Cinnamon Roll Murder

Chapter Twenty

“So what now?” Andrea asked as they drove away from Club Nineteen. “We didn’t get anything important from the owner or his assistant.”

“I know. All we got was a repeat that Buddy was talented on keyboards, and a real ladies’ man.”

“So? What do we do next?”

“I guess we go back home,” Hannah said, holding her head in her hands. She felt adrift in a choppy sea without a lifeboat or any other means of support. “But first could we stop off for chocolate?”

“I thought you’d never ask,” Andrea said, taking a sharp left off the highway and heading for the nearest ice cream place. “Let’s get a gigantic mud slide. My mouth’s still on fire from the Texas Jalapeno Pimento Cheese.”

“What’s a mud slide?”

“It’s a hot fudge sundae with caramel sauce and chopped pecans over mounds of coffee ice cream.”

“Sounds good to me,” Hannah said, unbuckling her seatbelt as they pulled into a parking spot in front of Dreamery Creamery, a chain of ice cream parlors that dotted the highway.

“Hi,” a cheery voice greeted them as they pushed open the door, and Hannah turned to see a pretty girl in a pink and white apron behind the cash register. “Would you like something to go, or would you like to be seated?”

“We’d like to be seated,” Andrea said.

“Where is everybody?” Hannah asked, as the girl led them to a pink vinyl-covered booth. “Every time I’ve been in one of your shops, it’s been packed with customers.”

“It’s the weather. People think it’s still too cold to go out for ice cream. Just as soon as the weather warms up a little, they’ll be back. Right now our business is mostly for hot chocolate and coffee to go.”

“But you still make mud slides, don’t you?” Andrea asked.

“Yes. Is that what you two want? A mud slide with two spoons?”

“She’ll have a mud slide with coffee ice cream and one spoon,” Hannah said, pointing to Andrea. “And I’ll have a mud slide with chocolate ice cream and one spoon. We’ve had a rough day. We need lots of chocolate.”

“How about drinks? Coffee?” she turned to Andrea.

“Yes, please.”

“And you?” She turned to Hannah.

“Hot chocolate. And make it a double with whipped cream and shaved chocolate on top. And when we’re ready to leave?”

“Yes?” The girl waited, pencil poised.

“I’ll have a double hot chocolate to go. And one for her, too.” Hannah pointed to Andrea. “That way we won’t have to stop again to get chocolate.”

“Wow!” The girl looked very sympathetic. “I’ll give you some chocolate cookie wafers, too. You must have had a really rough day!”

“We’re here,” Andrea said, quite unnecessarily, as they pulled into a parking spot in back of The Cookie Jar. She drained the last little bit of hot chocolate in the bottom of her to-go cup, and smiled. “The chocolate held out.”

“And it’s a really good thing,” Hannah said, releasing her seatbelt and opening the car door. “Coming in?”

“You bet. I want to make sure you call Norman and get him to come down here. We need him to look at that photo and see if he can do anything with it.”

Hannah glanced at her watch. “It’s four o’clock. He’s probably got patients.”

“Then he can give them to her. This is more important than his dental practice. What we’re doing for him could affect the rest of his life!”

“You’re not going to tell him you got the DNA samples, are you?” Hannah turned to her sister in shock.

“Of course not. Come on, Hannah. Let’s go in. I need a fresh cup of coffee.”

When they entered the kitchen, The Cookie Jar smelled the way it always did. There was only one word to describe it, and that word was mouthwatering.

“Cinnamon,” Andrea breathed.

“And apple,” Hannah added. “Lisa or Marge must have made your Apple Cinnamon Whippersnappers.”

Andrea looked pleased. “I still can’t believe you’re using my cookie recipe.”

“Why wouldn’t we use it? It’s a great recipe. And it’s something we can bake really fast if we’re running low on cookies. All we have to do is make sure we keep some spice cake mix on hand.” Hannah gave Andrea a little push toward the swinging door that separated the coffee shop from the kitchen. “Let’s go say hello to Lisa and everybody and get that fresh coffee. All that chocolate made me think that everything is going to turn out just fine, and I need some caffeine to jolt me back to reality.”

“Hannah!” Lisa greeted her with a big smile as they came into the coffee shop. “I didn’t think you’d be back before we left.”

“Quick trip,” Hannah said.

“Mission accomplished,” Andrea added.

And then the sole occupants of the coffee shop, Delores, Carrie, Earl, and even Lisa broke into applause.

“Good heavens!” Andrea said, preening a little at the unexpected tribute. “Thank you.” And then she turned to Hannah. “You’d better go make that call before Norman goes somewhere with Doctor Bev, or she won’t let him out of her sight.”

It took a moment for Andrea to react. Then Hannah watched her sister’s face turn red. Andrea hadn’t really registered the fact that Norman’s mother was sitting next to Delores, and Carrie might not appreciate the tone Andrea had used when she’d practically spit out the word she.

“I’m sorry, Carrie,” Andrea said. “I didn’t really mean to ...” and then she stopped, and Hannah knew that her sister couldn’t think of any way to smooth the feathers she might have ruffled.

That was when Carrie laughed, surprising everyone except Delores and Earl, who were also smiling. “It’s all right, Andrea,” Carrie told her. “We’re all on the same page. Earl and I think Norman is making a big mistake, and both of us will be very grateful if you girls can do something to break them up before the wedding.”

“Did you get the DNA samples?” Delores asked.

“Mother! Maybe now isn’t the time to ...”

“You can talk in front of Carrie and Earl,” Delores interrupted her. “They know exactly what we’re doing. And they’re going to help by getting Norman’s DNA sample tonight.”

“How?” Hannah asked, turning to Carrie.

“Earl and I are taking Norman out to dinner since he’s going to be all alone. She’s going to be gone most of the weekend visiting her mother and her daughter.”

“I see,” Hannah said, shooting Andrea a warning look. They knew that Doctor Bev was going to a party and wouldn’t be seeing her mother and daughter at all. It might have been gratifying to share this information, but this wasn’t the time to tell Carrie and Earl that their future daughter-in-law was a liar.

“Doc and I are going out to the Inn, too,” Delores informed them. “And we’re going to join Carrie, Earl, and Norman for dessert. That way Doc will have Norman’s sample and he can take everything to his friend at the lab tomorrow.”

“How long will it take to get an answer?” Lisa asked the question they all wanted to know.

“Doc’s not sure. It all depends on how busy they are, but his friend knows how important this is and he’s promised to speed things up any way he can.”

“That’s good!” Andrea looked relieved. “I just hope we can get an answer before the wedding.”

“So do I!” Carrie said. “And thank you so much for what you did today. Delores told me all about it.”

“Why don’t you girls join us for dinner tonight?” Delores suggested. “It’ll be my treat. And then all of us can join Carrie and Earl’s table for dessert.”

“Wonderful!” Carrie turned to Hannah. “Andrea said that you needed to talk to Norman anyway.”

“That’s right. It’s about the murder. One of the waitresses at Club Nineteen took a photo of Buddy and a woman arguing in the parking lot the night before Buddy told the band’s manager that he wanted to leave Cinnamon