Free Joanne Fluke Christmas Bundle: Sugar Cookie Murder, Candy Cane Murder, Plum Pudding Murder, & Gingerbread Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke, Laura Levine, Leslie Meier Page A

and steamed. Somebody probably thought it came out shaped like a plum.”
    “Well, I guess plum pudding won’t work.” Larry looked disappointed.
    “Don’t give up quite yet,” Hannah told him, her mind working a million miles a minute. She still had to come up with a spectacular dessert for Claire and Reverend Knudson’s wedding dinner and she might be able to kill two birds with one stone. “I think I can create my own recipe for plum pudding and I’ll make sure there are real plums inside. You probably don’t want to flambé it if you’re going to serve individual slices, though.”
    “Right,” Larry agreed.
    “Do the girls in the cookie shop have a microwave?”
    “Yes.”
    “Good. I think it’ll be better if it’s heated. I’ll try it and see.”
    Larry still looked slightly worried. “I hate fruitcake. It’s not going to taste like fruitcake, is it?”
    “Absolutely not. There won’t be any citron or dried fruit in it except maybe a few golden raisins. Do you want me to try to bake a sample and bring it to you so you can taste it?”
    “Yes.”
    Both men spoke at once and Hannah laughed.
    “I’ll work on it at the The Cookie Jar tomorrow and bring you something with your afternoon cookie delivery. How’s that?”
    “That’s great,” Larry said.
    Hannah turned to Mike. “And you can stop in around noon to try your sample. In the meantime, I’ll give you extra sugar cookies, if that’s okay.”
    “That’s fine. Your sugar cookies are always a big hit.” Larry stood up to walk them to the door, but Mike stayed in his chair.
    “One more thing,” Mike said. “I noticed you don’t have any Christmas decorations in here.”
    “That’s right. I get enough of all that every time I open the door. I don’t know how Courtney can stand it.”
    “Courtney?”
    “My fiancée. She heads up the sales staff in the toy shop and she has to listen to all those animated toys with the squeaky recorded voices every day.”
    “That must be tough,” Mike said.
    “It is. She complains about it all the time, but she won’t shut them off. She says it’s good for business.” Larry stood up and gestured toward the door. “Sorry to cut this short, but I have a business meeting in five minutes and it’s important.”
    Mike and Hannah rose from their seats. They followed Larry toward the door and once they’d reached it, Mike stopped and turned back to Larry. “I noticed your sign by the checkout booth, the one about selling below cost and making it up on volume. You were kidding, weren’t you?”
    “Of course I was kidding! You can’t sell below cost and make a profit regardless of the number of units you deal. Everybody knows that.”
    “Then why do you have the sign?” Hannah asked, hoping for an addition to her story for Miss Whiting.
    “When I was still in junior high a guy on a TV commercial said that he was selling below cost and making it up on volume. I think it was some spokesman for a mattresses store. I thought it was funny and I signed up for a shop class so I could make up a professional-looking sign. That’s the original out by the checkout booth. It’s turned into a tradition for L. J. Enterprises. That sign has hung by the door in every business I’ve ever started.”
     
    It was a clear winter night and the stars were sparkling as if they were made of multifaceted ice crystals. The moon was up, a silvery ball overhead casting blue shadows on the snow below them. The music was pleasant at this altitude. The melodies floated up to embrace them for brief moments and then dispersed in the dark frigid air.
    “Are you cold?” Mike asked, and not waiting for her answer, slipped an arm around her shoulders.
    Not at all was the answer on the tip of Hannah’s tongue, but Mike’s embrace felt wonderful and rather than speak, she smiled.
    “There’s the cookie shop.” Mike leaned out the side of their sleigh to see. “And there’s the flocking tent. I’m really glad Andrea