Coconut Layer Cake Murder

by Joanne Fluke

  At the end of 5 minutes, pull the saucepan over to a cold burner.

  Pour the very hot toffee mixture over the crackers and milk chocolate chips as evenly as you can. Spread it out quickly with a heat-resistant spatula or a frosting knife.

  Hannah’s 4th Note: I start by pouring the mixture in lines from top to bottom over the length of the pan. Then I turn it and pour more lines over the width of the pan, until the whole pan is crosshatched with the hot toffee mixture. If it doesn’t cover the crackers completely, don’t worry—it’ll spread out quite a bit in the oven.

  Slide the pan into the oven and bake the toffee at 350°F. for 10 (ten) minutes.

  Remove the pan from the oven, place it on a cold stovetop burner or a wire rack, and sprinkle the peanut butter chips over the top.

  Cover the pan with a sheet of foil or an empty cookie sheet. Let everything sit for 2 (two) full minutes. This will melt the peanut butter chips.

  When 2 (two) minutes have passed, take off the top cookie sheet or foil and spread the melted peanut butter chips as evenly as you can with a heat-resistant spatula, a wooden paddle, or a frosting knife.

  Using oven mitts or pot holders, place the pan in the refrigerator to cool, uncovered, for at least 1 (one) hour.

  Have a cup of coffee and relax while your toffee is cooling and hardening in the refrigerator.

  Remember that last cup of milk chocolate chips and the chopped peanuts you haven’t used yet? Don’t worry. They’ll be used when your creation has cooled and hardened.

  Once the hour is up, leave your pan in the refrigerator and pour the milk chocolate chips into a small-size microwave-safe bowl. (I used a 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup—mine has a spout, which I find very helpful.)

  Melt your milk chocolate chips on HIGH heat in the microwave for 1 (one) minute. Then let the bowl sit in the microwave for another minute.

  When the minute has passed, take the bowl out of the microwave and attempt to stir the chips smooth. If you can’t and they’re not completely melted, return them to the microwave and heat them in 30-second increments, followed by 30 seconds of standing time, until you can stir them smooth.

  Take your hardened toffee out of the refrigerator and quickly drizzle the melted milk chocolate over the top of the cooled peanut butter chip layer. Be sure to let some of the peanut butter chip layer show through.

  Sprinkle the chopped peanuts over the top of the chocolate drizzle and refrigerate the pan for another 2 hours.

  When your Chocolate Peanut Butter Toffee has thoroughly chilled, peel it from the foil and break it into random-size pieces.

  Hannah’s 5th Note: Even though you have sprinkled chopped peanuts over the top of your toffee, it’s still wise to warn everyone that this candy contains peanuts. Although peanut allergies are becoming less common, they can still be a dangerous problem!

  Chapter Four

  Lynne Larchmont’s Home

  Several days later

  Lynne looked around at the boxes that were stacked in the living room, and groaned. “I’m taking way too much! There’s never going to be room for all this in the condo.”

  “That’s why we didn’t tape the boxes closed,” Delores told her. “Leaving them open gives you a chance to reassess and make a final decision.”

  “I guess I don’t really need more than a dozen Waterford crystal champagne glasses,” Lynne said with a sigh. “Unless . . .” She turned to Delores. “Would you like the other four dozen, Delores?”

  “Oh, my!” Hannah recognized the amazed expression on her mother’s face. “I . . . I’d love to have them, but I want to pay for them.”

  Lynne shook her head. “No, I’m giving them to you as a gift. They were a wedding present from one of Tom’s clients and I won’t be entertaining in Lake Eden the way I did out here. I want you to have them, Delores. It’s a small price to pay for all the help you’ve given me during the past five days.”

  “Well . . . if you’re sure . . .” Delores gave a little nod. “If I take them, you have to promise to come to all my dinner parties. And I promise not to partner you with any unsuitable men.”

  Lynne laughed. “It’s a deal. I love to go to dinner parties.” She turned to Hannah. “When we’ve finished packing, I’d like you to look around at the things I’m leaving behind. If there’s anything you want, just tell me and I’ll arrange to have it trucked to Lake Eden for you.”

  “Thank you, Lynne!” Hannah was impressed with Lynne’s generosity. “You’re going to sell everything else, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, my real estate agent will check with the buyers. If they want anything, she’ll set a fair price and add it to the sales price. Anything that’s left will go to Robby and Maria. I’ve already promised that they can hold an estate sale and keep whatever money they make.”

  Lynne’s cell phone rang and she picked it up and glanced at the display. “It’s my agent,” she told them. “I’d better answer this.”

  “What are you going to take, Hannah?” Delores asked as Lynne walked out of the room.

  “I don’t know. I don’t really need anything, Mother.”

  “But Lynne has some beautiful things.”

  “Yes, she does.” Hannah thought about that for a moment. “Maybe I’ll just ask her to choose something for me. I know she’ll choose something she really likes and if she has any regrets later about giving it to me, she can have it back.”

  “That’s a marvelous idea!” Delores said, just as Lynne came back into the room.

  “I’m really sorry, but we can’t keep our lunch reservation today. I have to go to the studio for a final commercial. Gibson Girl Cosmetics decided that they need one more for their flight of commercials to be shown next month.”

  “That’s all right,” Hannah said quickly. “Work comes first, Lynne.”

  Delores nodded. “Yes, and I’m not really hungry after three pieces of that marvelous coffee cake Hannah made for breakfast.”

  “Thanks for understanding. And I do have a little surprise for you. The director agreed to let the two of you come on the set when we’re filming the commercial. Would you like to go with me?”

  “Oh, yes!” Delores responded immediately. “I’d love to go!”

  “Hannah?” Lynne turned to her. “And if you go, would you bring a couple of pieces of that coffee cake for the director? He’s wild about home-baked goodies.”

  “I’ll go. And of course I’ll bring some coffee cake with me,” Hannah said, but she added another sentence in her mind. I have to go so I can keep Mother in line. She’s so starstruck that I may have to tie her up to keep her from asking everyone there for an autograph.

  * * *

  Hannah was surprised as she followed Lynne and her mother into the building that contained the sound stage. It was a huge warehouse, seemingly empty except for the section at the far end containing a set that duplicated a cosmetic counter in an upscale department store, complete with stocked shelves and makeup chairs in front of the counters.

  “I thought it would be more glamorous than this,” Delores confided to Lynne.

  “It’s a working set,” Lynne explained. “Gibson Girl Cosmetics rents out this part of the building and this is where they shoot all their commercials.”

  Hannah noticed that Delores still looked puzzled. “But . . . I thought there’d be people with clapboards and all sorts of costumed actors and actresses running around.”

  Lynne shook her head. “Not here. This sound stage is set aside for filming commercials, and the production company moves in their own sets. They just rent the space, that’s all.”

  “Oh,” Delores said, looking very disappointed.

  “Before we leave, we’ll have lunch in the studio commissary. I have a pass to the executive dining room. It’s on the second floor and we’ll ask for a table on the balcony that overlooks the commissary. There’ll be all sorts of actors in full makeup and costume down there.”

  “That would be wonderful!” Delores looked excited at
the prospect. “But do the stars actually come to eat in their makeup and costumes?”

  “Yes, if they only have a short lunch break and they’ll be filming again when it’s over. It takes a long time to put on makeup, especially if it’s elaborate. Even some of the minor characters in science fiction or fantasy movies have to come in hours before they start shooting.”

  “Lynne!” a voice called out. Hannah turned to see a tall, thin man with dark hair hurrying toward them. “You’re here early!”

  “Yes, I wanted to introduce you to two of my friends from Lake Eden, Minnesota.” She gestured toward Hannah. “This is Hannah Swensen. You’ve heard me mention her. And this is Hannah’s mother, Delores Knight. I’d like you two to meet our director, David-Paul.”

  “Hannah,” the director acknowledged her, “and Delores. Lynne’s mentioned both of you. Would you like to watch while we shoot the commercial?”

  “We’d just love to!” Delores answered for both of them. “It’s so exciting being in a real movie studio!”

  “Not if you work here every day,” David-Paul said with a laugh. “It’s just a giant warehouse, and even with air-conditioning, it can get hot under the lights.” Just then his cell phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket to answer it. “Excuse me for just a moment, will you?”

  “It’s late notice, Harry,” Hannah heard him say as he walked away. “Our lead is here already.”

  Lynne and Delores began to talk about the upcoming commercial. Hannah listened with mild interest, but she was much more interested in watching David-Paul’s face. The conversation he was having with the person named Harry must have been irritating because he was beginning to scowl.

  “She’ll never work for me again!” Hannah heard him say, and then he jammed the phone back in his pocket and walked back to them.

  “Cynthia can’t make it,” he said to Lynne. “Something about her husband being in the emergency room. Sorry, Lynne. Looks like I got you all the way out here for . . .” He stopped and moved a step closer to Delores. “How old are you?” he asked her.

  “Excuse me?” Delores just stared at him. “A lady never tells her age!”

  As Hannah and Lynne watched, David-Paul began to smile. “Perfect!” he said. “You’ll do just fine.”

  “I’ll do what?” Delores asked him, bristling slightly.

  “You’ll play Lynne’s mother in the commercial.”

  Delores’s mouth fell open and she looked as if someone could knock her over with a feather. “Me?”

  “You. Yes, you’ll be perfect.” David-Paul stopped short and began to frown. “You’re SAG, aren’t you?”

  “Delores isn’t an actress,” Lynne said quickly, since Delores seemed to be incapable of speech.

  “That’s okay. We’ll work that out later. She looks the part and I’ll rewrite the script. Just take her to the makeup trailer, will you, Lynne? And tell Julia that she needs bags under her eyes and a couple of grey streaks in her hair. The way she looks now doesn’t look natural for her age.”

  Hannah gave a little gulp. She had to say something fast or she’d be forced to spend the remainder of the day assuring Delores that her hair looked perfectly natural and no one could possibly guess that she had it colored.

  “Grey streaks would work,” Hannah said with a nod. “Mother’s supposed to look older in the commercial, isn’t she?”

  “That’s right,” David-Paul agreed quickly. “Nobody will believe she’s Lynne’s mother if we don’t age her up a bit.”

  “Of course,” Delores said, obviously pleased. “I didn’t think of that.”

  Hannah breathed a sigh of relief as her mother began to smile. She watched as Lynne led Delores out of the building, and then she turned to David-Paul. “That worked,” she said. “Nice recovery on your part.”

  David-Paul laughed. “Thanks! And thank you for cueing me in. I tend to say what I think and that’s not always a good thing. I’m going to have some coffee. You want some?”

  “Coffee would be good,” Hannah said, following him over to the corner of the building, where there was an alcove with a coffeepot and a long table with chairs. “Are you hungry? I brought half of an Apricot Coffee Cake.”

  “That sounds great! I was going to buy some doughnuts for breakfast, but I was running late and I didn’t have time to stop off at the doughnut shop this morning. Where did you buy your coffee cake?”

  “I didn’t buy it. I baked it this morning and we had some for breakfast.”

  “You baked it yourself?”

  Hannah came close to laughing out loud. David-Paul sounded shocked that she’d actually baked it. “Yes, I baked it. I own a bakery and coffee shop in Lake Eden, Minnesota.” Hannah unwrapped the coffee cake and set it on the table. The she reached inside the tote bag she’d brought with her and took out paper plates, plastic forks, and a knife. “I’ll cut a piece for you. I already had mine this morning.”

  David-Paul began to smile as Hannah cut a big piece for him. “Are you trying to fatten me up?” he asked her.

  “No, but you said you hadn’t had time for breakfast and everybody says it’s the most important meal of the day. You’re hungry, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, and I’m getting hungrier by the minute. Your coffee cake smells delicious, Hannah.”

  “It is. I got the recipe from my partner’s aunt. Aunt Nancy collects recipes, and every one she’s given me has been wonderful.” Hannah reached into her tote bag again and pulled out a tub of softened, salted butter and a plastic knife. “Would you like butter on your coffee cake?”

  “I don’t usually eat . . .” David-Paul stopped in mid-sentence and began to smile. “Why not? I’ll have some butter. I think that I’ve already blown my daily calorie count by just looking at the huge piece of coffee cake you cut for me.”

  Once David-Paul had eaten his slice of coffee cake, he leaned back in his chair and gave a satisfied sigh. “That was great! I wish I lived in . . . what was the name of your town again?”

  “Lake Eden.”

  “Nice name. If I lived there, I’d come into your coffee shop every morning.”

  “That would be nice,” Hannah said, but her mind had another response that she didn’t voice. If you moved to Lake Eden from a big city like this with glamorous parties, hectic schedules, and exciting things to do twenty-four hours a day, you’d probably be jumping on the first plane back here before the moving truck even came with your furniture!

  * * *

  “Thanks again, Delores,” David-Paul told her as he poured her a second glass of wine. “You really helped me out of a rough spot today.”

  “Me too,” Lynne added. “I really don’t know if I could have shoe-horned in the time to make that last commercial if we’d had to reschedule it.”

  “I’m glad that I could help,” Delores told them, but Hannah noticed that she was glancing over the balcony rail to watch a group of actors who’d just come into the commissary below. “Isn’t that the cast from One More Time With Feeling?”

  “Yes.” David-Paul smiled at Delores. “Would you like me to ask Troy to come up here so you can get his autograph?”

  “That would be wonderful!” Delores began to smile so widely that Hannah wondered if the street makeup that Julia had applied to her mother’s face before they’d left the studio would crack.

  “I’ll text him for you,” David-Paul said, pulling out his cell phone.

  As Hannah watched the handsome actor at the table only a few feet below them, he picked up his cell phone, glanced at the display, and pushed back his chair. A moment later, he was climbing the stairs to the executive dining room. His rapid response reminded Hannah that she’d turned off her cell phone during the filming of the commercial and she hadn’t turned it back on again. She did so immediately and when she glanced at the display, she saw that Michelle had called her three times in the past hour and she’d left messages each time. All three calls were marked URGENT, and Hannah knew that there must be something dras
tically wrong back home in Lake Eden.

  “I’ll be right back,” she told them, slipping her phone back into her pocket and rising from her chair. “I have to return a phone call.”

  “Is there something wrong?” Delores asked immediately.

  Not wanting to spoil her mother’s obvious delight at meeting a big television star, Hannah cracked a joke. “Yes, they ran out of sugar at The Cookie Jar.”

  Delores looked at her blankly for a second, and then she began to laugh. “You’re joking, aren’t you, dear?”

  “Yes, I’ll be right back, Mother.”

  There was a directional sign at the back of the room and Hannah headed for the ladies’ room. It would provide a quiet, private place for her to return Michelle’s calls. She pushed open the door to the ladies’ room, stepped inside, and smiled as she realized that she was alone in an anteroom filled with chairs and a long makeup table with mirrors. She seated herself on one of the chairs, pulled out her cell phone, and punched in Michelle’s cell phone number.

  “Hannah!” Michelle answered on the first ring. “Thank God you got back to me! You have to come back to Lake Eden right away! It’s an emergency!”

  Hannah could feel her blood pressure rising. “Is something wrong with Moishe?”

  “No, Hannah. Moishe’s fine, but he’s with Norman. I tried to bring him here to the condo, but he didn’t want to go inside.”

  “Because I wasn’t there?”

  “That could have been part of it, but he yowled at the foot of the stairs and kept on yowling, even when I picked him up to carry him. I went up a couple of steps, but he was shaking so hard, I turned around and took him back to the car. Of course I’m not sure, but I think Moishe feels the same way you do about the condo. Something bad happened inside and he doesn’t want me to go back there again.”