"Hannah will explain everything. But I want you to know that you don't have to worry about a thing. There's no way we're going to let you spend Christmas at the county children's home."

CHOCOLATE MINT SOFTIES.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position2 one-ounce squares unsweetened baking chocolate cup (1 stick, pound) (1 stick, pound) b.u.t.ter at room temperature b.u.t.ter at room temperature2/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed1/3 cup white (granulated) (granulated) sugar sugar teaspoon baking soda teaspoon salt1 large egg1 teaspoon peppermint extract teaspoon chocolate extract (if you can't find it, just use vanilla) (if you can't find it, just use vanilla) cup sour cream2 cups flour (pack it down in the cup when you measure it) (pack it down in the cup when you measure it) cup very coa.r.s.ely chopped pecan pieces (you'll want some big pieces) (you'll want some big pieces)Line your cookie sheets with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Leave little "ears" of foil sticking up on the side, large enough to grab later. (This is so you can slide the cookies and the foil right off the sheet when they're baked.) (This is so you can slide the cookies and the foil right off the sheet when they're baked.)Unwrap the squares of chocolate and break them apart. Put them in a small microwave-safe bowl. (I use a 16-ounce measuring cup.) (I use a 16-ounce measuring cup.) Melt them for 90 seconds on HIGH. Stir them until they're smooth and set them aside to cool while you mix up your cookie dough. Melt them for 90 seconds on HIGH. Stir them until they're smooth and set them aside to cool while you mix up your cookie dough.Hannah's 1st Note: Mixing this dough is a lot easier with an electric mixer. You can do it by hand, but it'll take some muscle.Combine the b.u.t.ter and sugars together in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat them on medium speed until they're smooth. This should take less than a minute.Add the baking soda and salt, and resume beating on medium again for another minute, or until they're incorporated.Add the egg and beat on medium until the batter is smooth (an additional minute should do it.) (an additional minute should do it.) Add the peppermint and chocolate extracts, and mix for about 30 seconds. Add the peppermint and chocolate extracts, and mix for about 30 seconds.Shut off the mixer and sc.r.a.pe down the bowl. Then add the melted chocolate and mix again for another minute on medium speed.Shut off the mixer and sc.r.a.pe down the bowl again. At low speed, mix in half of the flour. When that's incorporated, mix in the sour cream.Sc.r.a.pe down the bowl again and add the rest of the flour. Beat until it's fully incorporated.Remove the bowl from the mixer and give it a stir with a spoon. Mix in the pecan pieces by hand. (A firm rubber spatula works nicely.) (A firm rubber spatula works nicely.)Use a teaspoon to spoon the dough onto the foil-lined cookie sheets, 12 cookies to a standard-sized sheet. (If the dough is too sticky for you to work with, chill it for a half-hour or so, and try again.) (If the dough is too sticky for you to work with, chill it for a half-hour or so, and try again.) Bake the cookies at 350 degrees F., for 10 to 12 minutes, or until they rise and become firm. Bake the cookies at 350 degrees F., for 10 to 12 minutes, or until they rise and become firm.Slide the foil from the cookie sheets and onto a wire rack. Let the cookies cool on the rack while the next sheet of cookies is baking. When the next sheet of cookies is ready, pull the cooled cookies onto the counter or table and slide the foil with the hot cookies onto the rack. Keep alternating until all the dough has been baked.When all the cookies are cool, set them out on waxed paper for frosting.Chocolate b.u.t.ter Frosting:2 one-ounce squares unsweetened baking chocolate, melted1/3 cup b.u.t.ter, room temperature2 cups powdered (confectioners') (confectioners') sugar sugar1 teaspoons vanilla extractApproximately 2 Tablespoons cream (or milk) (or milk)Unwrap the squares of chocolate and break them apart. Put them in a small microwave-safe bowl. (I use a 16-ounce measuring cup.) (I use a 16-ounce measuring cup.) Melt them for 90 seconds on HIGH. Stir them until they're smooth and set them aside to cool. Melt them for 90 seconds on HIGH. Stir them until they're smooth and set them aside to cool.When the chocolate is cool, mix in the b.u.t.ter. Then stir in the powdered sugar. (There's no need to sift unless it has big lumps.) (There's no need to sift unless it has big lumps.)Mix in the vanilla extract and the cream. Beat the frosting until it's of spreading consistency.Hannah's 2nd Note: This frosting is the no-fail type. If it's too thick, add a bit more cream. If it's too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar.Frost your cookies and leave them on the waxed paper until the frosting has hardened. (If you're like me, you'll sneak one while the frosting is still soft, just to test it, of course.) (If you're like me, you'll sneak one while the frosting is still soft, just to test it, of course.)When the frosting has hardened, arrange the cookies on a pretty platter and enjoy. They store well in a covered container if you separate the layers with wax paper.Hannah's 3rd Note: Lisa says that when she's in a hurry and doesn't have time to make a frosting, she just sprinkles the cookies with a little powdered sugar while they're still warm. She does a second sprinkling when they're cool and calls it a day.Yield: Approximately 6 dozen cookies

Chapter Eight.

It was four days before Christmas and Hal & Rose's Cafe was decorated for the season. There was a silver metal Christmas tree in the corner that was illuminated by a spotlight with a slowly revolving color wheel. The tree was red for ten seconds, blue for ten seconds, green for ten seconds, and yellow for ten seconds. Then the cycle started all over again. Hal had purchased the tree from Hannah's father at Lake Eden Hardware in the seventies, and it was still going strong.

Hannah, Andrea, and Norman sat in the back booth under several strings of multicolored tinsel garlands that had been looped over the ceiling light fixtures in a crisscross pattern. A small fake poinsettia sat in the exact center of each table, and brightly colored cardboard cutouts of wreaths, snowmen, and sleighs were taped to the backs of the booths.

Except for the perpetual poker game that Hal hosted in the private banquet room in the back, the restaurant was deserted. It was two-fifteen in the afternoon, too late for lunch, and too early for the students at Jordan High to order after-school hamburgers and french fries. Even Rose had defected. She'd refilled their mugs, plunked the coffee carafe down on the table, told them to help themselves, and headed upstairs to the apartment over the restaurant to wrap a few Christmas presents.

"So what do we have so far?" Andrea asked, blowing on her coffee to cool it before she took a tentative sip.

Hannah got out her steno pad and prepared to read her notes aloud. She was taking a breather from work so that they could have a strategy meeting. Lisa and Candy were handling everything, and after a week at The Cookie Jar, Candy was fitting right in. Everyone appeared to believe Andrea's cover story, although Hannah thought Bill might be a bit suspicious. He was letting it slide, though. Bill wasn't about to haul Candy off to the county home right before Christmas, especially since she was now staying in the guest room at Hannah's condo.

"She's approximately fifteen, she doesn't have a driver's license yet, and she lives with her mother. Her father was a veterinarian, and he's dead."

Andrea shook her head. "We don't know that for sure."

"We don't know what what for sure?" Hannah asked with a frown. for sure?" Hannah asked with a frown.

"We don't know her father's dead."

"Why would Candy lie about something like that?" Norman wanted to know.

"Divorce. I heard all about it on a talk show. Some kids don't want to admit their parents have broken up. They'd rather say that one of them is dead."

Norman looked puzzled. "But why?"

"It ends the discussion. If someone says, My dad is dead My dad is dead, you say, I'm sorry I'm sorry. And then you change the subject. If someone says, My parents are divorced My parents are divorced, you might ask questions about which one they live with, and how often they see the other one, and things like that."

Norman nodded. "That makes some kind of sense, but I still think he's dead."

"So do I." Hannah glanced down at her notebook again. "I'm almost positive her name really is Candy. She answers to it even when she's distracted, and it sounds natural when she says it. And I'm pretty sure her last name starts with an R." R."

"She told you that?" Andrea asked.

"In a way, but she didn't mean to. That first night when I woke her up, I asked her name. She said Candy, Candy, and then she began to say something that started with an and then she began to say something that started with an R R. When she realized what she was doing, she stopped cold and told me that I didn't need to know her last name."

"It's probably an R, R, then," Norman decided. "What else?" then," Norman decided. "What else?"

"She has a photographic memory, although I'm not sure if that's a clue or not. And when she was demonstrating it for me, she said she remembered the personalized license plate her mom gave her dad for his van. It said critters critters. And she told us her dad's phone number at his clinic. It was eight-one-four, eight-four-four-one."

"That's a great clue!" Andrea exclaimed, giving her a thumbs-up.

"Only if her father's not dead and the clinic she was talking about is still open."

"Chances are, it's still open even if he's dead," Norman told her. "Most clinics don't go out of business when the doctor dies. Look at my father's practice. If I hadn't come back to run it, my mother would have sold it to another dentist. And you can bet he wouldn't have changed the number, since all the patients already have it. You see medical practices for sale all the time. What you're buying is the equipment and the existing patient list."

Andrea gave him a bright smile. "Norman's right, Hannah. Just look at Bertie. She didn't start the Cut 'n Curl from scratch. She bought the former owner's equipment and her client list. And I know for a fact that she kept the same phone number."

"Maybe the vet clinic still has the same phone number, but unfortunately, there's a hitch." Hannah didn't bother to point out that buying a medical practice wasn't exactly the same as purchasing a beauty shop, and that Andrea was guilty of trying to add apples and oranges.

"What's the hitch?" Norman asked.

"Candy didn't give me the area code."

Andrea waved off that concern. "We ought to be able to get around that. I mean, how many area codes can there be?"

"Over two hundred sixty, and that's not counting Canada. I looked it up in the phone book. It would take hours to dial all those numbers."

"I'll do it," Andrea volunteered. "It won't take me that long since I've got programmable one-b.u.t.ton dialing. All I have to do is punch in the area code and my phone will put in the rest."

Hannah just shook her head. "Okay, if you think you can do it, but I don't even want to think about what Bill will say when you get your next phone bill."

"He won't say anything, because it'll be the same as this month's phone bill."

"You have a cell phone with unlimited minutes and no roaming charges?" Norman guessed.

"That's right. I'll start calling the minute I get home and work until Bill comes in the door. I'll do what it takes, Hannah. If I have to, I'll wait until he goes to sleep and I'll call all night."

"They might not be open all night," Hannah pointed out.

"I know that. But since it's a clinic, there's bound to be an answering service. Is there anything else I should know about Candy's family?"

Hannah glanced back down at her notes. "Her mother taught her how to make candy, but you already knew that. And here's something, but it doesn't do us a whole lot of good." Hannah pointed to a note she'd made. "She said her Grandfather Samuel is a Methodist minister, but I don't know what side of the family he's on."

"So far the phone number's our best bet," Norman said. "I'll hop on the Internet to see if I can track down that license plate, but it's a long shot since she didn't say exactly how they spelled it and we don't know the state. And if her father's dead and her mother sold the van or something like that, the plate could have gone back into circulation."

"I've got a theory about her home state," Hannah told them. "My guess is, it's not Minnesota. We watched the news last night right before she went to bed, and she wasn't a bit jumpy."

Norman gave a nod. "And she would have been jumpy if she was afraid her mother had reported her missing? And they might show her picture on television?"

"Exactly. Not only that; they did a sound bite from the governor's last speech, and Candy asked me who he was."

"Then she's not from Minnesota. Where do you think she came from?" Andrea asked.

"Somewhere in the Midwest, probably no more than a day or two away from Lake Eden on the bus, or by hitchhiking. I could be wrong, but the night we found her, I noticed that her clothes were still clean and her sleeping bag looked almost new."

"That all makes sense to me," Andrea told them, finishing her coffee and sliding out of the booth. "I think your idea about the Midwest is right, especially since she doesn't have an accent. I'll try the Dakotas first and work my way around in a circle. Where will you be if I get a hit, Hannah?"

"I'm at the shop until six. We're closing at five, but I want to mix up a double batch of Fudge-Aroons to take to Sally's Christmas party on Friday night. You're going aren't you, Norman?"

"Yes. Will you save me a dance?"

"Absolutely," Hannah said, hoping her smile wasn't slipping. Norman was a great guy, but he wasn't what anyone without steel-toed boots might call an accomplished dancer.

"How about Candy? Is she going?" Andrea wanted to know.

"Of course. I told her it was one of the biggest parties of the year and she's all excited about it."

"Does she have a dress?"

"Not yet, but I talked to Claire and I'm taking her over to Beau Monde tomorrow."

"Don't forget shoes. She can't wear tennis shoes with a fancy party dress."

"I won't forget." Hannah was grateful for the reminder, but she wasn't about to let her sister know that she hadn't even thought about shoes.

"So you'll be home at...what? Six-thirty?"

"That's about right."

"Okay." Andrea turned to go, but then she turned back. "What do you want me to say when I find Candy's mother?"

Hannah thought about that for a moment, and she remembered what Mike had said. Some runaways had a very good reason for leaving home. "If the mother's not too far away, see if you can get her to come here. Tell her that if I bring Candy back without resolving anything, she'll just run away again. And the next time she could get into big trouble."

"Okay, but what if she won't come here?"

"Then I'll go there, wherever it is." Hannah felt the same surge of fierce protectiveness she experienced when she held small kittens and puppies. "Just make it clear that I'm not letting Candy out of my sight until I know she's going to be okay."

FUDGE-AROONS.

Do not preheat oven-this dough must chill before baking.1 cup chocolate chips (6-ounce package)1 cup b.u.t.ter (2 sticks, pound) (2 sticks, pound) cup brown sugar1 cups white (granulated) (granulated) sugar sugar2 teaspoons vanilla extract teaspoon salt1 teaspoon baking soda2 beaten eggs (just whip them up with a fork) (just whip them up with a fork)3 cups flour (not sifted-pack it down when you measure it) (not sifted-pack it down when you measure it)Put the cup of chocolate chips and the cup of b.u.t.ter in a 4-cup bowl and microwave on high for 2 minutes. Stir until smooth and let the mixture cool while you do the next step.Combine the brown sugar and white sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add the vanilla, salt, and baking soda. Mix in the two beaten eggs.Check the chocolate chip and b.u.t.ter mixture. If it's cool enough to touch, add it to the sugar mixture and stir thoroughly.Add the flour in half-cup increments, stirring after each addition.Cover your bowl and refrigerate it. This dough must chill for at least an hour. (Overnight is fine, too.) (Overnight is fine, too.)The coconut ("aroon") ("aroon") filling must also chill. Mix it up now. filling must also chill. Mix it up now.COCONUT FILLING:2 cups shredded coconut1 cup white (granulated) (granulated) sugar sugar1 cup flour (not sifted-pack it down when you measure it) (not sifted-pack it down when you measure it) stick cold b.u.t.ter ( cup, 1/8 pound) ( cup, 1/8 pound)2 beaten eggsIn a food processor with the steel blade, zoop up the coconut with the sugar and flour. Pulse it several times so that the coconut flakes are no longer than a quarter inch.Cut the b.u.t.ter into four pieces and add them to your work bowl. Pulse again, until the mixture looks like coa.r.s.e meal.Crack the eggs into a small bowl or a cup and whisk them up with a fork. Add them to your work bowl and pulse until they're incorporated into the mixture.(If you don't have a food processor, you don't have to buy one to make this cookie-it's just a little messier when the coconut flakes are longer. To make this cookie without a food processor, just add all of the ingredients except the b.u.t.ter to a small bowl and stir them up. Then melt the b.u.t.ter and mix it in.)Cover and chill the coconut mixture for at least an hour. (Overnight is fine, too.) (Overnight is fine, too.)When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.Form b.a.l.l.s of chocolate dough, 1 inch in diameter, with your hands. Place them on a greased cookie sheet, 12 to a standard-sized sheet. Press them down with the heel of your impeccably clean hand.Form b.a.l.l.s of coconut just a bit smaller than the chocolate b.a.l.l.s you made. Place them on top of each squashed chocolate ball. Now squish those down.Make 12 more chocolate b.a.l.l.s, the same size as the first ones, and put them on top of the squashed coconut b.a.l.l.s. Press them down slightly to make little "sandwiches."Bake at 350 degrees F. for 9 to 11 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the sheet for at least two minutes. When they're cool enough to remove, use a spatula to move them to a wire rack to complete cooling.Yield: 5 to 6 dozen yummy cookies.If you have any coconut mixture left over, form coconut b.a.l.l.s, 12 to a baking sheet, put a milk chocolate chip on top of each ball and press it down slightly, and bake at 350 degrees F. for 10 minutes.Norman wants me to make these cookies even chewier-he says it'll provide more revenue for his dental clinic. (He's kidding...I think.)

Chapter Nine.

When the phone rang at seven in the morning, Hannah grabbed it. She'd been on pins and needles all night, wondering if Andrea would be successful in her phone search for Candy's mother.

"The Cookie Jar. This is Hannah speaking," she said, hoping it was her sister and not another customer with a big cookie catering order they couldn't possibly fill before Christmas.

"She's there, right?"

It was Andrea and it didn't take sisterly telepathy to know that she was talking about Candy. "That's right."

"Meet me in the back booth at Hal and Rose's in fifteen minutes. Say you have to deliver some cookies or something. I've got big news!"

Hannah frowned as the line went dead. Andrea was p.r.o.ne to play drama queen, but if she'd managed to find Candy's mother, Hannah would be the first to applaud her performance.

"Is something wrong?" Lisa asked, noticing Hannah's frown.

"Just another emergency cookie order. I have to run out with three dozen, but I'll be back before we open. Will you bag them up for me, Candy?"

"Sure." Candy grabbed one of their distinctive bags, snapped it open, and slipped on a food service glove. "What kind do you want?"

"Anything we can spare. You must have heard that old saying: "Baggers can't be choosers."

"I love these cookies! What do you call them again?" Andrea rooted around in the bag to find a sibling to the three she'd just eaten.

"Fudge-Aroons. Are you going to tell me, or not?"

"I'm getting to it." Andrea glanced around, but no one was paying the slightest attention to them. The regulars were at the counter, downing mug after mug of Rose's strong coffee, and there were faint sounds of sweeping as Hal prepared the banquet room for the day's poker game. Only one other booth was filled, and it wasn't within earshot. Cyril Murphy and Father Coultas were eating fried eggs and double orders of bacon for breakfast, something Cyril's wife and Father's housekeeper wouldn't let them have because they were supposed to watch their cholesterol.

"So you found the vet clinic?" Hannah prompted.

"Of course I did. It's in Des Moines, Iowa. I left my number with the answering service, but the vet didn't get back to me until eight last night."

"And he gave you Candy's home phone number?"

"No, he didn't have it. But he told me the name of the last vet. Candy's dad was Dr. Allen Roberts. He died last year, so Candy didn't lie about that."

"I didn't think she was lying." Hannah shook her head when Rose held up the coffee pot. Her mug was almost empty, but now that Andrea had finally started to tell her about the phone calls, she didn't want anything to interrupt her. "So Candy's last name really does start with an R R."

"That's right. I called information for her home phone number, but there was no listing for Allen Roberts. I figured that Candy's mother must have put it in her name after her husband died, so I got a list of every Roberts in Des Moines."

"Were there a lot of them?"

"I'll say! I never thought of Roberts as a common name before, but the operator gave me dozens of numbers. I started calling right away, but I had to stop when Bill came home."

"But you managed to find Candy's mother?" Hannah asked, cutting to the chase.

"Right before I called you this morning. She cried on the phone, Hannah. She's been worried sick about Candy and she was so happy to hear that she's all right."

Hannah couldn't even begin to imagine the stress Candy's mother had been under. "Did you ask her to come here so we could help work things out with Candy?"

"Yes, and she agreed. I put her on hold and called Sally at the inn to see if there were any vacancies. When Sally said there were, Deana told me she'd throw some things in a suitcase and they'd get on the road right away."