“And chocolate. Don’t forget the chocolate.”

“Chocolate’s not seasonal. It’s good any time of the year. Chocolate’s like oxygen. It’s elemental.”

“You’ve got a point,” Michelle said as she plucked a hot cookie from the baker’s rack and juggled it from hand to hand. “Do you think these are too hot to eat?”

“Here.” Hannah handed her sister a napkin. “You’d better let it cool a little or you might burn your mouth.”

“I’ve got a better idea. I’ll open the door, stand just inside, and stick out my hand with the cookie. It’ll cool faster that way.” Michelle opened the back kitchen door, extended her hand, and gasped as a shape materialized from the blowing snow and plucked the cookie from her hand.

“Thanks!” the shape said, stepping closer. “It’s not every day that someone comes out to greet me with a hot cookie.”

“Mike!” Michelle exclaimed as she recognized him. “You scared me half to death! Give me back that cookie. It’s mine.”

“Not anymore,” Mike said, biting into the cookie as he stepped into the kitchen. “This cookie’s too young to be outside alone in weather like this. It’s my duty to save it from the storm.”

“You ate my cookie!” Michelle accused as Mike popped the rest of the cookie in his mouth.

“There’s more where that came from,” Hannah said with a laugh. “Sit down, Mike. I’ll pour a cup of coffee for you.”

Michelle walked over to the baker’s rack and piled several more cookies on a napkin. “I’m not taking any more chances with these cookies. I’m going out front to eat them.”

Hannah delivered Mike’s coffee and dished up a plate of cookies for him. Then she sat down across from him at the workstation. “I figured you’d be here before closing,” she said. “You always come around the day after a murder to find out if I’ve discovered anything.”

“These are really good cookies, Hannah.” Mike picked one up and took a bite. “Have you?”

Hannah knew exactly what he was asking, but she didn’t get up to retrieve her murder book. “Not much.”

“But you are investigating.”

There were times when Hannah wished that Mike didn’t know her quite as well as he did. “I’m asking questions if that’s what you mean.”

“You probably already know that I’ll need to talk to Lisa.”

“I know. And Lisa knows, too. She mentioned it to me this morning.”

“Do you have her name on your suspect list?”

Hannah sighed deeply. “Yes,” she admitted. “Lisa’s name is there. But I intend to find an alibi for her.”

“Any luck so far?”

“Not yet.”

They sat there in silence for a moment, and then Hannah sighed again. “Is Herb one of your suspects?”

“Not anymore.”