by Joanne Fluke
“The one about how devastated Pinkie was after the breakup, even though she deliberately caused it?”
“That’s right.”
“And you’re wondering if Pinkie could be carrying a grudge against P.K., a totally irrational grudge that could have somehow led to P.K.’s murder?”
“Exactly.”
“But how will going out to the Corner Tavern help you find out?”
“I called this morning, and I found out that Georgina is working this afternoon.”
“She works at the Red Velvet Lounge too, doesn’t she?”
“She does. And Georgina has a way of knowing everything about her customers.”
“That’s what you said about Carol out at KCOW.”
“I know I did, but when Pinkie went out there to pick up P.K., she was probably on her best behavior. And Georgina might have seen her at other times of the day, like nights or weekends when P.K. wasn’t around. Everyone at KCOW seemed to think that Pinkie was a very sweet person. And so did Sally and Dot, until the night she threw P.K.’s engagement ring at him and stormed out.”
Michelle thought about that for a moment. “That’s true and it’s worth checking out. The Corner Tavern is an after-event place. People go out there late at night after they’ve seen a movie, or gone to a sports event at Jordan High. It’s the best place to go at night if you want a burger.”
“They have a fish burger, too. And I know there’s a barbecued chicken burger. And remember that Pinkie only took one bite of her lobster. She was probably hungry after spending all that energy fighting with P.K. and she might have stopped there to get something to eat. I’m curious to know Pinkie’s demeanor after that awful breakup.”
Traffic was light, and Hannah and Michelle arrived at the Corner Tavern a few minutes later. Since it was too early for dinner and too late for lunch, the parking lot wasn’t crowded. Hannah found a spot very close to the front door, and they hurried inside to get out of the cold.
“Hi, girls,” Nona Prentiss, the owner’s wife, greeted them.
“Hi, Nona,” Hannah responded. “We didn’t expect to see you here this time of day.”
“My regular hostess had a doctor’s appointment and I told her I’d fill in. She should be back soon. Are you here to eat, or just to see if you can find out something about P.K.’s murder?”
“Both,” Hannah admitted. “I called earlier and your regular hostess told me that Georgina was working. Could Michelle and I please sit in her section?”
“Sure thing,” Nona said. “And I understand completely. Georgina’s a great source of information about everyone who comes in here. Follow me, and I’ll take you to one of her tables.”
Hannah stopped to pet Albert, the stuffed grizzly bear. Albert stood upright on his rear legs, almost as if he were guarding the patrons who entered the dining room. Michelle, who had been fascinated with Albert when she was a child, also gave him a pat as she walked by. Albert was a fixture at the Corner Tavern. The story was that Nick had inherited the restaurant and Albert from his grandfather, Nicholas. He was the man who’d opened the restaurant, shot the grizzly in the woods, and had gone to a taxidermist to have Albert preserved. Albert had been standing at the door to the dining room for three generations, and since Nick and Nona had a son named Nicky, it was entirely possible that Albert would stand guard for another Nicholas.
People who studied Minnesota history had doubts about Albert’s origin since grizzly bears weren’t known to frequent the woods in Minnesota. Despite that, no one wanted to doubt how Albert had come to the Corner Tavern, and the story had become a local legend.
“I’ll see if I can find a four-top open in Georgina’s section,” Nona told them. “That way, you girls will have the extra chairs for your purses.”
Hannah smiled. “We’d love a four-top. Michelle and I are so hungry, we’re going to cover the whole tabletop with food.”
Nona laughed as they followed her past the bar and through the arch that separated the bar from the area reserved for tables, chairs, and booths. She gestured to a table in the center of the room and asked, “How’s this one?”
“It’s just fine,” Hannah said, taking a seat at the table. “If you see Nick, say hi for us.”
“I will if he doesn’t notice you out here and come over to say hello himself. Enjoy your late lunch, girls.”
Georgina saw them almost immediately and rushed over to them. “I was wondering when you’d get around to me,” she told Hannah.
“Then you have some information that might help us?”
Georgina shrugged. “I don’t know. On one hand, maybe it will. On the other hand, maybe it won’t. You can decide that for yourselves after I tell you.”
“When will that be?” Hannah asked the important question.
“A few minutes after I deliver your food. I’m due for my break in twenty minutes and I’ll come and sit down with you.”
RAISIN AND ALMOND CRUNCH COOKIES
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
½ cup salted butter, softened (1 stick, 4 ounces, ¼ pound)
½ cup almond butter (I used Jif)
1 cup white (granulated) sugar
1 cup brown sugar (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 large eggs, beaten (just whip them up in a glass with a fork)
2 cups crushed salted potato chips (measure AFTER
crushing) (I used regular thin unflavored Lay’s potato chips)
2 and ½ cups all-purpose flour (pack it down in the
cup when you measure it)
1 cup regular or golden raisins
Hannah’s 1st Note: 5 to 6 cups of whole potato chips will crush into about 2 cups.
Mix the softened, salted butter with the almond butter. Beat until they form a smooth mixture.
Add the white sugar and the brown sugar. Beat them until the mixture is light and fluffy.
Add the vanilla extract and the baking soda. Mix them in thoroughly.
Break the eggs into a glass and whip them up with a whisk or a fork. Add them to your bowl and mix until they’re thoroughly incorporated.
Put your potato chips in a closeable plastic bag. Seal it carefully (you don’t want crumbs all over your counter) and place the bag on a flat surface. Get out your rolling pin and roll it over the bag, crushing the potato chips inside. Do this until the pieces resemble coarse gravel. (If you crush them too much, you won’t have any crunch left.)
Measure out 2 cups of crushed potato chips and add them to the mixing bowl. Stir until they’re incorporated.
Add the flour in half-cup increments, mixing after each addition. (You don’t have to be exact – just eyeball it and add what you think is a half cup at a time.)
If you’re using an electric mixer, take the bowl out and scrape it down the sides with a rubber spatula.
Add the cup of raisins to your cookie dough. Mix them in by hand with a wooden spoon.
Let the dough sit on the counter while you prepare your cookie sheets.
Spray your cookie sheets with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray, or line them with parchment paper, leaving little “ears” at the top and bottom. That way, when your cookies are baked, you can pull the paper, baked cookies and all, over onto a wire rack to cool.
Drop your cookie dough by rounded teaspoons onto your cookie sheets, 12 cookies on each standard-sized sheet.
Hannah’s 2nd Note: Lisa and I use a 2-teaspoon cookie scoop when we bake these at The Cookie Jar. It’s faster than doing it with a spoon.
Bake your Raisin and Almond Crunch Cookies at 350 degrees F. for 10 to 12 minutes or until nicely browned. (Mine took 11 minutes.)
Let the cookies cool for 2 minutes on the cookie sheet. Then remove them with a metal spatula to wire racks to finish cooling. (If you used parchment paper, simply pull the paper over and onto the wire rack.)
Yield: Approximately 5
dozen chewy, sweet and salty cookies that are sure to please everyone who tastes them.
Hannah’s 3rd Note: This recipe can be doubled if you wish, but do not double the baking soda. Just use the 1 teaspoon it calls for in the original recipe.
Hannah’s 4th Note: These cookies are Norman’s favorite. Of course he always says that any new cookie he tastes is his new favorite. Andrea likes them too, even though she claims to hate raisins.
Chapter Twenty-three
The hamburgers were just as juicy and delicious as they always were, the fries and the onion rings were crispy, and the small dinner salads they ordered was cold and crunchy. They had two sides of blue cheese dressing apiece, one to spoon over their salads, and the other to use as a dip for their French fries and onion rings.
Hannah gave a satisfied sigh as she swallowed her last French fry and leaned back in her chair. “I’m full,” she declared.
“So am I, but I’ve got one onion ring left and I can’t let it go to waste.” Michelle picked up the final onion ring, dipped it in the blue cheese dressing, and munched until it was gone.
“I think that last onion ring turned a late lunch into lunch and dinner combined,” Michelle said.
“I hope you feel differently around six-thirty tonight.”
“Why?”
“I put dinner in the slow cooker before I left the condo this morning. Since Norman bought us dinner last night, I thought I’d invite him for dinner with us tonight.”
“Oh, so that’s what delayed you this morning! I was beginning to worry that your cookie truck had broken down or something. I was going to ask you why you were late, but we were so busy in the coffee shop, I forgot to ask. What did you make?”
“Lick Your Chops Pork, and I thought I’d try Sally’s Piccadilly Mini Muffins to go with it.”
“Yum! I’ll make dessert. Butterscotch Marshmallow Bar Cookies only take a couple of minutes to put together. I can run down to the Red Owl and get what I need. I just love those bar cookies.”
Hannah noticed that a surprised expression had crossed Michelle’s face right after she’d mentioned the bar cookies. “What is it?” she asked.
“I didn’t think I’d want any dinner, but now I think I may be able to eat after all!”
Hannah laughed and just then, Georgina arrived with the coffee carafe and three cups. “I’m on break,” she announced. “Is it all right if I join you for coffee?”
“It certainly is!” Hannah said, and Michelle reached out to grab her purse from the extra chair closest to her.
“Sit here, Georgina,” Michelle told her.
“Thanks.” Georgina poured them all a cup of coffee, and then she sat down. “Are you interested in hearing some things about P.K.’s fiancée, Pinkie?” she asked them. “Or maybe I should call her P.K.’s former fiancée.”
“We’re definitely interested,” Hannah told her. “We’re looking into their relationship as part of our investigation.”
A satisfied smile crossed Georgina’s face, but it disappeared quickly. “I can tell you that things were a lot different than they looked from the outside. She was in here the night they broke up, and Pinkie was a real piece of work!”
“What makes you say that?” Michelle asked her.
“Whenever she came in here with P.K., she seemed so nice. She always had the fish sticks or the chicken burger and she always told him that she didn’t mind if he had red meat, that it didn’t really bother her, but she didn’t want to eat it. I thought that was very nice of her because P.K. just loved our double-doubles. You know what those are, don’t you?”
“Oh, yes,” Hannah told her. “Two patties, two pieces of cheese.”
“Right. Anyway, the night they broke up, Pinkie came in here and ordered a double-double. It just about shocked me right out of my shoes. And then she ordered a double Bloody Mary to go with it.”
“What did you say?” Hannah asked, knowing that Georgina could be outspoken.
“I just stared at her and she laughed. And then she pointed to her ring finger. He’s gone, she said. I don’t have to do that stuff anymore. Now I can be myself so I’m celebrating. Hurry with that drink, will you, Georgina? I really need it tonight.”
“Wow!” Michelle said. “I can see why you were shocked.”
“There was no way I was going to say anything critical to her, not when she was in that kind of mood. I just went to the bar, got her drink, and brought it right back to her. She drank almost half of it right there in front of me, and then she smiled. That’s better, she said.”
Michelle just shook her head. “If that was the first drink she’d ever had, it must have put her under the table!”
Georgina shook her head. “Nope. She handled it just fine. And once her Bloody Mary was gone, she told me that P.K. was so straight-laced that every once in a while she needed to cut loose and be herself.”
Hannah wasn’t as shocked as Michelle appeared to be by that revelation. She’d almost expected something like that. “Did she eat her double-double?”
“Yes, all of it. And then she paid the bill and left. I have a suspicion, though.”
“What’s that?” Hannah asked her.
“I think she went to the bar to have another couple of drinks before she went home. You should stop there and ask Bobby. He’s our night bartender now, and I know he was working that night.”
* * *
“What’ll it be, ladies?” the bartender asked as Hannah and Michelle slid onto two vacant stools. The bar was almost deserted this time of day. It was too early for a drink after work and too late for a drink at lunch.
“I’ll have a Virgin Cuba Libre,” Michelle said, smiling at him.
“And for you, ma’am?” The bartender turned to Hannah.
“A virgin Bloody Mary.”
The bartender looked a bit confused. “You’re sitting at the bar, but neither one of you drinks?”
Michelle laughed. “We drink, but we have to get back to work and we wanted to talk to you first.”
“That’s right,” Hannah followed up. “You’re Bobby, aren’t you?”
“That’s me. What did you want to talk about?”
“Georgina told us that you were the night bartender,” Hannah explained. “We’re trying to locate a woman named Pinkie, and Georgina thought she might have come in here for a couple of drinks after she ate at Georgina’s station in the dining room.”
“Georgina’s right. What do you want with Pinkie?”
“We want to ask her about her former boyfriend.”
Bobby nodded. “P.K. I heard about his murder. What are you, cops?”
“No,” Hannah said, “but we’re working with them. It’s a really complicated case. That’s why we’d like to talk to Pinkie.”
Bobby began to frown. “Do the cops think she did it?”
Hannah knew it was time to tread carefully. Bobby might have some reason to try to protect Pinkie. “Not really. They just want to know if she has any information that might relate to the case.”
“Like what?” Bobby asked.
“Like whether she knew if P.K. had any enemies that might have wanted to harm him,” Michelle answered him. “They want to know if Pinkie suspects anyone of killing P.K.”
“Okay. I guess that makes sense.” Bobby gave a quick nod. “She might know something. One night she told me that they were together a long time and their romance started way back in high school. She probably knew him better than anybody else.”
“So can you help us find Pinkie?” Hannah asked the most important question.
Bobby shook his head. “I would if I could, but I can’t help you there. I haven’t seen Pinkie for over a month, maybe longer. She might have been around, but she didn’t come in the bar while I was working.”
“Do you know where she lives?” Hannah asked him.
Bobby shook his head. “No. She never said, not exactly. Except . . .”
“What?” Hannah and Michelle asked, almost simultaneously.
“I heard her mention something about paying her rent. And if she owned a house, she would have said house payment instead of rent. It was probably an apartment somewhere because she complained that her neighbors downstairs played their music so loud, she couldn’t sleep in on Sunday mornings. That’s all I know, though.”
“Thanks, Bobby,” Hannah said.
“Sorry I couldn’t help you more,” Bobby told them. “I’d kinda like to know what happened to Pinkie. She was here a lot and then she just dropped out of sight.”
“I’m curious,” Michelle said. “When Pinkie came in here, did she drink a lot?”
“Oh, yeah! Pinkie always had doubles and she had more than one, that’s for sure. The guys in here used to buy her drinks to get on her good side so they could dance with her. Pinkie loved to dance.”
“Did she . . . uh . . . go home with any of them?” Hannah asked.
“Nope. She just danced with them and flirted a little, but that’s it. And then she drove home alone in her pink Jeep.”
Chapter Twenty-four
The sisters were silent as they went out to Hannah’s cookie truck and began the drive back to The Cookie Jar. Both of them were busy mulling over what Bobby had told them. They were just turning at Main Street and First when Michelle spoke. “I don’t know about you, but I think Pinkie was drinking all along and she just pretended not to drink around P.K.”
“I agree. And after a while, the pretense got to her and she just couldn’t do it anymore. It really wasn’t a good relationship. That much is clear.”
