“Right.” Her voice quavered a bit, but Delores took a deep breath and managed to pull herself together. “You said you want Carrie and me to find out who Ronni was involved with and how it affects or affected their lives.”

“Exactly right.”

“We’ll do that, dear. Anything else?”

“Just be alert for anyone who hated Ronni enough to kill her. You uncover the motive. I’ll check it out and see if there’s an alibi.”

“We’re all set, dear.” Delores got up and walked around the stainless steel island to give her eldest daughter a hug. “I’m proud of you, Hannah. And I love you very much. I know I don’t tell you that enough.”

“Thank you, Mother. Was that Doctor Love?”

“Yes. Most of the time she’s full of hot air, but that’s some of her very best advice.”

TERRY’S CARROT CAKE COOKIES

DO NOT preheat oven yet—this cookie dough has to chill for at least 2 hours before baking.

1 cup butter (2 sticks, 1/2 pound) at room temperature

2 cups white (granulated) sugar

3 eggs, beaten (just whip them up in a glass with a fork)

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

4 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

20-ounce can crushed pineapple (very well drained)

1 cup golden raisins

1 cup chopped walnuts (measure after chopping)

3½ cups flour (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)

1 cup coconut (chopped a little finer than it comes out of the bag)

3 cups finely grated carrots

Terry’s tips for her recipe:

1. When she drains her crushed pineapple, Terry uses a wire mesh sieve and presses the pineapple against the mesh to remove as much liquid as possible.

2. When she’s in a hurry and doesn’t want to grate her own carrots, Terry buys shredded carrots and then chops them up a bit finer in her food processor with the steel blade, or with a chef’s knife on a cutting board.

3. Terry says she uses a medium cookie scoop (approximately 2 Tablespoons) and puts 12 cookies to a sheet. She always uses parchment paper instead of a bare cookie sheet. She rinses her cookie scoop after every 4 or 5 cookies so the dough won’t stick to the scoop.

Hannah’s Note: These are a lot easier to mix if you use an electric mixer. You can also do them by hand, but it does take some muscle.

Beat the butter, sugar, and eggs together until all three ingredients are thoroughly incorporated and the mixture is smooth, fluffy, and light yellow in color.

Make sure your applesauce is well drained. You don’t really want to add liquid here. (I pat off any excess liquid with a paper towel before I add it to my bowl.) Add the applesauce to your bowl and mix in thoroughly.

Mix in the vanilla extract.