“Good heavens, no! I managed to find them two quilting frames at an auction last month and they awarded me an honorary membership. I just go to be sociable.”

“How many groups does that make now, Mother?”

“Twelve. When your father died, Ruth Pfeffer told me that I should develop outside interests. I’m just taking her advice.”

“You’re taking Ruth’s advice seriously?” Hannah was shocked. Ruth Pfeffer, one of her mother’s neighbors, had volunteered to do grief counseling at the community center after only one two-credit class at the community college. “Ruth’s a dingbat—you said so yourself—and she’s not qualified to counsel anyone. I’m surprised she didn’t suggest suttee!”

Delores laughed. “You’re right, dear. But that’s illegal, even in India.”

“Very good, Mother,” Hannah complimented her. Occasionally Delores’s sense of humor kicked in, and those were the times when Hannah liked her the best. “What kind of cookies would you like?”

“How about those Chocolate-Covered Cherry Delights? Andrea told me that they were fabulous.”

Hannah jotted it down and then she realized what her mother had said. Andrea had tasted those cookies for the first time last night. If she’d mentioned them to Delores, it must have been earlier this morning. “Did you call Andrea this morning, Mother?”

“Yes, dear. We had a lovely chat. As a matter of fact, I just got off the phone with her.”

Hannah’s eyes widened. Her sister was not a morning person. “You called Andrea before eight? On a Saturday?”

“Of course I did. I wanted to make sure she was all right. The poor dear sounded dreadful. She told me that her head was still reeling from that awful migraine.”

Hannah started to grin. It wasn’t surprising that Andrea’s head was reeling. She’d polished off four glasses of that “impudent little wine” before Bill had come to drive her home. “I’ve got to run, Mother. It’s late and I have to get ready to open the shop.”

“You don’t open until nine this morning. How about Max Turner? I heard on the radio that he was dead.”

Hannah rolled her eyes at Lisa, who was trying not to look amused at her attempt to end the conversation. “That’s true, Mother.”

“I know it’s not nice to speak ill of the dead, but Max made a lot of enemies here in Lake Eden. I don’t think anyone is going to shed tears for him.”

“Really?” Hannah thought she knew exactly what her mother was talking about, but she wanted to hear it from Delores. “Why is that?”

“He wasn’t a nice man, Hannah. I don’t want you to repeat this, but I heard that several families lost their homes because of Max Turner.”

“Really?” Hannah did her best to sound as if this was the first she’d heard of it.

“He was a…” Delores paused, and Hannah knew that she was attempting to think of the proper word. “What’s that term, Hannah? I know it has something to do with a fish.”

“A loan shark?”