“Six dozen.”

“By when?”

“By Saturday morning.

“Plenty of time.”

“But that’s tomorrow!”

Lisa didn’t look concerned. “Piece of cake . . .” she said. “Or maybe I should say piece of cookie.”

“Very funny, Lisa.”

As Hannah watched, Lisa’s eyes began to sparkle. “It’s going to work, Hannah. We can call them Treasure Chest Cookies and they’ll be perfect for a pirate party. They all have different little gems of sweetness inside.”

“That sounds perfect to me. I wonder if we can make some kind of treasure chest to hold them.”

“Herb can,” Lisa quickly volunteered her husband. “He’s got the garage all outfitted for woodworking and he’s very creative. I know he can make something that looks like a treasure chest.”

“Aunt Hannah!” Tracey, Hannah’s eldest niece, came running into the kitchen from the coffee shop. “Mom said you were okay, but I needed to see you to make sure.”

“You don’t need to worry,” Hannah said, realizing that Andrea must have told Tracey about the accident. “I’m fine.”

“But it must feel awful to kill somebody!”

“Your mother told you that?!”

“Oh, no. Mom wouldn’t tell me anything like that. She thinks I’m too young to hear it. I found out at Vacation Bible School.”

“Who told you?” Lisa asked, clearly intrigued by the dissemination of gossip at the Holy Redeemer Lutheran Church.

“Well, Mrs. Reverend Bob didn’t tell me, if that’s what you’re thinking.” Tracey shook her head so hard her shoulder-length blond hair swept her cheeks. “She’s my teacher this year and she says we should never repeat anything that hurts anyone else. But this can’t really hurt that man because he’s already dead.” She paused and turned to Hannah. “He is dead, isn’t he?”

“That’s what Doc Knight said,” Hannah confirmed.

“How about you, Aunt Lisa?” Tracey asked, turning to her. “I should have asked you before. You were there with Aunt Hannah and I didn’t even ask you how you were.” She hurried over to Lisa and gave her a hug. “I’m so sorry I was . . . negligent. That’s the right word, isn’t it?”

“That’s the right word, but you weren’t negligent. You were just too worried about your Aunt Hannah to think about anyone else. But I still want to know who told you about the accident.”

“It was Karen Dunwright. She’s in my class. And she heard it from Calvin Janowski. We were out for recess this morning and Calvin’s mother called him to tell him she might be late to pick him up because the road was still blocked off for the crime scene investigation. She even sent him a picture of all the police cars parked on the road.”

“Cell phones strike again,” Hannah said in a tone that she thought was under her breath, but Tracey turned to look at her.

“Most of the kids have them,” she explained. “I have one too, but I can’t use it except in emergencies.” She stopped speaking and looked worried again. “You weren’t talking on your cell phone when you had the accident, were you, Aunt Hannah?”