by Joanne Fluke
“What are you thinking about, Hannah?” Michelle asked, noticing Hannah’s preoccupation.
“This appetizer. I think Ross would love them and they’d be great at a dinner party. I need to get the recipe from Sally. Remind me before we leave, will you, Michelle?”
“Of course.” Michelle looked over at Bethie and then she leaned closer to Hannah. “Bethie’s counting her shoestring potatoes and putting them in piles, but she’s eating one for every pile she makes on the side of her plate. Do you think she’s too young to point out that she’ll lose count if she keeps on eating them?”
“She’s definitely too young. Remember when Mother took us to Winnie Henderson’s farm to pick strawberries?”
“Vaguely. I was pretty little, wasn’t I?”
“You were about four years old, I think. And you did exactly the same thing when you put a berry in your pail. Every time you got to ten, you ate one.”
“Did you point that out to me?”
“Oh, yes. I tried to tell you that for every group of ten, you’d have to add one strawberry if you wanted to know the total strawberries you’d picked.”
“And did I do that?”
“No. You just told me to leave you alone because you were hungry, and you loved strawberries, and you were working so hard to pick them, you deserved to eat one whenever you wanted.”
“I wasn’t interested in learning the math?”
“Not at all. And Bethie’s more than two years younger than you were at the time.”
“Lesson learned,” Michelle said. “I won’t say a word. I’ll just watch Bethie enjoy eating her shoestring potatoes.”
CHEESY PEPPERONI BITES
Hannah’s 1st Note: I tried making my own puff pastry dough once and, quite frankly, it wasn’t worth the time and effort. You can buy perfectly wonderful frozen puff pastry dough at your favorite grocery store. I usually keep a package at home in my freezer. The brand I buy contains two large sheets of pastry, individually wrapped. It’s fun to thaw a sheet, wrap leftovers inside, and bake them. I also use puff pastry packets to make fruit turnovers or to make little fruit tarts by using pieces of puff pastry to line the cups in a cupcake pan.
The Crust:
17.5-ounce package frozen puff pastry dough (I used Pepperidge Farm – it contains 2 sheets)
1 egg
1 Tablespoon water in a cup
Kosher salt or sea salt to sprinkle on top (I used Morton’s Kosher salt)
The Filling:
Baby Bell cheese balls in the cute little nets (I used Baby Bell Gouda, 6 cheese balls to a package - you can also use Baby Bell Brie, or Baby Bell Cheddar if you want a variety of cheeses)
¼ pound thinly-sliced pepperoni (the kind you’d put on homemade pizza—or if you’d prefer, you can use any other fairly dry sausage, and cut it to fit the cheese)
6 Kalamata pitted olives (I got mine at the Whole Foods Grocery olive bar, but they also come jarred or canned in the grocery store)
Thaw the frozen puff pastry dough according to the package directions.
While your puff pastry dough is thawing, open the package of Baby Bell cheese and start taking off the wax covering on each small ball of cheese.
If you used jarred olives, drain them and reserve the juice in case you don’t use all the olives and want to store them in a jar with juice.
Pat the olives dry with a paper towel and place them in a bowl on the counter.
When your puff pastry dough is thawed, preheat your oven to 400 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
Prepare a sheet cake pan or a cookie sheet by covering the bottom with parchment paper.
Lay one sheet of puff pastry out flat on a very-lightly floured board.
Use a rolling pin to “erase” the folds from the puff pastry, but don’t apply very much pressure.
When the fold marks have been erased, dust a little extra flour over the dough and roll it into an 8-inch by 12-inch rectangle. It helps to have a ruler or tape measure handy.
Cut the short side (8-inch side) into two equal pieces that will turn out to be 4 inches by 12 inches apiece.
Cut each 12-inch side into thirds, making six squares with 4-inch sides.
Break an egg into a cup. Add the Tablespoon of water and whisk it up briskly. This will be your egg wash.
Cut a Baby Bell cheese ball in half horizontally, so you have two pieces. You will use one piece for every Cheesy Pepperoni Bite.
Place half of the cheese ball in the center of a piece of puff pastry, the cut side of the cheese facing up.
Place a piece of pepperoni on top of the cut side of the cheese.
Cut a Kalamata olive in half and place one half on top of the pepperoni, cut side down.
Use a pastry brush to brush the inside edges of the puff pastry square with the egg wash. This will make the edges stick together when you fold the dough over the cheese ball.
Use a sharp knife to cut a line from one corner of the puff pastry in until it almost reaches the cheese ball.
Repeat this action for the three other corners.
Pick up one side of the puff pastry and fold it up over the cheese ball, pepperoni, and olive.
Fold the opposite side of the puff pastry up over the top and press it down on the other piece that is already there. It should stick because of the adhesive properties of the egg wash.
Repeat with the other two sides of the square, pulling them up and over the top and making sure that they stick to each other.
Brush the top of the cheese, pepperoni, and olive packet with the egg wash.
Sprinkle on a little Kosher salt or sea salt and place it on the parchment paper in your prepared pan or cookie sheet.
Repeat for all 6 squares.
Prepare the second sheet of puff pastry the same way you prepared the first, cut it into 6 squares and make 6 more appetizers.
When all the Cheesy Pepperoni Bites have been filled, sealed, brushed with egg wash, and sprinkled with Kosher or sea salt, it’s time to bake them.
Bake your appetizers at 400 degrees F. for 20 to 25 minutes, or until they’re golden brown on top.
Remove the pan or cookie sheet to a wire rack and let the Cheesy Pepperoni Bites cool for 5 to 10 minutes.
Serve your Cheesy Pepperoni Bites immediately on a pretty platter for a delicious party appetizer.
Yield: 12 crowd-pleasing appetizers.
Chapter Sixteen
“Here we are,” Michelle said, pulling into the empty parking spot reserved for penthouse guests.
“Sorry it took so long to get that recipe from Sally,” Hannah said. “She was really busy and had to wait for a break so she could copy it for me.”
“That’s okay. I wanted an extra cup of coffee anyway. I just wish I’d asked you to get a copy for that wonderful cheesecake I had. It was really fantastic.”
“You had the Peanut Butter Cheesecake with Chocolate Sauce, didn’t you?”
“Yes, and I was going to let you taste it, but my fork kept right on digging into it until it was gone. Really, Hannah. It was fantastic. I need to find out how hard it is to make.”
“I’ll get the recipe tomorrow while you’re at rehearsal,” Hannah promised. “I have to go back out there anyway. Sally said she had something to tell me, but the kitchen staff kept interrupting her. She said it was confidential and asked me to come out and have lunch with her so we wouldn’t be interrupted.”
“That’s intriguing. I wonder what Sally knows.”
“I’ll find out tomorrow and I’ll let you know as soon as I know. And now, before we go in, I’ve got to bring up another problem.”
Michelle paused with her hand on the door handle. “What problem is that?”
“How do we keep Mother from going down to Tori’s apartment with me?”
“With you?” Michelle noticed the singular rather than the plural, just as Hannah had expected she would.
“Yes. I’ve been locked up in jail before and I don’t want it to happen to you.
I know that Doc is going to try to prevent Mother from going with me, and I know he could use your help to keep her in their penthouse while I’m searching for Tori’s business manager’s name.”
“No way, Hannah!” Michelle said firmly. “I’m going with you and that’s that! It’ll go much faster with two of us searching and that means the risk to both of us will be minimized. You can’t argue with that.”
“True,” Hannah admitted, “but you’re my baby sister. I have a duty to protect you from harm.”
“Maybe you did when I was three but, just in case you haven’t noticed, I’m an adult now. That means I make my own decisions and I’ve decided to go with you.”
“But . . . I want to protect you.”
“And I want to protect you. That’s how sisters feel about each other. I’m positive that if we’d told Andrea what we’d planned to do, she would have moved heaven and earth to go with us.”
Hannah couldn’t deny the truth in Michelle’s statement. “I think it’s a good thing we didn’t tell Andrea. Just think of what it would do to Bill’s career if the Winnetka County Sheriff’s wife was caught removing crime scene tape and searching a murder victim’s apartment.”
“That would be bad,” Michelle agreed.
“That would be a disaster! There’s no way Bill would be re-elected and he might even be kicked out of the department, leaving him without a job and with two kids to support.”
“True,” Michelle admitted, “but I’m not in that position. The college wouldn’t kick me out unless they prosecuted me. And even then, they probably wouldn’t. I’m going with you, Hannah, and I’m not going to change my mind about that. Let’s stop arguing about it and start working out a game plan.”
Hannah considered that for a moment and then she nodded. “Okay. What do you think we should do first?”
“First we get the key from Mother. And then we take the back stairway down to Tori’s condo, so no one sees us use the elevator.”
“Good.”
“Then we search, room by room. How many rooms are in Tori’s condo?”
Hannah thought back to the night she’d seen the condos on Tori’s floor. “Three bedrooms—she used one as her acting studio—two baths—a guest and a master—a powder room, the large living room, a den, and a large kitchen.”
“Nine rooms in all?”
“Yes. The other condo on that floor is exactly the same size, but the order of the rooms are reversed.”
“Tori didn’t have a patio?”
“She did have a patio right off the living room and the master bedroom. It’s on the side of the building that faces city hall.”
“How big is it?”
“Not that big. It’s long, but it’s not very deep. And it’s doubtful that Tori would have stored any papers out there.”
“Why not? Isn’t it a covered patio?”
“It is a covered patio, but the sides are open to the elements. There’s no way Tori would have put a filing cabinet, or a desk, or anything that could be ruined by the weather out there.”
“Okay. That’s ten rooms including the patio, but that’s a quick walk-through. We’ll take four rooms apiece and check out the patio and the living room together. If we divide it that way, we’ll be through in half the time it would take you to search alone.”
Hannah sighed and then she nodded. There was no arguing with Michelle’s logic.
“Which room do you think is the most likely to contain the papers we need?”
“The den. Mother told me that Tori has a desk and filing cabinet in there and she used it for her home office.”
“Okay then,” Michelle said. “I’ll search the den with you and you can do the living room alone. The filing cabinet and desk will be the most labor intensive and it’ll help to have two sets of eyes.”
“That’s true,” Hannah told her. What Michelle had said made perfect sense.
“Okay. Let’s go!” Michelle grabbed a take-out box from the back seat and opened the driver’s side door to get out.
“What’s that?” Hannah asked, noticing the Styrofoam box in Michelle’s hand.
“A slice of Sally’s Peanut Butter Cheesecake with Chocolate Sauce. While you were talking to Sally, I ordered dessert for Doc. Mother was in such a hurry to go, he didn’t even get a chance to have coffee.”
Both sisters got out of the cookie truck and walked through the parking lot. As they neared the door to the Albion Hotel, Hannah reached out to take Michelle’s arm to stop her before she could open the door. “Do you think we should use the penthouse staircase so no one sees us go up in the elevator?”
“I don’t think that matters. If people see us go up, they’ll just assume that we’re visiting Mother and Doc. And we are, before we go down to Tori’s apartment.”
“You’re right. I guess I’m getting a little paranoid.”
Michelle shrugged. “It doesn’t hurt to be a little paranoid when you’re about to do something illegal.”
“I guess that’s true,” Hannah agreed, but her mind was saying, You’re jumping into jeopardy again, Hannah Swensen. You’d better be very careful, because this time you’re taking your baby sister with you!
* * *
Delores answered the door at the first chime of the doorbell, and Hannah knew that her mother had been waiting for them.
“Bad news,” Delores said, and then she put her finger to her lips. “Doc’s out in the garden with Norman.”
“Norman’s here?” Hannah was surprised.
“Doc called him and he came right over. He was working late, doing paperwork at the dental clinic.”
“Why did Doc call Norman?” Hannah asked, getting right to the heart of the matter.
“Because he didn’t want me to go down to Tori’s apartment with you. He said it might trigger my nightmares again.”
Hannah was surprised. “I didn’t know you had nightmares! Are they about finding Tori?”
“Yes. I had them for the past three nights, and last night was the first night I didn’t have one. I kept seeing Tori down on the floor with her spilled champagne glass and all that blood. It was awful! Doc said I woke up, screaming her name.”
“I’m sorry, Mother,” Hannah told her, wishing that there were some way to console her. She’d had nightmares about her milkman, Ron LaSalle, being shot on the front seat of his Cozy Cow milk truck. Tori had also been shot and seeing her must have been a horrible shock for Delores.
“I think Doc is right and you shouldn’t go with us,” Michelle said quickly. “Having nightmares is probably an occupational hazard when you find a murder victim. It happened to me after I found Judge Duquesne in Sally’s cooler. I haven’t been able to go into a walk-in cooler since then without taking a deep breath and telling myself that lightning doesn’t strike in the same place twice, and it won’t happen again.”
“Thank you for understanding, dears,” Delores sighed deeply, “I wish I could, but I do think it’s best if I don’t go down there with you. Doc told me that if I went, he’d have to schedule a pre-frontal lobotomy for me. He was just teasing me, wasn’t he, dear?”
“Yes, Mother, I’m sure he was,” Hannah said.
“You still haven’t told us why Norman’s here,” Michelle pointed out. “Why did Doc call him?”
“Doc wants Norman to go down there with you. When I told him that I had to go with you because it would go faster if three people searched, he went straight to the phone and called Norman. And when Norman agreed to go to Tori’s condo with you, Doc told me that I was no longer needed and that he wanted me to stay home with him.”
“He strong-armed you,” Michelle remarked.
“Yes, in a way. But he was only trying to protect me. Or perhaps he was trying to . . .”
“What, Mother?” Hannah asked her.
“Perhaps Doc was simply trying to get a good night’s sleep. Every time I had a nightmare about finding Tori, he sat up with me until I calmed down.”
Hannah laughed. �
�You could be right. But it’s okay, Mother. Norman’s very good at searching for things. He’s done it before. We think it’s fine if you stay right here with Doc, don’t we, Michelle?”
“Of course we do,” Michelle agreed immediately. “Norman can go with us. And you can make coffee for Doc, I brought him a piece of Sally’s Peanut Butter Cheesecake with Chocolate Sauce.”
“Oh, my!” Delores said, beaming at her. “How very nice of you, dear. Come to think of it, I was torn between ordering that and the chocolate soufflé. This way I’ll get to taste it anyway.”
“Maybe not,” Michelle warned her. “It’s so good, Doc may not want to share.”
“He’ll share,” Delores gave a little smile. “Either that, or I’ll simply sneak a little in the kitchen before I serve it to him.”
Michelle handed the take out container to Delores and both daughters followed their mother to the garden. There they found Norman seated in a lounge chair next to Doc.
“Hi, Doc,” Hannah greeted her stepfather and then she turned to Norman. “Hello, Norman.”
