Blueberry Muffin Murder. Joanne Fluke

seem stressed, Hannah,” Andrea said, looking concerned. “Are you worried about getting back to The Cookie Jar?”

      No, I’m worried that my tongue will start bleeding from biting it so many times, Hannah thought, but she didn’t say it. Andrea had just presented her with an acceptable excuse for bowing out. “You’re right, Andrea. I still have a lot of baking to do. Could you finish the rest of the tour without me? All you have to do is show Connie Mac the Ezekiel Jordan house and escort her back out to the inn.”

      “Of course. No problem.” Andrea looked very pleased. “I’ll stop by later to tell you how it went.”

      “Great. I’ll dash back to The Cookie Jar then. Make my excuses, will you?” Hannah shrugged into her parka and practically flew up the stairs, leaving Andrea to cope with the biggest sweet-talker and manipulator ever to set foot in Lake Eden.

      “Try this,” Hannah said, handing Lisa one of the blueberry muffins she’d baked for the Winter Carnival judges.

      “Gladly.” Lisa took a bite and a rapturous expression spread over her face. “It’s perfect. I love blueberry muffins.”

      “So do I. I just wish I had fresh blueberries.”

      “The frozen ones are almost as good.” Lisa took another bite and chewed thoughtfully. “My blueberry muffins taste like vanilla, unless you happen to bite into a blueberry. Yours taste like blueberries all the way through. How did you do that?”

      “Blueberry pie filling. I mixed some in before I added the frozen blueberries. The dough turns a little purple, but I like the end result.”

      “So do I. They’re absolutely delicious.” Lisa finished the last bite and picked up the plastic boxes that Hannah had filled with muffins. “Do you want me to put these in the cooler?”

      “They don’t need to be refrigerated. Just stack them on a shelf in the pantry and I’ll deliver them tomorrow morning.”

      Lisa opened the pantry door and stashed the muffins on a shelf. Then she came back and sat down again. “I still can’t believe that Connie Mac asked your mother to repaint the kitchen walls.”

      “And I still can’t believe that Mother actually agreed to do it.” Hannah just shook her head. Andrea had reported in right after the final leg of Connie Mac’s tour, and she’d described everything that had happened at the Ezekiel Jordan House. Not only had Connie Mac asked Delores to paint the kitchen walls peach so that she could have her picture taken in the first mayor’s kitchen, she’d also managed to talk Norman into coming in late this afternoon for a special portrait sitting.

      Lisa glanced up at the clock on the wall. “It’s almost six. They must be through with the pictures by now.”

      “Maybe, but I have a feeling that Connie Mac was late. I think she likes to make people wait for her.”

      “She’s on a power trip?”

      “That’s the impression I got. She sure knows how to make people do what she wants. You should have seen Mr. Purvis cave in when she asked him to reserve the special sleigh for her. He couldn’t agree fast enough.”

      Lisa looked puzzled. “But I thought that sleigh was for the Prince and Princess of Winter.”

      “Not anymore. They’re riding in one of the regular sleighs now. Connie Mac can get anything out of anybody.”

      “Not you.”

      “I’m a hard case.” Hannah began to grin. “Actually, that’s another reason I bailed out of the tour. I didn’t want to find out what Connie Mac wanted from me.”

      The phone rang and Lisa got up to answer it. She listened for a moment and then she handed it to Hannah. “It’s Janie Burkholtz. She’s calling from Connie Mac’s cell phone.”

      “Great,” Hannah said with a smile. She hadn’t spoken to Janie for years. “Hi, Janie. I’m sorry we missed you when Andrea and I came out to the inn. What’s up?”

      “Your mother said I should call you, Hannah.” Janie sounded on the edge of panic. “We’ve got a real disaster on our hands. Mrs. MacIntyre’s supply van went into the ditch on the way here and the Winter Carnival cake was ruined.”

      “That’s terrible. Was anyone hurt?”

      “No. The driver’s fine and there were no passengers. All the other supplies came through just fine, but Mrs. MacIntyre is determined to bake a replacement cake and we have to find some commercial ovens to use.”

      “How about the school?” Hannah suggested.

      “I already spoke to Mr. Purvis and they’re replacing the kitchen floor this weekend. And I tried the inn, but Sally’s serving hot appetizers tonight and she’s using all of her ovens.”

      “The kitchen at the community center?”

      “That won’t work either. Edna’s baking rolls and she’ll be there until midnight or later.”

      “Really?” Hannah’s surprise was reflected in her voice. “I thought Edna was buying breadsticks and setting them out in baskets.”

      “She was, but Mrs. MacIntyre thought crescent rolls would be a nice touch with the salad course.”

      “I see,” Hannah said and sent sympathetic thoughts Edna’s way. Baking crescent rolls for two hundred guests was a lot of work.

      “Your mother suggested that I call you before you left for the night. She thought maybe we could use your ovens.”

      Hannah hesitated. She didn’t like the idea of Connie Mac baking in her kitchen, but Janie was on the spot and the Winter Carnival cake was important. “Sure, Janie. We were just getting ready to lock up. Come on over when you’re through with the pictures. We’ll wait.”

      “We’re all through. We finished a couple of minutes ago,” Janie said, still sounding stressed. “Thank you, Hannah. You don’t know how much this means to me.”

      “No problem.”

      “Can you hold on for just a second? Mrs. MacIntyre wants something.”

      “Sure. Take your time.” Hannah covered the mouthpiece and turned to Lisa, who was staring at her curiously. “Connie Mac wants to use our ovens. Her supply van went into the ditch and the Winter Carnival cake is mush. I told Janie they could bake here.”

      “Then I’d better make sure everything’s clean.” Lisa jumped up and grabbed a bottle of cleaning solution and a sponge. She wiped down the door of the cooler and then she started to giggle.

      “What?”

      “Now you know what Connie Mac wants from you. And you gave it to her, just like everybody else in town.”

      “Hannah?” Janie came back on the line. “Mrs. MacIntyre is very grateful and she wants to do something for you in return.”

      “That’s not necessary, Janie.”

      “But she insists. Norman is going to bring over his equipment and take Mrs. MacIntyre’s picture in your kitchen. She thought you’d want to hang it over your counter in the coffee shop.”

      “That’s…uh…very nice of her.” Hannah hung up the phone and snorted. Hell would freeze over before she’d hang Connie Mac’s picture over the counter in her shop!

      Blue Blueberry Muffins

      Preheat oven to 375ºF, rack in the middle position

      ¾ cup melted butter (1 ½ sticks)

      1 cup sugar

      2 beaten eggs (just whip them up with a fork)

      2