Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (Hannah Swensen #1)(38)

“She doesn’t work, does she?” Lucille asked.

“Of course not. She wouldn’t lift a finger to help them out. Boyd says he doesn’t want her to work, but I think he’s just covering up for the fact that she’s too lazy to hold down a job.”

Hannah had heard quite enough criticism about Danielle. She picked up her tray, stuck on her “May I serve you” smile and walked over to tap Maryann on the shoulder. “More cookies, ladies?”

“Hello, Hannah.” Maryann seemed surprised to see her. “These are wonderful cookies, dear. And to think that they’re authentic! I was just commenting on how delicious they were, wasn’t I, Lucille?”

Lucille smiled. “We’re so lucky to have you back in town, Hannah. I don’t know how the Lake Eden Regency Romance Club ever managed to serve refreshments without you.”

“Thank you. I’m so glad you like the cookies.” Hannah waited until both Maryann and Lucille had taken another cookie and then she moved on to another table. The Mall of America didn’t open until eleven and Coach Watson had been with his sister until then. One more suspect had been eliminated and if her luck ran true to form, the bouncer at Twin Pines would have an alibi, too. Then she’d be back to square one.

Hannah sighed as she finished serving the cookies and went back to fetch the carafes of coffee and tea. Solving crimes certainly wasn’t as easy as they made it seem in the movies.





Chapter Twelve




Hannah pulled into the parking lot at the Tri-County Mall and turned to Lisa with a frown. “I hate to shop!”

“It won’t be so bad, Hannah. All you need is a pair of shoes. And it’s really nice of your mother to pay for them.”

“Oh, yeah?” Hannah turned to her with lifted eyebrows. “Mother’s gifts always have strings attached. The shoes have to be Italian and they can’t have more than a three-inch heel.”

Lisa shrugged. “Italian is good and you never wear high heels anyway.”

“Wait, there’s more. I’m not supposed to buy anything except fine leather, no man-made materials allowed, and I have to ask the salesman to guarantee that the color won’t run if it gets wet. She made me promise to put them on and walk around the store twice to make sure they don’t pinch my feet.”

“That doesn’t sound so hard. Come on, Hannah. The mall closes at seven and it’s already six-thirty.”

Hannah sighed and got out of her truck. A light snow was falling and the temperature had dropped ten degrees since the sun had gone down. She didn’t like to go to the mall at the best of times and this was the worst. The parking lot was packed with cars, she was pressed for time, and she needed to buy the shoes tonight. As far as Hannah was concerned, this hasty shopping trip to buy a last-minute item was a perfect recipe for disaster.

Lisa led the way across the slushy lot and into the rear door of Sears. They cut through the hardware, paint, and household appliance sections and sped down the path of green indoor-outdoor carpeting to the indoor entrance of the mall itself.

As they walked into the huge dome-shaped area, Hannah’s eyes were immediately drawn to a giant red plastic sleigh and eight plastic reindeer frozen in midprance. She blinked twice and then she turned to Lisa. “It’s not even Halloween yet and they’re all decorated for Christmas!”

“They put up the decorations right after Labor Day. I guess a lot of people like to do their Christmas shopping early and they buy more if the mall’s decorated.”

“Has your father seen it yet?”

“I bring Dad out every Sunday. There’s an animated Santa’s Workshop in the lobby of Dayton’s and he’s just fascinated by it. He must have seen it a half-dozen times, but he always points out what all the elves are doing for me.”

“That must be the upside of Alzheimer’s. Every time your father sees it, he thinks he’s seeing it for the first time.” Hannah’s words popped out before she could think about them, and she winced when she realized that she’d sounded flippant. “I’m sorry, Lisa. I didn’t mean to joke about such an awful disease.”

“That’s okay, Hannah. You have to joke about it. I do it, too. And it could be a lot worse. Dad’s not in any pain and he’s forgotten about all his problems. Most of the time he really enjoys himself.”

“Where should we start first?” Hannah decided it was time to change the subject.

“Let’s go to Bianco’s. They’re new. Rhonda Scharf was in the other day and I heard her telling Gail Hanson that they had a better selection than any of the other shoe stores.”

Hannah followed Lisa through the crowd of shoppers without seeing a familiar face. That wasn’t surprising. The Tri-County Mall was twenty miles from Eden Lake and it served all the small towns within a forty-mile radius. She saw several teenage boys wearing Little Falls Flyer team jackets and a group of giggling girls, standing near the video store, were sporting Long Prairie High School sweatshirts.

Lisa ducked into a brightly lit store displaying the Italian flag as a background in its window. Rows of shoes lined the shelves on the wall, and every few feet a round plastic display shelf jutted out with a pair of shoes arranged at eye level. Hannah followed and she immediately spotted a pair of black shoes near the back of the store. They had low heels, they were probably made of leather, and they looked comfortable.