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explode all over her sweater.
    “I think I’ll skip my coffee today,” she said. “I’ve suddenly lost my appetite for it.” She paused and looked thoughtfully at the mug. “Not everything broken is useless, huh?” She glanced at me and then turned and walked out of the store. I knew she was thinking about going and chipping all of her mugs. Chances were good she’d end up breaking them all beyond repair. I was pretty sure she’d be in blaming me for the mess in the morning.
    I picked up my mug, looked inside at the cookie, and then took a long sip.
    Ah, bliss.
    Like it had been yesterday, Death by Coffee was relatively slow. I’d served a handful of customers and we sold a couple of books, but people didn’t seem all that interested in the place. I kept telling myself that once word spread about our little slice of Heaven, people would begin flocking to the store. If all went well, we’d finally be able to afford to hire someone. If that happened, we could stay open later. Right now, we closed at five, which was really too early; but with just the two of us, it had to be done.
    Of course, Brendon Lawyer had come here before ingesting his lethal dose of peanuts. If any word of Death by Coffee was spreading through town now, it wouldn’t be the good kind.
    I slumped onto the counter and sipped at my coffee. Even the chocolaty goodness couldn’t raise my spirits.
    Vicki shouted from the bookstore and the sound of four fluffy feet hitting the hardwood followed. Trouble was being trouble again. I didn’t even bother to look to see what he’d done this time.
    Instead, I focused on Lawyer’s Insurance. The building wasn’t large, which wasn’t much of a surprise. Pine Hills didn’t have very many big buildings at all. I’d driven around before coming in to work and the biggest place I saw was the church two blocks over. It was one of those old monstrosities that could hold the entire town in case of a disaster.
    My eyes were drawn to a woman standing outside across the street. She kept looking at her watch and was pacing back and forth like she really didn’t want to be there. At first, I thought maybe she was waiting for them to open; however, as soon as the thought crossed my mind, someone walked past her and entered Lawyer’s Insurance. I decided she was waiting for someone to come out.
    And then she happened to glance toward Death by Coffee.
    I think I let out a little gasp of surprise. Some of my coffee sloshed out of my mug as I leaned forward to get a better look. Without taking my eyes off the woman, I grabbed the washcloth from beneath the counter and began wiping up my spill.
    I recognized the woman immediately. I’d only seen her once before, on the television, but I was positive it was her. Why was Heidi Lawyer waiting so impatiently outside the building where her husband had died?
    I knew there were a thousand reasons why she might be there. I mean, she could simply be waiting for her husband’s things to be brought out to her. But if she was there to pick something up, why hadn’t she gone in to get them herself? Wouldn’t she want to make sure nothing was left behind?
    A moment later the doors to Lawyer’s Insurance opened and a man stepped out. I could tell he was angry, even as far away as I was, thanks to his red face and posture. He glanced back at the doors as they closed and I caught the sound of his angry voice as he yelled something at those inside. He turned back to Heidi, put a hand on her arm, and leaned in close to speak to her. She listened to him, nodding the entire time, and then responded. Whatever she said seemed to calm him down because he smiled and they turned to head across the street.
    All at once, I realized it might be a good time to stop staring. I drained the rest of my coffee, looked longingly at the cookie inside, and then set the mug behind the counter in the hopes I’d get to it before it got cold.
    The bell above the door jingled and Heidi Lawyer walked in,