“Of course not, but I’m not discounting his advice out of hand. He’s a trained professional, and he might come up with something that would help us catch the killer.”

Andrea glanced at Norman. “How do you feel about delivering these messages from Mike?”

“It’s a little strange. I write them down so I get them right. I don’t want to put my own spin on something Mike wants me to say to Hannah.”

“Good idea. I’ll do that, too.”

“You’re going to write down Mike’s messages?” Hannah asked, thoroughly confused.

“No, I’m going to write down Bill’s messages. I’m supposed to be a go-between, too. Bill can’t ask you for help directly. That would be undermining the official investigation. I’m supposed to tell you what he says about solving Ronni’s murder.”

“So I’m expected to be a marionette detective with Bill and Mike pulling the strings?”

There was silence for a moment, and then Andrea spoke. “I think that’s what Bill wants,” she said.

“And I think that’s what Mike wants,” Norman concurred.

“Well then, I guess it’s a good thing they can’t even call me on the phone.”

“Why’s that?” Andrea asked her.

“Because I won’t have to waste time hanging up on both of them!”

“Something smells good,” Lisa pushed through the swinging door that separated the coffee shop from the kitchen.

“That must be the batch of Candy Bar Bar Cookies I have in the oven. I’m glad you brought in that recipe, Lisa. They’re really good.”

“I know. I got it from my Aunt Lois Meister. She spends every Saturday baking with her best friend, Marcia, and they come up with some real winners.”

“Well, let me know if you get any more from them.” Hannah glanced at the kitchen clock and frowned. “It’s only three thirty, and it’s awfully quiet out there.”

“That’s because we’re closed.”

“You closed early?”

“I had to. We ran completely out of cookies.”

“But we baked extra cookies. There were two batches of Terry’s Carrot Cake Cookies and three double batches of Boggles.”

“And every cookie sold.” Lisa gave Hannah a proud smile. “We made more profit today than we usually make in a week.”

“Then that means we can take the rest of the week off,” Hannah said and waited for Lisa’s reaction. When it came, it was worth the wait. Lisa looked absolutely horrified by Hannah’s disregard for their work ethic.

“Just kidding,” Hannah was quick to reassure her. “Do you think tomorrow’s going to be busy?”

“It won’t be quite as busy as today, but it’ll be busier than usual, especially if you let me tell another story that’s straight from your mouth to mine.”