by Joanne Fluke
“I see them. I’ll take the right one. It won’t be long now, my dear. Your baby will be born very soon.”
* * *
Hannah looked up and saw the shocked expression on their faces as she closed the last notebook.
“That’s . . . all?” Delores asked her.
“Yes,” Hannah answered. “That’s all that Essie wrote.”
Chapter Twenty
Hannah’s sleep was uneasy, filled with dreams of crying babies and tear-stained notes. She opened her eyes at six in the morning, feeling tired and out of sorts. One glance out the window at the peaceful landscape below told her that the wind had abated sometime during the night and the snow stretched out like a pristine white blanket, covering her mother’s shrubs and garden statues. The sun had not yet risen, but the moon was still visible, casting a cold blue light on the tops of snowdrifts that the wind had fashioned during the course of the winter storm.
Her shower was accomplished quickly and Hannah arrived downstairs in the kitchen in record time. She put on the coffee, sneaked out a cup before the machine was through brewing, and sat down at the kitchen table to enjoy her aromatic eye-opener. Today would be a busy day. They’d decided, the previous evening, to go in a group to visit Essie at the hospital in the early afternoon. Hannah planned to bake in the morning, freezing some cookies for future trips to see Essie, and make some calls from the landline phone that the phone company had installed. Then, if there was enough time, she would run out to the condo complex and take measurements for the new refrigerator she would order with Delores, make a list of the other furniture that would be necessary for her to buy before moving in, and drive back to pick up Lisa, Michelle, and her mother. Annie would meet them at the hospital, and Hannah planned to show her the note and give her the lovely purse that Essie had made.
Five minutes later, Hannah had just finished putting Oven French Toast in her mother’s oven. She’d heard the shower start upstairs and she knew that either Michelle, her mother, or Lisa was using it. Lisa had stayed overnight and the girls were going to help her bake at The Cookie Jar this morning.
The phone rang and Hannah reached out to answer it. “Hello,” she greeted the caller. “This is Hannah.”
“Hello, Hannah,” a familiar voice said. “This is Doc Knight, calling from the hospital. I’d like you all to come out around noon. Essie had a restless night and I think she’s almost ready to regain consciousness.”
“We could come now if you need us,” Hannah offered.
“Noon will be time enough. It’ll take Essie a while to prepare herself to open her eyes. She’s still unconscious, but I’ve seen this phenomenon many times. And even if she’s groggy when she first regains consciousness, she’ll know that you’re there.”
“Do you want me to call Annie Winters?” Hannah asked.
“No, I’ll call her. She can meet you in the waiting room and I’ll call all of you in when it’s time.”
“All of us?” Hannah was surprised. They’d only been permitted to go in one by one before.
“Yes. When Essie is awake enough to talk, I know she’ll want to see all of you.”
Hannah was smiling broadly as she said her goodbyes and hung up the phone. She could hardly wait to give the girls and Delores the wonderful news. Essie was coming out of her coma and this morning their breakfast would be a real celebration!
* * *
Annie was sitting in the waiting room when they got there, and Hannah, Delores, Michelle, and Lisa greeted her warmly.
“I can hardly wait to see Essie again,” Annie told them. “I know Doc told us that Essie might be able to hear us even though she was unconscious, but it’s hard to talk to someone who doesn’t respond. I just hope she really does wake up and know who we are.”
“She will,” Hannah said. “Essie’s going to come out of it. We . . . all of us . . . have to believe that.”
Annie nodded. “You’re right, Hannah. Essie always said that positive energy could work miracles. We have to keep a positive attitude and believe that Essie will be with us again very soon.”
“You love Essie, don’t you?” Lisa said, turning to Annie.
“Yes, I do! Essie was like a mother to me. Once, a long time ago, I forgot and called her Mom.”
“What did she do?” Delores asked.
“She gave me a hug and . . .” Annie stopped to blink back tears, “. . . she said that she couldn’t love me more, even if she were my real mother.”
There was a tinkling sound and Hannah recognized her mother’s arpeggio ringtone. “Your phone, Mother,” she said, gesturing toward her mother’s purse, which was sitting on the chair next to her.
“I swear I’ll never get used to this cell phone,” Delores said, opening her purse and pulling out her phone. “Hello?” She listened for a moment and then a puzzled expression crossed her face. “It’s Andrea,” she told them. “She says Bill called her with news about the man who shot Essie.”
They all waited silently while Delores took the call, but they didn’t learn much from Delores’s end of the conversation. I see, and Oh, my, and I’m glad you told me, didn’t reveal the subject or the nature of the call.
Delores said goodbye and put her cell phone back in her purse before she turned to them. “Bill called Andrea from work,” she told them. “He said that Sheriff Grant took the shooter into the interview room again and Bill and another deputy were there as observers. Sheriff Grant asked him his name and the man still refused to give it. He’s been refusing to identify himself ever since they took him into custody. Of course they took his fingerprints, but the federal authorities haven’t gotten back to them yet.”
“So they still don’t know who he is?” Annie asked the question that was in everybody’s mind.
“No. If he’s ever committed a crime, his name will be in the register. But if he hasn’t . . .” Delores stopped speaking and sighed. “There’s more,” she said, beginning to frown, “and it’s not good news.”
Hannah leaned forward in the uncomfortable plastic waiting room chair. “Tell us, Mother. Please.”
“Sheriff Grant continued to question the man. Bill told Andrea that the sheriff is a real expert at getting people to talk, but the shooter wouldn’t budge. He just kept saying things like, I won’t tell you that, and No comment. Bill said that Sheriff Grant used every interrogative tactic in the book, but none of them worked.”
“So they still don’t know his name or why he shot Essie?” Hannah asked.
“That’s right, dear. And it’s even worse than that. Sheriff Grant tried to break the man down by telling him that he’d better pray that Essie wouldn’t die because the sentence for attempted murder would be a lot less than actual murder. And that was the first time the man spoke.”
“What did he say?” Lisa asked, clearly interested in Delores’s account of the interrogation.
“He said, She didn’t die? in this shocked voice. And Sheriff Grant said, That’s right. She’s in intensive care at the hospital. They removed the bullets and she’s recovering.”
“What did the man say to that?” Annie asked quickly.
“He just yelled No! in this really loud voice. Bill told Andrea that the man sounded outraged that he hadn’t killed Essie. And then he grabbed his chest and fell forward, face-first, on the table. Sheriff Grant told Bill to call for the paramedics while they tried to resuscitate the man. When the paramedics came, they rushed the man to the hospital, but he died on the way.”
“So they still don’t know why he did it, or even if Essie was the intended target,” Hannah said.
“That’s right, dear.”
“And we still don’t know why he yelled, I found you, Sharon! right before he pulled the trigger.”
Delores nodded. “There were three women named Sharon at the Christmas Ball. Sheriff Grant brought them in for interviews, but none of them could shed any light on the shooter’s identity or why he shot Essie.”
“It’s a mystery,” Hannah
commented, hating the idea that they might never know who the shooter was. “Essie might know. I asked her who he was earlier that night and she said he looked a little like someone she used to know years ago.”
“Then Essie is the only one who might be able to solve this mystery,” Annie said with a sigh.
Hannah was quiet for a moment and then she shook her head. “Not necessarily. A mystery is like a puzzle. You need all the pieces to complete it.” And then she drew the small beaded handbag out of her purse and handed it to Annie. “Essie left this for you. She hid it in a drawer in the hotel kitchen and I retrieved it before the storm hit us yesterday. Essie left instructions to me in a note she wrote before she left the hospital for the Christmas Ball.”
Annie looked surprised. “Do you mean . . . Essie knew something might happen to her at the ball?”
“It seems that way to me. Look at the handbag and then read the note. And see if you can put any of the puzzle pieces together for us.”
“It’s beautiful,” Annie said, and then she opened the purse and looked inside. “There’s nothing inside except a handkerchief, a comb, and a lipstick.” She closed the purse again and smiled as she turned it in her hands. “Essie put her favorite flower on the outside.” She held it up so that they could all see it. “The rhinestones in the center of the rose sparkle so much, they look almost like diamonds in the light.”
“Let me see, Annie,” Delores said, beginning to look excited as Annie handed her the purse and she examined it. “I didn’t notice this when I saw the handbag before, but there are some rhinestones that are larger than the rest. And . . . I don’t think they’re rhinestones!”
“Could they be diamonds?” Hannah guessed.
“I’m not a jeweler and I’m not completely sure, but they are larger. And they sparkle more brilliantly.”
“You don’t suppose . . .” Annie stopped speaking and gave a little gasp. “Someone left two diamonds in the charity box at the Children’s Home. And there was a note on the envelope saying that they were to be used for my college tuition! But . . . that’s not possible. Essie didn’t have the money to spend on diamonds.”
“Wait a minute,” Hannah said, her mind spinning fast as she remembered what Annie had said about the design of the flower. “Why did you say that the flower on the outside of the handbag was a rose? It looked like a hibiscus to us.”
“It is a hibiscus. But the hibiscus is called Rose of Sharon.”
“Oh!” Hannah gasped. “Essie’s real name was Sharon!”
“Essie’s story!” Michelle’s expression mirrored the same expression of shock that was on Delores’s, Lisa’s, and Hannah’s faces. “Essie’s story is true!”
“And she ended it with the notes that the mother wrote before she gave birth to her baby.” She turned to Annie. “You said that you came to the orphanage as a baby. Did they give you your name?”
“No, it was in a note from my mother. She said that she had to give me up to keep me safe, that my father had died in the line of duty, and I should never forget that I was named after him.”
“But your name is Annie,” Hannah said, beginning to frown.
“Actually, no. Annie isn’t my full name. They shortened it at the Children’s Home because there was an older boy named Anthony.”
“Your full name is Anthony?” Lisa asked.
“No,” Annie smiled. “It’s the female version of Anthony. It’s Antonia.”
“Tony!” Delores, Lisa, Michelle, and Hannah all exclaimed, almost simultaneously.
“They would have called me Toni, but there was already a boy named Tony at the Children’s Home.” Annie stopped and began to frown. “Why do all of you look so shocked?”
“Because Essie is your real mother,” Hannah told her. “She had to give you up for adoption to keep you safe from the man who shot her. He must have been her cousin, the one she worked for in New York. Her first husband, Tony, died to protect her and expose her cousin’s illegal business. We’ll give you the notebooks and you can read them for yourself. It’s all there, Annie.”
“Essie is really my mother?”
“Yes.”
The most beautiful expression that Hannah had ever seen spread across Annie’s face. It was pure joy and Hannah blinked back tears at the love she saw in Annie’s eyes.
“Ladies?” Doc Knight called out as he entered the waiting room. “Essie’s awake and she’s stable. You can go in now.”
“One at a time?” Delores asked him.
Doc Knight shook his head. “You can all go in at once. Essie’s in good spirits and eager to see all of you.”
“You first,” Hannah said, waiting until Annie had gotten to her feet. “You may need a little time alone with her.”
Annie shook her head. “She’ll want to see all of us.”
“All right, but you go in first,” Delores backed up Hannah’s decision. “We’ll be right behind you, but we’ll give you a few moments of privacy.”
Annie looked slightly nervous as she entered the intensive care unit, but she led the way to Essie’s room and went in to stand next to Essie’s bed. “We’re here, Essie,” she said, leaning down to give Essie a kiss on the cheek. “I . . . I’m so glad you’re all right! We all are! And I just want to tell you that I know what you’ve been through, and I understand that you had to protect me.”
“You know?” Essie looked surprised. “How?”
“Hannah figured it out. You don’t have to worry about your cousin any longer. He had a heart attack and died. You protected me from him all these years, but we’re together now. There’s only one thing I don’t know.”
“What is it?”
“I . . . I’m not sure what I should call you. I called you Essie for years, but I know that your real name is Sharon and my father called you Rose. What would you like me to call you?”
Essie began to smile. “How about Mom,” she suggested. “And come here and give me a hug. I love you, Annie.”
Annie bent down to hug her. “And I love you, Mom.”
Hannah brushed away a tear. Then she turned to see Delores dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. Both Lisa and Michelle were wiping away tears, and all four of them were smiling. Hannah wasn’t sure if they were tears of joy at Annie and Essie’s happy reunion, or tears of gratitude that Delores had recovered from her depression and was back in their life again. The only thing she knew for certain was that she was happy to be home in Lake Eden again, glad to be back with family and friends, and delighted that Essie and Annie’s Christmas miracle had come true.
Christmas Cake Murder Recipe Index
Cocoa-Crunch Cookies
Honey Apple Crisp
Anytime Peach Pie
Melt-in-Your-Mouth Pork Roast
Ultimate Lemon Bundt Cake
Cool Whip Lemon Frosting
Bacon and Sausage Breakfast Burritos
Cashew Butter Blossom Cookies
Chocolate Hazelnut Bon-Bons
Ultimate Butterscotch Bundt Cake
Cool Whip Butterscotch Frosting
Ultimate Christmas Bundt Cake
Cool Whip White Chocolate Frosting
Minty Dream Cookies
Baking Conversion Chart
These conversions are approximate, but they’ll work just fine for Hannah Swensen’s recipes.
VOLUME:
U.S. Metric
½ teaspoon 2 milliliters
1 teaspoon 5 milliliters
1 Tablespoon 15 milliliters
¼ cup 50 milliliters
⅓ cup 75 milliliters
½ cup 125 milliliters
¾ cup 175 milliliters
1 cup ¼ liter
WEIGHT:
U.S. Metric
1 ounce 28 grams
1 pound 454 grams
OVEN TEMPERATURE:
Degrees Fahrenheit Degrees Centigrade British (Regulo) Gas Mark
325 degrees F. 165 degrees C. 3
350 degrees F. 175 degrees C. 4
Note: Hannah’s rectangular sheet cake pan, 9 inches by 13 inches, is approximately 23 centimeters by 32.5 centimeters.
