Hannah began to frown. “He’s going to think you’re asking him for money.”
“That’s exactly what I want him to think. And then I’ll tell him about the fundraiser we’re having, and he’ll be so relieved that he doesn’t have to honor his sister’s wishes that he’ll agree to be a contestant in our pie eating contest.”
Hannah thought about that for a moment. “That’s not bad, Michelle. As a matter of fact, it’s really good! I think it might just work.”
“It’s worth a try. Are you curious about the reason I want you to go to his office with me?”
“Yes. I was wondering about that.”
“I figure he’ll sweat bullets about turning me down with a third person there, especially since he knows it’ll get out that he reneged on his sister’s obligation.”
“Very clever, Michelle. And I think it might work, especially on a man with an ego as big as Mayor Bascomb’s. You have the mind of a politician.”
“I hope not! That’s practically an insult!”
“Sorry. I meant it as a compliment.” Hannah began to smile. “I’m really looking forward to seeing the mayor squirm.”
“Me, too.” Michelle came back to the table with a crock of soft butter and two muffins. “Try these and tell me what you think. They’re peach muffins. And that’s probably why you dreamed about picking peaches.”
Hannah removed the cupcake paper and took a deep breath of the delicious-smelling air. “Nice aroma. And your assumption is absolutely right. Do I smell almonds, too?”
“Yes. I thought almond extract would be better than vanilla extract with the peaches. They just seemed to go together.”
“They do. I put almonds in my Peach Bread.” Hannah took a bite of the muffin without even bothering to butter it.
“Well?” Michelle asked eagerly.
Hannah took the time to take a second bite, chew it, and swallow. Then she smiled at her youngest sister. “Perfect!” she said. “These could just be the best breakfast muffins you ever made for me.”
“Better than the strawberry?”
“Well . . .” Hannah thought it over for a moment. “I’m not really sure, since they’re not side by side. Maybe you’d better make both tomorrow morning so that I can give them both a fair test.”
“I can do . . .” Michelle stopped, her eyes narrowing, but Hannah noticed that they were also sparkling with laughter. “You almost had me there, Hannah. You just want both, don’t you.”
It was more of an accusation than a question and Hannah nodded. “You’re right. And while you’re at it, you can make all the muffins in your repertoire. I can freeze them down at The Cookie Jar and you can use them for your Lake Eden Players bake sale.”
“Sounds great!” Michelle agreed quickly. “I’m assuming that you’ll want to taste one of every kind to make sure they’re worthy of being offered for sale?”
“You got it,” Hannah told her with a smile. “That’s purely in the interests of being impartial, of course.”
“Of course. Purely.” Michelle broke open one of her muffins, buttered it, and then frowned slightly. “You won’t forget to ask Sally for that Peanut Butter Cheesecake recipe, will you, Hannah? I really want it.”
“I won’t forget, but . . .” Hannah stopped, not sure quite how to phrase her question without being insulting. “Look, Michelle. I know you’d never do this intentionally, but . . . you’re not going to bake it for the Lake Eden Players bake sale, are you?”
“Of course not! That’s Sally’s recipe and I’d never use it for anything commercial or public without her permission! But . . .”
“But what?”
“Sally supports the Lake Eden Players. She even hires them to do a little one-act play in the restaurant for special occasions. Do you think I should ask her if she’ll contribute a cheesecake for our bake sale? I could make a sign saying that it was Sally’s cheesecake and she serves it for dessert at the Lake Eden Inn.”
Hannah smiled. She’d been worried for nothing. Michelle understood that she should give credit where credit was due. “I’ll ask Sally when I see her for lunch. And I’ll tell her about the sign you’re going to make. I’m almost certain that she’ll be glad to help out.”
Two Peach Muffins later and Hannah was ready to go in for her morning shower. She was just getting up from the table when there was a knock at her front door.
“Ross?” Michelle asked.
“No. He’s not due back yet and he has a key. If it’s not Ross, it’s got to be . . .”
“Mike.” Both sisters spoke at once and then they began to laugh.
“He was driving by and he smelled your muffins,” Hannah offered an explanation.
“You could be right. Mike does have Foodar.”
The two sisters exchanged smiles at Michelle’s use of the phrase they’d coined for Mike’s uncanny ability to arrive just as they were about to serve food. Foodar was a takeoff on his label—Slaydar—for Hannah’s proclivity for finding murder victims. He’d first used Slaydar for this phenomenon, comparing it to the Winnetka Sheriff’s Department’s use of radar for locating speeders, in an interview about Hannah for the Lake Eden Journal.
“I’ll get the door while you shower,” Michelle said. “Then you can talk to him while I get ready for work. I’ll give him a couple of muffins, but I’m going to hide two for Lisa. I want her to taste them, too.”
*
Less than fifteen minutes later, Hannah was showered and dressed. She could hear Mike and Michelle talking as she walked down the carpeted hallway to the kitchen.
“Hannah should be out any . . .” Michelle was saying as Hannah appeared in the doorway. “And here she is!” Michelle turned to her. “Ask Mike about Tori’s condo. He says he thinks someone got in there last night.”
Hannah put on her most innocent expression. Truth be told, two separate parties had broken into Tori’s condo last night. They’d gone in first, and the man with the black tennis shoes had come in next. “Really?” she asked, looking directly at Mike.
“That’s what it looked like to me this morning.”