As Hannah approached, she spotted a familiar car. It was Janie's. She breathed a sigh of relief. She parked next to a little snowdrift near the front door of the cabin and got out of her truck.
The padlock on the front door was open, and Hannah gave a polite knock on the door. Then she opened it and stepped in. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dim interior of cabin after the brightness of the snow outside, but she could see a huddled shape in a sleeping bag by the fire.
"Janie?" Hannah stepped forward and the sleeping bag moved.
"Hannah?" Janie sounded very tentative as she poked her head out of the sleeping bag. Then she smiled as she recognized her. "Oh, Hannah! I'm so glad to see you! But how did you know I was here?"
"The smoke from your chimney, but that's not important Are you okay?"
"I'm all right, but I really did it this time. And there's no way I'm going back, not even if she calls me to apologize. She's a horrible person and I'll find another job!"
Hannah didn't say anything, but her mind was working overtime. It was pretty obvious from what Janie had said that she didn't know Connie Mac was dead. "What are you doing here?"
"I didn't want to face all the rest of them this morning. I knew they'd be sympathetic, and I just couldn't stand it That's why I'm here."
"But you went back to the inn to pack up your clothes. Didn't you see any of them then?"
Janie shook her head, and now that Hannah's eyes had adjusted to the lack of light, she could see tearstains on her cheeks. "I guess they were all busy, or in their rooms, or out somewhere else. That was a big relief. I was really upset and I didn't want to talk to anybody about it. She accused me of sleeping with her husband, Hannah. She said all sorts of awful things, and then she fired me!"
"Look, Janie. . ." Hannah winced slightly, but she had to ask. "Were you sleeping with Paul?"
"Of course not! I'm practically engaged, Hannah. Jim's saving his money and he's getting me a ring next month. I told her all that, but she just wouldn't listen to reason. She went ballastic and she. . . she started to throw things at me!"
"What did you do then?"
"I grabbed my purse and my coat and I ran out the back door. She's got a horrible temper, Hannah. It's practically legendary. I sure didn't want to be on the receiving end of it."
"Has she ever thrown things at people before?"
"Not me, but I've heard stories, and I know she fights with Paul all the time. I had the room next to them when we opened the boutique in Shakopee, and I heard her yelling at him and throwing things. The next morning he came down with a big bruise on the side of his head. He told everyone that he hit it on the side of a door, but I knew better."
"How about Connie Mac? Did she have bruises that morning?"
"You mean. . . from Paul?"
"Yes. I wouldn't blame him if he fought back."
"I wouldn't either, but he never did. And that wasn't the first time I heard them fight. She'd scream and throw things and he'd just try to calm her down. Paul's really nice, Hannah. I know he's never raised a hand to her."
"Let's get back to last night. Connie Mac was throwing things at you and you didn't just peg something back at her as you went out the door?"
Janie shook her head. "No. All I could think about was getting out of there. She wanted to fight and I just wanted to get away from her."
"Then Connie Mac was still alive when you left?" Janie blinked and then she leaned forward to peer at Hannah intently. "Still alive? You mean she's.. . dead?"
"As a doornail," Hannah said, wishing she hadn't told Janie quite so abruptly. "What time did you leave The Cookie Jar?"
"I don't know. But I was back out at the inn by ten-fifteen. I looked at my alarm clock right before I stuck it in my suitcase."
Hannah did a little mental arithmetic. Janie must have left The Cookie Jar around nine forty-five. "Did you lock the back door when you ran out?"
"No, I just slammed it behind me. She was getting ready to throw your rolling pin and I didn't want to get hit with that."
"I don't blame you. That's a heavy rolling pin. Did you see anyone else around when you drove away?"
"No, but I was pretty upset. If someone was there, I might not have noticed. What happened to her, Hannah? Did she have a stroke or something?"
"Something," Hannah said, realizing that she had come to the point of no return. Janie had a right to know what had happened to her ex-boss, especially since she was a prime suspect. "She was murdered, Janie. Somebody bashed her head in."
Janie gasped sharply. Then she shivered and took a couple of deep breaths. "Tell me the truth, Hannah. Do they. . . do they think that I killed her?"
"It didn't look good when they couldn't find you. They need to talk to you, Janie."
"Of course. Will they put me in jail?"
"Over my dead body," Hannah said, and that comment earned her a small grin. "I'll take you out to the sheriff's station and we can get your car later. Just tell them everything Connie Mac did and what you did, and everything will be all right."
"I'll right. I'm scared, but I know I have to do it."
"Good girl. They might say you have to stay in Lake Eden until they solve the case. If they do, you can bunk in with me. I've got a guest room at my condo."
"Thanks, Hannah. But are you sure? I mean, I don't want to go back to the inn, but what if I tell them everything and I'm still a suspect? You don't want to. . . to share your place with a murder suspect, do you?"
"Why not? Another one's coming over tonight. It's Norman Rhodes, and you can compare notes." The words popped out before Hannah could think about them and she sighed contritely. "I'm sorry, Janie. I shouldn't have said that."
"I'm glad you did," Janie said, and she ventured another smile. "I guess it can't be too bad if you're making jokes about it. On the other hand, you'd joke on your way to the guillotine."
"True. But just remember that you're only staying in my guest room. I'm actually dating the other prime murder suspect."
LITTLE SNOWBALLS
Preheat over to 350'F, with rack in the middle position
1 ' cups melted butter (3 sticks, ' pound) ' cup powdered sugar (that's confectioner's sugar) 1 ' teaspoons vanilla ' teaspoon nutmeg (freshly ground is best) ' teaspoon salt 3 ' cups flour ( no need to sift) 1 cup finely chopped nuts ***
Melt the butter. Mix in the powdered sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, and salt. Add the flour and mix thoroughly. Stir in the nuts. (If you work quickly, while the butter is still warm, the dough will be softer and easier to mix.)
Form the dough in to one-inch balls (just pat them into shape with your fingers), and place them on an UNGREASED baking sheet, 12 to a standard sheet. Bake them at 350'F for 10 minutes, until they are set but not brown.
Let the cookies cool for 2 minutes and then roll them in powdered sugar. (You must do this while they're still warm.) Place them on a wire rack and let them cool thoroughly.
When the cookies are cool, roll them in powdered sugar a second time. Let them rest for several minutes on the rack, and then store them in a cookie jar or a covered bowl.
*** Mother likes these with chopped walnuts. Andrea prefers pecans. I think they're best with hazelnuts. Tracey adores these when I substitute a cup of flaked coconut for the nuts and form the dough balls around a small piece of a milk chocolate bar or a couple of milk chocolate chips.
-16- Hannah glanced at her watch as she pulled into the parking lot at the community center. Only an hour had passed since she'd driven Janie out to the sheriff's station and let Mike and Bill know, in no uncertain terms, that they'd better treat her with kid gloves. Once she'd made sure that Janie was all right, she'd driven into town and stopped at all the winter sports venues to drop off the cookies that Lisa and Alex had baked. Now the only thing she had left to do was to present Edna with the little snowballs for tonight's dessert.