It was before the crack of dawn, and the sisters were sitting at Hannah’s almost-antique Formica-topped table in the kitchen. Hannah was wearing her exercise outfit, and it seemed slightly looser than it had when she’d first started taking exercise classes. That could be her imagination, but she really hoped it wasn’t. Michelle was in robe and slippers, and Hannah suspected that after she left, her youngest sister might very well go back to bed.

“So what did Mike say that was so important he had to see you in the middle of the night?” Michelle asked.

“Not much. He said he just wanted me to know that nothing happened with Ronni.”

“And you believed him?”

Hannah shrugged. “It doesn’t really matter whether I did or I didn’t. Mike and I don’t have an exclusive arrangement or anything like that.”

“But you’d still be hurt if you thought he’d been romantically involved with Ronni.”

“Well…yes. I wouldn’t have any right to be angry with him, but I would be hurt.”

“That’s exactly the way I feel. I hope both our guys are truthful and they weren’t really involved with her.”

“Me, too.” Hannah zooped down the rest of her coffee and stood up to go. “Are you going anywhere today?”

“You tell me.”

“What do you mean?”

“I want to help you investigate, and Mother’s giving me her car for the week. She’s picking me up at nine, and the only commitment I have is to go out to lunch with Carrie and her. I’m perfectly willing to do some legwork for you. Just name it.”

Hannah thought fast. “If it’s ready, please get the phone list from Mother and bring it to me at The Cookie Jar. Andrea and I are staying at Heavenly Bodies for a while after class to nose around, so we won’t be there until ten or eleven. Once we have the list, we can check alibis for any suspects that Mother and Carrie unearthed.”

“Okay. Anything else?”

“You can help Lisa bake a batch of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Cookies.”

“What are those?”

“A recipe based on Chocolate Sauerkraut Cake.”

“That’s one of my favorites. Do the cookies taste like the cake?”

“Almost exactly.” Hannah shrugged into her parka and picked up her gloves. “I’ll see you later. Describing those cookies is making me hungry. I’d better get out to Heavenly Bodies before I gain weight just thinking about them.”

Within two minutes of entering the back door of The Cookie Jar, Hannah and Andrea were seated at the work island, sipping mugs of freshly brewed coffee. It was shortly after eleven in the morning, and Michelle had just told them that she didn’t have the list of suspects.

“Mother didn’t give you the list?” Hannah was surprised. Delores was always efficient when it came to anything phone-related.