“I asked him that. He said they’re the ones who were in a position to see or hear something potentially important to the investigation, like anyone who was standing close to Dean, or the waitress who put the tray of Mini Cherry Cheesecakes on the top of the desk.”

“That would be Amber Coombs,” Hannah offered. “Dean told her to put it there, but I don’t know why.”

Andrea’s hand shot up, just as if she were still in school. “I know. I read the whole script. It was so Burke could fall face forward in the cheesecake after he shot himself. Except Burke didn’t shoot himself, Dean did. And that’s

really awful. I wonder if he had any

any

what’s that word, Hannah?”

“Premonition?”

“That’s it. I wonder if he had any premonition he’d be the one with his face in the cheesecake?”

All three sisters shivered slightly. It was a reminder of how quickly death could close in on an unsuspecting victim. They shared a moment of nervous silence and then Hannah broke it with a question.

“Are you ready to get down to business?” she asked. And when both of her younger sisters nodded, she went on. “Since Mike has dibs on the kitchen, we’ll use my cookie truck.”

“That’ll get chilly,” Andrea objected. “How about running across the street to Lake Eden Realty? I’ve got the key.”

A few minutes later, the three sisters were seated in swivel chairs around Lake Eden Realty’s oval conference table. Hannah had brought a thermos of coffee and a bag of her latest creations.

“What are these?” Michelle asked, biting into a cookie.

“Double Flakes.”

“Double flakes?” Andrea frowned slightly. “I can taste coconut and that’s one flake. But what’s the other?”

Hannah shook her head. “I’ll never tell. Just let me say that it’s something you wouldn’t expect to be in a cookie.” She flipped open the steno pad she’d carried across the street with her and pushed it across the table to Andrea. “Will you take notes?”

“You always ask me to write things down!”

“That’s true, but it’s because you have such good penmanship. If I take notes, my mind gets ahead of my fingers and I have trouble figuring them out later.”

“Okay, I’ll do it. But there’s a price.”

“What is it?” Hannah asked, expecting her sister to demand a whole batch of her favorite cookies.

“I want to know what the second flakes are.”

“No, you don’t. It’s a lot like Mystery Cookies. Once you find out what’s in them, you keep eating, and eating, and trying to taste it.”

Andrea made a big show of putting down her pen and flipping the steno pad closed. “If you won’t cooperate and tell me, then I won’t cooperate and take notes. Your unpaid personal secretary just quit.”