Raspberry Danish Murder (Hannah Swensen #22)(102)

“Then you solved your own problem, Aunt Nancy.”

Aunt Nancy thought about that for a moment and then she smiled. “I did, didn’t I?”

Hannah stood up. “We’d better get back to work before anyone misses us. And if they noticed that we were gone, we’ll just say we were checking to make sure everything was ready in here. And, Aunt Nancy?”

“Yes, Hannah.”

“Heiti’s a wonderful man, and I really hope that you’re right!”





Chapter Thirty-one


It seemed that everyone and their cousin had turned out for the final day of Sally’s Holiday Gift Convention. From their vantage point in the center of the convention hall, Hannah, Michelle, and Norman could tell that every booth was doing booming business. The Cookie Jar booth was no exception. Norman had driven back to town twice to pick up more cookies. Now, at four in the afternoon, their supply was getting low again.

“Do you want me to go to town again?” Norman asked them.

“No.” Hannah made an executive decision. “It’ll take you twenty minutes to get to town and twenty minutes to drive back here. By that time, it’ll be almost a quarter to five and the convention closes at five.”

“You’re right,” Norman agreed, “but I hate to see you run out.”

Michelle smiled, and it was the smile that Delores described as the cat that got into the cream pot in the Regency romances she wrote. “We won’t run out,” she said.

“How can you be sure?” Hannah asked her.

“I stuck four pans of bar cookies in a cooler in the back seat of your cookie truck. I decided to bring them just in case.”

“That was a wise decision,” Norman complimented her.

“It certainly was.” Hannah headed toward the chair in the back of the booth to grab her parka. “I need some fresh air. I’ll go get them.”

As she passed by Gary’s booth, Hannah stopped to say hello. “We’re almost sold out. How are you doing today?”

“It’s the same here. I just sold my last handmade sleigh ornament and everything else is in short supply. Today was my best day.”

“I’m sorry to hear that you’re out of the sleighs,” Hannah told him. “I was going to buy one for Mother for her Christmas tree.”

“I have another box, but it’s in the passenger seat of my Jeep,” Gary told her. “I was going to go out to get it earlier, but I got busy before I could do it and I haven’t had time since.”

“I’m going out there anyway,” Hannah told him. “I can bring the box back for you.”

“That would be great!” Gary said, reaching in his pocket to pull out his car keys and hand them to her. “Use the driver’s side door. The lock on the passenger’s door doesn’t work very well in the winter. It’s the black Jeep Wrangler with a small trailer hitched to the back.”

“I know which one it is. I’m parked right next to it. I’ll bring back your sleighs if you’ll sell me one.”

“I’ll give you one,” Gary promised, turning to smile at the customers who were approaching his booth. “Thanks, Hannah.”

“No problem,” Hannah said, leaving him to his customers. She walked down the row of booths to the back door, waving at the vendors she’d met. The back door was unlocked, and she pushed it open and stepped outside, breathing deeply of the still, cold air. She coughed once, and immediately held her winter scarf over her mouth, breathing through that to warm the air slightly. The temperature outside was so cold that taking a deep breath hurt her lungs.

Hannah unlocked the driver’s side of the Jeep, pulled it open, and spotted the small box on the passenger’s seat. It had the word SLEIGHS written on the side, and she leaned across the driver’s seat to lift it out.

There was a Styrofoam cup of coffee in the cup holder between the seats, but Hannah didn’t notice that as she lifted the box and pulled it toward her. The corner of the box hit the cup, which contained only an inch or two of coffee in the bottom. The impact caused the cup to come out of the holder and upend, splashing the cold coffee all over the tan leather covering the driver’s seat.

“Oh, great!” Hannah said sarcastically, setting the ornament box on the roof of the Jeep and reaching across the seat to open the glove box. It was where most people stored tissues, paper napkins, or rags, and she rummaged for something she could use to dry the seat.

There was a box of tissues, and Hannah grabbed the box, placed it on the passenger’s seat, and pulled out several tissues. She used them to wipe up the spill and was about to replace the box in the glove box when she noticed that the interior of the glove box was a vivid shade of pink.

“Pink!” Hannah gasped, completely startled by the color. Gary’s Jeep was black. Why was the interior of his glove box pink?

It was a great paint job, Hannah. They even painted the inside of the glove box and the wheel wells, Cyril’s words describing Pinkie’s Jeep came back to Hannah. This was Pinkie’s Jeep! There was no doubt about that. She had to ask Gary where he’d bought his Jeep.

Hannah remembered her promise to Mike. She’d promised to notify him if she came across an important clue. She took out her phone and snapped a photo of the interior of the glove box before she closed it again.