“There’s one other thing, Hannah.” Bill cleared his throat. “I hate to ask, but people tend to talk to you and you know almost everyone in town. Will you call me if you hear anything you think I should know?”

“Of course I will.”

“Thanks. Just keep your eyes and your ears open. If Ron’s killer is local, he’s bound to say or do something to give himself away. We just have to be smart enough to pick up on it.”

Hannah nodded. Then she noticed that Bill was eyeing the trays of Oatmeal Raisin Crisps with longing and she got up to fill a bag for him. “Don’t eat all these cookies in one sitting, Bill. You’re getting a roll around your waist.”

After Bill left, Hannah thought about what she’d said. Andrea was right. She had no tact. A tactful person wouldn’t have mentioned the roll around Bill’s waist. It wasn’t her place to criticize Andrea’s husband.

As she walked back through the swinging door and took her place behind the counter, Hannah realized that she’d committed an even more serious sisterly infraction. She’d just promised to help Bill solve a murder case that might end up putting Andrea right out of a job.

Chocolate Chip Crunch Cookies

Preheat oven to 375° F, rack in the middle position.

1 cup butter (2 sticks, melted)

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 beaten eggs (you can beat them up with a fork)

2½ cups flour (not sifted)

2 cups crushed corn flakes (just crush them with you hands)

1 to 2 cup chocolate chips

Melt butter, add the sugars and stir. Add soda, salt, vanilla, and beaten eggs. Mix well. Then add flour and stir it in. Add crushed corn flakes and chocolate chips and mix it all thoroughly.

Form dough into walnut-sized balls with your fingers and place on a greased cookie sheet, 12 to a standard sheet. Press them down slightly with a floured or greased spatula.

Bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes, then remove to a wire rack until they’re completely cool. (The rack is important—it makes them crisp.)

Yield: 6 to 8 dozen, depending on cookie size.

(These cookies have been Andrea’s favorites since high school.)

Hannah’s Note: If these cookies spread out too much in the oven, reduce temp. to 350° F. and do not flatten before baking.

Chapter Three

“That’s it, Lisa. I’m ready to roll.” Hannah shut the back of her Suburban and walked around to climb into the driver’s seat. “I should be back by four at the latest.”

Lisa nodded, handing Hannah a container of lemons that had been washed until any germs courageous enough to light on their surface had fled in terror. “Do you want to take some extra sugar in case there’s a run on the lemonade?”

“I’ll just borrow some from the school kitchen if I need it. Edna doesn’t leave until three-thirty.”