the baking?”
“I did. Sammy was snuggled up in bed with Herb and Dillon, so I came in to work early. And I baked extra cookies because I knew we’d be jam-packed with customers today.”
“Because you’re going to tell the story of how Mother found the body?” Andrea asked.
“I’m definitely going to do that. Your mother told me to make it just as theatrical as I wanted, and she’s going to come in and listen.” Lisa turned to Hannah. “We always get tons of customers when I tell murder stories.”
“I know,” Hannah said. “But we don’t open the coffee shop until nine, and it’s only seven. What else is there to do before we open?”
“We have to start working on this murder investigation right away. And after we get everything organized, I want you and Michelle to tell me exactly what it was like when you went up to the front of the bus to see the dead bus driver’s body. Our customers are going to want to hear about that, too.”
“You’re doing a double feature?” Michelle asked her.
“You betcha. Now let’s get back to business. You met Buddy last night and so did Michelle. Andrea and I need to know your impressions of him. And then we need to figure out a reason why somebody wanted to kill him.”
Hannah was greatly relieved when Andrea slipped the crime scene photos back into the envelope. This was definitely a crime of passion. Buddy had been stabbed multiple times with the scissors, and some of the wounds hadn’t bled. This led her to believe that the killer had kept stabbing him even after he was dead. Of course she wasn’t a doctor or a forensic specialist. She’d have to wait for Delores to bring in the autopsy report to make certain she was right. Lisa and Michelle had gone into the coffee shop to open it for business, but not until they’d talked about the direction their investigation would take, and Hannah and Michelle had told Lisa about entering the overturned band bus and seeing the dead driver.
“I’m going to mix up more cookie dough,” Hannah said, rising from her stool at the stainless steel work island.
“But don’t you have enough?” Andrea asked her.
“Maybe for Lisa’s rendition of Delores Finds the Body , but not for Michelle and Hannah Discover the Dead Bus Driver . Two stories will take a while, especially if Lisa embellishes.”
“And she will.”
“Naturally. She’ll probably take a break between the two, and customers will order more coffee and cookies.”
“What kind of cookie are you going to make?”
“I thought I’d try a new recipe I thought of when I made JoAnn Hecht’s recipe for Nutmeg Snaps. They were so popular, I decided to make more cookies with spices. I’m going to call these Cardamom Cuties.”
“That’s a nice name for a cookie. I don’t think I’ve ever had cardamom. What does it taste like?”
“It’s a little like cinnamon but it’s deeper and more intense. And it’s used more widely in European countries than it is here. Do you remember Great Grandma Elsa’s sticky buns?”
“Maybe. I was pretty little when she was alive. I remember that I liked going out to the farm because she always had cookies and things for us.”
“That’s a good place to start. Think about her kitchen table with the red and white tablecloth on top.”
“I remember that. It had little red flowers.”
“You got it. Now try to remember the afternoon that she gave us warm rolls and fresh-churned butter. Those were her sticky buns. They stuck to our fingers, and you dropped yours on the floor.”
“I remember! I cried.”
“And she told you not to cry because she’d just washed the kitchen floor. She picked up your roll, put it back on the plate, and finished eating it.”
“I remember that whole thing.”
“Okay. See if you can remember the taste of that roll. It had caramel and pecans on top, and the inside was filled with cardamom and sugar.”
Andrea shut her eyes. When she opened them, she was smiling. “I
“I did. Sammy was snuggled up in bed with Herb and Dillon, so I came in to work early. And I baked extra cookies because I knew we’d be jam-packed with customers today.”
“Because you’re going to tell the story of how Mother found the body?” Andrea asked.
“I’m definitely going to do that. Your mother told me to make it just as theatrical as I wanted, and she’s going to come in and listen.” Lisa turned to Hannah. “We always get tons of customers when I tell murder stories.”
“I know,” Hannah said. “But we don’t open the coffee shop until nine, and it’s only seven. What else is there to do before we open?”
“We have to start working on this murder investigation right away. And after we get everything organized, I want you and Michelle to tell me exactly what it was like when you went up to the front of the bus to see the dead bus driver’s body. Our customers are going to want to hear about that, too.”
“You’re doing a double feature?” Michelle asked her.
“You betcha. Now let’s get back to business. You met Buddy last night and so did Michelle. Andrea and I need to know your impressions of him. And then we need to figure out a reason why somebody wanted to kill him.”
Hannah was greatly relieved when Andrea slipped the crime scene photos back into the envelope. This was definitely a crime of passion. Buddy had been stabbed multiple times with the scissors, and some of the wounds hadn’t bled. This led her to believe that the killer had kept stabbing him even after he was dead. Of course she wasn’t a doctor or a forensic specialist. She’d have to wait for Delores to bring in the autopsy report to make certain she was right. Lisa and Michelle had gone into the coffee shop to open it for business, but not until they’d talked about the direction their investigation would take, and Hannah and Michelle had told Lisa about entering the overturned band bus and seeing the dead driver.
“I’m going to mix up more cookie dough,” Hannah said, rising from her stool at the stainless steel work island.
“But don’t you have enough?” Andrea asked her.
“Maybe for Lisa’s rendition of Delores Finds the Body , but not for Michelle and Hannah Discover the Dead Bus Driver . Two stories will take a while, especially if Lisa embellishes.”
“And she will.”
“Naturally. She’ll probably take a break between the two, and customers will order more coffee and cookies.”
“What kind of cookie are you going to make?”
“I thought I’d try a new recipe I thought of when I made JoAnn Hecht’s recipe for Nutmeg Snaps. They were so popular, I decided to make more cookies with spices. I’m going to call these Cardamom Cuties.”
“That’s a nice name for a cookie. I don’t think I’ve ever had cardamom. What does it taste like?”
“It’s a little like cinnamon but it’s deeper and more intense. And it’s used more widely in European countries than it is here. Do you remember Great Grandma Elsa’s sticky buns?”
“Maybe. I was pretty little when she was alive. I remember that I liked going out to the farm because she always had cookies and things for us.”
“That’s a good place to start. Think about her kitchen table with the red and white tablecloth on top.”
“I remember that. It had little red flowers.”
“You got it. Now try to remember the afternoon that she gave us warm rolls and fresh-churned butter. Those were her sticky buns. They stuck to our fingers, and you dropped yours on the floor.”
“I remember! I cried.”
“And she told you not to cry because she’d just washed the kitchen floor. She picked up your roll, put it back on the plate, and finished eating it.”
“I remember that whole thing.”
“Okay. See if you can remember the taste of that roll. It had caramel and pecans on top, and the inside was filled with cardamom and sugar.”
Andrea shut her eyes. When she opened them, she was smiling. “I
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