Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder

by Joanne Fluke

As Hannah punched down the dough, which had risen beautifully, she wondered if she had missed something. The only people she’d interviewed, so far, were Andrea, Stephanie Bascomb, Grandma Knudson, and Claire. She’d thought about the murder a lot and come up with plenty of suspects, but she had the distressing feeling that somehow, somewhere, she was missing something important.

  Hannah cut the dough into four parts. Then she used the method her great-grandmother Elsa had taught her to shape dinner rolls. She squeezed some of the dough up between her thumb and forefinger so that it emerged like a small balloon with a nicely rounded top. She broke it off at the bottom and placed it in a baking pan she’d prepared. She proceeded to do this with the rest of the dough, filling the two pans.

  She was smiling as she covered the two cake pans with clean kitchen towels and set them on the counter to rise. Then she returned to the kitchen table and rewarded herself with a fresh, hot cup of coffee.

  When her Hot Cross Buns had doubled in size, Hannah preheated Norman’s oven to 350 degrees. After it had come up to temperature, she took the dish towels off the pans and slid one into the upper oven and the other into the lower oven. They would have to bake for thirty minutes so that the tops would be nice and golden brown.

  Hannah felt a sense of real accomplishment as she poured herself a fresh cup of coffee and sat down to relax. When the stove timer rang, she would remove her Hot Cross Buns from the oven, let them cool a bit, and decorate the tops with crisscross lines of powdered sugar icing.

  While the buns were baking, Hannah took out her murder book and paged through it. She still had the uneasy feeling that she was missing something. There was something wrong and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t imagine what it could be.

  Rather than drive herself crazy with useless speculation, Hannah began to write down the questions she wanted to ask her suspects. She was just working on the questions she would ask Bruce and his father, Robert Bascomb, when Norman came into the kitchen.

  “Hannah!” he greeted her, obviously surprised to see her up so early. “I thought you were going to sleep in this morning.”

  “I did sleep in. I slept on your kitchen couch for an hour and a half.”

  “Good heavens! What time did you get out of bed?”

  “Early,” Hannah said, leaving it at that. “I wanted to start the Hot Cross Buns I’m making for breakfast, and they needed to rise.”

  “I was going to make breakfast and then wake you up.” Norman sounded a bit disappointed. “I like to cook, too.”

  Hannah realized that Norman had wanted to cook and she quickly switched gears. “All I made are Hot Cross Buns, Norman. What were you thinking of making for breakfast?”

  “Boursin omelet.”

  “With that marvelous cheese I love?”

  “That’s right. I chopped up some shallots and I thought I’d make both of us three-egg omelets.”

  “Perfect!” Hannah said quickly, smiling at him. “I’d love that, Norman. I haven’t had an omelet in a long time and it sounds great! I don’t think I’ve ever had one with Boursin cheese and shallots inside.”

  “I had one in a French restaurant once in Paris,” Norman told her. “Have you ever been to Paris, Hannah?”

  Hannah shook her head. “Never. My parents took us across the border to Canada once, and Dad and I climbed a little ways up Mt. McKay, but that’s the only time I’ve been out of the country except for . . .” She stopped, not wanting to mention the cruise to Mexico she’d taken on her honeymoon with Ross.

  “Mexico with Ross, right?”

  “Right. But it was a cruise, and you’re really not in a port long enough to do much sightseeing.”

  “We’ll go to Paris, I promise you,” Norman said, smiling again. “Would you like that, Hannah?”

  “I’d love it!” Hannah said immediately, and she was rewarded by the smile that appeared on Norman’s face.

  Is Norman going to mention that if she marries him, they’ll go to Paris on their honeymoon? the suspicious part of Hannah’s mind asked.

  Of course not. Norman’s too smart to do that, the rational part of Hannah’s mind answered.

  Okay, but does Hannah know that?

  Of course she does! You never give Hannah enough credit. She’d never knowingly hurt Norman’s feelings.

  Hannah ignored the internal dialogue and thought about Norman’s omelets. “Shall I get out the eggs for you?” she asked him. “I read somewhere that omelets are better if you bring all the ingredients up to room temperature before you make them.”

  “Really?” Norman looked surprised. “I’ve never done it that way. Let’s try it and see.”

  Hannah hurried to the refrigerator to get out the eggs and the cheese. “Where are the shallots, Norman?”

  “On the second shelf in a small plastic container. I chopped them last night after you went up to bed.” He turned to look at the ovens. “Those Hot Cross Buns are smelling really good, Hannah.”

  “I hope they’re good. I’ve never made them before.” Hannah paused on her way back to the counter to peer in the window in the upper oven. “They’re browning nicely.” She looked at the timer. “Only five minutes to go before I can take them out.”

  “And then you frost them?”

  “Yes, but only after they cool for ten to fifteen minutes. If I frosted them right away, all the frosting would slide off and pool in the bottom of the baking pan.”

  “I’ll wait to start the omelets until you take them out of the oven. Then you’ll have time to eat yours before you have to frost the buns.”

  Hannah opened her mouth to say that she could frost the buns any time after their initial cooling, but she changed her mind. Norman was doing his best to plan their meal and she appreciated that. “Good idea,” she said, giving him a smile.

  “Were you working on your murder book?” Norman asked, gesturing toward the steno pad on the kitchen table.

  “Yes, I wrote down the questions I wanted to ask Earl about the car footprint.”

  “If you want, we can stop by there on our way to town,” Norman offered.

  “That’s fine with me. If they turn out all right, we can take your mother and Earl some Hot Cross Buns.”

  Norman looked amused. “Have you ever had anything that didn’t turn out all right?” he asked her.

  “Oh, yes. Lots of things. There was the tuna casserole I made without realizing I didn’t have any cream of mushroom, cream of celery, or cream of chicken soup.”

  “So . . . what did you do?”

  “It was too late to go to the store. It was closed. But I did find a can of cream of tomato soup in the pantry and I used that.”

  Norman looked dubious. “How did that turn out?”

  “It was so bad, my father had to drive out to the Corner Tavern to pick up hamburgers and fries for dinner.”

  Norman laughed. “I’ll bet you never did that again!”

  “No, I certainly didn’t! As a matter of fact, I never made tuna casserole again. I had some colossal failures, but I had some wonderful successes, too.”

  “The stove timer’s about to ring, Hannah.”

  “How do you know?”

  “It gives a little click a minute before the time’s up. I noticed that one day when I was cooking in the kitchen.”

  “Good to know,” Hannah told him, standing up and walking toward the oven. She stood there for a split second and then the stove timer rang. “You’re right,” she said.

  “Of course I am. Do you want me to make the omelets now, Hannah?”

  “Yes!” Hannah removed the pan of buns from the upper oven and carried it over to one of the wire racks she’d set out on the counter. “I’ve been hungry ever since you told me that you were going to use Boursin cheese.”

  “And I’ve been hungry ever since you said your Hot Cross Buns had raisins in them,” Norman told her. “Get the second pan, Hannah, and then I’ll start our omelets. This is going to be a real feast!”

  A
s Hannah mixed up the Simple Powdered Sugar Frosting, Norman got two copper pans out of the drawer under the stovetop. He set one on one burner, one on another, and proceeded to mix up the eggs, cream, and seasoning mixture. When the copper pans were the proper temperature, he poured the egg mixture in the bottom of each pan and placed half of the wheel of Boursin he’d cut into each pan. “Did you cut one for each pan?” she asked him.

  “That’s right. Now all I have to do is sprinkle on the shallots and when the omelet is cooked on the bottom, flip half of it over to cover the cheese.”

  “It smells really good already,” Hannah commented, hurrying to the kitchen counter and finishing her powdered sugar frosting. “All I have to do is put some of this in a pastry bag and make crisscross lines on the buns.”

  “And that’s why they’re called Hot Cross Buns?”

  “That’s right. They were an Easter treat for years. I found an old recipe and decided to make them.”

  “I can’t wait to taste them,” Norman said.

  “And I can’t wait to taste your omelet. We’re even, Norman. Even though we didn’t plan to do it, we made breakfast together.”

  Norman smiled as he lifted one omelet with a heat-resistant spatula and peered under it. “I think these are ready, Hannah.”

  “Good! It’s like Mike always says he is when we invite him for dinner. I’m starving!”

  Norman tipped one omelet out on a plate and carried it to the table. “Go ahead and start, Hannah. I’ll be right there with my omelet.”

  Even though she knew it was still much too hot, Hannah cut off a small piece of her omelet. She blew on it in an attempt to cool it and then she popped it into her mouth. “Wonderful!” she said, taking a huge swallow of orange juice to cool her mouth. “I love these omelets, Norman!”

  “So do I. I’ve been making them every weekend for a couple of months to perfect them.”

  “But you’ve been eating them, too, even if they’re not perfect, haven’t you?”

  “Of course I have. They still taste good, even if they brown a little too much on the outside.”

  Hannah walked over to the counter and brought back Norman’s butter crock. He always had wonderfully soft, salted butter, and one of her pet peeves was the iced butter in restaurants. “The buns aren’t cool yet, but I’m going to bring us a couple so we can taste them. They should go really well with these omelets.”

  “They’re great, Hannah!” Norman commented as he bit into one of the buns.

  “They’re even better with butter,” Hannah told him, slathering more butter on hers.

  “Will you have enough to take Mother and Earl some buns?” Norman asked.

  “Yes, no problem. This batch made thirty-two Hot Cross Buns.”

  “I don’t know, Hannah,” Norman said, getting up from his chair and breaking off two more buns for himself. “These are so good, I could eat a whole pan. And now I’m sounding like Mike!”

  HOT CROSS BUNS

  DO NOT preheat oven yet—these rolls have to rise before baking.

  Ingredients for Dough:

  ½ cup lukewarm water

  ½ cup lukewarm milk

  2 packages active dry yeast

  ½ cup plus 2 teaspoons white (granulated) sugar

  ¾ cup mashed potatoes (I used the instant mashed) at room temperature

  1 and ¼ teaspoons salt

  2 large eggs, slightly beaten (just whip them up in a glass with a fork)

  1 cup raisins

  1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg (freshly ground is best, of course)

  ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom (if you don’t have it, substitute cinnamon)

  4 cups all-purpose flour (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)

  Enough softened butter to brush the tops of the rolls after they’re baked

  Ingredients for Frosting:

  ¼ cup (½ stick, 2 ounces) salted butter

  ¼ cup milk

  2 cups powdered (confectioners’) sugar

  1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  Spray 2 cookie sheets or the inside of two 9-inch by 13-inch cake pans with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray.

  Place the half-cup of lukewarm water and the half-cup of lukewarm milk in the bowl.

  Add the 2 packets of active dry yeast.

  Add 2 teaspoons of the white sugar and stir them together until everything is dissolved.

  Add the remaining half-cup of white sugar and stir well.

  Measure out the ¾ cup of mashed potatoes and stir them in until everything is blended.

  Add the salt and stir that in.

  If you haven’t done so already, crack the eggs in a glass or small bowl and whip them up a bit with a fork from your silverware drawer.

  Add the eggs to your bowl and stir them in.

  Sprinkle in the raisins and stir them in.

  Sprinkle in the cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom and stir until the ingredients are well combined.

  Stir in the flour, one cup at a time, making sure it’s incorporated before adding the next cup.

  Give the dough a final stir and turn it out onto a floured breadboard or onto sheets of wax paper that you’ve flattened and put out on your kitchen counter.

  Knead the dough until it’s smooth.

  Hannah’s 1st Note: To knead rolls or bread dough, simply flour your hands and fold the dough in to the center. Then punch it down with your impeccably clean palms, flip it over and fold it in again. Do this until the dough is smooth and pliable.

  Gather up the dough into a big ball and place it in a well-greased or well-buttered bowl. (You can also spread the inside of the bowl with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray.)

  Cover the bowl with a clean dishtowel and set the bowl in a draft-free place to rise. You will let it rise until it doubles in size and that will take about one and a half hours.

  When your dough has doubled in size, punch it down and divide it in half.

  Using your impeccably clean hands, shape each half into 16 buns and place the buns on your prepared cookie sheets or in your prepared cake pans.

  Hannah’s 2nd Note: Each cookie sheet or cake pan should contain 16 buns arranged about 2 inches apart.

  Let the buns rise until doubled in size and then preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

  When your oven is up to temperature, bake your pans or cookie sheets of rolls for about 30 minutes or until they are golden brown on top.

  Cool your buns for about 5 minutes, which will give you time to make the frosting.

  You will frost your Hot Cross Buns while the rolls are still warm.

  Simple Powdered Sugar Frosting recipe follows:

  SIMPLE POWDERED SUGAR FROSTING

  Ingredients:

  ¼ cup salted butter (½ stick, 2 ounces)

  ¼ cup milk

  2 pounds powdered sugar (no need to sift unless it has big lumps)

  1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  Hannah’s 1st Note: You can make this frosting with any liquid in place of the milk. I’ve done it with orange juice, pineapple juice, and apple juice. If you choose to use a juice that’s sweet, your frosting will be sweeter.

  Hannah’s 2nd Note: You can also replace the vanilla extract with any other flavor of extract. I’ve used coconut, raspberry, strawberry, and rum extracts.

  To Make the Frosting:

  Heat the salted butter and the milk together in a saucepan over MEDIUM heat. Alternatively, heat the butter and milk together in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave. Do this on HIGH for 30 seconds.

  Place the powdered sugar in a medium-size bowl.

  Remove a half-cup of the powdered sugar from the bowl and set it aside to use it, if necessary, to create the consistency of frosting that you desire.

  Pour the heated butter and milk mixture over the powdered sugar in the bowl.

  Add the vanilla extract to the bowl.

  Use your favorite mixing spoon and stir until the mixture is smooth.

 
; Let the frosting cool a bit and check it for consistency. If it’s too thick, add a bit more milk or fruit juice. If it’s too thin, add some of the powdered sugar you reserved.

  Beat the frosting thoroughly and use it to make a cross on your Hot Cross Buns.

  Hannah’s 3rd Note: While my frosting is still warm, I pour it into a container with a nozzle so that I can drizzle the frosting over the top of the still-warm rolls. I use a bottle with a screw-on nozzle like the ones Rose uses for ketchup and mustard at Hal & Rose’s Café in Lake Eden. Lisa says she uses a pastry bag or her cupcake injector to make the cross on each Hot Cross Bun.

  Hannah’s 4th Note: If you have any frosting left over, place it in a small container, cover it securely with a double layer of plastic wrap, and keep it in your refrigerator. Then all you have to do to use it is to reheat it for a few seconds in the microwave.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “Hi, guys!” Earl greeted them at the door. Then he noticed the platter that Hannah was carrying, and his smile grew wider. “I have the feeling that I’m going to like whatever that is!”

  “I hope so,” Hannah said, handing it to Earl. “They’re Hot Cross Buns for Easter. They’re a tradition that I wanted to revive at The Cookie Jar.”

  “Carrie’s going to be really happy with these,” Earl said, leading the way to the kitchen. “She was just complaining about the fact she hadn’t had the time to bake something to serve with coffee.”

  “Hi, Mom,” Norman greeted his mother with a kiss on the cheek. “I’m glad we caught you home. Hannah’s got some questions that we want to ask Earl.”

  “I need coffee if I’m going to answer questions,” Earl said, motioning to Carrie to pour coffee for all of them. “Then I need one of Hannah’s Hot Cross Buns. And when I finish that, I’ll be glad to answer any questions you have, Hannah.”

  “If you three don’t mind, I’ve got to run upstairs to take a quick shower and get dressed,” Carrie told them. “I’ve got an early meeting of my quilting club. We’re working on finishing a quilt for our Easter party and we want to have it ready for the lucky winner.”