Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder

by Joanne Fluke

  “Because of his college sweatshirt,” Hannah explained, holding up another item of college apparel that had been stored under the banner. “It has a map of Wisconsin on it and it shows the location of Tara Hills State.”

  “Is that a college yearbook?” Stephanie asked, moving a bit closer so that she could peer into the box.

  “It looks like it,” Hannah told her. “When did Richard graduate from Jordan High, Stephanie?”

  Stephanie thought about that for a moment. “He was at least three years ahead of me, and I went straight from high school to college.” She glanced at the date on the cover of the yearbook. “This yearbook would have been from his freshman year.”

  “It’s kind of unusual for someone to buy a college yearbook in their first year of college, isn’t it? How about you, Hannah? Did you buy a college yearbook in your freshman year?” Andrea asked her.

  Hannah shook her head. “No, I didn’t get a yearbook until I graduated.” She turned to Stephanie. “How about you, Stephanie?”

  “Same here,” Stephanie answered. “Yearbooks were expensive, and the money I earned from working at the library went for rent and food, but it could be Robert’s yearbook.”

  “Robert and Richard went to the same college?” Andrea was clearly surprised.

  “Only for Richard’s first year,” Stephanie told her. “Check inside the cover, Hannah. I know I had people write notes on the inside covers of my senior yearbook. There could be some notes in this one and we might be able to tell who owned it from them.”

  “Good idea.” Hannah flipped to the inside of the front cover and gave a quick nod. “You’re right, Stephanie. Here’s a note to Robert and Julia. Is Julia Robert’s wife?”

  “She was. Julia’s gone now. She had a stroke when Bruce was about ten years old and never recovered.”

  “Oh, that’s sad!” Andrea said.

  “It was. Julia was the love of Robert’s life and he never married again.”

  “When did they get married?” Andrea asked her.

  “They married when Robert was in his senior year. What does the note say, Hannah?”

  “So glad you two are staying here in town,” Hannah read aloud. “I’ll be here for another year, and I’m looking forward to more starving student potluck dinners.” Hannah looked up at Stephanie. “You said you found this box on the shelves in your garage?”

  “Yes, Richard must have taken Robert’s box.”

  “Did he think it was his?” Andrea asked.

  Stephanie shrugged. “Maybe. Either that, or he took it because he wanted it and Robert wasn’t there to stop him. You girls both know that Richard took exactly what he wanted and didn’t pay attention to anyone’s objections.”

  A disgruntled expression crossed Stephanie’s face and Hannah decided to change the subject. “Why did Richard attend the same college as his older brother?”

  “I’m not sure. Perhaps he thought that Robert could help him somehow. Richard didn’t have the grades to be accepted at a university, and his only recourse was to attend a state or junior college.”

  “Did Richard bring up his grades?” Andrea asked her.

  “Yes, but just enough to be accepted at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. His mother wasn’t happy about that.”

  “Why?” Hannah asked, even though she thought she knew.

  “Unfortunately, Richard didn’t follow in his older brother’s footsteps. When Robert decided to go to Tara Hills State, he worked for a year in Wisconsin first, to get his residency. Richard skipped the residency step. If Richard had stayed in Minnesota, he could have attended a community college there with no problem. But his non-residence status followed him to Madison and his mother had to pay out-of-state tuition for the next four years.”

  “Could I see that yearbook for a minute?” Andrea asked.

  “Of course.” Hannah pushed it over to her sister.

  Andrea looked in the index at the back and flipped to a page of photos. “Here’s Robert,” she said, pointing to one photo. “He’s wearing a cap and gown, so it must be his graduation photo.” She referred to the index again and flipped to a page near the front of the yearbook. “Is Richard in this one?” she asked Stephanie.

  Stephanie moved closer to examine the class photo that Andrea showed her. “Yes, it’s a class photo and he’s right here on the second row. I wonder if he’s in any other photos.”

  “Let me check the index again,” Andrea said, flipping to the back of the yearbook. “He’s in another photo on page fifteen,” Andrea said, turning to the right page. “It says it was taken at a fraternity party.”

  “That figures,” Stephanie said with a sigh. “Richard loved to go to parties, and he did belong to a fraternity at Tara Hills. It cost a fortune to live at the frat house and he told me that his mother wasn’t happy about that. She thought he should buckle down and study to get his grades up.”

  “He’s with a girl in this photo,” Andrea told them. “They’re dancing and the way she’s hanging on to him looks as if she had one too many. Do you recognize her, Stephanie?”

  Stephanie shook her head. “No, she looks a little like Julia from the back, but Julia didn’t usually go to parties and she didn’t drink. When Richard and I drove to Wisconsin to visit them, we always brought wine because Julia didn’t have any alcohol in their apartment. Neither one of them drank. We would always offer to pour glasses for them and they would always turn it down. When Robert and Julia got married, they had a toast with champagne at their reception. Robert had a sip right after they clinked glasses and so did Julia, but her glass was filled with ginger ale.”

  “Was Julia allergic to alcohol?” Andrea asked.

  “I’m not sure. All I know is that I never saw her take a drink.”

  “Could I keep this yearbook so that I could go over it again?” Hannah asked Stephanie.

  “Of course, but I want to return it to Robert while he’s still in town.”

  “How long is Robert staying in Lake Eden?” Andrea asked her.

  “I’m not sure. That all depends on whether Robert can persuade the judge to release Bruce. I’m just grateful that Robert got here. When he told me he was on the road, I wasn’t sure if I should tell him about Richard or not.”

  “Because he might get into an accident, or be too upset to drive?” Hannah asked.

  “Yes, then Robert told me that he’d pulled into a truck stop and he was sitting in the restaurant, drinking coffee.”

  “Do you know which truck stop that was?” Hannah asked the natural follow-up question.

  “I asked him that, and Robert said he didn’t know the name, but it was close to the Minneapolis airport. He told me that the mechanic on duty was checking out his car or whatever he was driving because he thought there was something wrong with it.”

  “Robert has more than one car?” Andrea asked.

  “He has a small sedan and a camper. I’m not sure which one he was driving. When he came to see me, he was driving Bruce’s car.”

  “Did Robert say anything about the truck stop?” Hannah asked, bringing Stephanie back to the information she needed.

  Stephanie shook her head. “No, but it was close to the freeway. I could hear cars and trucks driving in and out, but that’s all I know about . . .” Stephanie stopped talking and gave a little laugh. “I do know something else about that truck stop. There was a restaurant attached, and Robert thanked the waitress when she poured more coffee for him. Her name was Mitzi.”

  Hannah looked over at Andrea and was pleased to see that her sister was making a note in her murder book.

  “Do you know if Robert drove on to Lake Eden that night?” Hannah asked.

  “He mentioned something about being lucky because there was a motel right next to the truck stop and the vacancy light was flashing. I told him I thought he should stay over, that I was fine and he shouldn’t worry about me. He said he’d think about that if they couldn’t fix his mechanical problem.”

  �
��Did he stay over?” Andrea asked.

  “No, he said they fixed the problem and he got here late that night. He wanted to see Bruce as soon as possible.”

  “Robert sounds like a good father,” Andrea commented.

  “He is! He was a bit concerned about Bruce moving away to go to college in Lake Eden, but Richard promised that he’d look out for Bruce.”

  “Your husband was good to Bruce, wasn’t he?” Andrea followed up.

  Stephanie hesitated a bit before she answered. “Yes, in a way. But he was too good, in my opinion. Every time Bruce got into trouble, Richard would make excuses for him and manage to get the charges dropped. Bruce knew that, and he took full advantage of it. Richard and I used to fight about that. I told Richard that Bruce would never be a responsible adult if there were no consequences for his actions.”

  “That makes a lot of sense to me,” Hannah chimed in. And then she was silent, waiting for Stephanie to go on.

  “Richard told me all about how he’d spoiled his nephew. When Bruce was born, Richard bought him a giant stuffed teddy bear and had it shipped to Robert and Julia’s tiny apartment in Wisconsin. It was a one-bedroom walk-up in a converted barracks building on campus. They barely had room to turn around, much less store the huge stuffed toy that Bruce wouldn’t be old enough to play with for a year or so. He wanted the biggest and the best for his nephew. A practical gift that Robert and Julia could actually use just wasn’t special enough for him.”

  “But didn’t he know that Robert and Julia didn’t have room for a giant stuffed toy?” Andrea asked her.

  “Of course he did, but Richard had a love affair with excess. His birthday gifts to Bruce were practically legendary.”

  “What were they?” Hannah asked, clearly intrigued.

  “For Bruce’s first birthday, Richard sent him a battery-operated convertible that looked like a sports car.”

  “For his first birthday?” Andrea looked amazed.

  “That’s right. There was no way Bruce had the coordination that was necessary to operate it. The car was absolutely darling, but it was at least a year, maybe two, before Bruce could actually ride in it. And to make matters even worse, Robert and Julia were still living in the same one-bedroom walk-up apartment. It was absolutely ridiculous!”

  “That does seem a bit . . .” Hannah hesitated, searching for the right word, “impractical,” she admitted.

  “Of course it was! Richard was nothing if not impractical when it came to giving Bruce gifts. When Bruce graduated from fourth grade, Richard bought him a Shetland pony.”

  “Robert and Julia were living on a farm at the time?” Hannah guessed.

  “Not a chance. They had managed to get a two-bedroom apartment on the ground floor, but they were still in faculty housing. Robert was working for the college during the day and he had a second job at night. They managed to save a little here and a little there but it was rough going. Robert’s dream was to go to law school and both of them were working toward that goal. Julia had her job in the registrar’s office on campus, but the college didn’t pay that well, and boarding the pony was expensive. Bruce loved that pony and somehow Robert and Julia managed the stable fees.”

  Hannah thought about the comment she wanted to make, and decided to tell Stephanie exactly what she thought. “That was very thoughtless of Richard. If he really wanted to do something like that, he could have paid for the stable fees.”

  “I agree. And I suggested that.”

  “What did he say?”

  “Richard said to mind my own business, that Bruce was his business and I should butt out.” Stephanie gave an exasperated sigh. “That was when I realized that Richard wanted to shape his brother’s son in his own image.”

  “That’s . . .” Hannah paused, again looking for the right word. “That’s frightening.”

  “I know. I thought about that and came to the conclusion that it could be because Richard was spoiled as a child and he wanted to be the one to spoil Bruce.”

  “Was Richard spoiled by his parents?” Andrea asked.

  “Partially. When Robert was born, the doctor told his mother that it was doubtful she would ever have another child. Richard was a total surprise when he came along four years later, and his parents spoiled him outrageously, and so did Robert when he got a little older. Robert was always very protective of his little brother, and he even did Richard’s homework for him if Richard had something else to do!”

  “Did that go on all through high school?” Hannah asked.

  “Yes, Robert is only four years older, but when Mr. Bascomb had a massive heart attack and died while Robert was still at Jordan High, everything became very complicated. Mrs. Bascomb was devastated and it took her almost a year to recover from the loss of her husband. And during that time, Robert took over his father’s role.”

  Hannah thought about that for a moment. “And Richard was trying to do the very same thing for Bruce?”

  “That’s right. I’m glad you understand, Hannah. Richard and Robert had a father-son relationship. And Richard wanted to have that same relationship with Bruce. I can’t help thinking that part of this could be because Richard and I didn’t have children. And that made me grateful we were childless.”

  “Why?” Hannah asked, even though she thought she already knew.

  “It’s simple. If we’d had a son, Richard might have spoiled him the way he spoiled Bruce!”

  APPLE SHORTBREAD BAR COOKIES

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

  Crust Ingredients:

  3 cups flour (no need to sift)

  1 and ½ cups salted butter (3 sticks, ¾ pound), softened to room temperature

  ¾ cup powdered (confectioners’) sugar (don’t sift unless it’s got big lumps)

  Filling Ingredients:

  1 can (21 ounces) apple pie filling

  Prepare your baking pan by spraying a 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray.

  Hannah’s 1st Note: You can do this recipe in a blender, or a food processor, but you’ll have to use cold butter cut into chunks instead of softened butter. Lisa and I use our stand mixer at The Cookie Jar.

  Place the flour in the bowl of an electric mixer.

  Add the salted butter and the powdered sugar.

  Mix well.

  Spread HALF of this mixture (approximately 3½ cups) into your prepared 9-inch by 13-inch pan. (That’s a standard-size rectangular cake pan.) You will reserve the other HALF of this mixture for a topping.

  Bake at 350 degrees F. for 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven. DON’T TURN OFF THE OVEN!

  Let the crust cool for 5 minutes.

  Take a look at the pie filling. If there are large pieces of apple, chop them into smaller pieces, the object here is to get little pieces of apple into each Apple Shortbread Bar Cookie.

  Spread the pie filling over the top of the crust you’ve just baked. Then sprinkle it with the other half of the crust mixture you reserved and gently press it down with a metal spatula. Return the pan to the oven.

  And bake it for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the top is lightly golden.

  Remove the pan to a wire rack.

  Cool thoroughly and then cut into brownie-size bars. If you like, sprinkle the tops with a little powdered sugar.

  Arrange your Apple Shortbread Bar Cookies on a pretty platter.

  Serve these Apple Shortbread Bar Cookies with strong, hot coffee or icy-cold glasses of milk.

  These Apple Shortbread Bar Cookies travel well and will hold up beautifully if you put several in little sealable plastic snack bags and include them with school lunches. Be sure to include an extra snack bag of cookies for your child’s best school friend.

  Yield: 3 to 4 dozen brownie-size pieces of buttery delight.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  “That vegetable salad you made was a huge hit, Hannah,” Michelle told her as they carried the dinner plates they’d cleared from the table to p
ut them in the dishwasher.

  “I didn’t make it,” Hannah replied, smiling at Andrea. “Andrea did it all by herself. And she helped me make the Peeps Easter Cupcakes we’re having for dessert.”

  Michelle looked surprised as she turned to Andrea. “You’re learning to cook?” she asked.

  “Yes, Hannah’s teaching me.” Andrea looked very proud of herself. “All she does is stop me if I’m about to do something wrong.”

  “Like put in the eggs without cracking them open first?” Michelle asked her.

  Andrea gave an exasperated sigh. “Nobody’s ever going to let me forget that, are they?”

  Hannah reached out to give her sister a little hug. “I told you before, Andrea. We all make mistakes and hearing about someone else’s goofs makes us feel good.”

  “Well, all right. At least those eggs were good for something!”

  “It’s better than the time I made cookies for Mother and forgot the sugar,” Michelle told her.

  “You did?” Andrea began to smile again.

  “Yes, it’s a good thing I decided to try one before Mother came home. That gave me time to sweep them all in the garbage, carry it out, and clean up the kitchen.”

  “So she never knew?” Andrea asked.

  “Oh, she knew, all right! Mother smelled the chocolate and asked me what I’d made. And since I never lied to Mother, I had to tell her.”

  “Can I carry something to the table for you?” Mike asked, appearing in the kitchen doorway.

  The three sisters exchanged glances and then they laughed. They knew exactly why Mike had come into the kitchen.

  “Did I say something funny?” he asked.

  “No,” Hannah told him, “but you can go tell Lonnie and Norman to sit down at the table and we’ll bring in coffee and dessert in a minute or two.”

  “Will do,” Mike said, hesitating for a moment. “Would you mind if we don’t talk about the murder case tonight?”

  “I can leave now if you don’t want to talk in front of me,” Andrea offered. “Bill will be home from his meeting in an hour and I have to leave before that, anyway.”