Lemon Meringue Pie Murder (Hannah Swensen #4)(74)

These cookies freeze well. Roll them up in foil, put them in a freezer bag, and they'll be fine for 3 months or so, zf they last that long.





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Yield: approximately 10 dozen thin cookies, depending on cookie size.

(Tracey loves these cookies and she's almost managed to convince Andrea that she can have them in place of orange juice for breakfast.)





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Chapter IWenty-Three

66Oee anything new?" Norman asked after Hannah had

trifled through the stacks of prints.

"Not a thing. How about you?"

"I don't know if this is important, but the canning jars in the furnace room are a lot smaller than the canning jars in the rest of the basement."

"That's right. The ones in the furnace room are small-size mayonnaise jars and Mrs. Voelker used them to put up her jams and jellies."

"Why not use regular canning jars?"

"Some people do, but canning jars are more expensive and you can put jam in any kind of glass container if you seal it with wax on the top."

"I didn't know that"

"It's true. When my college roommate got married, I was a bridesmaid and by the time I'd paid for my dress, I didn't have much money left for a gift. I bought a dozen wineglasses on sale, filled them with homemade grape jelly, and gave them as my wedding present."

"That's very you, Hannah."

"What do you mean?"

"It's sweet, and practical, and.,." Norman shrugged.

250 Joanne Fluke

"It's just something you'd do, that's all. You'd make a great wife for a man with no money."

"Thanks... I think." Hannah chuckled. It was a strange thing to say, but she was sure it was meant as a compliment.

"I'd better get going. I've got a case of gum disease in ten minutes."

Hannah's chuckle turned into a laugh and she was still laughing as Norman picked up his package of Orange Snaps and headed out the door.

Lisa looked at the last print and shook her head. "I'm sorry, Hannah. I don't see anything even approaching a clue."

"Neither did we." Hannah gathered up the prints and stuck them back into the envelope Norman had brought. "I still have the feeling I'm missing something, but I don't know what it is."

"You could always borrow Dad's technique. He says if he thinks of something else, the thing he was trying to think of usually pops right into his head."

"At this point, I'm willing to try anything. I'll make the cookie deliveries. I always think best when I'm working."

"Okay." Lisa reached into her apron pocket and pulled out a list. "On your way back could you stop at the Red Owl? I thought of a dessert to make for tomorrow, but I need a few things."

"No problem. What are you making?"

"Cupcakes decorated especially for the Fourth. They're going to be really exciting, Hannah."

"I'm sure they will be." Hannah was smiling as she went back to the kitchen to pack up the cookies for delivery. She'd never thought of cupcakes as being particularly exciting before, but perhaps Lisa was on to something.

"Thanks for driving me, Andrea," Hannah said, collapsing into the passenger's seat and leaning her head back against

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the headrest. Andrea had arrived just as she was about to load her cookie deliveries and offered to drive Hannah in her car. "That's the last of them. Just drop me at my truck and I'll run to the Red Owl."

"I can stop at the Red Owl. I have to pick up some things for tomorrow anyway."

"You're sure?"

"Positive," Andrea said and turned to smile at Hannah. "Besides, I want to collect my share of thanks for renting the second floor to Danielle. If she hadn't come along, it'd still be vacant."

By the time Andrea pulled up outside the Red Owl in her Volvo, the shower that had been threatening all afternoon with dark skies and occasional flashes of lightning had turned into a full-scale downpour. Andrea took one look at the fat raindrops pelting down on the windshield and suggested they wait until the worst of the rain had subsided.

"Good idea," Hannah said, wondering what they'd find to talk about. The Cookie Jar float was a taboo subject, but the murder case wasn't. "I'd like to show you some crime-scene photos."

"No way," Andrea said, shivering slightly.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't like gore in any way, shape, or form. I don't even let Bill show me crime-scene photos."

"These aren't gory. It's just Mrs. Voelker's basement and the furnace room, that's all."

"Then there's no body?"

Hannah shook her head. "No body."

"That might be okay. But if there's nothing there, why do you want me to see them?"

"Just look and tell me if you see anything that looks out of place."

"What's wrong with this picture?" Andrea asked, smiling at her sister. They'd both had Miss Gladke in second grade and that had been one of her favorite techniques to get the class involved in a discussion.