“That’s right.” Mike reached into his pocket and drew out his pen and notebook. “Okay, Hannah. I want you to tell me everything that happened from the time you first opened the door and saw Ross. Don’t leave anything out. I need to know everything he said and everything that you said until you locked the kitchen door behind you.”
“I’ll get coffee,” Lisa said, hurrying to fetch two cups of Hannah’s favorite beverage. She added a generous spoonful of sugar to Hannah’s cup and carried the coffee back to the work station.
“Thanks, Lisa,” Hannah said, raising the cup to her lips and taking a sip. A startled expression crossed her face as she swallowed. “I don’t take sugar!”
“You do today,” Lisa insisted. “You’re still shaking and it’ll help. And I’m willing to bet that you didn’t have breakfast before you came in this morning.”
“I . . .” Hannah stopped objecting and sighed instead. Lisa was right. She hadn’t bothered to eat breakfast. “You’re right, Lisa. I didn’t fix any breakfast this morning.”
“That’s what I thought. Drink the coffee,” Lisa ordered. “Your blood sugar’s probably low. Take a couple of swallows right now and then I’ll get you a plate of cookies that you can share with Mike. Tell him everything, Hannah. It doesn’t matter how small and insignificant you think it is. I’m going to go out to the coffee shop and get things ready to open in there.”
“Concentrate,” Mike ordered, once Lisa had left. “Tell me everything you remember, Hannah.”
Hannah took another swallow of coffee and a bite of her cookie, and began to recite the events that had happened after she’d heard the knock on the back kitchen door. It took quite a while and she was surprised at all the small things she remembered, even facts like how Ross had been dressed, the boots he’d been wearing, and how his appearance had changed in the weeks that had gone by since he’d left her.
“Very good, Hannah,” Mike said, closing his notebook and sliding it back into his pocket.
“I’m back,” Lisa announced, coming through the swinging door again. “Aunt Nancy and Marge are here and I’m going to start the baking.”
“I’ll help,” Hannah said, rising from the stool.
“No, just sit there, Hannah,” Lisa ordered. “You’ve been through an emotional morning already and I can handle the baking. Drink coffee, eat cookies, keep me company, and do your best to relax. That’s all I need from you right now.”
“Lisa’s right,” Mike told her. “You’ll be okay, Hannah. And just to be on the safe side, I’m going to assign a couple of my deputies to stay with you wherever you go. There’s no way we’re going to take any chances with your safety.”
“The minute he hears about this, Herb will offer to help,” Lisa told Mike. “Herb can watch the entrances to Lake Eden, and we can make sure Hannah is safe while she’s here at The Cookie Jar.”
“Thanks, Lisa. And tell Herb thanks, too. My detectives will make sure Hannah is escorted everywhere she goes,” Mike promised, and then he turned to Hannah. “You’ll have constant protection, Hannah. I’m going to order round-the-clock security for you.”
Hannah was about to tell him that she didn’t need bodyguards, but before she opened her mouth, she remembered the menacing look on Ross’s face when he’d tried to grab her and keep her from going inside. Perhaps she did need bodyguards.
Mike looked surprised when Hannah didn’t voice her objections to round-the-clock security. “You’re not going to argue with me about this?”
“No,” Hannah said, and then she gave a long, drawn-out sigh. “I don’t like it, but you’re right. Ross really scared me when he threatened to hurt me, and I know that I might need protection.”
Chapter Seven
“I’m really glad you’re here, Lisa,” Hannah said once Mike had left. “Where were you when the blizzard hit us?”
“At home with Herb. He’d just gotten off work. He was only home for a half hour or so when it started to snow, and we heard the blizzard warnings on KCOW. We just stayed in the house until the snow stopped blowing. How about you?”
“I was taking a nap at the condo. I slept for most of the afternoon.”
“I can understand that. You must have been exhausted after dealing with all the people at church.”
“I was. Moishe was sleeping with me and when I woke up, I looked out the window and it was a solid wall of swirling snow.”
“You were alone?”
“Yes, except for Moishe. I think the howling of the wind woke me up, either that or the fact that Moishe was restless. He was scared, so I petted him to calm him down, slipped on my robe, and went out into the living room. That’s when I looked out the living room window and realized that I couldn’t see Clara and Marguerite’s condo across the outside landing.”
“Did your electricity go off?”
Hannah shook her head. “When they built the condo complex, they ran everything underground. I had cable television for the entire time, too. I was just watching the weather warning on KCOW-TV when Norman knocked on my door with Cuddles.”
Lisa looked shocked. “Norman made it all the way out to your place?”
“Yes. He started before the blizzard got really bad, but it took him almost an hour and a half. And it’s only a twenty-minute drive.”
“Where was Michelle?”
“At Mother and Doc’s penthouse with Lonnie. Mother called Michelle on her cell phone, told her that it was too dangerous to drive back to my place, and invited them over to ride out the blizzard.”
“But Michelle was with you when I called.”
“I know. Earl Flensburg came by with his snowplow and brought Michelle, Lonnie, and Mike out to my place.”
“So you had Norman, Cuddles, Mike, Lonnie, and Michelle with you for the whole time?”
Hannah smiled. “Yes, and I was glad for the company. The guys camped out in the living room and Michelle and I cooked and baked a lot. It kept our minds off what was happening outside. I think we came up with some good recipes for Valentine’s Day and I brought samples for you.” Hannah walked over to the kitchen counter, picked up the box she’d packed that morning, and carried it over to give to Lisa.
Lisa took the box and set it down on the stainless-steel surface. “It’s really heavy. You must have baked the entire time!”
Hannah laughed. “Michelle and I had to do something. We were getting a little stir-crazy. The guys tested cookies, pies, and cakes for us and so did Clara and Marguerite Hollenbeck. It was something productive for us to do.”
“It sounds like you didn’t mind the blizzard at all.”
“Not true. I can tell you this, Lisa. I’m really glad it’s over and I can get out again! I never thought I was claustrophobic, but I guess I am. I felt anxious knowing that I couldn’t get out of the condo if we had an emergency.”
“I know what you mean, but at least you had people with you. Herb and I were stuck in the house and the only time we left was to step outside and walk the dogs around the inside of the fence.”
“You must have felt terribly confined.” Hannah walked to the kitchen coffeepot and poured herself another cup. “What did you and Herb do to pass the time?”
Since Lisa didn’t answer immediately, Hannah turned to look at her. That’s when she realized that her partner was blushing. “Sorry,” she apologized. “I guess I shouldn’t have asked that.”
“That’s okay. I did have time to come up with a couple of new recipes we can use for Valentine’s Day.”
“Great! What are they?”
“One is Pink Grapefruit Cake. The glaze is pink and it’s pretty. And another is White Chocolate Brownies. I’ve got a White Chocolate Fudge Frosting, too, and I thought we could color that pink and put Valentine candies on top of each brownie.”
“Good idea! Did you hear the news about the movie festival?”
“Yes. Mayor Bascomb called Herb to see if he knew anyone he could hire for extra security. The mayor said that there were going to be a lot of extra people coming to town for that.”
“He’s probably right.”
Lisa began to look slightly worried. “You don’t think Ross will come back for that, do you?”