'Okay, I think. I did what you said and just told them everything I could remember. When I asked them if I was a suspect, Bill said not to worry about it, but his partner told me to stay in town until they gave me permission to leave.'
'That's Mike,' Hannah told her, 'and he's not exactly the reassuring type. Did you put all your things in the guest room?'
'Yes. I parked my car right next to your cookie truck. Is that all right?'
'That's perfect. This place comes with two parking spots. Why don't you change clothes and come to the banquet with me? I don't want you to sit here all alone.'
'I'm not alone.' Janie reached out to pet Moishe again. 'Besides, I just want to take a shower and soak up the luxury of a real furnace. That cabin was cold!'
'Okay, if you're sure. There's plenty of food here. Just forage around if you get hungry.'
'Thanks Hannah, but I'm not hungry.' Janie gave a little sigh. 'It's funny, in a way. Mrs. MacIntyre was always after me to lose weight, and now that she's dead, I probably will.'
Andrea nudged Hannah to get her attention. They were sitting at one of the long tables in the banquet room and they'd just finished eating Edna's main course, a delicious pot roast with pan gravy. 'That's the Connie Mac table over there. He's not here.'
'Who?' Hannah asked, glancing over at the table of Connie Mac people.
'Paul Macintyre.'
'I didn't expect him to be here. Would you go to a banquet if you'd just found out that your spouse was dead?'
Andrea shivered. 'I wish you hadn't said that. I worry about Bill all the time.'
'I'm sorry;' Hannah apologized. 'I just meant that it wouldn't be in good taste for Paul to socialize tonight, under the circumstances.'
'You're right. I was just hoping to talk to him, that's all. Guess I'll have to settle for the second-best thing. I think that's Alan Carpenter sitting next to the woman in last sea- son's Liz Claibourne.'
'What makes you think that?'
'Because he's wearing an expensive suit with a silk tie, and he looks like a lawyer.'
'Not that. How do you know the woman next to him is wearing last season's Liz Claibourne?'
'Because I keep up with the fashions. Living in a small town doesn't mean you have to be hopelessly out of style. I wish I knew somebody over there so we could walk over and say hello.'
'I know someone,' Hannah told her.
'Who?'
'Kurt Howe. He delivered some books to Marge this afternoon and she introduced me.'
Andrea looked worried. 'You didn't question him, did you?'
'Of course I did. I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Kurt's alibi checked out and he's in the clear.' Hannah pushed back her chair and stood up. 'Come on, Andrea. Let's go over and say hello before Edna brings out my dessert.'
By the time the buckets of Little Snowballs were brought out to the tables, Hannah and Andrea had met several people in Connie Mac's entourage. There were the two reporters who had been covering the Cooking Sweetheart's activities, the decorator who'd designed her kitchen boutiques, the writer who was working on her biography, and the man that Andrea had pegged as Alan Carpenter.
'It's a pleasure to meet you,' Alan said, standing up to shake their hands. 'Why don't you take our chairs? Kurt and I have to leave.'
'Was it something I said?' Hannah quipped, and she was rewarded by a smile from both Kurt and Alan.
'Not at all,' Alan told her, 'but if we don't leave right now, we'll be late for the press conference I scheduled at my office.'
'About Mrs. MacIntyre?' Hannah asked.
'Naturally. The media's in a feeding frenzy and they want to know the details. I'm the spokesman for the family and Kurt's going to handle any questions that concern Savory Press.'
'This must be very difficult for you,' Andrea commented, giving Alan a sympathetic smile.
'It's not easy, but I have a duty as the family counsel to spare Paul in any way I can. I'm sorry, ladies. I'd like to talk longer, but we really do have to leave now.'
'Take some of these along with you for the trip,' Hannah I said, taking a half-dozen Little Snowballs from the crystal bucket that one of the serving girls had placed on the table, and wrapping them in a napkin. 'There's plenty of sugar in these. They'll keep you going.'
After Alan and Kurt had left, Hannah and Andrea returned to their own table. They visited with the other banquet guests for a few minutes, Hannah accepted compliments on the cookies, and they watched the coronation of the Prince and Princess of Winter. When the ceremony was over, they retrieved their coats and boots and walked up the stairs to the lobby.
'I wonder how many books Marge sold,' Hannah mused as they sat down in chairs at the book-signing table to switch from their shoes to their boots.
'A hundred and sixty-three. I heard her talking to Bertie Straub about it. She's taking the rest to the warm-up tents, and Mrs. Baxter's girls are going to sell them for her.'
'That's great,' Hannah said, stashing her shoes in her purse and opening the door so that they could step out.
'It's snowing again!' Andrea complained, gazing up at the sky as they walked across the icy parking lot to their vehicles. 'I signed us up for the family snowman contest, and Tracey's really looking forward to it.'
'It's supposed to stop by tomorrow morning. I heard the KCOW weather report on the drive in.'
'I hope they're right.' Andrea arrived at her Volvo and unlocked the door to retrieve her long-handled brush and scraper. She brushed the snow from her windshield and tossed the essential piece of winter equipment into the backseat. 'I haven't built a snowman since I was a kid. Do you remember how to do it?'
'All you have to do is roll three balls of snow. You make a big one for the base, a medium-sized one for the torso, and a small one for the head. You stack them up, put on a face, and stick in some twigs for the arms. Then you decorate it with a hat or a scarf or whatever, and you're done. Anyone can build a snowman. It's easy.'
'Since you know how, will you help us? Bill's going to be busy with the murder investigation, and it'd go a lot faster with three people. There's a time limit, you know.'
Hannah sighed. She'd been had and she knew it. 'Okay, I'll help. What time is the contest?'
'Two o'clock at the park. Thanks, Hannah.' Andrea glanced at her watch in the glare from the dome light. 'I've got to get a move on. Mother and Carrie are dropping Tracey off in twenty minutes. Do you want me to wait to see if your truck starts?'
'It'll start. And if it doesn't, someone will give me a jump.'
Once Andrea had driven off, Hannah brushed the snow from her own windshield and started her truck. It fired up immediately and she cranked the heater up to high. As she waited for the engine to warm up, she took out her notebook and wrote down what they'd learned tonight, even though none of it seemed important.
By the time Hannah had slipped her notebook back into her purse, a whisper of tepid air was emerging from her heater vents. It was enough to chase away the frost from the inside of the windshield, but that was about it. Wishing that she'd opted for the auxiliary heater that Cyril Murphy had attempted to sell her when she'd bought her truck, she switched on her headlights and windshield wipers, and drove out of the parking lot.
Resisting the urge to drive past her shop to see if they'd taken the crime scene tape down, Hannah headed for the highway. Bill would have called if there'd been any change.
Hannah stepped on the gas, pulled in behind a rental truck with Michigan plates, and drove toward home. The only way she could get back into The Cookie Jar fast was to catch Connie Mac's killer, and that was turning out to be a lot harder than she'd hoped it would be.
-18- 'This is delicious, Hannah,' Janie said as she bit into the sandwich Hannah had made for her. 'I still remember the first time you made us a grilled cream cheese sandwich.'
'So do I,' Hannah replied, smiling at the memory. She'd decided to make grilled cheese sandwiches for Andrea and Janie one high school night when they'd stayed up late, cramming for a test. She'd buttered the bread, heated the frying pan, and only then discovered that someone had eaten the last piece of American cheese in the refrigerator. Since everything else had been ready, Hannah had sliced a block of chilled cream cheese and used that
