Candy Cane Murder Read Online Free PDF Page B

satisfaction. “The coffee’s ready. I’ll go get it and then let’s taste your cookies.”
    â€œOh!” Andrea looked very nervous. “I really hope you like them. They’re the first cookies I’ve ever made by myself.”
    Hannah made quick work of gathering what they needed in the kitchen. The topic of Wayne’s death had come up earlier than she’d expected. When she came back with a tray containing three mugs of coffee and cream and sugar for Andrea, she set it down in the center of the table and reached for one of Andrea’s cookies before she could take the coward’s way out and claim that she was too full from Sally’s Christmas party buffet.
    Family love knows no bounds , she said to herself, but the words that came out of her mouth were different. “These look wonderful,” she said, taking a leap of faith and biting into one of her sister’s cookies.
    Hannah was well aware that both Andrea and Michelle were watching her like hawks as she chewed. And swallowed. And smiled.
    â€œGood!” she said, doing her best not to sound too surprised. “I like these, Andrea!”
    â€œReally?”
    â€œYes,” Hannah said and took another bite. “How about you, Michelle?”
    Michelle gave her the same look Hannah imagined a prisoner being led to the gallows would wear. But she managed to smile as she obediently took a cookie and bit into it. There was a moment of silence and then an expression of total surprise crossed her face. “These are good , Andrea!”
    â€œWell, don’t look so shocked.” Andrea gave a little giggle. “Carli told me that everybody in her family liked them.”
    â€œThey’re wonderful,” Hannah said, finishing her first cookie and reaching for another. “And you actually made them all by yourself?”
    â€œWell…” Andrea faltered a bit and then she shook her head. “Not exactly.”
    â€œWhat does that mean?” Michelle wanted to know.
    â€œI didn’t do it entirely by myself. Grandma McCann showed me how to preheat the oven and put them on the cookie sheets. But that was only for the first couple of times. After that, I did it by myself.”
    Even though they weren’t an overly affectionate family, Hannah couldn’t help it. She reached out to give her sister a hug. “Good for you! Are you going to give me the recipe, or is it a big secret?”
    â€œIt’s not a secret, and it’s really easy. They take only four ingredients.”
    â€œYou’re kidding!” Hannah was amazed. The cookies had a light but complex lemon flavor. They were soft and a bit chewy inside, and the outside was almost crunchy.
    Andrea went on. “I think that’s why Carli sent me the recipe. She remembers the bake sales the cheerleaders used to have to raise money for uniforms.”
    Hannah remembered them too. When she discovered that Andrea and her friend, Janie Burkholtz, were buying Twinkies at the Lake Eden Red Owl to sell at the fund-raising bake sales, she started baking homemade cookies for them.
    â€œWhat are the four ingredients?” Michelle asked.
    â€œA package of lemon cake mix, two cups of Cool Whip, an egg, and powdered sugar.”
    Lemon cake mix! Of course! Hannah felt like rapping the side of her head with her knuckles for being so dense. Andrea had told them she hadn’t used zest or lemon juice, but the cookies were still lemony. The flavor had to come from somewhere and making cookies from lemon cake mix should have occurred to her.
    â€œThat’s all there is,” Andrea continued. “Just the four ingredients. Any more and I probably couldn’t have done it.”
    â€œWell, you did it very well,” Hannah told her, pouring them all more coffee.
    â€œThanks. I’m going to try chocolate next. Maybe I could even mix in a few of those tiny chocolate chips. That might be good.”
    Hannah