Raspberry Danish Murder (Hannah Swensen #22)(89)

With all three of them working, it still took a while to unload at the booth and arrange things for display. Sally had already filled the two thirty-cup coffeepots with water, and she’d even filled the baskets with coffee grounds. Hannah found the eggs they’d brought, cracked one into the grounds and stirred it in, and started one pot of coffee while Michelle finished writing the names and prices of their bakery items on the big whiteboard that Sally had provided.

“Done!” Michelle said, just as Hannah turned on the coffee.

Hannah glanced at her watch. “Perfect,” she said. “It’s twenty to nine and we’re all ready to go. Let’s walk over and greet our neighbors.”

They started with Gary, the man that Sally had introduced when she had shown them their booth. Gary was busy unpacking another box of handmade Christmas ornaments, but he put the box down in order to greet them.

“Good to see you again, Hannah,” he said, and then he turned to Michelle. “You two are here bright and early.”

“That’s only because we had help unpacking,” Michelle told him. “Otherwise, we’d still be setting out cookies.”

“How about a cup of coffee?” Hannah asked him. “It should be ready in about five minutes.”

“Thanks for the offer, but I don’t drink coffee.”

“We have orange juice and apple juice,” Michelle offered him an alternative.

“I really like apple juice. Let me pay for it now.”

“Oh, there’s no charge for neighbors,” Hannah said quickly, as Gary reached in his pocket. “Come over and get more any time you want it.”

“Or holler over at us and one of us will bring it to you,” Michelle added. “After all, there are two of us and you’re handling your booth all by yourself.”

“We’ll give you cookies, too,” Hannah told him. “Do you like raisins and almonds?”

“Yes. Almonds are my favorite nut.”

“Then we’ll bring over two of our Raisin and Almond Crunch Cookies to go with your apple juice.”

Once they’d delivered the cookies and a paper cup of apple juice to Gary, Hannah and Michelle walked over to the booth on the other side of theirs.

“Hello,” Hannah said to the two women who were arranging holiday patterned scarves in a colorful array on one of their shelves. Their books were already displayed on shelves, and there was a rack at the side of their booth for samples of their boxed Christmas and Thanksgiving cards.

“We’re your neighbors in The Cookie Jar booth,” Michelle told them.

“Hello!” one of the women turned to greet them with a smile. “You must be Hannah Swensen. Sally told me all about you.” She turned her smile on Michelle. “And you must be Hannah’s sister Michelle.”

“That’s right.”

“Well, I’m Dorothy and this is my sister, Faye.”

Faye turned around to give a friendly wave. “Nice to meet both of you. Are you girls all ready to open?”

“Yes, and we’ve already made coffee. Would you like us to bring you a cup?”

“Oh, yes!” Dorothy responded quickly. “We didn’t have nearly enough coffee this morning, right, Faye?”

“Right.”

“Do you take cream or sugar?” Michelle asked them.

“Yes, both please.” Again, Dorothy was the one to respond.

“How about a couple of our Chocolate Chip Crunch Cookies?” Hannah asked them.

“Yes, but just one for me,” Dorothy said. “I’m watching my calories.”

Michelle turned to Faye. “One, or two?”

“Two, please. I’m watching my calories, too.” She paused and gave a little laugh. “I’m watching them very carefully as they go straight to my hips.”

Both Hannah and Michelle laughed, and Dorothy just shook her head. “My sister, the comedian,” she commented.

“We’ll be right back with cookies and coffee,” Michelle promised, and the two sisters walked back to their booth.

Once Hannah and Michelle had delivered Dorothy and Faye’s coffee and cookies, they went back to their own booth to start the second big pot of coffee. It was cold outside, and the people who arrived at the convention would want something to warm them up, especially if they hadn’t had time for a leisurely breakfast before they drove to the Lake Eden Inn.

As it turned out, it was a very good thing that they’d made advance preparations. When Sally unlocked the wide door to the convention hall, there was a line of customers, waiting to get in. People entered in droves, starting at one side of the huge space and stopping at any booth that caught their interest until they got to The Cookie Jar booth.

The smell of fresh coffee must have been enticing, because almost every shopper stopped for coffee and cookies, carried them to Sally’s decorated food court, and munched and sipped until they regained their energy for more shopping. Then they walked past the booths beyond The Cookie Jar booth, crossed to the other side and didn’t stop again until they’d reached the halfway point. That was when they went back to get their second cup of coffee and more cookies from Hannah and Michelle.

The line at The Cookie Jar booth seemed endless, controlled only by the speed with which customers finished examining and purchasing from the booths that caught their interest. Of course they needed something to go with the beverage of their choice, and dozens of cookies and bar cookies were consumed. When the line finally diminished, Hannah glanced at her watch.