Apple Turnover Murder, Key Lime Pie Murder, Cherry Cheesecake Murder, Lemon Meringue Pie Murder

by Joanne Fluke

  “Sure. Is Ross here?”

  “He’s in the living room talking to Norman.”

  “Great. I have to tell him that the kids are trying to skate on the ice rink at the park.”

  “What’s wrong with that?”

  “It’s fake ice and it’s going to be all marked up by the time they shoot there on Friday.”

  “Fake ice?” Hannah was surprised. This was the first she’d heard of it, but it made sense to her. It was possible to have a warm spell before Friday that might render the ice rink unusable. “What are they going to do about the snow if the weather warms up?”

  “They’ll use fake snow. They’re going to use it anyway, just to make it look better.”

  “Okay,” Hannah said, too tired to ask the other questions that occurred to her. “If you don’t mind, I’m beat and I’m going to bed. Will you tell Norman and Ross?”

  Mike looked shocked. “Sure, but you’re kicking us out without coffee?”

  “I’m not kicking you out at all. Help yourselves to coffee and any cookies you find in the cookie jar. Stay as long as you like, but just don’t wake me when you leave. And since you’re the official law enforcement officer, would you please make sure that you’re the last one out and the door locks behind you?”

  “You can be sure of that!” Mike said, putting both hands around her waist to turn her around and give her a gentle nudge toward the bedroom.

  Chapter

  Sixteen

  It was ten o’clock on Wednesday morning and Lisa had just opened The Cookie Jar for business. Dean Lawrence had approved the Mini Cherry Cheesecakes enthusiastically, and Hannah had returned to The Cookie Jar to bake and chill another four batches for the cocktail party scene that would be shot that afternoon. Moishe was holding court at the round table by the window, Lisa was waiting on a customer, and Hannah was in the kitchen with Andrea, baking the cookies she’d intended to bake the previous evening.

  “All three of them?” Andrea stared at Hannah in absolute shock and then she started to laugh. “And you just left them there and went to bed?”

  Hannah shrugged as she finished shaping another pan of cookies and slid them onto the baker’s rack. The timer dinged and she removed the pans that had been in the oven, replacing them with the pans she’d just prepared. “These are new cookies we’re going to try out today. They’re called All-Nighters.”

  “Why?”

  “Because they’re banana and peanut butter. That was Lynne’s favorite sandwich when she was in college and she used to make them every time we got together to cram for finals.”

  “Not that why. The other why.”

  “What other why?”

  “The important why. Why did you just leave them there in your living room?”

  “It was easier than trying to get them to leave. And I needed my sleep.”

  “You mean you actually slept?”

  “Like a baby. And that reminds me, how’s Bethany?”

  “She’s great. She smiled at me this morning. Grandma McCann said it was gas, but I know a real smile when I see one. Do you want me to taste one of the All-Nighters and tell you what I think?”

  “Absolutely.”

  Andrea reached for a cookie and took a bite. She chewed and swallowed, and then she smiled. “They’re good, Hannah. I’ve always liked banana and peanut butter. It’s a great combination. And that reminds me, do you have a red scarf I can borrow? The kind you wear around your neck when you’re skating?”

  Hannah hid an amused smile. It was another zinger from the mistress of non sequitur. Andrea probably had a reason for the abrupt change of subject, but Hannah didn’t want to ask. Sometimes the explanation took more time than it was worth. “I don’t have one. Why do you need it?”

  “Mr. Lawrence thought it would add a lot to Tracey’s skating scene if she wore a red scarf draped around her neck. He said it would be a great combination with her royal blue coat. And he said the red would make it look as if she’s skating even faster when she’s on the end for Crack the Whip.”

  “A great combination,” Hannah repeated, recalling that Andrea had called peanut butter and bananas a great combination before she’d asked about the red scarf. “Doesn’t Bill have a red scarf? I think I gave him one a couple of years ago for Christmas.”

  Andrea clapped her hands in delight. “Yes, he does! He wears it with his dress coat and I think it’s in his top dresser drawer. Thanks for remembering it, Hannah. It’ll be just perfect for Tracey’s scene.”

  “That’s today?”

  “No, not until Friday. Today they’re shooting the classroom scene, where she wins the spelling bee. It’s at noon, right before they break for lunch. You’ll come, won’t you?”

  “I wouldn’t miss it,” Hannah said.

  “I think I’ll go look for that scarf right now. I have to go home anyway.”

  “Why?”

  “I need to see if Bethany will smile at me again.”

  Hannah was refilling coffee cups when she noticed Connor motioning to her from the counter. She finished the table she was serving, and then she ducked behind the counter to talk to him. “Hi, Connor. Do you need me?”

  “I certainly do. You said to let you know if I couldn’t talk Mrs. Henderson into signing that release form. Well, I talked until I was blue in the face, but there’s no way she’ll do it. She was really nice about it, though. She gave me gooseberry pie and coffee and showed me pictures of her grandchildren.”

  “But she didn’t sign?”

  “No. Nothing I said convinced her, not even the money Mr. Lawrence was willing to pay.”

  “Then I’ll give it a try,” Hannah promised. “I’ll catch her when they shoot the cocktail scene.”

  “Mrs. Henderson is in the cocktail scene?”

  “No, but her youngest daughter is and Winnie’s bound to drive in to watch Alice. I think I can convince her.”

  “Oh, I hope so! Thank you, Hannah. I’ll tell Mr. Lawrence that you’re going to try. I just hope he doesn’t fire me for failing him.”

  “He won’t…will he?”

  “He’s fired me before, but he always hired me back after he got over being mad at me. I’m just afraid that it’ll be permanent one of these times. I’m almost sixty and it would be hard to get another job without references from my former employer.”

  “You’re worrying over nothing,” Hannah reassured him, reaching into one of the serving jars with napkin-sheathed fingers and handing him two Twin Chocolate Delights. “Eat these cookies. The chocolate will make you feel better.”

  “But I really should go and find Mr. Lawrence.”

  “Find him later, after I’ve talked to Winnie.”

  “But Mr. Lawrence told me to get right back to him.”

  “Bad news can wait, especially since that bad news might turn into good news.”

  Connor considered it for a moment and then he nodded. “You could be right. If Mr. Lawrence doesn’t ask me outright, I’ll wait to tell him.”

  Ten minutes later, Connor was smiling and chatting with one of the grips. Hannah’s chocolate prescription had done the trick and she was congratulating herself on a job well done when Andrea rushed back in the door.

  “Hi, Andrea,” Hannah greeted her. “Did you find that scarf?”

  “I found it. And I found something else, too.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Proof that Bill is cheating on me!”

  Klaxons sounded in Hannah’s head. Her sister’s eyes were blazing with angry fire and it was clear she was fit to be tied. “Come into the kitchen with me and you can tell me all about it. I have to take Moishe back there for a break.”

  Hannah collected her cat, shifted him to one arm, and grabbed Andrea’s arm with her free hand. She rushed her through the crowded coffee shop before anyone could ask what was wrong, and into the confines of the deserted kitchen. She dropped Moishe off in his large dog crate and shut the door, but she didn’t release Andrea’s arm until h
er sister was seated on a stool at the work island.

  “Eat these!” Hannah ordered, plunking a couple of Chocolate Chip Crunch cookies down on a napkin and shoving them over to her sister.

  “But I don’t want any…”

  “Eat them while I get us some coffee,” Hannah said, interrupting her sister’s protest. “Have I ever steered you wrong with chocolate?”

  “No, but…” Andrea stopped speaking and sighed. And then she took a bite of the first cookie. It was only after she’d consumed both that she looked up at Hannah with tearful eyes. “It’s Bill. He’s…”

  “Have a sip of coffee first,” Hannah interrupted her again. “Then I want you to start at the beginning and tell me everything.”

  Andrea did as ordered. She sipped the coffee, gave another quavering sigh, and then squared her shoulders. “Bill didn’t take his new shirt with him. I found it hidden at the bottom of his scarf and hankie drawer.”

  “Okay,” Hannah said, heading to the walk-in cooler for reinforcements. She set the rest of the box of chocolate truffles in front of her sister and got down to business. “Nibble on those while you tell me why the shirt Bill forgot means he’s cheating on you.”

  “He didn’t forget it. He didn’t not take it on purpose.”

  Double negative, Hannah’s grammatical mind shouted, but she ignored it. This was not the time to correct her sister’s speech. “You think Bill deliberately left the shirt at home?”

  “Yes! I laid it out on the bed and folded it for him and everything. And then, when my back was turned, he stuffed it in his dresser drawer instead of putting it in his suitcase. And he made sure it was his scarf and hankie drawer, so I wouldn’t find out he didn’t pack it.”

  “Okay,” Hannah regrouped. “And you think this means he’s cheating on you?”

  “I know it does.”

  Hannah waited until Andrea had taken another dose of chocolate before she continued. “Exactly how do you know that?”

  “The shirt Bill didn’t take is the new one I gave him for Valentine’s Day. I asked him to think of me every time he wore it and he promised he would.”

  “But Bill didn’t take the shirt.”

  “That’s right. And you know that Bill never promises something unless he means it. That proves he wanted to forget all about me and follow his own agenda in Miami. He’s probably out on the beach right now with Ronni Ward and…” Andrea stopped as Moishe let out a yowl. “You’re absolutely right, Moishe. Bill’s probably out there catting around.”

  But no sooner had the words left Andrea’s mouth than Moishe gave another yowl even louder than the first. And then another that was practically earsplitting.

  “What’s the matter with him, Hannah?”

  Hannah walked over to take her cat out of the cage. He wanted to get away from them and back to adoration of his public, but Andrea felt abandoned enough as it was without adding a cat’s rejection to the mix. “He’s upset,” she said, quite truthfully.

  “Why?”

  “He knows you’re upset and you’re one of his favorite people,” Hannah told her, leaving truth in the dust. “He probably wants to sit in your lap and make you feel better.”

  “How sweet!” Andrea breathed, holding out her arms. “Give him to me, Hannah.”

  “Be nice and I’ll give you a whole can of tuna when we get home,” Hannah whispered in her mini-tiger’s ear. Moishe turned to give her a baleful look, as if a fishy bribe was an insult and he wouldn’t dream of misbehaving with someone as upset as Andrea was.

  “It’s very, very nice of you to care, but I’m much better now,” Andrea cooed, stroking Moishe’s head. And then she looked up at Hannah. “This is just amazing. I had no idea he liked me this much. Look, Hannah. He’s licking my hand.”

  Hannah smiled and mentally vowed to give her feline a whole canister of salmon-flavored treats in addition to the tuna. And then she got back to the business at hand. “So…you found the shirt in Bill’s scarf drawer.”

  “His scarf and hankie drawer. He doesn’t have a drawer just for scarves.”

  “Right.” Hannah did her best to think of some reason why Bill wouldn’t want to take the shirt. “Tell me about the shirt. What kind was it?”

  “It was an Armani that I found on sale out at the mall. The salesman told me it was really in right now, and Bill said he absolutely loved it.”

  Really in tipped Hannah off. She was willing to bet there was more to this story than a simple shirt. “What did the shirt look like?”

  “You know. It had two sleeves, and buttons, and a collar, and…you know what a shirt looks like.”

  “Long sleeves, or short?”

  “Long.”

  “Regular collar?”

  “That’s right. It had one pocket, and it was an absolutely gorgeous color.”

  “Uh-oh,” Hannah said under her breath. They’d come to the crux of it now. “What color?” she asked, narrowing in on what she hoped would explain her brother-in-law’s atypical behavior.

  “Raspberry.”

  That set Hannah back a couple of paces. “And raspberry is…red?”

  “It’s a little lighter than red.”

  Ah-ha! Hannah experienced the sweet thrill of success. “Is it pink?”

  “It’s not pure pink. It has some blue in it, you know?”

  “Not really. Describe the color in more detail.”

  “Well…it’s a little bluer than mauve, but much more subdued than cherry. It’s really just a shade or two lighter than burgundy.”

  “I see,” Hannah said, doing her best not to chuckle. The shirt Bill had failed to pack was pink and that explained everything. There was no way Bill would wear a pink shirt to a law enforcement convention. With all that testosterone floating around, the chairs and tables were probably growing beards, and any sheriff in a pink shirt would be laughed right out of the hotel…especially if he said his wife bought it for him and he’d promised to think of her every time he wore it.

  “What?” Andrea asked. “Are you choking?”

  “Something must have gone down the wrong pipe. Just let me get a glass of water.” Hannah coughed again, doing her best to conceal her mirth as she headed for the sink to run water.

  “Well?” Andrea asked, when Hannah came back to the table. “Do you see why I’m so upset?”

  “Of course I do. But…there may be a very simple explanation. Has Bill ever worn that shirt?”

  “No, not yet.”

  “That’s it, then,” Hannah said, congratulating herself for saving Andrea’s marriage and getting her brother-in-law out of a pickle.

  “What’s it? I don’t understand.”

  “Bill didn’t want to wear it for the first time when you weren’t around, especially since he’d think of you and get lonely. It’s as clear as the nose on my face.” The nose on my face that’s growing longer by the second, her mind added, but Hannah ignored it.

  “I still don’t understand.”

  “Bill didn’t wear it because he’s saving it for a special occasion.”

  “Well…I guess that makes some kind of sense,” Andrea conceded.

  “You bet it does. And I’m also sure that when he gets home, Bill’s going to take you out to a fancy dinner and wear that shirt.”

  “You think?”

  “I know,” Hannah said, making a mental note to call Bill at his hotel in Florida and make sure he knew enough to do just that.

  ALL-NIGHTER COOKIES

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position

  Hannah’s Note: Florence didn’t have any bananas (she didn’t expect to be open while they were shooting the movie) and I ended up taking one of Edna’s shortcuts in this recipe. If you don’t like shortcuts and want to do this the original way, use 2/3 cup very ripe, almost all black on the outside, pureed bananas instead of the baby food bananas and banana pudding mix. The other change you have to make is to use 4 cups flour instead of 3 ½ . The dough will be stickier and y
ou’ll have to chill it for at least 4 hours in order to make the dough balls. I made these cookies both ways, and Mother was the only one who could tell the difference. (I still think it was a lucky guess.)

  1½ cups melted butter (3 sticks)

  1 cup white (granulated) sugar

  1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

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

  1 teaspoon baking soda

  ½ teaspoon salt

  ½ cup baby food mashed bananas (I used Gerber’s)

  5.1 ounce package banana cream pudding mix (NOT sugar-free) (I used Jell-O, 6-serving pkg.)

  3½ cups flour (no sifting—pack it down in the cup when you measure)

  1 cup chopped nuts (I used salted peanuts)

  2 cups peanut butter chips (one 10-ounce package will do just fine)

  ½ cup white (granulated) sugar for later

  Melt the butter in a large microwave-safe bowl. Stir in the sugars, beaten eggs, baking soda, and salt.

  Measure out ½ cup of baby food bananas and add it, along with the package of dry pudding mix. (Make sure your baby food bananas don’t have anything else, like cereal, added to them!)

  Mix in the flour by half-cup increments. Add the nuts and then the peanut butter chips. Stir until everything is incorporated.

  Roll the dough into walnut-sized balls with your hands. (If it’s too sticky, chill it for 30 minutes or so, and try again.)

  Put ½ cup white sugar in a small bowl and roll the balls in it. Place the dough balls on a greased cookie sheet, 12 to a standard-sized sheet. Press them down with the heel of your hand, or with a metal spatula sprayed with Pam or other non-stick cooking spray.