“I’m sure it does. You want one of each?’

“That would be perfect. Could you hurry, Hannah? These nuts won’t last me for long. This has got to have something to do with the baby.”

“What?”

“The way I’ve been eating tonight. I’m craving sweets with a vengeance. I’ve eaten more dessert than I’ve ever eaten before in my life, but I still want more.”

It didn’t take Hannah long to fetch the coffee and cookies. “Here you go,” she said, putting them down on the table in front of her sister.

“Are these Lisa’s Pieces?” Andrea asked picking up one of the cookies and raising it to her mouth.

“Yes. You promised to tell me. Now, give.”

“Minglemurber.”

“What?”

“Minglemurber.” Andrea shook her head, swallowed twice, and took a sip of coffee. “Sorry about that. That cookie was delicious, by the way. Brandi’s real name was Mary Kay Hinklemeyer.”

Hannah jotted it down on the inside of the snowflake napkin she’d taken from the dessert table. She held it up so her sister could see. “Spelled like this?”

“That’s right. She was twenty-six years old when she married Martin, and her place of birth was … “

“Was where?” Hannah asked when Andrea stopped speaking and gave her an impish grin. “Cut it out, Andrea! If you say you want more cookies before you’ll tell me, I’ll have Mike lock you up for extortion.”

Andrea laughed. “I was going to tell you … really. I just wanted to draw it out a little and build up the surprise. Mary Kay Hinklemeyer was born in Browerville, Minnesota!”

“Browerville?” Hannah asked, hardly daring to believe her ears. “Now we’re getting somewhere! There’s got to be someone here who used to live in Browerville, or someone who has relatives in Browerville. They would have known Mary Kay when she was growing up, and they’d probably know the family.”

“I’m back!” Michelle announced, rushing up to their table. “I talked to Mike and told him everything that Brandi told me.”

“Great. I hoped he appreciated it.”

Michelle shrugged. “I don’t think so. I was just getting to the part about the ring when he got a call and he told me he’d talk to me later.”

Hannah thought about that for a moment. The ring could be important, but Mike didn’t seem all that interested. Perhaps he was just snowed under by too much information coming at him at once. She could help. She could go upstairs and tell him that the ring appeared to be a bone of contention between Martin and Brandi, and it could be important. She could also describe it, thanks to Andrea.

“Ready to go back to work?” Hannah asked, noticing that Andrea had eaten both cookies.

“Sure,” Andrea said, taking a last gulp of coffee. “That Tea Cookie was great! What do you want us to do?”

“Canvass the room and see if you can find anyone who knew Brandi when she lived in Browerville.”

“Browerville?” Michelle looked excited when Hannah nodded. “I know a couple kids who come from there. I can ask. Do we know her last name?”