Blackberry Pie Murder (37 page)

“I didn’t know you liked pralines,” Winnie said as Hannah left the table.

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“I love ’em. I had some in New Orleans when I was there for the PBR Rodeo.”

“What’s PBR?”

“Professional Bull Riders. They put on events at the New Orleans Arena.”

“You were a bull rider?” Winnie sounded impressed.

“That was my dad, not me. I’ve always been partial to horses.”

Hannah pulled open the front door and went out. One part of her investigation was over. She now knew that Connor had been the man who’d delivered the lethal blow to Keith Branson’s head. She hadn’t seen any reason to tell Connor or Winnie that, not when she was the one who hit him with her truck and actually killed him. Connor had defended an unknown woman in the woods. And Hannah thought she knew exactly who that woman was.

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EASY PRALINES

1 cup buttermilk

2 and 1⁄2 cups white
(granulated)
sugar 1 teaspoon baking soda

2 Tablespoons dark corn syrup
(I used Karo Dark)

1⁄2 cup salted butter
(1 stick, 4 ounces, 1⁄4 pound)
at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup pecan pieces OR 1 cup pecan halves
(Halves

are fancier, but also more expensive.)

Before you start, get out a 4-quart saucepan and spray the inside with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray. Make sure to spray the sides of the saucepan. Get out your candy thermometer. Place the thermometer inside the saucepan with the sliding clamp on the outside. Slide the thermometer through the clamp until it’s approximately one-half inch from the bottom of the pan.
(If the bulb touches the bottom

of the pan, your reading will be wildly off.)

Take the candy thermometer out of the pan, making sure you don’t move the sliding clamp. You’ll be attaching it again later.

In the saucepan, on a cold burner, combine the buttermilk, white sugar, baking soda, and dark corn syrup. Stir the mixture until it is smooth.

Hannah’s 1st Note: If you do this step ahead of time and
let everything come up to room temperature in the saucepan,
it will take only 3 minutes or so to come to the boil and

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you’ll cut your standing at the stove and stirring time in
half.

Turn your burner on MEDIUM HIGH heat. STIR the candy mixture CONSTANTLY until it boils.
(This will

take about 6 minutes if you decided NOT to let the ingre-

dients come up to room temperature, so pull up a stool

and get comfortable while you stir.)

When the mixture boils, move the saucepan to a cold burner, but don’t turn off the hot burner. You’ll be getting right back to it.

Add the butter to your candy mixture and stir it in. Stir until the butter is melted.

Carefully attach the candy thermometer to the pan again, making sure it hasn’t moved up or down from its earlier position. Wiggle it slightly to make sure it’s not scraping the bottom of the pan.

Slide the saucepan back on the hot burner and watch it cook. STIRRING IS NOT NECESSARY FROM THIS

POINT ON. Just give it a little mix when you feel like it.

Pull up a stool and relax. Enjoy a cup of coffee while you wait for the candy thermometer to come up to the 240 degree F. mark.
(240 degrees F. is the soft ball stage in candy

making.)

When your thermometer reaches 240 degrees F., give the pan a final stir, turn off the burner, and remove your

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saucepan from the heat. Stir in the vanilla extract.
(This

could sputter a bit so be careful.)

Let the pan cool on a wire rack or a cold burner for 10

minutes.
(If it’s a hot day and it’s hot in your kitchen,

you’d better give it 15 minutes.)

While your candy cools, lay out sheets of wax paper on a cutting board or a bread board. Then sit down and relax until the cooling time is up.

When your praline mixture has cooled the required number of minutes, beat it with a wooden spoon until it loses its glossy look and thickens.
(My candy took approx-

imately 5 minutes to reach this stage.)

Quickly stir in the pecans.

Use a tablespoon from your silverware drawer to drop the Easy Pralines on the wax paper. Don’t worry if your pralines are not of a uniform size. Once your guests taste them, they’ll be hunting for the bigger pieces.

Yield: 2 dozen of the best pralines you’ve ever tasted.

Hannah’s 2nd Note: Andrea adores this candy. She asks
me to make it for her every Christmas. Michelle likes it
too, but she wants me to substitute a teaspoon of maple
extract for the vanilla extract. She’s made it that way and
she says it tastes a lot like the candy we used to get from

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312

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Canada that was shaped like little maple leaves. Mother
loves this candy, but she wants me to try dipping it in
melted chocolate. That doesn’t surprise me. Mother is a
confirmed chocoholic.

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Chapter

!
Twenty-six
#

It took less than three minutes to get to Loretta’s land. Hannah passed more deeply wooded areas and barbed wire fences until she came to Loretta’s mailbox. She turned down a winding gravel road and drove until she saw the pale blue farmhouse in the distance.

She stopped by a massive oak tree and took several deep, calming breaths. She was almost at the farmhouse and she wanted a clear head to ask the questions that she needed to ask Jennifer.

Hannah had no sooner pulled up in front of the farmhouse when the front door opened and a pretty young woman came out. It was the same young woman Hannah had seen when she’d driven past from the opposite direction on her way to Winnie’s ranch with Mike.

“Hi, Hannah!” the young woman greeted her. “Mom said you liked coffee so I put on a fresh pot. Come into the kitchen.”

She’s friendly
, Hannah thought, turning off the ignition and following Jennifer up the sidewalk to the house. “It’s nice to meet you, Jennifer,” she said, as Jennifer walked through the living room and led Hannah to the kitchen.

“Mom said you took it black,” Jennifer said, waiting for Hannah’s nod before she brought Hannah’s cup of coffee to the kitchen table. “Sit down. Mom was absurdly pleased that BLACKBERRY PIE MURDER

315

you remembered how she took her coffee. She told me all about it.”

“That’s nice,” Hannah said, but her mind was taking a very different approach.
Better take control
, it told her.
Jennifer’s trying to run the show and you can’t let her do that
.

“So Jennifer,” Hannah said, motioning to the chair across the table. “Is it good to be home after all these years?”

“Oh, yes! It’s just wonderful to see Mom again. And Carly! She’s all grown up now and she was so little when I left.”

Get her
, Hannah’s mind said quite unnecessarily because Hannah had already thought of her next comment. She smiled and delivered the first pitch. “It must be a little shocking for you to see her now, considering that Carly was only a toddler when you left.”

“Oh, she wasn’t a toddler. Carly was five when I left,” Jennifer said, her bat connecting solidly with Hannah’s pitch.

“Carly wasn’t five. She was four,” Hannah corrected her, watching the pitch Jennifer had hit roll foul. “You should have remembered that since you baked the cake for her party and put a big number four on it.”

Jennifer seemed at a loss for words and Hannah announced the play in her head.
Foul ball. The count is no balls, one
strike.

“Of course you’re right. I just forgot for a moment.” Jennifer looked a bit uncomfortable. “Mom said you own a wonderful cookie and coffee shop in town.”

“It’s nice of her to say that,” Hannah responded. “As a matter of fact, I brought you some cookies.” She produced the bakery box, set it on the table, and raised the lid. “I call these Yummy Yam Cookies. They’re made with sweet potatoes or yams and marshmallows.”

“That sounds wonderful!” Jennifer said, smiling broadly.

“I just love sweet potatoes and yams.”

Strike two!
Hannah’s mind kept the tally as Jennifer’s bat failed to connect with Hannah’s second pitch. Carly had told 316

Joanne Fluke

Hannah and Michelle that Jennifer hated sweet potatoes and yams. But was Jennifer just being polite? Hannah had to make sure.

Hannah watched Jennifer reach for a cookie and eat it eagerly. “These are great cookies!” she said.

“Thanks,” Hannah answered, but her mind was announc-ing the progress of the game.
If the batter takes another
Yummy Yam Cookie, the count is no balls, two strikes
. And Jennifer reached for another cookie.

One more strike and she had her! Hannah got ready to throw the next pitch. She hadn’t asked about Jennifer’s new bedspread yet. “I hear you’re back in your old room,” she said, watching Jennifer reach for a third cookie. For a girl who hadn’t liked sweet potatoes and had hidden her portion in her napkin, this was a telltale sign.

“Yes. Everything’s just the same, except for the bedspread, of course. And the clothes in the closet don’t exactly fit me anymore.”

“The bedspread is different?” Hannah asked, picking up on what she knew to be an untruth.

“Yes. Oh, it’s the same design as the one I had when I left home, but Mom found the same material and made me a new one.”

Hannah felt like groaning, but she managed to keep the pleasant expression on her face. She thought her last pitch would strike Jennifer out of the game, but she’d managed to fend it off.
Foul ball
, the announcer in Hannah’s mind called out.
The count remains at no balls, two strikes.
Jennifer was staying in the batter’s box for another pitch, at least.

After five more pitches and five more foul balls, Hannah was getting desperate. No matter what she did, she couldn’t seem to get Jennifer to completely strike out. If she searched her heart, she’d have to side with Carly. She didn’t think that Jennifer was her sister. But there was nothing in Jennifer’s manner or demeanor that branded her as a liar. There was another emotion beneath her exterior, something Hannah BLACKBERRY PIE MURDER

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was searching to identify. It was a powerful emotion, one that could drive a person to lie. But what was it?

The answer came to her when Jennifer picked up her coffee cup. Her hands were trembling and Hannah realized what was driving this young woman to lie. It was fear! Jennifer was terrified of something or someone. It was time to pull the best pitch out of her arsenal and force Jennifer to tell her why she was terrified. Whatever the source, it had convinced Loretta to lie for her, and to pretend that Jennifer was her daughter. Hannah knew that she could keep pitching and Jennifer could keep fighting off her pitches longer than Hannah wanted to play the game. Then nothing would be accom -

plished. Alternatively, Hannah could borrow a tactic from the Twins game she’d seen. She could throw a wild pitch and see what happened.

“I’m so glad you like these cookies,” Hannah said. “I almost brought you some Treasure Chest Cookies instead.”

“I love these, but the Treasure Chest Cookies sound interesting, too. What are they?”

“They’re a basic sugar cookie dough with a hidden surprise baked inside. I used miniature Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in the last batch I made.”

“That would be incredibly good!” Jennifer’s hands stopped trembling for several seconds as she thought about it. “I just love the combination of peanut butter and chocolate. I used to make myself peanut butter and chocolate fudge sandwiches. I bought the fudge ice cream topping, you know? It’s not expensive and it goes a long way. And it’s so good! I remember one week when I ate peanut butter and chocolate fudge sandwiches three meals a day.”

Strike three, batter out!
the announcer in Hannah’s mind declared.
Team Hannah has won the game!

“Okay, that’s it,” Hannah said, grabbing Jennifer’s hand and holding it tightly. “I know you’re not Jennifer Richardson. And I can tell you’re terrified. I also know you convinced Loretta to lie and say you’re her daughter. I’m wise to 318

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you Jennifer, or whatever your name is, and you have to tell me what’s going on if you want me to help you out of the jam you’re obviously in.”

“And what if I don’t want your help?” Jennifer’s voice was shaking, but she’d obviously chosen to take the high ground.

“What are you going to do then?”

“I’ll call my friend Mike at the Winnetka County Sheriff’s Department. And I’ll tell him exactly what happened here this afternoon. I’m sure he’ll be happy to take you right back to your corner on Munsington Street so that you can go back to work and deal with Lady Die all by yourself.”

Chapter

!
Twenty-seven
#

Of course Jennifer had caved in. She was too frightened to do anything else. And Hannah’s head was swimming as she drove back to her condo. What Jennifer had told her wasn’t exactly a surprise. Mike had often said that there were no coincidences in homicide investigations and this investigation had turned out to be a homicide. It was a homicide that hadn’t occurred in Lake Eden, but it was a homicide nonethe-less.