Chapter Nineteen
As Hannah prepared to turn in the alley that led to the parking lot behind The Cookie Jar, she noticed that the street ahead was lined with cars. Every single parking spot was taken, even the spot in front of her mother’s antique shop, all the way to the end of the block. Perhaps Claire was having a sale at her dress shop, but it was unusual for her to open in the morning. Ever since she’d married Reverend Bob Knudson and moved into the parsonage with Reverend Bob and his grandmother, Claire’s hours had been noon to five.
The alley was crowded, too. One whole side was lined with cars. It must be a sale. She’d never seen this many cars on their block before. She pulled into her parking lot and found that it was also crowded. Thankfully, her spot was open. What in the world was going on?
When she opened the back kitchen door at The Cookie Jar, a buzz of voices floated out to greet her. It sounded like the coffee shop was packed with customers. As she stepped into the kitchen, she saw Jack Herman refilling several of the large display jars they kept behind the counter.
“Hi, Jack,” she greeted him.
“Hello, Hannah.”
Hannah smiled. It was a good day for Lisa’s dad. He’d been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s over a year ago, and there were times when he forgot who she was.
“It’s noisy out there.” Hannah gestured toward the coffee shop and then she turned to hang her purse on one of the hooks by the back door. “Do we have a lot of customers?”
“We do. It’s crowded, Hannah. And we’re selling lots of cookies. Coffee, too.”
“That’s good. Is Claire having a sale at her dress shop next door?”
“No, Claire is here. She brought Grandma Knudson down the hill and they’re sitting at a table with Ava Schultz and Betty Jackson. Betty ate four cookies already. She loves our new Chocolate-Covered Peanut Cookies.”
Hannah felt more than a little uncomfortable. She’d missed less than a halfday’s work and she was already out of step with what was going on. “I didn’t know we had a new cookie.”
“It was Marge’s idea when she couldn’t find chocolate-covered raisins to make Chocolate-Covered Raisin Cookies. Florence had chocolate-covered peanuts so she changed the recipe a little bit and just used those.”
“Very smart,” Hannah said, still feeling a little like an intruder in her own cookie shop.
Jack glanced up at the clock on the wall. “Only fifteen minutes to go,” he said, picking up the two cookie jars he’d filled and heading for the swinging door that separated the kitchen from the coffee shop. “I’ll be right back. I need to talk to you, Hannah.”
Hannah was still just as puzzled as she’d been when she walked in the door. Only fifteen minutes to go for what? What in the world was going on today?
“Uh-oh!” she groaned as her mind settled on the obvious conclusion. Lisa was telling the story of how Hannah had found Doctor Bev’s body. But how could she tell that story when Hannah hadn’t even told her about it? Unless . . .
“Michelle,” Hannah said, under her breath. She’d told Michelle everything last night and Michelle could have told Lisa. But why would Lisa tell the story without running it past her first?
“Hannah!” Lisa came rushing into the kitchen. “Dad said you were out here. Do you want to listen to the story of how you found Doctor Bev’s body?”
Hannah shook her head. “Not really. Finding her was bad enough. I don’t want to hear all about it again.”
Lisa was silent for a moment and then she sighed. “You’re upset that I’m talking about it, aren’t you?”
“I’m not upset. It’s what we always do. But why did you start telling the story before you checked with me?”
“Because Michelle and I thought you might need the money for your defense fund and we decided to make hay while the sun shines. She talked to Howie this morning and Howie said he’d cut his fees in half for you, but it’s going to cost an arm and a leg if you’re charged and the case goes to trial.”
Lisa had just used two clichés in a row, but Hannah didn’t call her on it. She was too busy with the two other clichés that were warring in her mind. One was Don’t borrow trouble, and the other was Expect the best, but prepare for the worst.
“We were just trying to help you, Hannah. But if you want me to stop telling the story, I will.”
Hannah thought about that for a moment and then she shook her head. “Don’t stop. You go right ahead and tell it. I have nothing to hide and the fact that you’re talking about it might convince everyone in town that I had nothing to do with Doctor Bev’s death. As a matter of fact . . .” Hannah paused and considered what she’d been about to say. She gave a brief nod and continued. “As a matter fact, let’s do a second act tomorrow.”
“What’s the second act?”
“It’s the story of how Mike came out to the condo to take me down to the station. And how Norman called Howie Levine to meet me there. You can even cover the salient parts of the interrogation. I told Michelle all about it last night and you can get all the details from her.”
“Great! I’ll tease it at the end of the story today and that will bring them in tomorrow.” It was Lisa’s turn to pause and look thoughtful. “Actually . . . we could even do a third act.”
“A third act? What story would that be?”
“How the sheriff’s department came in here last night to toss the whole place. And how Herb and I spent all night cleaning up when they left. We can also explore what evidence caused Mike to bring you down to the sheriff’s office to interrogate you. I know your mother can get me a copy of the autopsy report. She already offered to do it.”
“She did?”
“You betcha! She was in here this morning before seven and so was Andrea. Everyone’s pulling for you, Hannah. And they’ll be pulling for you even more when I tell them what a . . . a witch Doctor Bev was to you on the Petersons’ porch. It won’t hurt your defense if it comes to that. The sheriff’s department tossed the Peterson house, too. And they didn’t find any substance that you could have added to the cupcakes to cause Doctor Bev’s death.”
“That’s good to know.”
“Yes, it is. Just forget about the business here. Michelle and I are taking care of it, and Marge and Dad are happy to help. Actually, I think it helps Dad a lot to interact with all these people. We’ll take care of things here, so you concentrate on proving your innocence.”
“I just hope I can do that. It might be easier to prove the killer’s guilt than my innocence.”
“That could be true, but you know you can do it. The lady who hates spiders, but captures them in a napkin to take them outside and set them free couldn’t possibly kill anyone, even a waste of oxygen like Doctor Bev.”
Hannah laughed at Lisa’s description of Doctor Bev. “Are you going to use that line tomorrow?”
“I think so. It’s a real grabber. As a matter of fact, that’ll probably be my last line in tomorrow’s story.”
“You’re a drama queen, Lisa. Just go for it! If I have the stomach later, I’ll even listen to one of your performances. And if I manage to prove my innocence while you’re doing all that, we’ll use the money to go on vacation to someplace where it’s warm next winter.”
Hannah had just tasted one of Marge’s new Chocolate-Covered Peanut Cookies when Jack came back into the kitchen.
“You tried one?” he asked, noticing that a cookie was gone from the six dozen on the baker’s rack.
“I did and they’re wonderful. Tell Marge I said so, will you?”
“I will. She’ll like that.” Jack stood there for a moment and then he took a deep breath. “Do you have a minute, Hannah? I need your help.”
“Sure, Jack. What is it?”
“I need to . . .” Jack stopped and looked confused. Then he cleared his throat and began again. “I need to pro . . . pro-something. I always forget that word!”
“Say it in a different way,” Hannah suggested. It was a tactic she’d learned from Lisa. “What does the word mean, Jack?”
“It means to get married. To . . . propose! That’s it! I need to propose, Hannah.”
“Okay,” Hannah said, crossing to the coffee pot to pour two mugs, one for each of them. She gestured toward the stools around the stainless steel work island and said, “Come over here and sit. Have a little coffee and tell me all about it.”
Jack smiled as he sat down. “You are good, Hannah. That’s why I want to ask you to help. I can’t ask Marge and I can’t ask Lisa. And Herb’s too busy or he’d do it. That boy loves me.”
“I know he does. So do Lisa and Marge.”
“Yes, they do. But I can’t ask them to help me. They’re in . . . in something. In the middle of it, you know?”
“Involved.”
“Yes. That’s the word. They’re involved. It has to be a secret until I get it right. Then I’ll ask Marge and then I’ll tell Lisa. That’s the way it should be.”
“All right.”
“You won’t tell, will you?”
“No, Jack. I won’t tell.”
“I knew you wouldn’t. Marge is good, Hannah. And I love her. Did you know that she gave her house to the kids when they got married?”
“Yes, I knew. It was an incredibly generous wedding gift.”
“Well, now she doesn’t have a house, but I do. And I want my house to be her house. I want us to have it together. That’s the way it’s supposed to be between a man and a woman. So I want to pro . . . you know . . . ask her.”
“You want to propose to Marge.”
“Yes. But every time I try to work it out, I can’t find the right words. It has to be right, Hannah. She deserves that.”
“Of course she does. Did you want me to help you find the right words?”
“Yes! That’s exactly what I want. And then, once I know what the words are, I want you to help me re . . . re . . . rehash isn’t right. It’s a different word. It means to do like actors do.”
“Rehearse?”
“That’s it! You’re so smart, Hannah. I want you to help me rehearse so I can propose to Marge. Will you? Please?”
“Of course I will. When do you want to start?”
“Right now? They said I could take a break. Is right now good for you?”
“It’s perfect,” Hannah said, even though she had more cookies to bake. Helping Jack rehearse his proposal to Marge was a lot more important than mixing up cookie dough.
CHOCOLATE-COVERED PEANUT COOKIES
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
Hannah’s 1st Note: Mike loves chocolate-covered peanuts and he adores these cookies. For those with peanut allergies, use chocolate-covered something else and another flavor of chips. (I’ve baked these with M&Ms and white chocolate chips, and they were delicious.)
1 cup salted butter, softened (2 sticks, 8 ounces,
? pound)
1 small package (makes 4 half-cups) vanilla instant
pudding mix (NOT sugar-free)
? cup white (granulated) sugar
? cup brown sugar (pack it down in the cup when
you measure it)
1 egg, beaten (just whip it up in a glass with a fork)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
? teaspoon salt
? teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 and ? cups all-purpose flour (pack it down in the
cup when you measure it)
1 and ? cups quick rolled oats (I used Quaker’s
Quick 1-minute kind)
1 cup chocolate-covered peanuts (I used a 12-ounce
bag. There was about ? cup left, but not for very
long!)
1 cup peanut butter chips (a 6-ounce package—I
used Reese’s)
Hannah’s 2nd Note: You can mix these cookies up by hand, but it’s a lot easier with an electric mixer.
Mix the softened butter, dry pudding mix, white sugar, and brown sugar together. Beat them until they’re light and fluffy.
Add the egg and the vanilla extract. Mix them in thoroughly.
Add the baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Mix until everything is incorporated.
Add the flour in half-cup increments, mixing after each addition.
Add the rolled oats in half-cup increments, mixing after each addition.
Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in the chocolate-covered peanuts and the peanut butter chips by hand.
Drop the cookie dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart, no more than 12 cookies to a standard-sized sheet. (I covered my cookie sheet with parchment paper.) You can also use a 2-teaspoon size scooper to dish out the cookie dough.
Bake the Chocolate-Covered Peanut Cookies at 350 degrees F. for 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
Cool the cookies for 2 minutes on the cookie sheets. Then remove them to a wire rack to complete cooling.
Yield: Makes approximately 4 dozen wonderful cookies.