notebook he had out on the desk. “She wrote it out for me and I keep it in here. Do you want a copy?”
“I’d love a copy!” Hannah said quickly, flipping to a blank page in her Murder Book. “Is it okay if I stand here and copy it?”
“You don’t have to do that! Why don’t I make you a copy? We have a copy machine behind the desk that we use to make copies of credit cards and driver’s licenses. It’ll just take me a couple of seconds, and there’s no one else behind you in line.”
“That would be great!” Hannah said, watching as Craig reached into one of the pockets on the front of his notebook and took out a handwritten recipe card.
“Grandma’s writing is pretty small, so I’ll enlarge it for you.”
Hannah stood in front of the desk and waited as Craig made a copy for her. She glanced at it and began to smile. “Your grandmother used cranberries and walnuts in the recipe?”
“That’s right, but she told me that you could use any nut. I liked walnuts the most, so she used those.”
“This looks like a great recipe,” Hannah told him. “I think I’ll make some this afternoon, and I’ll save some for you.”
“You’re making some for me?” Craig was clearly surprised. “But . . . it’s not my birthday.”
“I know, but I want you to test them for me, and you can’t do that if I don’t give you some.”
“Oh, boy!” Craig said, smiling widely. “I have Grandma’s recipe book and they’re all authentic recipes. I’ll bring it out here next week when I go back to my apartment, and then you can read the recipe book and tell me which recipes you want me to copy for you.”
“That would be wonderful,” Hannah told him, carefully folding the recipe that he’d copied for her. “I’ll be back in an hour or two, Craig. Will you still be here at the desk?”
“Yes, until six. Then I get a break for dinner.”
“Then I’ll see you in an hour or two. And thank you very much for the new recipe.”
Hannah was smiling as she walked away from the desk. She loved trying new recipes, and this one promised to be interesting. Sally had all of the ingredients she needed for these cookies in the pantry of the kitchen. The only ingredient she might need to buy was Macadamia nuts for the brownies for Lonnie. She rounded the corner of the hallway and came very close to bumping into Rosa, who was coming from the opposite direction.
“Sorry, Rosa,” she apologized. “I shouldn’t have been reading over this recipe and walking at the same time.”
Rosa gave a little laugh. “That’s all right, Hannah. I wasn’t reading anything, and I almost bumped into you, too.”
Hannah thought fast. There were still a few questions she wanted to ask Rosa, but she really should get the brownies and cookies in the oven so she’d have time to take one of Dick and Sally’s rowboats out on the lake to relax a bit before the interview with Lily. This day was turning out to have a shortage of hours in it, and Rosa’s questions might have to wait unless . . .