Coconut Layer Cake Murder

by Joanne Fluke

  “No. Lost... key.”

  Lonnie held Darcy with one arm and tried the doorknob. It opened immediately and he half-pulled, half-carried her inside. He walked her through the kitchen, careful not to let her trip on wastebaskets, mops, and other impediments on the floor, and took her through the living room doorway. “Where do you sleep?” he asked her.

  “Hallway . . . first room . . . mine.”

  Her voice was no more than a whisper, and Lonnie knew he had to hurry and get her into her bedroom before she passed out. Her legs were like jelly as he walked her to the hallway and into the first bedroom.

  “Here you go, Darcy,” he said, pushing her onto the bed. “Can you get under the covers?”

  “Nooooo.”

  “Then I’ll cover you with a blanket,” Lonnie told her, grabbing the one at the foot of the bed and draping it over her. “Sleep, Darcy. You’ll feel better in the morning.”

  “Caaaake.”

  Lonnie felt like laughing, but tears came to his eyes instead. Poor Darcy was really messed up. “I’ll go get it and leave it right here on your dresser,” he told her. “Just close your eyes and go to sleep. You can have some cake in the morning.”

  True to his word, Lonnie left the room and hurried through the house to the garage. He removed the cake box from the dashboard, carried it back to Darcy’s room, and placed it on the dresser. As he did, the lid flipped open and he noticed a card taped to the inside, it had Cassie’s name written on the front. He assumed it was a birthday card. Why hadn’t Cassie opened it? And that was when it hit him, a lethargy so deep it bordered on paralysis.

  “Whoa,” he said, resisting the urge to fall on the mattress next to Darcy. He staggered from the room and down the hallway until he reached the living room. There was the couch, an overstuffed maroon monstrosity that looked so inviting, he couldn’t resist. He told himself that there was no way he could drive home now. If he tried, he might fall asleep on the road. His feet, which suddenly seemed leaden, carried him to the sofa and he fell into its velvet depths, embracing the blackness that consumed his mind and carried him off to slumber.

  Chapter Eight

  Abright light was shining in his eyes. Lonnie tried to turn over in bed to escape the morning sun, but something was in his way. He reached out with his hand and felt something padded, something soft, and something that felt like old velvet. There was nothing like that in his bedroom. Where was he?!

  It hurt to open his eyes, but he did it. And the first thing he saw was his car keys on the coffee table in front of him, along with a garage door opener. But he didn’t have a garage door opener. He had to get out of the car and open his garage door manually. He’d opened a garage to put his car inside, and the car keys on the coffee table were definitely his. The little metal tag with his initials proved that. He’d obviously driven here, but where was here?

  He wanted to shut his eyes again, to sleep until his head stopped spinning, but the unanswered question plagued him. Since the garage door opener was next to his car keys, he must have managed to open a garage to pull in. He vaguely remembered the door sliding up. And he remembered helping someone out of his car. Who was it? And where were they now?

  His mind seemed to be operating in slow motion and he did his best to concentrate. And very slowly, but eventually, the memory of the preceding night came flooding back.

  Meeting Brian and Cassie at the Double Eagle and joining them for a beer. One beer. Not enough alcohol to account for his massive headache.

  Eating the coconut cake he’d brought from The Cookie Jar with Brian and Cassie in honor of her birthday.

  Watching Darcy and Denny fighting at their table. Getting a gut feeling that something bad was about to happen if someone didn’t do something to defuse the situation.

  Hearing Cassie’s suggestion and seeing her hurry to Darcy’s table to escort her to the ladies’ room.

  Spotting Denny paying the bill and leaving Darcy there at the Double Eagle.

  Deciding to go to Darcy’s table. Talking to his former classmate Kay and learning that Darcy had arrived with Denny and no longer had a ride home.

  Driving Darcy home, Darcy who everyone had assumed was drunk. How she’d spoken very slowly, almost like a recording played at the wrong speed, but enunciating very clearly and not slurring her words.

  It hit him like a bolt of lightning. Darcy! That’s where he was! He was in Darcy’s living room in the house she’d inherited from her father. He was on Darcy’s couch, where he’d collapsed when he realized that he was in no shape to drive. And Darcy was in her bedroom, where he’d half-carried her before he’d fallen asleep for a short nap to clear his head, a short nap that had lengthened into the entire night.

  Lonnie sat up and immediately grabbed both sides of his head. He had the mother of all headaches.

  After a few minutes, Lonnie stood up. He was still slightly woozy, but his head was clearing. He had to check on Darcy to make sure that she was safely in her bed, asleep.

  * * *

  “That was when I went down the hall to her room and saw . . .”

  Hannah gave a little gasp as she noticed that Lonnie’s face had turned pale. His hand on his coffee cup was shaking so hard, the coffee would have sloshed out if he’d had any left. There was no way he could go on right now. He had to calm down first.

  “Are you all right, Lonnie?” Hannah asked, patting his arm to rouse him.

  “Wha . . .” Lonnie stopped speaking and blinked several times. “Oh! Hannah!”

  “More coffee?” Hannah asked him, giving him the most natural smile she could muster. “You should take a little break, Lonnie.”

  “Yeah. And thanks, I’d like more coffee. I was feeling a little punky there.”

  “I’ll get it,” Norman offered, getting up from his chair and heading for the coffeepot. “How about another slice of pizza, Lonnie?”

  Lonnie gave a nod. “Yeah, that would be good.”

  Norman carried the coffee carafe to Hannah to pour and heated a leftover piece of pizza in the microwave. He put it on a paper plate and carried it over to Lonnie. “Here you go,” he said.

  Lonnie wolfed down the pizza in several gulps, and Hannah guessed that he hadn’t felt much like eating before. He’d been too nervous, knowing that he had to tell them about the night that had so drastically changed his life.

  “Are you okay, Lonnie?” Norman asked.

  “Better,” Lonnie gave him a one-word answer. “I don’t know what happened, but suddenly the words just wouldn’t come out of my mouth.”

  “Just relax for a minute and drink your coffee. You’re almost done with the story, Lonnie.”

  “I know. I wanted to keep going, but . . .”

  “Chocolate,” Hannah said, getting up from her chair. “You need chocolate, Lonnie. Your face is still really pale.”

  Lonnie looked doubtful. “But Doc says chocolate doesn’t really do anything.”

  “I know, but it works anyway. There’s nothing like chocolate to perk you up and get you going again. Just let me see what I’ve got in the cupboard and I’ll fix something for you.”

  Hannah hurried to the cupboard and once she’d glanced inside, she started to smile. “This will only take a couple of minutes,” she promised as she began to line up ingredients.

  The first was all-purpose flour, followed by white granulated sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, milk, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, Nutella, and powdered sugar.

  “Do you want me to get out a mixing bowl?” Norman asked her.

  “No, this is going to be my Chocolate Cake in a Mug. Just let me see if we have one more ingredient.”

  A moment later a package of mini chocolate chips joined the lineup on the counter, along with a twelve-ounce microwave-safe coffee mug.

  “Okay, here goes,” Hannah said, measuring out the dry ingredients and adding them to the mug. Then she made a little well in the center of the mug and poured in the wet ingredients. Once they had been stirred in,
she added the Nutella and stirred that in.

  All that was left was the finishing touch. Hannah scattered mini chocolate chips over the top, carried the mug to the microwave, and heated it on high for ninety seconds. Since it didn’t look quite done, and her microwave wasn’t the most powerful that was now on the market, she gave it another twenty seconds and then removed it from the microwave, using oven mitts.

  “It smells fantastic!” Lonnie said, eyeing the mug with a smile. “I can hardly wait to . . .” He stopped speaking, realizing that Hannah had carried the mug over to the stovetop and set it on a cold burner. “What are you doing?”

  “It has to cool for at least a minute and a half,” she told him. “If you tried to eat it now, you’d burn your mouth.”

  “And it might be worth it,” Michelle said, coming into the kitchen. “What did you make, Hannah? This whole condo smells like chocolate.”

  “Chocolate Cake in a Mug,” Hannah told her.

  “I’ve never had that!”

  Hannah chuckled. Her sister sounded extremely envious. “I’d make one for you, but didn’t you tell me that Andrea was coming over with her newest Whippersnapper cookie?”

  “Yes, but it’s not chocolate!”

  “I’m not having one, either. And neither is Norman.”

  Norman began to grin. “I wouldn’t be too sure about that. I saw you make it and I remember exactly what you did. You’d better put away those ingredients before I decide to make one for myself.”

  “Sit down and have a cup of coffee with us,” Hannah said, gesturing toward the empty chair at her soon-to-be-an-antique Formica kitchen table. “Lonnie’s going to eat his chocolate cake before we continue with the interview.”

  Michelle exchanged glances with Hannah, and Hannah knew she’d caught the reference to chocolate. She sat down in the chair next to Lonnie and smiled at him. “I don’t suppose you’d give me one bite of your cake, would you?”

  Lonnie returned her smile. “You know I will. We always share good things. And . . . I guess . . . bad things, too.”

  “That’s the way it should be,” Michelle replied, slipping her arm around Lonnie’s shoulders and giving him a little hug. Then she turned to Hannah. “Isn’t that cake cool enough yet?”

  “Yes, it is,” Hannah said. She’d been keeping an eye on the clock and a bit over ninety seconds had gone by. She got up to touch the side of the mug and gave a little nod. “It’s cool enough. I’ll get a spoon.”

  “Two spoons,” Michelle corrected her.

  “Three spoons,” Norman added to the spoon count.

  “Okay, fine. Four spoons,” Hannah said, reaching in the silverware drawer and carrying four spoons to the table. “You start, Lonnie.”

  Lonnie dipped in his spoon, pulled it out loaded with the chocolate-laden cake, and handed it to Michelle. “You first,” he said.

  It was Hannah’s turn to exchange glances with Norman. He’d caught Lonnie’s selfless gesture, and both of them knew that Lonnie was truly in love with Michelle.

  “Wonderful!” Michelle said, once she’d tasted the cake. “Your turn, Lonnie.”

  Lonnie took a spoonful, ate it, and sighed. “Oh, boy, that’s good!” he commented.

  “I’m next,” Norman said, dipping in his spoon before Lonnie could get a second bite.

  Hannah watched as Norman tasted the cake. Then she smiled as a rapturous expression appeared on his face. “Fantastic!” he said.

  “I’m not going to take your comment at face value unless you notarize your tongue,” Hannah told him, dipping her spoon into the mug and tasting the lightning-quick cake she’d just made.

  “Well?” Norman prodded her.

  “It’s really, really good,” Hannah replied, handing the mug back to Lonnie. “Eat the rest and have a little more coffee. And then we’ll finish your interview.”

  Once Lonnie had made short work of the cake, Hannah rinsed out the cup, set it in the sink, and returned to the table. “Okay,” she said, glancing at Michelle.

  “I think I’ll call Andrea and see what time she’s going to get here,” Michelle said, noticing the glance Hannah had given her and correctly interpreting the unspoken request. Michelle rose from the table, wrapped her arms around Lonnie to give him a little hug, and nodded at Hannah. “Thanks for letting me have some of your cake, Lonnie,” she said, straightening up and moving away from the table. “I’ll be in the living room if you need me.”

  Hannah watched her youngest sister go and thought, again, how wonderful it was that sometimes a glance could speak volumes. Lonnie would tell Michelle everything about his night in Darcy’s house eventually, but for right now, having Michelle at the table while they questioned Lonnie could be a distraction.

  “Finish your coffee, Lonnie,” she said, turning to him. “And then let’s get back to work.”

  CHOCOLATE CAKE IN A MUG

  This single-serving cake is made in a microwave.

  Hannah’s 1st Note: You will need a 12-ounce or larger microwave-safe coffee mug to make this cake.

  4 Tablespoons (¼ cup) all-purpose flour

  3 Tablespoons white (granulated) sugar

  2 Tablespoons cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s)

  ½ teaspoon baking powder

  teaspoon salt

  3 Tablespoons chocolate milk (you can also use regular whole milk)

  1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

  1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  1 Tablespoon Nutella (or any other chocolate hazelnut spread)

  ____________________

  more Nutella to spread on top BEFORE micro- waving (optional)

  15 to 20 mini chocolate chips to scatter on top BE-

  FORE microwaving (optional)

  powdered sugar to sprinkle on top AFTER microwaving (optional)

  1 heaping Tablespoon of vanilla, chocolate, or coffee ice cream to add on top AFTER microwaving (optional)

  1 dollop of sweetened whipped cream to add on top AFTER microwaving (optional)

  Hannah’s 2nd Note: In place of Nutella, you can use peanut butter, cashew butter, or almond butter. You can even use a Tablespoon of marshmallow fluff if you poke it down in the center of the cup after mixing the batter with your fork. Or you can add one regular-size marshmallow and poke it down in the center after mixing. There’s no limit to what you can add if there’s room. Just use your imagination.

  Lisa’s Note: When I made this for Aunt Nancy, I didn’t have Nutella so I used a Tablespoon of seedless raspberry jam and mixed it in with all the other ingredients. She loved it!

  Spray a 12-ounce or larger mug with Pam or another non-stick cooking spray. You can also use baking spray, the kind with flour in it.

  Spoon in the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into your mug.

  Using a fork from your silverware drawer, mix all of the dry ingredients together.

  Add the milk, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and Nutella. Mix them into the dry ingredients with your fork.

  Once the ingredients are thoroughly combined, choose your toppings. If you use the Nutella or any other nut butter, spread it on top now. If you’ve chosen the mini chocolate chips, sprinkle those on top now.

  Microwave on HIGH for 90 seconds to 2 minutes, watching carefully to make sure your cake doesn’t overflow the top of the mug.

  Use oven mitts to take the mug out of the microwave. It may be very hot, handle and all.

  Set your Chocolate Cake in a Mug on a cold stovetop burner or a wire rack to cool for at least 1 minute. Then use any of the toppings you desire and serve it to your lucky guest.

  Hannah’s 3rd Note: It’s easiest to bake one cake at a time. It doesn’t take that long and the cake must cool before eating anyway. If you bake more than one Chocolate Cake in a Mug at once, cooking time in the microwave will vary.

  Michelle’s Note: If I’m making more than one Chocolate Cake in a Mug, I mix them all up first and then microwave them one by one. The first cake will still be hot by the time the
last one has been microwaved. They stay warm and deliciously gooey for a long time.

  Chapter Nine

  Lonnie drank the last of his coffee and gave a long sigh. “Okay,” he said to Hannah and Norman, “I’m ready to go on. I remember that I was really dizzy when I stood up. I almost fell back on the couch, but I steadied myself on the coffee table. I don’t know if it was or not, but the sun coming through the living room window seemed so bright, I wished I had my sunglasses. I squinted and went over to look out the window and everything was blinding white.”

  Lonnie stopped speaking and rubbed his eyes, and Hannah knew that even though it was dark outside now, he was back in the moment, back in Darcy’s living room, and his eyes hurt.

  * * *

  It had snowed during the night and Lonnie turned away from the sparkling blanket of white that covered Darcy’s front lawn. It was giving him a headache and, for just a moment, he considered walking out to the garage to get his sunglasses out of the glove compartment. He turned away from the window, took a couple of hesitant steps, and then gave a weary sigh. He didn’t want to walk out to the garage twice. He’d just go to Darcy’s room to check on her. If she was awake, he’d get her anything she wanted, and then he’d go out to his car and drive home.

  Michelle! The thought occurred to him as he was making his way down the hallway and he stumbled slightly. He’d told Michelle that he’d meet her at the condo last night if it wasn’t too late. He could say that it had been too late, but Lonnie didn’t want to lie to the woman he loved. He’d drive to The Cookie Jar before she left for school and apologize for getting caught up in Darcy and Denny’s problems and offering to drive Darcy home. Michelle would understand. She was the most understanding woman he’d ever known. All he had to do was explain what had happened and she’d be glad he’d stepped up and taken care of someone who couldn’t get home by herself.