Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder

by Joanne Fluke

  FUDGE-AROONS

  Do not preheat oven—this dough must chill before baking.

  1 cup chocolate chips (6-ounce package)

  1 cup butter (2 sticks, ½ pound)

  ½ cup brown sugar

  1 ½ cups white (granulated) sugar

  2 teaspoons vanilla extract

  ½ teaspoon salt

  1 teaspoon baking soda

  2 beaten eggs (just whip them up with a fork)

  3½ cups flour (not sifted—pack it down when you measure it)

  Put the cup of chocolate chips and the cup of butter in a 4-cup bowl and microwave on high for 2 minutes. Stir until smooth and let the mixture cool while you do the next step.

  Combine the brown sugar and white sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add the vanilla, salt, and baking soda. Mix in the two beaten eggs.

  Check the chocolate chip and butter mixture. If it’s cool enough to touch, add it to the sugar mixture and stir thoroughly.

  Add the flour in half-cup increments, stirring after each addition.

  Cover your bowl and refrigerate it. This dough must chill for at least an hour. (Overnight is fine, too.)

  The coconut (“aroon”) filling must also chill. Mix it up now.

  COCONUT FILLING:

  2 cups shredded coconut

  1 cup white (granulated) sugar

  1 cup flour (not sifted—pack it down when you measure it)

  ½ stick cold butter (¼ cup, 1/8 pound)

  2 beaten eggs

  In a food processor with the steel blade, zoop up the coconut with the sugar and flour. Pulse it several times so that the coconut flakes are no longer than a quarter inch.

  Cut the butter into four pieces and add them to your work bowl. Pulse again, until the mixture looks like coarse meal.

  Crack the eggs into a small bowl or a cup and whisk them up with a fork. Add them to your work bowl and pulse until they’re incorporated into the mixture.

  (If you don’t have a food processor, you don’t have to buy one to make this cookie—it’s just a little messier when the coconut flakes are longer. To make this cookie without a food processor, just add all of the ingredients except the butter to a small bowl and stir them up. Then melt the butter and mix it in.)

  Cover and chill the coconut mixture for at least an hour. (Overnight is fine, too.)

  When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

  Form balls of chocolate dough, 1 inch in diameter, with your hands. Place them on a greased cookie sheet, 12 to a standard-sized sheet. Press them down with the heel of your impeccably clean hand.

  Form balls of coconut just a bit smaller than the chocolate balls you made. Place them on top of each squashed chocolate ball. Now squish those down.

  Make 12 more chocolate balls, the same size as the first ones, and put them on top of the squashed coconut balls. Press them down slightly to make little “sandwiches.”

  Bake at 350 degrees F. for 9 to 11 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the sheet for at least two minutes. When they’re cool enough to remove, use a spatula to move them to a wire rack to complete cooling.

  Yield: 5 to 6 dozen yummy cookies.

  If you have any coconut mixture left over, form coconut balls, 12 to a baking sheet, put a milk chocolate chip on top of each ball and press it down slightly, and bake at 350 degrees F. for 10 minutes.

  Norman wants me to make these cookies even chewier—he says it’ll provide more revenue for his dental clinic. (He’s kidding…I think.)

  Chapter Nine

  When the phone rang at seven in the morning, Hannah grabbed it. She’d been on pins and needles all night, wondering if Andrea would be successful in her phone search for Candy’s mother.

  “The Cookie Jar. This is Hannah speaking,” she said, hoping it was her sister and not another customer with a big cookie catering order they couldn’t possibly fill before Christmas.

  “She’s there, right?”

  It was Andrea and it didn’t take sisterly telepathy to know that she was talking about Candy. “That’s right.”

  “Meet me in the back booth at Hal and Rose’s in fifteen minutes. Say you have to deliver some cookies or something. I’ve got big news!”

  Hannah frowned as the line went dead. Andrea was prone to play drama queen, but if she’d managed to find Candy’s mother, Hannah would be the first to applaud her performance.

  “Is something wrong?” Lisa asked, noticing Hannah’s frown.

  “Just another emergency cookie order. I have to run out with three dozen, but I’ll be back before we open. Will you bag them up for me, Candy?”

  “Sure.” Candy grabbed one of their distinctive bags, snapped it open, and slipped on a food service glove. “What kind do you want?”

  “Anything we can spare. You must have heard that old saying: “Baggers can’t be choosers.”

  “I love these cookies! What do you call them again?” Andrea rooted around in the bag to find a sibling to the three she’d just eaten.

  “Fudge-Aroons. Are you going to tell me, or not?”

  “I’m getting to it.” Andrea glanced around, but no one was paying the slightest attention to them. The regulars were at the counter, downing mug after mug of Rose’s strong coffee, and there were faint sounds of sweeping as Hal prepared the banquet room for the day’s poker game. Only one other booth was filled, and it wasn’t within earshot. Cyril Murphy and Father Coultas were eating fried eggs and double orders of bacon for breakfast, something Cyril’s wife and Father’s housekeeper wouldn’t let them have because they were supposed to watch their cholesterol.

  “So you found the vet clinic?” Hannah prompted.

  “Of course I did. It’s in Des Moines, Iowa. I left my number with the answering service, but the vet didn’t get back to me until eight last night.”

  “And he gave you Candy’s home phone number?”

  “No, he didn’t have it. But he told me the name of the last vet. Candy’s dad was Dr. Allen Roberts. He died last year, so Candy didn’t lie about that.”

  “I didn’t think she was lying.” Hannah shook her head when Rose held up the coffee pot. Her mug was almost empty, but now that Andrea had finally started to tell her about the phone calls, she didn’t want anything to interrupt her. “So Candy’s last name really does start with an R.”

  “That’s right. I called information for her home phone number, but there was no listing for Allen Roberts. I figured that Candy’s mother must have put it in her name after her husband died, so I got a list of every Roberts in Des Moines.”

  “Were there a lot of them?”

  “I’ll say! I never thought of Roberts as a common name before, but the operator gave me dozens of numbers. I started calling right away, but I had to stop when Bill came home.”

  “But you managed to find Candy’s mother?” Hannah asked, cutting to the chase.

  “Right before I called you this morning. She cried on the phone, Hannah. She’s been worried sick about Candy and she was so happy to hear that she’s all right.”

  Hannah couldn’t even begin to imagine the stress Candy’s mother had been under. “Did you ask her to come here so we could help work things out with Candy?”

  “Yes, and she agreed. I put her on hold and called Sally at the inn to see if there were any vacancies. When Sally said there were, Deana told me she’d throw some things in a suitcase and they’d get on the road right away.”

  “They’d get on the road?” Hannah picked up on the plural.

  “The three of them. Deana is Candy’s mother. I told you that already. And then there’s Deana’s new husband, Larry. And his daughter, Allison.”

  Hannah looked thoughtful. “When did Candy’s mother get married again?”

  “The day before Candy ran away. And I know what you’re thinking, Hannah. I’m pretty sure that has a lot to do with it, too.”

  Hannah sighed, her heart going out to the teenager whose life had changed so drastically i
n the past year. “A death in the family, a new stepdad, and a new stepsister. That’s bound to upset anybody. Did Candy leave a note?”

  “Yes, and Deana’s bringing it with her. She said she cries every time she reads it.”

  Mommy,

  I love you so much, and I just want you to be happy. I know you love Larry and he makes you laugh the way Dad used to do. I’m really glad you married him. He’s been good about not trying to take Dad’s place and I know he doesn’t mind it if I call him Larry instead of Dad. If it was just you and Larry, I think we’d be okay. But it isn’t.

  I can’t compete with Allison. Larry says she’s perfect and she’s won all those awards. He told me that she’s beautiful, and she sings better than anyone on television, and she makes the honor roll all the time. She’s totally different than I am. And Larry is going to compare me to her even if he tries not to.

  It’s not going to work, Mom. I’m never going to be able to sing, and play the flute, and make the honor roll every time. That’s why I have to leave. Allison is going to hate me because I’m not like her. And then we’ll fight and you’ll stick up for me. That’s going to cause trouble between you and Larry, and I don’t want you to have to choose between us.

  Don’t worry about me. I’ll find a job and be okay. I look older than I am and I’m not afraid of hard work. When Allison graduates and goes off to college, I’ll come back for a visit. And every once in a while, I’ll write to you to let you know that I’m all right.

  Please don’t try to find me, Mom. It’ll ruin everything.

  I love you, Candy

  Hannah looked up to find three people staring at her over the coffee table in what Sally had named The Sunflower Suite by virtue of the pattern in the living room wallpaper. The three pairs of concerned eyes belonged to Deana, Larry, and Allison.

  “It’s my fault,” Larry said, frowning. He was an attractive man with glasses and a neat little beard. “I wanted her to like Allison and I guess I went overboard when it came to describing her.”

  The woman who looked like an older version of Candy shook her head. “It’s more my fault than yours. I should have realized that Candy would be upset about sharing with another teenager her age. It’s a real adjustment. From the time she was a little girl, she’s always had all my attention.”

  Hannah glanced at Allison, who sat with downcast eyes. She was nice looking, a bit overweight, but well dressed in designer sportswear. She wasn’t the beautiful girl that Candy had written about in her note, and Hannah was willing to bet the farm that she wasn’t a great singer or an academic genius either.

  “What do you think about this whole thing, Allison?”

  “I wish she hadn’t run away,” Allison said, and Hannah could hear the hurt in her voice. “Dad always makes me out to be better than I am. That’s because he loves me and he can’t see my faults. But I’m a real person, and Candy would have seen that if she’d stuck around long enough to meet me. We could have been friends if she’d given me a chance.”

  That was what Hannah was waiting to hear and she jumped in with both feet. “I’m going to give you the chance.”

  “How are you going to do that?”

  “You’re going to meet Candy in a neutral place and see if you can get along.”

  “That won’t work,” Allison shook her head. “She’s already decided she doesn’t want anything to do with me.”

  Hannah smiled as her plan crystalized. The idea had begun to take form when Allison had said the two girls had never met. “Candy won’t know who you are. You’ve never met, right?”

  “That’s right. She ran away the day before I got to Des Moines.”

  “Has she ever seen a picture of you?”

  “I don’t think so. And if she has, it’s an old one. I didn’t like my school pictures this year, and they were even worse last year. When I got them, I tore them up and didn’t give them out to anybody, not even Dad.”

  “Perfect.” Hannah turned to Larry. Can you stay over until Saturday morning?”

  “Of course we can. We’ll stay as long as it takes to convince Candy to come back to Des Moines with us.”

  “I want to see my daughter,” Deana said, and Hannah could tell she was on the verge of tears.

  “I know you do, but it’s not going to work if you just walk in on her. She might bolt and then none of us would ever find her again. I’ve got a plan, but you’ll have to be a little patient while I arrange some things.”

  “How long do I have to be patient?”

  “Twenty-four hours. Tomorrow night is Sally’s big Christmas party. She has one every year. Everybody who’s staying at the inn is invited, and so are a lot of locals from Lake Eden. I’m bringing Candy.” Hannah leaned forward and lowered her voice. “Now here’s what I think we should do…”

  Candy loved to shop and she couldn’t seem to stop smiling. They’d gone out the front door of The Cookie Jar and into the next building over. There were party dresses on the mannequins in the window, and Hannah had said they were going to buy something for her to wear to the party tomorrow night.

  Mom would love this place! Candy thought, looking around at the thick carpet, the soft lighting, and the closets filled with clothing. There were no racks crowded together and stuffed with clothes that were half off their hangers. Everything was in its own closet, and each closet was marked with a little gold number that told you the size. And instead of just going through the closets by yourself, you told the owner what you needed and asked her to help you choose it.

  There were chairs in a conversational grouping in the center of the room, and Candy supposed they were for husbands or friends who wanted to wait while you tried on something and then walked out to model it. Candy was sitting in a pink satin chair while Hannah sat across from her in a pale green chair. The owner was standing at one of the closets, making a selection, and as Candy watched, she chose a dress and carried it over to them.

  “This should be nice on you, Candy.” The owner was holding the most beautiful dress Candy had ever seen. “I think wine is your color. You need a deep, rich color with your skin and hair, don’t you think?”

  “Oh, yes,” Candy breathed. One glance at the dress and she was in love. She would have agreed that the world was flat as long as she got the chance to try it on.

  “Do you need any help?” Hannah asked her.

  “No, thanks. I can manage.” Candy held out her arms for the dress and tried to keep from skipping as she walked back to the fitting rooms. It was as light as a feather and it shimmered in her hands.

  It took only a second to peel off her jeans and sweater. And then carefully, oh, so carefully, Candy unzipped the dress and lowered it over her head. As it settled into place, she thought she could hear strains of beautiful music. She zipped it up, twirled around on the balls of her feet, and gave a delighted little laugh as she saw her reflection in the mirror. She looked gorgeous, not like herself at all. And she looked older, at least seventeen, and maybe even the twenty she’d told Hannah and Norman she was. She was Cinderella, and she was going to the ball!

  “Let’s see, Candy,” Hannah called out, and Candy hurried out of the dressing room to show her.

  “It’s lovely on you,” the owner of the shop said, but Candy was concerned about Hannah. Her new friend was buying her this dress and there wasn’t any price tag. Candy had heard of sticker shock when people saw the prices of new cars. Was this dress so expensive that they had to hide the cost?

  “You’ve got a great eye, Claire,” Hannah complimented the owner. And then she turned to Candy. “It looks absolutely wonderful, and I think we should get it for the party tomorrow. What do you think?”

  “It’s beautiful,” Candy said, sighing deeply. “But…is it too expensive?”

  “No.”

  Both the owner and Hannah spoke at once, and then they burst out laughing. Even Candy had to smile.

  “Claire gives me a discount because I’m her next-door neighbor,” Hannah exp
lained.

  “It’s only fair,” the owner said. “Hannah brings me free cookies whenever she bakes my favorites.”

  Candy gave a delighted laugh, she was so happy. She was getting the dress of her dreams and it made her look like a princess. The only thing that could make this moment even more wonderful would be if Mom could see her now.

  Chapter Ten

  Candy had just refilled the carafe and was preparing to make the rounds of the tables when a pretty, very pregnant lady came in. “May I help you?” Candy asked, precisely the way Lisa and Hannah had coached her.

  “Don’t I wish! I need to see Hannah. Is she in the kitchen?”

  “Yes, she is. But…”

  “Hi, Sally,” Lisa came up and took the carafe out of Candy’s hand. “I’ll do the coffee. You go see if you can round up any more Cherry Winks. We’re running out. And take Sally back to the kitchen with you so she can talk to Hannah.”