tears in my eyes.'
'So do I, but we've known Janie all our lives. Alex only met her five days ago.'
'Oh.' Andrea was silent for a long moment. 'You're right. What does it mean?'
'I'm not sure, but I think we'd better find out. Let's go to the lobby and plan our strategy.'
-11- Hannah led Andrea into the lobby and they took two overstuffed chairs next to the massive granite fireplace. It was as far from the desk as they could get, and they had the huge room all to themselves.
'Sally told me the granite slabs for the fireplace came from Cold Spring,' Andrea informed her. 'F. E. Laughlin used local granite and he had it carved with his own designs. Isn't it beautiful?'
'It's certainly impressive,' Hannah said, deciding not to risk further comment. With murder foremost on her mind, the three-dimensional angels that appeared to be emerging from the gray-veined surface reminded her of headstones in a graveyard.
Andrea inched a little closer to the blaze that was burning in the grate and then unzipped her leather-bound organizer. 'What do you want me to do first?'
'Go talk to Francine.' Hannah found the page of notes she'd taken when they talked to Sally. 'Find out what she knows about the fight that Connie Mac had with Kurt Howe. Then ask her opinion of the reporter who wrote the story about the ghost.'
Andrea jotted it down with her gold Cross pen. 'Do you really think he might have murdered Connie Mac to add excitement to his ghost story?'
'Not really, but it's something we have to rule out. And don't forget to ask if Francine knows Janie.'
'You want me to ask everyone about Janie, don't you?'
'Absolutely.'
'I'm writing down a series of questions,' Andrea said, her pen flying swiftly across the page. 'I want to know the last time they saw her, any friends she talked about, and whether she ever mentioned a particular place she liked to go, like a hotel or a resort.'
'That's a very good idea.' Hannah was impressed, Andrea seemed to have the questions about Janie covered.
'Then I'll ask them to put themselves in Janie's place and tell me where they think she might. . .' Andrea stopped speaking and stood up. 'My phone's ringing.'
'I didn't hear anything.'
'I switched it to vibrate so it wouldn't disturb us. Maybe it's Alex. We asked her to phone if Janie called.'
Hannah thought that was a little too much to hope for, but she was on full alert as Andrea retrieved her cell phone and answered the call.
'Hello?' There was a pause and then Andrea smiled. 'Hi, honey.'
It had to be Bill, and Hannah settled back in her chair. Tracey was the only other person Andrea would call 'honey.'
'Of course Hannah's with me. We're out here at the inn. Sally said she could bake out here. Do you want to talk to her?'
Hannah reached out for the phone, but Andrea shook her head. She listened for another few moments and then she started to smile. 'That's just great, honey. I'll see you in about half an hour.'
'That was Bill,' Andrea said, pressing a button and dropping the phone back into her coat pocket.
'I gathered that.'
'They're on their way out here and they're bringing all your cookie dough.'
Hannah gave a huge sigh of relief: Once she had her cookie dough, today's baking would be a snap. 'Let's get our things together and go talk to Earl Flensburg about the man Connie Mac fired. I saw him drive in, and he should be finishing his first cup of coffee about now.'
'Too bad Ray didn't wait a day to tell her what happened.' Earl picked up the remainder of his glazed doughnut and stared at it thoughtfully. He was a bear of a man, and his quilted orange parka with the Winnetka County Towing Service insignia on the right front breast pocket made him look even larger than he was.
Hannah guessed what was on his mind. 'Because then she wouldn't have had the chance to fire him?'
'Yeah. I should call him to tell him what happened, but I never got his number. Didn't get his last name either, come to think about it. We just need the owner's name for the form.'
'Sally told us the accident wasn't his fault,' Hannah prompted.
'That's right. A semi spun out in front of him and he took the ditch to avoid it. The van was fine, if you don't count the sissy color. Not a scratch on it.'
'So the only thing damaged was Connie Mac's cake?' Andrea asked.
'That's about the size of it. Ray was fine, too, but he was shook up bad I told him to sit in the rig while I hooked up. His face was as white as that snowbank he hit.'
'Were you there when he called Connie Mac?' Hannah asked, even though Sally had already told her. It was always better to get things firsthand.
'You betcha. I let him make the call from my rig. He had the phone up to his ear real tight, but I could still hear her yelling at him.'
'Connie Mac wasn't exactly known for her sweet disposition.' Hannah ventured a small grin. 'Didn't Ray tell her that he couldn't avoid the accident?'
' 'Course he did, but it didn't count for a hill of beans with her. Guess I should say I'm sorry she's dead, but I'm not. She was real nasty to Ray.'
'From what we hear, she was nasty to a lot of people,' Andrea commented.
'Doesn't surprise me. But chickens come home to roost, you know?'
'That's what they say,' Hannah agreed. 'Do you think those chickens had any help from Ray?'
'No way!' Earl shook his head emphatically. 'All Ray wanted to do was crawl home with his tail between his legs. I seen enough people in my life to know he wasn't the killer type. Besides, he was nowhere near here last night.'
'Are you sure?' Hannah asked, not willing to rule out Connie Mac's driver solely on Earl's assessment of his character.
'Sure, I'm sure. After she fired him, I dropped him out at the Quick Stop so's he could catch the bus home.'
'Do you know where he lives?' Andrea asked the next question.
'Can't say as I do. He lives with his folks, though. He told me that. Hope they weren't too mad at him for losing his job. From my way of thinking, it was the best thing that ever happened to him. A clean-looking kid like Ray's gonna get another job real fast.'
'Clean-looking?' Hannah prompted.
'Dark hair cut short, a real nice smile, and a polite way of talking. He called me 'sir,' and hardly nobody does that. Said he wanted to go to college, but he had to work for a year first.'
'He does sound nice,' Hannah commented. 'What time did you drop him off at the Quick Stop?'
'I got my next call at four-thirty, and that was right after I dropped him off.' Earl's eyes narrowed and he stared at Hannah suspiciously. 'You gonna go check to make sure Ray got on that bus, even after I told you he couldn't have killed her?'
Hannah hesitated. She didn't want to hurt Earl's feelings, but she wasn't going to lie, either.
Andrea stepped in. 'I think we should go out there and check. If Hannah and I can prove that Ray got on that bus, the police won't have to bring him back here to question him.'
Earl thought it over for a minute. 'That's a good idea. If the police drag Ray all the way back here, it would just about kill a sensitive kid like him. You girls go check. And tell Sean and Don I sent you.'
Hannah stood in Sally's kitchen and watched as Bill and Mike carried in her cookie dough. There were thirty- five bowls, each covered with plastic wrap. The Winter Carnival guests wouldn't have to go hungry for cookies this afternoon.
Mike placed the bowl he was carrying on Sally's stainless-steel counter and turned to Bill. 'Is that all?'
'I think so. I'll go back out and check.'
'I really appreciate this, Bill,' Hannah said, addressing her brother-in-law and pointedly ignoring Mike.
Mike's eyebrows shot up, but he didn't say anything until Bill had gone back out to the cruiser. Then he turned to Hannah with a frown. 'Come on, Hannah. I know how hard it is for you to be locked out of your shop, but I
