"Hi, Hannah. Did you come to see the race?"
"No, I came to see you."
"You did?" Norman's eyes crinkled even more, and Hannah hated to disillusion him. On the other hand, he had to be told. "I came to warn you that you're a suspect in the murder case."
"What?"
Now Norman's eyes were big and startled, and Hannah mentally kicked herself. She'd given him the news with all the subtlety of a bulldozer. "Sorry, Norman. I should have said that better. Bill doesn't suspect you. It's just Mike."
"Oh,' Norman said, and his eyes looked normal again. "I guess I shouldn't have lipped off to him this morning. Okay, Hannah. Thanks for coming all the way out here to tell me."
"Then you're not worried?"
"Not really. Once Mike cools off and thinks about it, he'll know I didn't do it."
"Maybe," Hannah said, trying not to sound too doubtful, "but I think you'd better come up with an alibi. Let's sit together at the banquet tonight and talk about it."
"I'd like that, but I'm not going to the banquet. I have to develop the portraits I'm taking this afternoon and I won't have time. Could we get together later?"
"Sure. I should be home by ten. Why don't you come by my place and I'll buy you a cookie?"
"Sounds good. I'll be there."
Norman's eyes crinkled again and Hannah was glad. At least he wasn't too worried to smile.
"Are you going to stick around for the finish? They should be here soon."
"Sure. I'll make a dash for the sidelines."
"Stay with me and you can have a dog's-eye view. I'm going to be here under the platform. Get on my other side, just in case one of the mushers runs off course."
Hannah took up the position Norman indicated. It was probably crazy, but she felt a lot warmer under the platform, with the illusion of a roof over her head. The barking had grown steadily louder as they'd talked, and Hannah found herself wondering why the dogs ran and barked at the same time. Maybe it was just for the sheer joy of the exercise on such a crisp winter day.
"Here they come, and Otis is in the lead!" a voice yelled out from above.
Hannah wasn't surprised. Otis and Eleanor were dog lovers from way back. When they retired, they'd built a house on Old Bailey Road, just outside the town limits. There, the two-dogs-per-household rule didn't apply, and they'd taken in a host of strays over the past three years. The ones they couldn't find homes for, they kept, and Otis had trained all their huskies and malamutes as sled dogs.
As Hannah watched, the lead musher and his team came over the crest of the hill. It was Otis, and he was still in front.
"Look at his dogs." Norman slipped his free arm around Hannah's shoulder. "They're all smiling."
Hannah didn't point out that huskies and malamutes always appeared to be smiling because of the shape of their faces. It was simply too lovely a sentiment to dash. Actually, the dogs did seem to be having a huge amount of fun. Their tails were high and tightly curled, their tongues were wagging from side to side, and they were barking and yelping in excitement.
"Okay. Here we go!"
Norman dropped to one knee and focused his camera. A few seconds later, Otis and his dogs rushed by at lightning speed. Hannah laughed out loud in sheer pleasure as Otis slowed his dogs at the far end of the course and guided them through the break in the ropes where they would wait for the other contestants.
One by one, the other teams raced by and Norman took pictures of all of them. When he was through, Hannah told him she'd see him later and headed back for the sidelines to collect Andrea.
"Eleanor did make the booties," Andrea told Hannah on their way back to the truck, "and they're going up to the Iditarod next year."
Hannah was surprised. "Does Otis think he can win?"
"Oh, they're just going as tourists. Janice is going to stay at their place for two weeks and take care of their dogs."
Hannah unlocked the doors and they climbed into the cookie truck. It was still slightly warm inside, and it felt good after the bitter cold outside.
"Could you drop me off at the office?" Andrea asked as Hannah pulled out onto the highway. "I have to write up a listing."
"Sure. You got a listing at the race?"
"Eleanor's cousin, Roger, got a job offer in Wisconsin and it was too good to turn down. They were going to rent out their house, but I convinced them that renting was a headache they didn't need, so they're going to sell."
"But didn't they just buy it last year?"
"Seven months ago. I handled the sale."
"If they sell this soon, they'll lose money, won't they?"
"No. Roger converted the basement into two separate bedrooms and put in a full bathroom down there. Now I can relist it as a five-bedroom, three-bath, and that increases the asking price. Best of all, I think I've already got a buyer. I ran into Lelia Meiers at the cleaners yesterday and she's pregnant with twins. She asked me to keep my eye out for a bigger house, and this would be just perfect for them. I called her right away and she wants to see it tomorrow."
"You're amazing," Hannah said, and she meant it. Andrea was always looking for ways to list and sell real estate. It was an ideal job for her, because she could socialize and work at the same time.
"Call me later," Andrea said as Hannah pulled up in front of Lake Eden Realty. "I should be through here in about an hour."
"Okay. I'm going back to the inn to collect the cookies. I I'll deliver them to the warm-up tents and then we'll figure out a place to meet."
As Hannah drove off, she glanced at her watch. It was eleven-thirty, and she'd be back at the inn before noon. If Lisa and Alex had finished the baking, she could have all the cookies delivered by one.
The truck seemed silent without Andrea, and Hannah switched on the radio. A moment later, she wished she hadn't, because the KCOW news team was covering the latest about Connie Mac's murder. Hannah winced as they mentioned that her body had been found at The Cookie Jar, and she hoped that the old adage was true. If any publicity was good publicity, it wouldn't hurt her cookie business.
As she turned off on the road that led around Eden Lake, Hannah noticed a plume of smoke coming from the one of the summer cabins that dotted its shores. She watched for a moment to make sure it wasn't a house fire, but the smoke was too confined for that. It was definitely coming from a chimney, and Hannah didn't think that any of the cabins on the far side of the lake had been converted into year-round dwellings. It must belong to one of the summer people who'd come back to Lake Eden for Winter Carnival and had decided to brave the discomfort of no central heat, frozen water pipes, and a lack of insulation to save on the price of a nice, snug motel.
-15- Hannah pushed open the door to Sally's kitchen and stopped short as she saw the massive array of baked cookies on the counter. Lisa and Alex had finished the baking, and she immediately felt guilty for shirking her share of the work. Some of the cookies were already boxed for transport, and others were still cooling on the racks. Hannah walked over to take a closer look and smiled at what she saw. The Molasses Crackles were perfect rounds, the Chocolate Chip Crunch Cookies looked crisp and delicious, the golden-brown Peanut Butter Melts were crosshatched with perfect fork marks, and the Oatmeal Raisin Crisps tempted her with their spicy aroma. She was just reaching for one, to give it a taste test when Lisa and Alex came into the kitchen.
"Hi, Hannah," Lisa greeted her, lifting the box she was carrying up to the counter. "Where's Andrea?"
"She got a listing at the dogsled race and I dropped her off at Lake Eden Realty to write it up."
Alex lifted her box to the counter and smiled at Hannah. "Thanks for letting me help. I really enjoyed baking those cookies."