Coconut Layer Cake Murder

by Joanne Fluke

  “Good idea! Thanks, Cassie. I’m always looking for new cookies to try.”

  “They should be soft and chewy. And maybe a little on the tart side? What do you think?”

  “I think that sounds delicious.” Hannah marshalled her thoughts again. She wasn’t here to talk about new cookies with Cassie.

  “Oh! Before I forget . . . thanks for the birthday card,” Cassie said.

  “You’re welcome.”

  “I love the way everybody there signed it. That was really nice.”

  “I’m glad you noticed the card. Lonnie said it was tucked down in the cake box and he thought you hadn’t seen it.”

  “I didn’t until later, but I pulled it out and it’s on my mantel. It’s lined up with all the other cards I got.”

  Warning bells went off in Hannah’s mind. Lonnie had told her he’d found the card left behind in the cake box. If that was true, how could it be on Cassie and Brian’s mantel unless . . .

  “I’m glad you found it in the cake box,” Hannah said, doing her best to sound casual. “There should have been a business card in there, too.”

  “There was. I took it out the next morning when I had the last slice of cake for breakfast.”

  “I’m curious,” Hannah said, “Was there a lot of frosting that stuck to the inside of the box?”

  “No, Lisa or somebody lined the inside of the box with wax paper. I saved the box because it’s pretty. I love your imprint.”

  “Well, I have another box for you, Cassie.” Hannah opened the box and said, “Take one right now. I want to know if you like them. They’re Snowflake and Ice Cookies. They have coconut and white chocolate.”

  “Yum,” Cassie said, taking a cookie and biting into it. “I love the combination. These are delicious, Hannah.”

  As Cassie took another bite of her cookie, Hannah frowned. Things certainly were not going the way she’d planned. She knew she’d be much more comfortable if other employees were milling around, but here she was, alone in the parking garage with Cassie.

  “What a shame!” Cassie said. “It’s a real pity you won’t be making these again. Of course, you won’t be baking anything again, now that you know.”

  “Know what?” Hannah asked quickly, but she felt an icy shiver run through her. Cassie had suspected that she knew, and that wasn’t good!

  “You know what I’m talking about. You figured it out, didn’t you, Hannah? But it won’t do you any good! Nobody else is coming out here until one o’clock. There’s an employee lunch meeting right now and everyone else is there. We’re alone here, you and me. And soon it’ll be just me.”

  Hannah’s legs began to tremble. She had to keep Cassie talking. But the only person who knew she was here was Norman. And she’d told him she didn’t need him to come with her!

  “So what made you do it, Cassie?” she asked, hoping against hope that Norman would decide to check on her and drive in.

  Cassie smiled and her eyes narrowed into slits. It reminded Hannah of the way a feline predator’s eyes looked, determined, dangerously fixed and focused on the prey.

  “Darcy told me,” Cassie said. “What a fool! She didn’t deserve to live!”

  “Darcy told you she was pregnant?”

  “Of course she did. She was proud of it.” Cassie reached inside her pocket and drew out a small revolver. “She brought this on herself, you know.”

  “Why?” Hannah asked quickly, noticing that Cassie’s finger was tightening on the trigger.

  “Because I’m married to Brian! And I’m the only one who can have his baby!”

  Hannah’s mouth dropped open. Darcy was having Brian’s baby?!

  “Yes, Hannah, Brian confessed he slept with Darcy. And I added up the dates, Darcy was having my baby! I should have been having Brian’s baby.”

  Hannah sent up a silent prayer that someone would enter the parking garage. And she knew she had to keep Cassie talking until someone else came. “Did you want Darcy to give you the baby?” she asked, hoping the question wouldn’t enrage Cassie.

  “No!”

  “Why not?”

  “Because the baby growing inside of Darcy was half hers!”

  “That makes sense.” An idea struck Hannah with startling clarity and she inched closer to the car parked next to her. It looked a lot like the car Andrea had told her not to touch in the DelRay parking lot, the one with the alarm that would set off all the other car alarms.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” Cassie asked. “You can’t get away from me here. I’ve got you pinned down, Hannah. You’re through meddling in other people’s lives.”

  “I was just going to set this cookie box on the hood of a car,” Hannah explained. “Do you want another cookie first?”

  “I’ll get one after you’re gone,” Cassie said, giving Hannah a twisted smile that didn’t bode well for Hannah’s future.

  “Then I’d better set these down or the box will fall and the cookies will spill out all over this dirty floor.”

  That stopped Cassie for a moment, and then she nodded. “You’re right and those cookies are too good to waste. Go ahead, but I’m watching you. One false move and you die.”

  As Hannah moved slowly toward the car, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Someone was at the far end of the parking garage. She didn’t dare look to see who it was because that might tip Cassie off, but she could only hope that whoever it was had come to rescue her.

  “I’m so sorry about your daughter, Cassie,” Hannah said as she walked closer to the front of the car. “It must have been awful to have Brian’s baby and then lose her.”

  “You don’t know the half of it,” Cassie said, and her voice was trembling slightly. “Nothing like that has ever happened to a woman like you.”

  “Actually . . . it has. It’s not exactly what you went through, but when Ross left me I thought for a while that I was pregnant. But I guess it can’t compare to the heartbreak you felt.”

  “That’s right. And it hurt all over again when I found out that Darcy was pregnant with Brian’s baby. I wanted to die right then and there.”

  “I guess I really can’t blame you for wanting to kill Darcy,” Hannah said, hoping she sounded convincingly sympathetic. “It must have been horrible to learn that she was carrying the baby that should have been yours.”

  “Oh, it was. Maybe you do understand. I had to kill her. Part of me didn’t want to do it, but I couldn’t let her have Brian’s baby. That baby should have been mine!”

  “So you drugged her, and then you killed her?” Hannah asked, hoping that whoever had come in had overheard Cassie’s confession.

  “I didn’t have to. She was drinking, Hannah! She was already staggering a little when she got up to go to dance with Denny. And everyone knows that when you’re pregnant, you shouldn’t drink.”

  “But why in heaven’s name did you drug Lonnie?”

  “Actually, I drugged both Lonnie and Brian!” Cassie explained. “I drugged Brian because I needed to get out of the house without him knowing I was leaving. And Lonnie because someone had to send the police investigation in the wrong direction. What better way to distract them than finding one of their own with the murder victim?”

  Hannah’s mind was reeling. Cassie was truly insane! And Cassie was perfectly capable of killing her, and she would, unless Hannah figured out a way to keep her talking. “I’m sorry you had to through all this, Cassie. I wish there was something I could do to help you.”

  “There is. You can stand still and say your prayers, because I have to make sure that Brian never knows what I did.”

  The moment was here and Hannah knew it. She dropped the box on the hood of the car and a scant second later, the car alarm went off. It was joined by another car alarm, and then another, as Hannah dropped to the ground and crawled to the rear of the car.

  “Drop the gun, Cassie,” a voice called out, and Hannah began to breathe again. It was Mike! Mike was here! She wasn’t sure how,
or why, but she was saved.

  “Did you get it, Norman?” Mike asked.

  “I got it.” Norman ran around the back of the car and helped Hannah to her feet. “I started worrying about you, so when Mike showed up at The Cookie Jar we decided to come here together. And just in time! Are you all right?”

  “Yes . . . now,” Hannah answered in a voice that still shook from fright. “She was going to kill me!”

  “We know. I recorded her whole confession.” He slipped an arm around her shoulder and led her toward Mike, who had cuffed Cassie and was escorting her toward his cruiser.

  “I’ll take her to the station,” Mike said, opening the back door and pushing Cassie in. “You drive Hannah back in her truck.”

  “Of course,” Norman said, half-walking and half-carrying Hannah to her cookie truck. He opened the passenger door and helped her in. “Give me your keys. You’re in no shape to drive.”

  “They’re . . . in the ignition,” Hannah told him. “I thought I might have to . . . to . . . I’m not sure what I thought.”

  “It doesn’t matter now. You’re safe.” Norman got into the driver’s seat and turned the key. But before he backed the truck out of the parking spot, he pulled Hannah toward him to hug her. “I want you to promise me that you’ll never do something like this again. I love you, Hannah, and you’ve had too many close calls. From now on, when you think you might know who the killer is, you have to tell me. Will you promise me that?”

  “I . . . I promise,” Hannah said, and she meant it. At least for right now.

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Two days had passed since Cassie’s arrest for the murder of Darcy Hicks. They had all decided to celebrate the fact that Lonnie was no longer a suspect, and they were gathered around a table at the Lake Eden Inn. Everyone was there including Delores and Doc, Andrea and Bill, Michelle and Lonnie, Lynne, Mike, and Norman. As usual, Hannah was seated between Mike and Norman.

  “To Hannah!” Bill said, raising his glass of champagne. “If I were smart, I’d recruit her as a detective for the Winnetka County Sheriff’s Department.”

  Everyone else at the table raised their glasses in a salute and Hannah laughed. “Thanks, but I’m just a baker. I’m not a detective.”

  “For someone who’s not a detective, you do great work,” Mike told her.

  Hannah glowed under the unexpected praise. “Thank you, but I’d rather bake cookies. It’s a lot less dangerous than catching murderers.”

  “Until the next case,” Mike said under his breath, and everyone laughed, including Hannah.

  * * *

  “Are you tired, Hannah?” Norman asked as he led the way to his den.

  “Yes, but not terribly.” Hannah smiled. Norman was always so considerate. “How about you?”

  “I’m fine. Would you like another glass of champagne? I have a split I can open for you.”

  Hannah thought about it for a moment and then she shook her head. “No, thanks. I had a glass at dinner, and now I’d rather have something non-alcoholic.”

  “Of course. How about some hot chocolate? It’ll only take a few minutes to make.”

  “That would be great! Now that I think about it, hot chocolate is exactly what I need.”

  “Then I’ll make some for both of us and be back in a minute or so. Lean back and relax, Hannah. You’ve had a busy week.”

  “You said it!” Hannah gave a little laugh and leaned back on Norman’s comfortable leather couch. Just being with Norman was relaxing. There was no pressure, perhaps because Norman accepted her just the way she was, faults and all.

  “I’m back,” Norman announced, much sooner than Hannah had expected. “Let me know if you like this hot chocolate. It comes in pods and Florence just started carrying it at the Red Owl. She convinced me to try it because it’s so convenient.”

  “It smells wonderful!” Hannah commented as she picked up the mug Norman had placed on the coffee table. She took a sip and then she began to smile. “I like it!”

  “So do I. I tried it the second I got home from the store.” Norman stopped and cleared his throat. “I really need to talk to you about something important, Hannah.”

  Hannah glanced at Norman. He looked very serious and warning bells went off in her mind. His expression reminded her of the time he’d told her that they couldn’t see each other any longer, that he had to marry Doctor Bev for the sake of the child she’d told him was his.

  “Hannah?”

  Hannah took a deep, calming breath. “You can talk to me about anything, Norman. What is it?”

  “I heard what you said to Cassie in the garage, that you thought you were pregnant after Ross left you. Did you mean that? Or were you just trying to get her to talk to stall for time?”

  “Both,” Hannah admitted. “I wanted to create a bond with her that might make her less likely to kill me. It didn’t exactly work, but it did allow me to keep her talking.”

  “I understand. But did you really think you were pregnant?”

  Hannah nodded. “Yes, that was the truth.”

  Norman put down his mug of hot chocolate and slipped his arm around her shoulders. “You could have told me, you know.”

  “Yes. And . . . maybe I should have. I wasn’t thinking very clearly at the time.”

  “I’m here for you, no matter what,” Norman said, pulling her a bit closer. “I love you and if you are pregnant, I want to help you with the baby. And I promise that I’ll love your daughter or your son, just as much as I would if I were the father.”

  Tears came to Hannah’s eyes. “That’s . . .” She stopped speaking to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat. “. . . that’s so wonderful! I love you, Norman. And I believe you.”

  Norman hugged her a little tighter. “Then tell me, Hannah. Are you pregnant?”

  “No.”

  Norman gave a deep sigh. “I’m not sure if I’m disappointed for me or . . . relieved for you.”

  “That’s exactly the way I felt when I Doc told me! He ran tests and he said that the only thing wrong with me was stress and I needed to get away for a while. That’s the reason I flew to California with Mother to help Lynne pack.”

  “Really?” Norman looked absolutely dumbfounded. “And being in California with your mother was supposed to be non-stressful?”

  That did it for Hannah. She began to laugh and Norman joined in. Finally, when she’d stopped laughing enough to speak again, she said, “I think maybe Doc was also trying to alleviate his own stress.”

  That sent them off on another round of laughter. They laughed so much that they woke the cats who were sleeping on the landing of the staircase to nowhere that Norman had built so that they could watch birds from the window near the ceiling.

  “Now you’ve done it,” Norman said to Hannah as Cuddles landed in his lap with a thud.

  “Me?” Hannah gave a little gasp as Moishe landed in her lap. “You were laughing louder than I was.”

  They looked at each other as the cats settled down and began to purr. The sound was soothing and Hannah felt a warm, comfortable feeling wash over her. Here she was with the cats she loved, safe in Norman’s arms. Life didn’t get any better than this.

  * * *

  She glanced at the recipe again, even though she’d made these cookies several hundred times in the past. She was standing by the work station at The Cookie Jar with a mixing bowl and her great-grandmother’s wooden spoon in her hand.

  “What should I get from the pantry, Mommy?”

  Hannah glanced over at the little girl standing on the step-stool next to her. Everyone said she looked like a miniature version of Hannah with her curly red hair and happy smile. “You can get the chocolate chips and the corn flakes, honey.”

  “We’re baking Chocolate Chip Crunch Cookies again?”

  “Yes. They’re still your favorites, aren’t they?””

  “I think so. I’ll know after I taste one.”

  Hannah watched as her daughter jump
ed down, barely missing Moishe, who had been sitting at the base of the step-stool.

  “Come on, Moishe,” her daughter said, beckoning to the cat as she headed toward the pantry door. “If you help me find everything, I’ll give you a little bite of my cookie when it’s baked.”

  Once they had assembled all the ingredients, Hannah stirred up the cookie dough. She pushed the mixing bowl over to her daughter and handed her the wooden spoon.

  “Great-great-grandma Elsa’s spoon?” the little girl asked.

  “That’s right, honey.”

  “And she used it all her life to mix up yummy things?”

  “Yes, she did.” There was a yowl from the base of the step-stool and Hannah looked over at Moishe. “I think he’s hungry, honey. Can you get his kitty treats and give him one?”

  “Yes, I can.”

  The moment her daughter had gone off to get the fish-shaped, salmon-flavored treats that Moishe loved, Hannah reached over to give the bowl a final stir. The cookie dough was stiff and the wooden spoon was too large for her daughter’s hand but she loved using it so much, Hannah didn’t have the heart to buy her a child-size mixing spoon.

  Less than thirty minutes later, mother and daughter were sitting at the work station. Hannah was drinking a cup of coffee and her daughter was sipping from a glass of milk. The kitchen was filled with the delicious aromas of chocolate and vanilla from the cookies that were cooling on the bakers rack. Both Hannah and her daughter laughed as Moishe gave a yowl.

  “I think he wants to know if the cookies are cool enough to eat,” Hannah said. “Would you like to go and see, honey?”

  “Yes. Come on, Moishe. Let’s go!”

  Hannah smiled as she watched her daughter and Moishe race across the kitchen floor to the bakers rack. And then the kitchen faded, slowly dissolving into . . . Norman’s master bedroom.

  Hannah sat up and rubbed her eyes. A dream. It had all been nothing but a dream and now it was over. A soft paw reached out to touch her cheek and Hannah realized that tears were rolling down her face. She hadn’t wanted the dream to end, but it had.

  “It’s all right, Moishe,” she said, reaching out to stroke his soft fur. “Maybe someday it’ll be real. Maybe someday.”