Double Fudge Brownie Murder (Hannah Swensen series Book 18) by Joanne Fluke Page A

buildings. Soon the gardeners would dig up the root clumps to separate them. All that would be left in the planters would be the evergreen shrubs, which would provide spots of green against the white winter snow.
    The arrival of the first snowfall in Minnesota was unpredictable. It could occur at any time from the month of October on. It was not at all unusual for it to snow on Halloween, and Minnesota mothers made sure that a warm coat and warm pants could fit under their children’s Halloween costumes.
    Everyone who lived in the Midwest had to be prepared for a winter with sixty to seventy inches of snow. Of course some of it melted in the early months, but the banks of snow the plows left at the sides of the road could reach heights that were taller than the roofs of cars. Snow season could last for six months, starting in October and tapering off to end in April. Delores and Doc both said they remembered one year, they thought it had been in the seventies, when there had been a blizzard in May.
    As she walked, Hannah thought about the long, cold winter that stretched out before her. She couldn’t help but wonder if she’d be around to shovel the sidewalk at The Cookie Jar. If she was convicted of vehicular homicide and had to go to prison, would her partner, Lisa, keep their business running? Would there be enough income for Hannah to continue to make the monthly mortgage payment on her condo? And what would happen to Moishe? She’d taken care of Cuddles for Norman. Would he take care of Moishe for her? If Ross got the job and moved to Lake Eden should she ask him to take care of Moishe until she got out of prison? Or would prison mean the end of their romance? If neither man was willing to do it, would someone in her family volunteer? Questions like these had kept her from sleep for most of the preceding night.
    “Don’t borrow trouble!” Hannah told herself sternly. Then she looked around quickly and was relieved to find that no one else was on the sidewalk. None of her neighbors had heard her talking to herself.
    Howie’s car was parked right where he’d said it would be, in the first space of the visitor’s lot. Hannah hurried toward the black Lexus, an appropriate car for Lake Eden’s finest lawyer. Howie gave his clients notepads with that sentiment printed on the top of every page. It was his little joke since he was also Lake Eden’s only lawyer.
    “Good morning, Hannah,” Howie greeted her as she slid into the leather-covered passenger seat.
    Is it a good morning, Howie? Hannah thought, but she didn’t voice the question. Instead, she responded, “Good morning, Howie. Did you bring coffee for Judge Colfax?”
    “We’ll stop on our way to the courthouse.”
    “Okay. When you give him the coffee, give him this, too.” Hannah handed him a small white bag.
    “What is it?”
    “A couple of my Double Fudge Brownies. I figured it might sweeten him up. But don’t tell him they’re from me. I don’t want to get accused of bribery on top of everything else.”
    “Got it.” Howie placed the bag on the backseat. “Say, Hannah . . . those brownies aren’t poisoned, are they?”
    “Good heavens, no!”
    “Just checking. I had two of your Double Fudge Brownies yesterday and they’re great.”
    Hannah shivered again as Howie put the car in gear and pulled out of the parking lot. This time it wasn’t from the cold. It was a shiver of guilt. She had killed someone with her cookie truck. There was no escaping that fact, even though there had been mitigating circumstances. It had happened during a summer storm with blinding rain and lightning flashing all around her. Lisa had been in the passenger seat and Hannah had been trying to make it to a grove of trees where she thought that they would be protected from the driving rain and the lightning bolts. She hadn’t known that, just around the bend, there was a fallen branch that blocked the road. She’d swerved to avoid it, lost control, and hit the