Hannah pulled out on the road again and tromped on the gas. She was curious, too. The snowplows had been out, the roadway wasn’t slippery, and her tires hummed along as she drove just slightly over the speed limit. What did Frank Hurley want to tell her? What did Herb want to tell Mike and her? What was Delores and Carrie’s big news?

Her mind was sluicing through the possibilities as she turned in the alley and pulled into her parking spot at the back of The Cookie Jar. She shut off her truck and wasted no time rushing in the kitchen door, tossing her parka on the rack, and pushing through the swinging door to the coffee shop.

Every stool and chair was occupied with customers who all looked up as she came in. It seemed that everyone here wanted something from her. She just hoped she’d be able to provide it.

“Hannah!” Andrea rushed over to greet her. “We’re going to put you at the workstation in the kitchen since so many people want to talk to you in private.”

“Okay,” Hannah said, feeling a bit like Marlon Brando at the wedding in The Godfather. “Are there really that many people?”

“Not that many. Only six or so, unless somebody new comes in. I’ll bring your coffee and usher people in when you’re all set up.”

Hannah went back through the swinging door and sat down on a stool at the workstation. She had several seconds to think about horse heads and sawed-off shotguns, and then Andrea came in.

“Here’s your coffee. Do you want a cookie before we start?”

“Diet,” Hannah said, shaking her head.

“Right. Well, if you’re sure I can’t get you anything else, I’ll bring Frank Hurley back.”

Hannah had time for three sips of her coffee before Frank came through the swinging door. He took the seat across from her at the workstation and gave a little sigh. “I’m really sorry, Hannah. I forgot to tell you something about the night Miss Ward was killed.”

“What’s that, Frank?”

“It happened earlier, on my watch. I just didn’t connect the dots before. There was somebody hanging around the mall entrance to the spa. You know, where the window is. I wouldn’t have thought anything about it, but he just walked back and forth in front of the window, and there wasn’t anything to see inside. The receptionist was gone, and there were no lights in the front. I thought maybe he was waiting for someone to come out so he could sneak in, so I went over and asked him if he was a member. He said no, that he was just browsing. Browsing is a strange word to use at a spa. You browse in a store, you know? I got the impression he wasn’t all there, if you know what I mean.”