by Joanne Fluke
It seemed to take much more time than it actually did to approach the access to the highway. Here the lighting was better, and once she took her place in the irregular stream of cars traveling on the highway, she felt more at ease.
It didn’t take long to reach the turnoff for Lake Eden. Hannah signaled, although there was no one behind her at the time, and turned by the Catholic church. She drove to Main Street, went down it to Third, then took the alley in back of The Cookie Jar, and parked in her spot by the back kitchen door. She took the precaution of plugging the extension cord that led to her block heater into the strip of outlets on the outer wall of her building and waded through the snow that had fallen during the night to the kitchen door.
It wasn’t easy to unlock the door wearing gloves, but Hannah managed. Then she stepped inside the warm interior and flicked the switch that would turn her white kitchen walls into something that resembled a pristine snowbank reflecting the sun. She blinked a few times, because her eyes were accustomed to the darkness outside, and then she hurried to preheat her industrial oven for the morning’s baking.
* * *
At precisely eight-thirty, there was a knock on the back kitchen door. Hannah gave a little sigh. It was her mother’s knock, and she hoped it didn’t mean that she’d have to bake extra cupcakes again.
“Hello, Mother.” She ushered Delores in, and took her parka to hang on one of the hooks by the back door. “Would you like to have coffee with me?”
“Oh, yes!” Delores responded immediately, making a beeline for the work station and her favorite stool. “Thank you, dear. I didn’t have time for coffee this morning.”
Hannah was just about to sit down across from her mother when there was another knock at the door. This was a tentative knock, a knock that said, Sorry to disturb you when you’re working, but I hope you’re not too busy to see me. “It’s Andrea,” she told her mother.
Delores looked puzzled. “How do you know?”
“I recognize her knock. I’ll go let her in.” Hannah hurried to the door, unlocked it, and ushered in her sister. “Just hang up your coat and I’ll get you some coffee.”
When Hannah came back to the work station with Andrea’s coffee, she didn’t sit down across from her mother and Andrea. Instead, she picked up her coffee and took a big sip.
“Aren’t you going to join us, dear?” Delores asked her.
“I will, but I figured I’d better answer the door first.”
It was Andrea’s turn to look puzzled. “But I didn’t hear a knock.”
“Neither did I,” Hannah admitted, “but the third person should be here any minute.”
“You’re expecting someone else?” Delores asked.
“Yes, but I don’t know who it’ll be.”
Don’t say it! the rational part of her mind urged, and Hannah gave a little smile. Of course she wouldn’t repeat one of her father’s favorite superstitions, which was Bad luck always came in threes. There was no doubt in her mind that her mother would ask for some of her time, or that Andrea would ask for a favor that would also take her away from her work. This wasn’t technically a bad thing. She didn’t mind helping her family when they needed her, but holiday season was a very busy time, and she had little time to spare. She was working long hours with the baking and catering holiday parties, and when she got home at night, she was completely exhausted.
“What do you mean?” Delores asked, and for a moment, Hannah wasn’t quite sure what to say. Then she remembered her remark about not knowing who her third visitor would be and responded, “I don’t know who my third visitor will be, but there’s an old saying that visitors always come in threes.”
Not a bad cover, the rational part of her mind declared. I wonder if your mother will buy it.
“I think I remember hearing something like that,” Andrea said, “but I thought it was something about bad news coming in threes. And Digger Gibson always says that death comes in threes.”
Delores shook her head. “I wouldn’t put much stock in that, dear, especially since Digger’s a mortician. There are all sorts of silly superstitions. Things don’t really happen in . . .” She stopped speaking, and began to frown as they heard a knock at the door.
“Or maybe they do,” Hannah said with a laugh, setting her coffee down and hurrying to answer the door.
“Janice?!” Hannah couldn’t hide her surprise when she opened the door and saw Janice Cox standing there. “Come in out of the cold. Do you have time for a cup of coffee before you go to work at Kiddie Korner?”
“I do,” Janice said, smiling at Hannah, “and I could use a little fortification before I go down to the community center. My preschoolers haven’t been able to go out on the playground for a whole week now, and they’re getting more stir-crazy with each passing day.”
Janice hung up her parka and spotted Delores and Andrea sitting at the work station. “Hello, Delores and Andrea.” Then she turned to Hannah. “All we need is Michelle and we have the whole Swensen family here.”
Hannah poured Janice’s coffee, delivered it, and then she went to the baker’s rack to see which of the sweet treats she’d baked earlier were cool enough to serve to her guests. “How about a Holiday Cheer Cherry Cupcake?” she asked.
“That sounds delicious!” Delores responded almost immediately. “Of course everything you bake is delicious, dear.”
Your mother’s trying to sweeten you up, the suspicious part of Hannah’s mind decided. Either that, or the favor she wants is a really big one.
“That sounds great to me.” Janice gave Hannah a smile. “I love cherries.”
“So do I,” Andrea agreed, “except I don’t think I’ve ever had a cherry cupcake before.”
“Taste it and see if you like it, Andrea,” Hannah said as she set the plate she’d filled with cupcakes in front of them.
“What’s the frosting?” Delores asked, beginning to peel the paper from her cupcake.
“It’s a cream cheese frosting,” Hannah answered.
“Is it the same one you put on your carrot cake?” Andrea wanted to know.
“Yes, except it has half of a cherry on top. I try to decorate each type of cupcake differently, so we can tell them apart if people ask us at parties.”
“Smart,” Janice nodded, “especially if you use frostings that look alike on some of them.” She smiled and took a bite of her cupcake. “These are really good, Hannah! ”
“Yes, they are!” Andrea agreed.
“Marvelous, dear,” Delores added.
There was silence for a moment and Hannah knew that none of her visitors wanted to bring up the reason they’d knocked on her back kitchen door so early. It was up to her to open the subject.
“Mother,” Hannah began, “I know there must be a reason you came to have coffee with me so early. Will you tell me what it is?”
“Well . . . yes. It’s Michelle. I’m worried about her.”
“What’s wrong with Michelle?” Andrea asked. “The last time I talked to her she sounded just fine.”
“When was that?” Delores asked.
“A couple of weeks ago. What’s wrong with Michelle now?”
Delores gave a deep sigh. “If I tell you, I don’t want any of you to mention this.”
“I certainly won’t,” Janice assured her.
“And neither will I,” Andrea promised. “You won’t mention it, will you, Hannah?”
“Of course not. What’s the problem, Mother?”
“Michelle’s college boyfriend wants her to go home with him this weekend to meet his parents.”
“That sounds serious,” Janice commented. “Is Michelle going home with him?”
Delores gave a little shrug. “Michelle told me she can’t decide whether she wants to go, or not.”
“Did Michelle tell you if she’s serious about her boyfriend?” Janice asked.
Delores shook her head. “No. And I wasn’t sure what advice I could give her. I’ve never been in a situation l
ike that. ”
“Not even with Dad?” Andrea asked.
“No. I already knew your father’s parents. I used to work summers at the café and they came in to get coffee and pie every time they drove in from the farm to shop.”
“We understand, Mother,” Hannah told her, and she did understand. Delores was embarrassed because she really hadn’t known what advice to give her youngest daughter. “Do you want me to call Michelle?”
“Yes, but I don’t want her to know that I told you about her boyfriend problem.”
“I could call her,” Andrea suggested.
“No,” Delores said quickly. “I don’t want her to know I told you, either.”
Hannah thought for a moment. “I’ll think of a good excuse to call Michelle and see if she confides in me.”
“But what if she doesn’t?” Janice asked.
“I don’t know, but I’ll figure something out. Maybe I’ll invite her to come here to stay with me over the weekend and see what she says. And I promise I won’t tell her that you told us, Mother.”
Delores looked relieved. “Thank you, dear. And after you talk to Michelle, do you promise to call me to tell me what happened?”
“Yes, Mother.” Hannah decided it was time to change the subject before her mother tried to extract more promises. “How about you, Andrea? You’re never here for coffee this early. Is something wrong?”
“Not really. I’m really bored now that I hired Grandma McCann to help with Tracey and . . . well . . . I was hoping you’d want me to come here and help you at The Cookie Jar. I could help you in the kitchen if you teach me how to bake.”
Your sister has a screw loose! Hannah’s suspicious mind retorted. Nobody on the face of this earth could teach Andrea to bake. She can’t even make a decent peanut butter and jelly sandwich!
Truer words were never spoken, but you should still let her down easy, Hannah’s rational mind advised. She looks really serious about wanting to help you, and that’s very nice of her, isn’t it?
“Yes,” Hannah responded to her rational mind aloud.
“Oh, thank you, Hannah!” Andrea said.
A joyful expression crossed Andrea’s face, and that was when Hannah realized that she’d spoken aloud. She glanced at Delores, who looked positively shocked, and Janice, whose eyebrows were lifting toward the ceiling. Everyone in Lake Eden knew that Andrea was culinarily challenged.
“I’m sure I could teach you to bake if I had the time,” Hannah said quickly, “but there’s something else that’s taking up a lot of my time right now, and that’s where I could really use your help.”
“Really?” Andrea still looked very pleased. “What do you want me to do, Hannah?”
“I want you to help me solve a mystery.”
“Oh, my!” It was clear that Andrea was awestruck. “I’d love to help you, Hannah! But what could I do?”
“You can run out to the hospital with me right after I finish the baking. There’s someone there I want you to meet. ”
“And he has something to do with the mystery?”
“He certainly does.” Hannah glanced at Delores again, and realized that her mother knew exactly what she was doing. “There’s a patient out there I want you to meet.”
“Joe Smith,” Delores said, giving a little nod. “Good idea, Hannah.”
“Joe Smith?” Andrea repeated the name. “Is that this patient’s real name?”
“No,” Delores answered her. “We don’t know his real name and that’s part of the mystery.”
“How did he get to the hospital?” Andrea asked.
“I’ll let Hannah tell you all about him,” Delores said, standing up to go. “I have to go now. Carrie and I are meeting for breakfast at the café, and then I’m going to her house to look at her antiques.”
“Did you rent the building for storage?”
“Not yet, dear. We’re looking at it again this morning with Al Percy. Then we’re going to decide if there’s enough room to store all of our things.”
Hannah escorted her mother to the door, helped her get into her parka, and saw her safely outside. Then she went back to her stool at the work station and turned to Janice. “I know you have to go down to Kiddie Korner soon, Janice. It was fun having coffee with you and I hope you’ll drop by again. I’m curious, though. Is there a specific reason you came to see me this morning?”
“Yes, there is,” Janice replied. “I need to order some cookies for our Kiddie Korner picnic.”
Hannah frowned slightly. “Are you talking about the picnic you always have on the last day before summer break?”
Janice shook her head. “No, we’re having a picnic this week on Friday. Is there enough time to order four dozen cookies?”
“Yes. Of course there is. But it’s not exactly picnic weather. Are you going to have a picnic in the snow?”
Janice laughed. “No, Hannah. We’re going to have a picnic on the green carpet in the lobby of the community center. The kids and I decided it looks enough like grass for us.”
“So it’s an inside picnic?” Andrea asked her.
“Oh, yes. It’s much too cold for my class to go outside. As a matter of fact, we haven’t been able to use the playground for three weeks now. It’s just too cold and the kids are getting a little stir-crazy.”
“I can understand that. I’m feeling a bit closed in myself,” Hannah said. She got up from her stool and hurried to the counter by the wall phone where she kept their order book. Once she flipped it open, she asked, “What kind of cookies would you like?”
“I’m not sure. I just know that I need something they’ll really enjoy. They’ve been very good about staying in and playing games in the room, but that wears thin after a while.”
“What are you planning for the picnic menu?” Andrea asked her.
“Hot dogs, potato chips, pickles, and lemon-lime soda,” Janice answered promptly. “And just in case you couldn’t tell, I had the kids vote on the menu.”
“The kids voted for lemon-lime soda?” Andrea looked puzzled. “I expected you to say root beer or orange soda.”
“That’s what the kids wanted. It was a tie between strawberry soda and orange soda, but then I reminded them of the rug and how we had to be careful not to spill any liquids, so they agreed they should drink something that wouldn’t stain if it spilled.” She turned to Hannah. “They’ll be thrilled that you’re making the cookies. Everybody loves your cookies, Hannah.”
“That’s good to hear. What kind of cookies do they like?”
“Oatmeal cookies and chocolate chip cookies are their favorites.”
Hannah jotted that down. “Do they prefer milk or semisweet chocolate?”
“Milk chocolate. They all love Hershey’s bars and they’re milk chocolate, aren’t they?”
“Yes.” Hannah thought for a moment. “How about Milk Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies?”
Janice smiled. “They would be perfect! I don’t remember eating any of those before and I thought I’d tasted all of your cookies at one time or another.”
“You probably have, but I’ve never made Milk Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies before.”
Janice laughed. “Wait until I tell the kids that they’ll be the first ones to taste them. They’ll think that’s just wonderful!”
“Your picnic sounds like fun,” Andrea commented.
“I hope so. I borrowed some of my mother’s picnic things, so we have a big wicker picnic basket, paper plates, plastic forks, and my mother’s red and white checkered tablecloths to spread out on the carpet. I just wish I had something really unusual and fun to make them say wow when I gave it to them.”
Hannah digested that remark for a moment and then she began to grin. “I’ve got it!” she announced.
“What?” both Janice and Andrea asked, almost in unison.
“Lisa’s Rainbow Pickles.”
“Rainbow Pickles?” Janice looked puzzled. “Where do you buy those?”
“You don’t. You make
them, or rather, I make them from Lisa’s recipe.”
“And they’re real pickles?” Andrea asked.
“Sort of. They’re made from pickles, but you put in enough sugar to make them sweet with a tiny bit of fruit flavoring. I can make them in almost any color, except blue. ”
“They sound perfect for my kids,” Janice decided. “Can I arrange them on a platter so they look like a multi-colored flower?”
“Absolutely. They’re made from dill pickle spears and I’ll make one jar in red, one in orange, and one in green. And I’ll give them to you in the jars, so they’ll be easier to carry.”
“If you want me to, I’ll come to your picnic and put them on a platter for you,” Andrea offered. And then she turned to Hannah. “You can spare me that long, can’t you?”
Hannah felt like laughing, but she managed to merely smile. “Of course I can. You can go for the whole picnic, if Janice wants you. Lisa’s cousin Rachael is here and she’s helping Lisa in the coffee shop.”
“Thanks, Hannah.” Andrea turned back to Janice. “It’ll be good practice for when Tracey gets older.”
Janice smiled. “You and Bill will enroll her in my preschool, won’t you?”
“Of course! We can hardly wait.”
“Good. I imagine you’ll be letting Grandma McCann go once Tracey’s in preschool.”
Hannah watched as a worried expression crossed Andrea’s face. “Maybe. I’m just not sure.”
“Then you and Bill are planning to have more children?”
“I’m not sure about that!”
Andrea answered so quickly, Hannah had to hide a grin. She knew how relieved Andrea had been when Grandma McCann had accepted the position as Tracey’s nanny. Her sister was good with older children, but babies were another matter. Andrea was very uncomfortable around babies.