Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder

by Joanne Fluke

  “That’s right. I’d also like to know if he ever told her about someone from his past that he almost married.”

  Andrea nodded and made a note of what Hannah had said. “What else?” she asked.

  “I’d like to know if anyone ran against him in his bid for mayor.”

  “I know that. Bill said ever since Mayor Bascomb took office he’s always run for re-election unopposed.”

  “That’s what I thought, but let’s ask Stephanie. She may know if someone was planning, or even thinking, about running against him that the mayor discouraged.”

  “Okay.” Andrea made another note. “I’ve got all that, Hannah.”

  “Can you think of anything else?” Hannah asked her.

  “Maybe.” Andrea gave a little sigh. “Maybe I shouldn’t say this, but there were people Mayor Bascomb protected, people who did things like driving too fast or driving drunk, or even committing a minor crime. Bill said that the mayor used to protect his friends from charges like that.”

  “Then we need to talk to Bill about what he knows. And we need to interview Stephanie to see if she knows any of the people the mayor protected. It could be important, Andrea.”

  “Right.” Andrea made another note in Hannah’s murder book. “I’ve got it down, Hannah. Anything else?”

  “Yes, but it’s sensitive.”

  “What is it?”

  “I’d like Stephanie to name all the women she suspects of . . .” Hannah stopped speaking and searched for an appropriate word, “that she suspects of having an affair with the mayor.”

  Andrea gave another little laugh. “That’s a good one! You might already know this, Hannah, but maybe you’d better start a second murder book!”

  COCKTAIL QUICHE

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

  Ingredients:

  1 package frozen Puff Pastry sheets (I used Pepperidge Farm with 2 sheets)

  ½ cup crumbled bacon (I used Hormel Real Crumbled Bacon)

  6 green onions, cleaned and chopped (you can use up to 3 inches of the stems, chopped)

  8-ounce package shredded cheddar cheese

  6 large eggs

  2 and ½ cups heavy cream

  ¼ teaspoon seasoned salt (I used Lawry’s)

  1 teaspoon seasoned pepper (I used Lawry’s)

  ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg (freshly ground is best, of course)

  Prepare your baking pans by spraying the insides of 2 muffin tins (12 cups apiece) with Pam or another nonstick baking spray.

  To Make Your Quiche:

  Open the package of frozen Puff Pastry, take out both sheets and thaw them according to package directions.

  Unfold the thawed Puff Pastry onto a lightly-floured surface.

  Sprinkle a light dusting of flour onto the top of the Puff Pastry Sheets.

  Roll out each sheet of Puff Pastry into a 10-inch by 14-inch rectangle.

  Use a sharp knife to cut each sheet of Puff Pastry into thirds vertically.

  Now cut each sheet of Puff Pastry into fourths horizontally.

  This will leave you with 24 squares of Puff Pastry, 12 from each sheet.

  Press each square of Puff Pastry into the cups in your muffin tins, leaving little “ears” sticking out on top.

  Hannah’s 1st Note: The little “ears” will extend slightly above the level of the muffin cups. This will make it a lot easier to take out your Cocktail Quiche after it’s baked.

  It’s time for the bacon! Measure out a heaping half-cup of crumbled bacon and divide it equally between all 24 muffin cups.

  Divide the chopped green onions equally between the 24 muffin cups.

  Sprinkle the shredded cheddar cheese over the green onions, distributing it between the 24 muffin cups.

  Get out a bowl with a spout for pouring. (I use my quart Pyrex measuring cup.)

  Crack the 6 eggs into the bowl you’ve chosen. Throw the empty shells away in the garbage.

  Hannah’s 2nd Note: I wrote the above direction for Andrea after the time she put the eggs, shells and all, into her mixing bowl. I’m sure you know this, but just in case....

  Whip the eggs up with a wire whisk. (You can also do this in the bowl of an electric mixer, if you wish.)

  Add the 2 and ½ cups of heavy cream to the eggs and whisk it in.

  Whisk in the seasoned salt, the seasoned pepper, and nutmeg.

  Pour the egg mixture over the 24 muffin cups, distributing it as evenly as you can.

  Let your pans of Cocktail Quiche sit on the counter for 5 minutes so the egg mixture can soak in.

  Bake your Cocktail Quiche at 350 degrees F. for 25 – 28 minutes or until the mixture has “set”.

  Remove your Cocktail Quiche to cold stovetop burners or wire racks and let them cool in the muffin cups for 10 to 15 minutes.

  Yield: 12 servings. (Believe me, your guests won’t be able to limit themselves to only one piece!)

  To Serve: Arrange your individual quiches on a pretty platter and either pass them around or let your guests help themselves. They’re good as a nice appetizer before a meal, or in the afternoon with tea or with drinks.

  Chapter Eleven

  “There she is,” Andrea said when they heard the doorbell ring.

  “Are you ready?” Hannah asked her.

  “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. Thanks for giving me something to do, Hannah. I was a little nervous when I heard that Stephanie wanted to see us.”

  “Because you thought she might suspect you of killing her husband?”

  “Yes, I was really angry when I confronted him yesterday afternoon. I know Stephanie didn’t blame me for slapping him and knocking him out of his chair, but I thought she might think about it later and realize that I’m the chief suspect. Do you want your murder book back now, Hannah?”

  “Not if you’ll take notes for me. Do you think you can do that, Andrea?”

  “Of course I can. Do you want me to bring the Cocktail Quiche out to the garden?”

  “That would be good. Let’s go, Andrea. I think what we should do first is find out what Stephanie wants to tell us. Mother will bring her straight to the garden.”

  “Right,” Andrea agreed. “You lead the way, Hannah. I’ll bring the tray with the Cocktail Quiche appetizers.”

  Andrea followed Hannah into the penthouse garden. Delores and Stephanie were already sitting in lounge chairs near the grotto pool, drinking champagne.

  “Oh, my!” Delores said quickly. “What do you girls have for us?”

  “Cocktail Quiche,” Hannah replied, as Andrea set the platter down between the two women.

  “It looks wonderful!” Stephanie commented, smiling at both of them. “Pull up two chairs and sit with us.”

  Hannah and Andrea moved two lounge chairs over to the spot that Stephanie indicated, while Delores poured two more glasses of champagne.

  “Do you mind if I have one of your quiches now?” Stephanie asked Hannah.

  “Go right ahead,” Hannah said quickly. “I had one earlier to taste it and they turned out just fine.”

  Stephanie reached over to take a quiche and smiled as she took a bite. “Wonderful!” she commented. “Thank you, girls, for making these. They’re absolutely delicious.”

  “Hannah made them,” Andrea told her. “I didn’t do anything except put them on the platter.”

  “It’s a perfect platter for them,” Stephanie told her. “That lovely blue color sets off these wonderful quiches perfectly.”

  “Andrea gave me that platter for Christmas,” Delores told her. “She found it at the mall and delft blue is my very favorite color.”

  Stephanie smiled and turned to Andrea again. “Don’t look so nervous, dear. I wanted to see you today to tell you in person that I know you didn’t kill Richard.”

  Good heavens! Hannah’s suspicious mind exclaimed. Stephanie’s going to confess that she killed her husband!

  Don’t be silly, the rational part of Hannah’s mind retorted. Of course she
’s not going to come right out and admit it in front of three witnesses if she actually did it.

  “But . . . I don’t have an alibi and I found him!” Andrea answered, her voice shaking slightly. “How do you know that I didn’t do it?”

  “Because you couldn’t. You’re not the sort of person to kill anything, Andrea. Your mother told me how you pick spiders up with a Kleenex, take them outside, and place them on a leaf. That convinced me that there’s no way you could kill another human being, no matter how angry you were with him.”

  “But . . . I had a terrible fight with your husband in the afternoon and I slapped him,” Andrea said. “Then I went back to his office later and I found his . . . his body. That’s . . .” She turned to Hannah. “What does Mike call that?”

  “Circumstantial?” Hannah guessed.

  “Yes! There’s circumstantial evidence that makes me a suspect.”

  Stephanie nodded. “I know, but I took all that into account and I still know that you didn’t kill him.”

  “But . . . how?”

  “The fact that you brought a piece of Hannah’s new cheesecake with you when you went back to see Richard proves it to me. If you were still furious with him, you wouldn’t have brought him something nice like that.” She turned to Delores. “Do we have a copy of Doc’s medical report yet?”

  “Yes, we do. Doc just happened to leave an extra copy out on top of my desk.”

  “He just happened to do that?” Stephanie asked her.

  Delores gave a rather theatrical shrug. “He must have forgotten where he put it, I’m sure.”

  Hannah gave her mother a thumbs-up. “Is it in that envelope in your lap?”

  “Why, yes, it is.” Delores handed the manila envelope to Hannah.

  “You are investigating Richard’s murder, aren’t you, Hannah?” Stephanie asked her.

  “Yes.”

  “And you’re helping her?” Stephanie asked Andrea.

  “Yes, I am,” Andrea replied.

  “Then you’ll want to ask me some questions. Mike and Lonnie were at my house bright and early this morning to interview me.” She turned to Andrea and smiled. “Don’t think that you’re the only suspect, Andrea! I’m a suspect, too. And I’m sure I already have a page in Hannah’s suspect list.” She turned to look at Hannah. “Is that right, Hannah?”

  “Yes,” Hannah said quickly, “but the wife is always a suspect.”

  “I know. That’s what Mike and Lonnie told me. And everyone in Lake Eden knows that I didn’t approve of Richard’s peccadilloes.”

  “Peccadilloes?” Delores repeated, and she looked impressed. “Oh my, Stephanie! I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone actually use that word in conversation.”

  Stephanie was clearly pleased. “Thank you. I think it sounds so much nicer than infidelities, or affairs, or other words I wouldn’t use in polite conversation.” She turned to Hannah. “And that reminds me, Hannah. Would you like a list of Richard’s past affairs? I imagine the women involved, after he dumped them, might be suspects. And you’ll probably want to look into the possibilities of jealous husbands, or other family members.”

  Hannah and Andrea exchanged glances. She’s ahead of us, Hannah’s glance said.

  You’re right. Andrea’s return glance, followed by a slight nod, confirmed it.

  “Thank you, Stephanie,” Hannah responded quickly. “That list would be very helpful.”

  “Oh, good! I wrote it out for Mike and Lonnie and made a copy for you.” She opened her purse and took out an envelope. “It’s quite lengthy, I’m afraid. Richard was not exactly a . . .” She stopped speaking to choose the word she wanted. “He was not a particularly dedicated husband.”

  Hannah reached out to take the envelope that Stephanie handed her. “Thank you, Stephanie. This is very helpful.”

  “I hoped it would be. It wasn’t pleasant to remember each and every one.”

  “I’m sorry you had to go through that,” Hannah said sincerely. “It must have been very difficult.”

  “It was. I’m not sure anyone will believe me at this late date, but I did love Richard. And even though there were problems in our marriage, I’ll miss him dreadfully.”

  “We’ll do our very best to find out who did this,” Andrea assured her.

  Stephanie gave a little nod. “And I’ll help you all I can.” She turned back to Hannah. “I may not know everything about my husband, but are there any questions you’d like to ask me?”

  “Yes,” Hannah replied, but she noticed that Stephanie’s hands were shaking slightly. “But that can wait a bit. You’ve been through a lot today.” She motioned toward the tray of appetizers. “Let’s have another appetizer and some champagne first.”

  “Of course, dear,” Delores said immediately, giving Hannah a grateful look that told Hannah she’d also noticed how nervous Stephanie was.

  Stephanie nodded and accepted another quiche and a cocktail napkin. She bit into it, began to smile, and turned to Hannah. “They’re marvelous, Hannah.”

  “Yes, they are,” Delores agreed, taking a second bite. “These will be a huge success.”

  “Mmmm!” Andrea gave a nod of agreement. “They’re really good, Hannah. I love bacon . . . and so does Bill!”

  Hannah smiled. “Thanks! I’m so glad you like them! I’ll make them tomorrow morning and try them out on our customers.”

  “This is a great brunch item,” Stephanie declared.

  “I agree,” Delores said, reaching for her second piece.

  “And so do I!” Andrea echoed the sentiment, reaching for another as well. “They’re wonderful, Hannah.”

  Hannah waited until all three of them had finished their quiche, and then she turned to Stephanie.

  “I’d really like to hear what you know about your husband’s college years.”

  “I’m afraid I can’t be much help about that,” Stephanie said. “I didn’t know Richard then because right after I graduated from Jordan High, I went up to the University of Duluth. I didn’t meet Richard again until both of us were back in Lake Eden.”

  “I wonder who’d know about his college years,” Hannah said, frowning slightly. “You don’t know, do you, Mother?”

  Delores shook her head. “The only thing I heard anyone mention is that his mother had to pay out-of-state tuition.”

  “Thanks, Mother.” Hannah motioned to Andrea, who wrote it down. Then she turned back to Stephanie. “Most people save some things from college, things like an old college sweatshirt, their college records, any awards they won during those years, memorabilia like that. Do you know if your husband saved anything like that?”

  Stephanie thought about it for a moment and then she sighed deeply. “If he did, it would have been boxed up and stored in the garage, and that burned down years ago. I’ll look in the garage that replaced it. We had the walls lined with shelves for storage, but there’s not much there. We didn’t recover much from the old garage.”

  “Can you tell us anything about your husband’s family?” Andrea asked her.

  “They’re all gone now, except for his brother, and Robert lives in Wisconsin. Richard’s nephew lives here, but you know that already. Robert and Bruce are Richard’s only living relatives.”

  “Did Richard get along with Robert?” Hannah asked.

  “When Richard was born, he was the miracle baby! His mother didn’t think she could have any more children and Richard was a total surprise. Robert was thrilled to have a baby brother, and he loved and protected him fiercely. Then, when their father suffered a debilitating heart attack, everything changed.”

  “What happened?” Andrea asked.

  “The boys’ mother spent most of her time caring for her husband. And Robert tried his best to take his father’s place. He tried to be both father and mother to Richard.”

  “So that’s why Robert was so protective of Richard!” Delores said. “I remember because that was the summer I was Richard’s babysitter. I didn’t understand th
e family dynamics then, but I wondered why Robert tried so hard to shield Richard from anything he thought might upset him. He spent hours in the yard with Richard teaching him how to hit a ball with a bat so he would be good at playing baseball with other boys his age. He wanted Richard to be accepted, to be liked by the other boys.”

  “Did Richard tell you this, Stephanie?” Hannah asked.

  Stephanie shook her head, “No, his mother was the one who told me about it. I didn’t know Richard back then. We lived out on a farm, and we didn’t get to town very often. I barely remember Richard as a kid. And I was younger, so he wasn’t part of my crowd in high school.”

  “Was your family happy about it when you married Richard?” Andrea asked, looking up from the notes she’d taken. “Did they like him?”

  “They weren’t exactly happy when I told them that Richard and I were engaged. My father never really warmed up to Richard while we were dating, but when I told my parents that I loved Richard and I wanted to marry him, they came around. My mother treated Richard well for as long as she lived, but my father never liked him, even when Richard put up that stop sign for him. You know about that, don’t you?”

  “Tell us,” Hannah invited, even though she’d heard that the mayor had pulled strings with the highway department to get it done.

  “Our family farm is about five miles from town and when you come out of our driveway, traffic comes down a steep hill. It’s almost impossible to see the oncoming traffic, so you have to pull out blindly and hope for the best. That’s how my father had the accident that killed my mother and left him in a wheelchair.”

  “So your father doesn’t drive any longer?” Andrea asked her.

  Stephanie shook her head. “My sister still lives at home and she takes my father to doctor appointments and things like that. My father’s still angry that Richard didn’t get that stop sign up earlier.”

  “Is your sister grateful that the stop sign is there?” Andrea asked.

  “Goodness, yes! Margaret is a careful driver and she always stops at the end of our driveway, rolls down the window, and listens for traffic coming down the hill. I’m glad she does. The stop sign helped a lot, but every once in a while, drivers either don’t see, or ignore, the warning signs STOP SIGN AHEAD, and keep on coming so fast, that they can’t stop in time.”