Coconut Layer Cake Murder

by Joanne Fluke

If you wish, decorate the top of the cake with maraschino cherries cut in half vertically or use whole maraschino cherries with stems pointing up in a circle around the circumference of your cake.

  When you’ve finished frosting your cake, refrigerate it until it’s time to serve it.

  Serve this cake with plenty of strong, hot coffee or icy-cold glasses of milk.

  Yield: At least 8 thick slices of rich, delicious Coconut Layer Cake.

  Chapter Seven

  Hannah reached out to refill Lonnie’s coffee cup from the carafe on the table. It was obvious to her that he was reliving the night of the murder. His face was pale and his eyes were unfocused, almost as if he were in a trance.

  “Lonnie?” Hannah said. “You want more coffee, don’t you?”

  “Huh?” Lonnie blinked a couple of times and then let out his breath in a huge sigh. “Sorry, Hannah. I was right back there at the Eagle, you know?”

  “I know. Are you okay?”

  It took Lonnie a minute to answer. He picked up his coffee cup, took a big sip, and then he nodded. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

  “Do you think you can go on for a while longer?” Norman asked him.

  “I . . . yeah. You need to know everything, right?”

  “Everything that you can remember,” Hannah confirmed. “Tell us anything you noticed, even if you don’t think it’s important. Nothing’s too small to mention, no matter what it is.”

  “You’re doing great, Lonnie,” Norman told him. “I almost felt like I was sitting right there with you and Brian and Cassie at the bar.”

  Lonnie smiled. “You’re not the only one. It was like I was reliving it.”

  “And that’s perfect.” Hannah reached out to pat his shoulder. “Do you think you can go on, Lonnie?”

  “Yes, just let me finish my coffee and then I’ll tell you the rest.”

  Lonnie gulped the rest of his coffee and straightened up in his chair. “Okay,” he said. “I was right at the point where Brian and I split up and I went over to Darcy’s table. I remember that I was thirsty, really thirsty. And I remember wishing that I still had some Coke left. Brian was at the service bar and I could see him talking to Lenny Penske. Lenny laughed at something Brian said, and then he reached behind him to get another glass. That was when the cocktail waitress came up to Lenny with a tray. . . .”

  There was a moment of silence while Lonnie closed his eyes. He was remembering how he’d felt that night, how loud the band was, and the din of voices getting louder and louder. And then he was there again, the night it all happened.

  * * *

  Lonnie slipped a bill under his empty Coke glass and stood up. It took a while to make his way through the room, dodging people on his way to Darcy’s table. When he got there, he pulled out a chair, sat down, and watched as the cocktail waitress hurried to the place where they’d been sitting. She smiled when she saw the tip, picked it up and put it in her apron pocket, and loaded the flight of Tequila Sunrises on her tray. Then she went back to the service bar to pick up the Coke that Brian had ordered for Lonnie.

  Lonnie swallowed hard. He really needed that Coke, and he hoped it wouldn’t take her long to bring it to him. Then the front door banged open and Lonnie turned to see who was coming in. Would Denny have second thoughts and come back before Darcy got back from the ladies’ room? And if he did, what should Lonnie say to explain why he had taken Denny’s place at Darcy’s table? Lonnie was still pondering these questions when the cocktail waitress arrived at the table with their drinks.

  “Hi, Lonnie,” she said. “I ran into Brian at the service bar and he asked me to deliver these drinks. One of those Cokes is for you.”

  “Thanks!” Lonnie grabbed it and took a huge swallow. Then he took another that drained half the glass.

  “Here.” The cocktail waitress set a large glass of water in front of him. “Help yourself, Lonnie.”

  Lonnie stared at her as she unloaded her tray. She looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t quite place her.

  The cocktail waitress noticed his stare and gave a little laugh. “You’re thinking you know me . . . right?”

  “Yeah,” Lonnie admitted.

  “But you can’t quite place me?”

  “You’re right. I think I know you, though.”

  “You do. Think back, Lonnie. History class at Jordan High. I sat in the chair behind you.”

  Lonnie tried to visualize the classroom, but he couldn’t quite remember who’d sat behind him. It was a girl, but who was she?

  Lonnie wanted to lie and say he remembered her, but he curbed his impulse. Michelle always said his face was like an open book, and he figured the cocktail waitress would figure out that he still didn’t recognize her. “Uh . . . actually . . .” he said, stalling for time.

  “That’s okay,” the cocktail waitress said, arranging the drinks on the tabletop. “I look really different than I did back then. Let me give you a hint. I was class president and I played the flute in the band.”

  “Kay?!” Lonnie knew he probably sounded incredulous, but he couldn’t help himself. “But you had brown hair. And you were . . .”

  “Fat,” Kay laughed as Lonnie hesitated. “I was fat,” she said, finishing the sentence for him. “My hair’s still brown, but now I have blond streaks.”

  Lonnie just stared at her. “You look great, Kay!” he said truthfully.

  “Thanks. I’m married now. How about you? I heard you were dating Michelle Swensen.”

  “That’s right. I am.”

  “I like Michelle. We used to always sit together at lunch. Are you serious about her?”

  Lonnie nodded. “I’m serious, but we haven’t talked about anything permanent yet.” He felt a bit uncomfortable discussing Michelle with someone else, so he changed the subject. “Is your husband someone I know?”

  “Yes, I married Joe Hollenkamp two years ago.”

  “Joe’s a great guy, but he’s . . . uh . . .”

  “A lot older than I am?” Kay asked, obviously amused.

  “Well . . . yeah.”

  “I know Joe’s a lot older. He’s twenty-five years older than we are. I’m good with that age difference, Lonnie. Joe’s the kindest, sweetest, most considerate man I’ve ever met. And I love him like crazy.”

  “You sound happy, Kay.”

  “I am.” Kay looked slightly uncomfortable. “Darcy should be back any minute now. She went to the ladies’ room with Cassie. What are you going to say if she asks you why you moved over here?”

  “I’m going to tell her the truth, that I was sitting at the bar with Brian and Cassie and we noticed that she was fighting with Denny. When he left, Brian and I figured that she might need some moral support from her friends.”

  Kay smiled. “That’s perfect.”

  “You don’t think Denny’s coming back inside, do you?” Lonnie asked the important question.

  “I’m pretty sure he’s not. He caught me right before I was going to deliver their drinks. He told me to go ahead and deliver them, and then he paid and left.”

  “And he didn’t say anything about coming back?”

  Kay shook her head. “Not a word. He was really steaming, Lonnie. And Denny’s got a real temper. I don’t know what they fought about, but it was really clear that Denny was furious with Darcy.”

  “Do you know if Darcy drove out here alone, or if she came with Denny?”

  “She came with Denny. I had to run out to my car for something and Denny pulled in and parked right next to me. I walked back in with both of them.”

  “So Darcy doesn’t have a ride home?”

  Kay shook her head. “Not unless Denny cools off and comes back. And I think the chances of that are really slim. I know I wouldn’t bet the farm on that happening.”

  “Okay. Thanks for the heads-up, Kay. I can always drive Darcy home. I go right past her place on the way back to Lake Eden.”

  Kay looked pleased. “You’re a good guy, Lonnie. I think Darcy must have been dri
nking before she got here because she looked pretty drunk when I delivered their last set of drinks. I wouldn’t want her to go home with one of the guys that hang out here.”

  “Tell me about Denny. Was he drunk when he left?”

  “Not that I could tell. He had a couple of Margaritas, but Denny’s a big guy. And after two, he said that was his limit and switched to plain Coke.” Kay gestured toward one of the drinks she’d placed on the table. “This Margarita’s for Darcy. And the other drinks are part of the flight that Brian and Cassie ordered. The Cokes are for you and Denny, but since Denny’s not here, you can have both of them.”

  “Okay, don’t mind if I do. I’m really thirsty tonight.” Lonnie reached for one of the Cokes and took a large sip. “Thanks for all the info, Kay.”

  “And thank you for taking care of Darcy. I can’t help feeling sorry for her.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Darcy’s always had a real talent for picking the wrong men. Even back in high school, she was the one who dated what my mother used to call bad boys. I tried to talk to her about it once, when she was going out with a married guy. I told her she was worth more than that and he was just using her.”

  “What did she say?”

  “She said it didn’t matter, that he loved her and he’d promised her that he was going to divorce his wife so that they could get married.”

  “But that didn’t happen, did it?”

  “No, he ended up breaking it off with Darcy and going back to his wife.”

  Lonnie thought back to their high school days. “I don’t remember him.”

  “You wouldn’t. Darcy kept it a secret because she knew her dad would have killed her if he’d found out.”

  “But you like Darcy, even though you don’t approve of her?”

  Kay nodded. “I do. There’s something about her that’s childlike. Darcy trusts everybody and believes anything a guy tells her. I would have offered to take her home to keep her out of trouble, but I’m on clean-up tonight and I won’t get off until after two.”

  “Well, you can stop worrying. I’ve got it covered.” Lonnie glanced over at the service bar, noticed that Brian was no longer standing there, and began to frown. “Do you know where Brian went?”

  “He said he was going to wait for Cassie and Darcy in the hallway outside the ladies’ room. They must be sitting on the sofa in there, gabbing up a storm.” Kay glanced at the service window and saw that Lenny was motioning to her. “I gotta run,” she said, giving Lonnie a pat on the shoulder. “Thanks for taking care of Darcy for us, Lonnie.”

  “That’s okay. I don’t mind giving her a ride home. And besides, we have to stick together. Darcy’s a classmate of ours.”

  Kay nodded. “You’re right. And I wish everyone else felt the way you do, Lonnie.”

  After Kay left, Lonnie sat there for a while, watching the couples on the dance floor. None of them could have won a dance contest and, judging by the twists and twirls one couple was doing, it was amazing that they hadn’t pulled a muscle yet. If there was any doubt in Lonnie’s mind about the ability of ingesting alcohol to loosen inhibitions, the proof was right there in front of his eyes. It was clear that they thought they were descendants of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers and had inherited their talents tenfold.

  The band finished up on a sour note that no one except Lonnie noticed or cared about, and left the stage to grab a quick drink before playing another set.

  “Hey, Lonnie,” a voice spoke close to his ear, and Lonnie whirled around. It was Lenny Penske and he slid into an empty chair. “Mind if I sit here for a couple of minutes? I’m on break.”

  “Make yourself comfortable, Lenny.”

  “Did you drink Denny’s Coke?”

  “Guilty. It was plain Coke, wasn’t it?”

  “Sure was. Didn’t Kay tell you?”

  “She told me. I was just checking, that’s all. I’m not on call, but if anything happens tonight, I need to have a clear head.”

  “Like . . . you mean . . .” Lenny looked slightly embarrassed. “You mean if something happens with Darcy?”

  “No! I mean if there’s some kind of pileup on the road. They’ll call me in and I want to have a clear head if I have to go.”

  “I got it. Sorry about that. I should have known better. You’re still going out with Michelle Swensen, aren’t you?”

  Lonnie nodded. “Yes, and I’m going over there later tonight. I just want to give Darcy a ride home because Kay didn’t think that Denny was coming back.”

  “Kay’s right. Denny won’t be back. I was watching the fight they had and it’ll take him at least a couple of days to cool off. He might even be gone for good. It’s hard to predict those things, you know? You gotta feel sorry for Darcy, though, don’t you? I think she really liked Denny. And except for his temper, he was an okay guy. Makes me wonder what they were fighting about.”

  “Whatever it was, it didn’t look good.”

  “I know. That poor girl’s got really bad luck with men.” Lenny glanced toward the back of the room, pushed back his chair, and stood up. “And speaking of that, here she comes now. She doesn’t look good, Lonnie. Better take her home soon and make sure she doesn’t try to go out again.”

  Lonnie turned to see what Lenny had noticed. Brian, Cassie, and Darcy had emerged from the hallway and were making their way through the crowd. As he watched, Darcy stumbled and Brian grabbed her arm to steady her. Both Kay and Lenny thought that Darcy was already drunk when she came in the door, and this substantiated their suspicions. According to both of them, Darcy had ordered one drink, a light one, and there had been at least a third of it left in the glass when Kay had cleared it away. That wasn’t enough alcohol to hit her that hard, and that meant that Kay and Lenny were probably right.

  The longer Lonnie watched, the more convinced he became. It was time to cut this evening short and take Darcy home while she could still walk. He didn’t relish the idea of carrying her across a snowy yard and into the house Darcy’s father had left her. It was definitely time to leave.

  “Hi, Lonnie, can I have a sip of your Coke?” Cassie smiled, as Brian helped Darcy into a chair at the table.

  “Help yourself, Cassie,” Lonnie said, handing his Coke over to her.

  “Thanks,” Cassie said, and then she turned to look at Darcy. “I think you’d better switch to something non-alcoholic, honey,” she said, pushing a glass of water over to Darcy. “You’ve had enough for tonight!”

  Lonnie reached out to reclaim his Coke, finished it, and stood up. “Hey, guys, order me another Coke for the road.”

  As he headed for the men’s room, Lonnie was pleased. When he came back, he’d take Darcy home, and Brian and Cassie could help him get her in the car.

  * * *

  “Thank . . . you . . . Lonnie,” Darcy said as he started the car. “Where’s . . . Denny? Mad . . . at . . . me?”

  Lonnie was puzzled. Most drunks slurred their words, but that wasn’t the case with Darcy. She was speaking very slowly, and Lonnie wasn’t sure why. Could drugs be involved? He’d never heard word one about Darcy and drugs.

  “Where’s . . . Denny?” Darcy asked again, settling back in the seat and letting Lonnie buckle her seat belt.

  “He had to go, so I’m taking you home,” Lonnie said, hoping she’d accept his explanation.

  “Nice . . . of . . . you. What . . . is . . . that . . . box?”

  For a moment, Lonnie was puzzled, but then he realized that Darcy was focusing on the cake box he’d placed on the dash. “It’s a coconut cake from The Cookie Jar.”

  “Love . . . that . . . cake.” Darcy tried to smile, but she couldn’t quite manage it. “Can . . . I . . . have . . . cake?”

  “I’ll carry it in when we get to your place and you can have a piece,” Lonnie promised. Then he buckled his own seat belt, started the car, backed out of his parking spot, and headed across the parking lot to the exit. “Just lean back and relax, Darcy. I’ll take you straight
home.”

  “Okay . . . Lonnie.”

  He had to stop behind another car that was waiting to exit and Lonnie glanced over at her. Darcy’s eyes were closed and she looked as if she was about to pass out. He hoped she wouldn’t. It would be much easier to walk her into the house than to carry her.

  The drive to Darcy’s house was fairly short, only a couple of miles. Earl Flensburg had been out with the snowplow, and the country roads weren’t bad.

  He pulled up in her driveway and was about to shut off the car when Darcy shook her head. “Wait,” she said, opening her purse and fumbling around inside. She pulled out a garage door opener and held it out. “Press,” she told him.

  Lonnie pressed the button and the garage door slid up. Darcy’s car wasn’t there, so he pulled in. “Where’s your car?” he asked her.

  “Cyril,” she said, leaving it at that.

  Luckily, Lonnie knew exactly what she had tried to tell him. Cyril Murphy owned a gas station, car repair shop, and limousine service that was housed only a mile from Darcy’s place. Her car must be there for servicing or repairs. He shut off his car and pressed the button on the garage door opener again to shut the door.

  “I’ll come around to your side and help you get out of the car,” Lonnie said, reaching over to unbuckle Darcy’s seat belt. “Do you think you can walk inside?”

  “I . . . don’t . . . know,” Darcy said, and the monotone she’d been using shook slightly. “Don’t . . . feel . . . good . . . Lonnie.”

  “I know. You had too much to drink. I’ll help you inside and you can go to bed. If you get a good night’s sleep, you’ll feel better in the morning.”

  Darcy waited until Lonnie had opened the passenger door, and then she attempted to focus on the dashboard. “Cake,” she said.

  “I’ll come back after it. And I’ll put it on your kitchen counter. Then you can have some in the morning for breakfast.”

  “Yes.”

  There wasn’t much emotion in Darcy’s voice, but what little was there sounded pleased. Lonnie helped her out of the car, no easy task, and managed to pull her up the steps that led into the house. “Is the door locked?” he asked her.