routine A (request_uri line works fine)
---------
sub handler {
    my $r = shift;
    my $request_uri = param('request_uri') ||
        ($r->prev ? $r->prev->uri : cookie('request_uri'));
    my ($ver_result, $ver_msg) = $authTool->verify($r->prev);


routine B
---------
# AuthTools::verify()
# Call as:
# ($result,$msg) = $authTool->verify($r)
sub verify {
    my($self, $r) = @_;
    my %cookies = CGI::Cookie->parse($r->header_in('Cookie'));
...