Chocolate Cream Pie Murder (Hannah Swensen #24)(24)

“I can understand that. You must have been exhausted after dealing with all the people at church.”

“I was. Moishe was sleeping with me and when I woke up, I looked out the window and it was a solid wall of swirling snow.”

“You were alone?”

“Yes, except for Moishe. I think the howling of the wind woke me up, either that or the fact that Moishe was restless. He was scared, so I petted him to calm him down, slipped on my robe, and went out into the living room. That’s when I looked out the living room window and realized that I couldn’t see Clara and Marguerite’s condo across the outside landing.”

“Did your electricity go off?”

Hannah shook her head. “When they built the condo complex, they ran everything underground. I had cable television for the entire time, too. I was just watching the weather warning on KCOW-TV when Norman knocked on my door with Cuddles.”

Lisa looked shocked. “Norman made it all the way out to your place?”

“Yes. He started before the blizzard got really bad, but it took him almost an hour and a half. And it’s only a twenty-minute drive.”

“Where was Michelle?”

“At Mother and Doc’s penthouse with Lonnie. Mother called Michelle on her cell phone, told her that it was too dangerous to drive back to my place, and invited them over to ride out the blizzard.”

“But Michelle was with you when I called.”

“I know. Earl Flensburg came by with his snowplow and brought Michelle, Lonnie, and Mike out to my place.”

“So you had Norman, Cuddles, Mike, Lonnie, and Michelle with you for the whole time?”

Hannah smiled. “Yes, and I was glad for the company. The guys camped out in the living room and Michelle and I cooked and baked a lot. It kept our minds off what was happening outside. I think we came up with some good recipes for Valentine’s Day and I brought samples for you.” Hannah walked over to the kitchen counter, picked up the box she’d packed that morning, and carried it over to give to Lisa.

Lisa took the box and set it down on the stainless-steel surface. “It’s really heavy. You must have baked the entire time!”

Hannah laughed. “Michelle and I had to do something. We were getting a little stir-crazy. The guys tested cookies, pies, and cakes for us and so did Clara and Marguerite Hollenbeck. It was something productive for us to do.”

“It sounds like you didn’t mind the blizzard at all.”

“Not true. I can tell you this, Lisa. I’m really glad it’s over and I can get out again! I never thought I was claustrophobic, but I guess I am. I felt anxious knowing that I couldn’t get out of the condo if we had an emergency.”

“I know what you mean, but at least you had people with you. Herb and I were stuck in the house and the only time we left was to step outside and walk the dogs around the inside of the fence.”

“You must have felt terribly confined.” Hannah walked to the kitchen coffeepot and poured herself another cup. “What did you and Herb do to pass the time?”

Since Lisa didn’t answer immediately, Hannah turned to look at her. That’s when she realized that her partner was blushing. “Sorry,” she apologized. “I guess I shouldn’t have asked that.”

“That’s okay. I did have time to come up with a couple of new recipes we can use for Valentine’s Day.”

“Great! What are they?”

“One is Pink Grapefruit Cake. The glaze is pink and it’s pretty. And another is White Chocolate Brownies. I’ve got a White Chocolate Fudge Frosting, too, and I thought we could color that pink and put Valentine candies on top of each brownie.”

“Good idea! Did you hear the news about the movie festival?”

“Yes. Mayor Bascomb called Herb to see if he knew anyone he could hire for extra security. The mayor said that there were going to be a lot of extra people coming to town for that.”

“He’s probably right.”

Lisa began to look slightly worried. “You don’t think Ross will come back for that, do you?”

“I’m almost sure he won’t. Once he gets his money, he’ll be long gone. Mike told Ross that he couldn’t guarantee his safety, and that’s probably why Ross drove all night so that he could arrive so early this morning.”

“You mean he wanted to get here before anyone in town was awake?”

“Yes. And he wanted to get here while I was alone at The Cookie Jar.”

“That’s scary,” Lisa said, but she was clearly relieved that Hannah didn’t think Ross would come back for the movie festival. “I really hope he won’t be back here. Herb was pretty hot under the collar about how Ross treated you, and Aunt Nancy said that Heiti felt the same way. Everyone’s on your side, Hannah. And they all think that what Ross did to you was horrible.”

Hannah frowned slightly. She really didn’t want to talk about Ross anymore. It was best to change the subject, so she gestured toward the box. “Take a look at what Michelle and I baked.”

Lisa lifted the cover on the large box and her eyes widened as she saw what was inside. “You two must have baked the entire time!”

“It was something to do and it made us feel better. Between the two of us, we came up with quite a few new recipes.”