by Joanne Fluke
At that exact moment, the curtains were pulled back and Michelle stepped in. “Sorry that took longer than I thought. I had to wait for Lonnie to call me back so I just stayed close to . . .” She stopped speaking as she spotted her mother. “Hello, Mother. What are you doing out here tonight?”
CRUNCHY SALTY CHEESY PROSCIUTTO AND ASPARAGUS ROLLS (An Appetizer)
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F., rack in the middle position
2 sheets of frozen puff pastry dough (I used
Pepperidge Farm)
20 slices prosciutto in long thin strips
20 spears asparagus, cleaned and trimmed (either
fresh or frozen)
Parmesan cheese, finely grated
Prepare your baking sheet by either spraying it with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray or lining it with parchment paper.
Hannah’s 1st Note: I used a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
Thaw your frozen puff pastry dough according to package directions.
Spread out your thawed dough on a lightly floured surface and roll it out until it’s slightly thinner than pie crust dough.
With the blade of a sharp knife, cut the sheets into rectangles the same size as the length of your asparagus. Make sure that the rectangles are high enough to wrap around the prosciutto-covered asparagus spear twice.
Wrap one slice of prosciutto around an asparagus spear.
Roll the prosciutto-covered asparagus spear in the shredded Parmesan cheese.
Place one puff pastry rectangle out a clean surface.
Hannah’s 2nd Note: I used a sheet of wax paper for my clean surface.
Spray the inside surface of the rectangle with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray.
Place the prosciutto-covered asparagus spear on the bottom of the rectangle. Roll the spear up from the bottom and press down the top of the rectangle slightly so that it will stay in place when you bake it.
Place the completed roll on the prepared baking sheet.
Repeat until all the asparagus spears are wrapped with prosciutto, rolled in shredded Parmesan cheese, and encased in puff pastry rectangles.
When all of your appetizers are on the baking sheet, bake them at 450 degrees F. for 10 minutes, or until they are golden brown.
Serve these delicious appetizers warm.
Yield: 20 delightful appetizers that will make any party a success.
Hannah’s 3rd Note: Lisa wants to make these appetizers ahead of time and freeze them. She’s going to thaw them for 15 minutes on the kitchen counter, spray them with Pam or nonstick baking spray on the outside, and bake them until they are golden brown. I think it will work just fine, but she hasn’t tried it yet.
Chapter Twenty
Delores had apologized profusely for leaping to conclusions, laughed with them about her misinterpretation of the situation, and joined them to enjoy the appetizer. When Doc arrived, she’d left to have dinner with him, and shortly after that, their entrees had been served. Once those had been eaten, the busboy had cleared away their dishes, and now they were waiting for the coffee they’d ordered.
“Here’s your coffee,” their waitress announced, coming in with a tray containing coffee cups, cream and sugar, and spoons. Once all three of them had their coffee, she said, “Sally wants me to tell you that she’ll be with you in less than five minutes and she’s bringing the dessert. It’s something she tried today and she’d like your opinions.”
“What is it?” Hannah asked.
“Almond Custard Pie with Raspberry Glaze. The waitstaff always tries out new things, and everyone thought it was delicious.”
“I believe you,” Hannah told her. “Everything Sally makes is delicious.”
When their waitress had left, Norman leaned forward and lowered his voice. “What do you think Sally has to tell us?”
“I don’t know,” Hannah admitted. “It could be something about almost anybody. Everyone in Lake Eden comes out here to eat when they want a fancy dinner or it’s a special occasion.”
“People from the neighboring towns come here, too,” Michelle added.
“It could be something about the convention,” Norman reminded them.
“Somehow, I don’t think so, but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see,” Hannah said, taking a sip of her coffee.
Sally arrived at their table within five minutes, just as their waitress had promised. She was followed by one of her busboys, who was carrying dessert plates, forks, a bowl of something puffy and white that Hannah guessed was sweetened whipped cream, and a whole pie cut into six pieces.
“Thanks for the feedback on my appetizer,” Sally said, sliding into the booth and nodding to the busboy to serve their dessert. “How did you like the Piccadilly Cheese Mini Muffins?”
“All three of us loved them!” Hannah responded immediately. “They’re different than anything I’ve ever tasted before and they’re delicious. Could I have the recipe?”
“Of course. I’ll print it out before you leave.”
“And could we have the recipe for the new appetizer, too?” Michelle asked.
“I’ll give you both of them,” Sally promised. “And once you taste my new pie, you’ll want that, too. Both Loren and Brooke raved about it and asked me how to make it. They’re going to serve it to the vendors on the last day of the convention.”
“Our waitress said it was an almond custard with a raspberry glaze, and she told us that it was delicious,” Norman told Sally.
“Yes. It’s a smooth, creamy custard. Just wait until you taste it. My grandmother used to make it, and the recipe was in her recipe box. Back then, they didn’t have almond butter and she had to make her own before she could mix up the rest of the pie.”
“Did she include a recipe for the almond butter?” Hannah asked, wondering if it was the same as the one she had.
“No. It wasn’t included in the pie recipe and I was too young to remember how she made it. Since Florence carries almond butter in the peanut butter and jelly aisle, I just used that. It worked really well in the custard.”
Sally waited until the busboy placed a slice in front of each of them. Then Sally picked up the bowl of sweetened whipped cream and garnished the top of their slices with a generous dollop. “You can decorate the whipped cream with fresh raspberries if you like. It makes the pie look a little dressier.”
She picked up her fork, and the three of them quickly followed suit. When they tasted the pie, smiles spread across everyone’s face.
“Well?” Sally asked as they each went for a second bite.
“I’m just not sure, Sally,” Norman said, cutting off another, much larger bite. “I may have to try another slice to make sure.”
“I agree,” Michelle told Sally. “It wouldn’t be fair to judge it on just one slice.”
Sally laughed and turned to Hannah. “Will you give me an opinion?” she asked.
“Yes, but I want to make sure the custard is consistent so I’d better have a second piece, too. So far, it’s incredibly delicious. I love the texture, and the almond flavor reminds me of marzipan with only one difference.”
“What’s that?” Sally asked.
“Your pie is more delicious and I like it a lot better than marzipan. And the raspberry glaze complements the almond flavor perfectly. Put it on the dessert menu, Sally. It’s definitely a huge winner.”
Their waitress brought a second pie, and everyone ate another slice. The busboy arrived with a fresh carafe of coffee, and after he had left, closing the curtains behind him, Sally leaned forward so that she could lower her voice.
“Are you ready to hear what I know about the murder case?” she asked Hannah.
“The three of us are all ears,” Hannah told her, letting Sally know that it was fine to share this information with Michelle and Norman.
“P.K. and Pinkie came out here quite a bit,” Sally told them. “It was their favorite place to eat. Dot got to know them quite well since they were here so often.”
Hannah held up her hand to stop Sally. “Just a minute, Sally. This is important. Do either you or Dot know Pinkie’s real name?”
“No. I was curious and I asked Dot. She checked around for me, and she said no one here had ever heard her called anything other than Pinkie. Dick doesn’t know either. I asked him.”
“How about Pinkie’s last name?” Michelle asked. “Was it ever on a credit card she used?”
Sally shook her head. “P.K. always paid so we don’t know that, either. Let me give you a little background about their relationship.”
Hannah drew her murder book out of her purse and found a pen. “Please do,” she told Sally.
“Pinkie didn’t eat red meat, but she loved my chicken and fish entrees. P.K. always had some kind of red meat, but he always asked Pinkie if that was okay. She would tell him that it really didn’t bother her to see him eating red meat and he should order whatever he wanted.”
“Did Pinkie drink wine with dinner?” Norman asked.
“No. Neither one of them drank alcohol, at least not out here. I asked Dick about that and he said both of them ordered Virgin Cuba Libres when they came to the bar. They’d come out here after P.K. got off work, sit in the bar with their drinks for a while, and then they’d come into the dining room for dinner.”
“Did Pinkie ever eat any of Dick’s pizza dip?” Michelle asked.
Sally smiled. “Dick told me that Pinkie loved it, but she made P.K. eat off all the pepperoni slices before she’d have any. He also told me that P.K. used to kid her about how he had to save her from temptation, and then they’d both laugh about it. Dick thought they were a really cute couple and he congratulated them on their engagement. He was about to offer them a bottle of champagne on the house, but then he remembered that they didn’t drink alcohol so he brought a chilled bottle of sparkling apple juice instead.”
“Did you see Pinkie or P.K. after they broke up?” Hannah asked.
“Yes, I saw her and she was desperately unhappy. It was shortly after the breakup. I could ask Dot to look up the exact date if you want it.”
“No, that’s okay,” Hannah told her, “but please keep it handy. If I need it for any reason, I’ll let you know.”
“It’ll be right there in the monthly reservation books. I keep all of them in a file box, just in case.”
“In case of a murder?” Michelle asked.
“That could be one reason I guess, but there are others.”
“Please tell us.” Norman was clearly curious.
“I started keeping the reservation books in case my tax returns were ever audited and they wanted to know who was working on a particular day. Dot writes the names of everyone’s server right under their reservation. It could also be useful if one of my diners is involved in a court case.”
“To prove that they showed up for dinner and what time they came in?” Hannah guessed.
“Yes. Anyway, as I said, when Pinkie came in alone, she told Dot she missed P.K. and she didn’t understand why he’d broken off their engagement.”
Michelle’s mouth dropped open in surprise. “But . . . I thought it was the other way around and Pinkie broke up with him!”
“Let’s just say it was mutual and there were bad feelings on both sides. I’m almost positive that there’s no way they could have patched it up and gotten back together.”
Hannah really didn’t want to ask the follow-up question, but this was a murder investigation and she was obligated to ferret out the truth. “Do you know the reason they broke up?”
“Oh, yes. Everyone who was in the dining room that night knows. Their breakup was very contentious.”
“Did it involve another woman?”
“No. That wasn’t it at all.”
Hannah had been holding her breath, and she let it out in a soft sigh of relief. She’d been hoping that the words other woman, or Michelle’s name, wouldn’t come up in their conversation.
“You said everyone who was here knew the reason they broke up,” Hannah followed up again. “Tell us about it.”
“Of course. You have the background now. Just remember that everyone here thought they were a perfect couple and they never did anything to make us think differently. That’s why it was so shocking.”
Hannah leaned a little closer, and then she realized that Michelle and Norman were also leaning forward toward Sally. It was as if their action would cause Sally to hurry and tell them. But instead of continuing, Sally reached for the coffee carafe and filled everyone’s cup.
Sally could give Lisa a run for her money, Hannah thought. She’s got all three of us on pins and needles, waiting to hear what she’s about to tell us.
“Pinkie decided she wanted the Maine lobster with drawn butter that night, and P.K. ordered my tenderloin tips with wild mushrooms. When their entrees came, Pinkie took only one bite of her lobster, put down her fork, and started to argue with P.K.”
“Was it a bad argument?” Michelle asked.
“I’ll say! It went on for at least ten minutes and that’s a long time to fight, especially in a public place with people listening. And my lovely Maine lobster sat there getting as cold as icicles. The drawn butter had already started to congeal before they were through arguing.”
“Do you know who started the argument?” Hannah asked in an effort to bring Sally back to the subject of the argument itself.
“Pinkie did. P.K. was about to take his first bite of tenderloin when she began to accuse him of all sorts of things.”
“What things?” Norman asked.
“Everything under the sun,” Sally said. “She started by accusing P.K. of not really loving her, and then she told him all the things he did wrong.”
“Like what?” Michelle asked.
“She said he was mean to her, he never remembered to call her from work, he couldn’t possibly be too busy to take a second to tell her he loved her, and on, and on, and on. She became positively unhinged and it all ended badly. Very badly.”
Sally stopped, drew a deep breath, and then she went on. “We’ve had some squabbles in here, but this one was legendary. I’ve never seen anyone carry on the way Pinkie did. P.K. tried to calm her down, but their fight got louder and louder.”
“P.K. got loud?” Michelle sounded surprised, and Hannah knew why. P.K. had been very soft-spoken and they’d never heard him say a harsh word about anyone.
“Not him, her. P.K. never raised his voice, not even when she got totally ridiculous. Pinkie was the one who started yelling and screaming at him. Would you like my opinion on this?”
“Yes, please,” Hannah said quickly.
“All right. I think Pinkie was just trying to start a big public fight with him, and she got madder and madder when he stayed calm and refused to fight with her.”
“Did P.K. attempt to answer her accusations?” Norman asked.
“Yes, he did. And he did it in a nice, calm voice. But that seemed to infuriate her even more. She kept carping at him and he kept trying to calm her down and reassure her. It seemed to go on forever, but eventually P.K. reached the end of his patience.”
“What did he do?” Norman asked.
“He said that if she was going to be like that and throw a tantrum in front of a whole roomful of people, he didn’t want to marry her.”
“Was P.K. really angry?” Michelle asked her.
“He didn’t sound angry. He just sounded very definite, as if he’d just reached a logical conclusion. And then Pinkie told him that was fine with her, she wouldn’t marry him even if he was the last man on earth. And she yanked off that engagement ring that she was so proud of.”
“And did she give to him?” Michelle asked.
“And how! She threw it at P.K. so hard, it bounced off the water glass and ended up two tables away. And then she stomped out of the dining room, out to the parking lot, and drove away.”
“That’s . . . awful,” Michelle looked shocked and upset. “What did P.K. do?”
�
�He got up from the table, apologized to everyone here for her behavior, collected his engagement ring from the lady who held it out to him, and stopped at the desk to pay his bill. And then he left.”
“But . . . how did he get back to KCOW to pick up his car?” Michelle asked.
Sally shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess he called a taxi.”
“I have to ask you a hard question, Sally,” Hannah addressed her directly. “Do you think that Pinkie was deranged enough to kill P.K.?”
Sally thought about that for a long moment, and then she sighed. “I just don’t know, Hannah. I thought about that. The argument was quite a while before P.K. died, but I guess it’s possible that Pinkie could have held a grudge against him that long. I know people do. And it could have kept building and building inside her until finally she was driven to take action.”
ALMOND CUSTARD PIE WITH RASPBERRY JAM GLAZE
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
The Crust:
1 and ½ cups of crushed soda or Ritz Crackers (measure AFTER crushing)
6 Tablespoons (¾ stick) salted butter, melted
⅓ cup brown sugar (pack it down when you measure it)
The Almond Custard:
¾ cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream (that’s whipping cream)
⅔ cup smooth almond butter (I used Jif)
¼ cup white (granulated) sugar
