Cherry Cheesecake Murder (20 page)

“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 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 2/3cup 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 3½. The dough will be stickier and you’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 Gerbers)

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 nonstick cooking spray.

Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes at 350 degrees F., or until they’re lightly golden in color. Let them cool for 2 minutes on the cookie sheet and then move them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

These cookies freeze well. Roll them up in foil, and place the rolls in a freezer bag.

Michelle asked for this recipe after Lonnie Murphy tasted them at The Cookie Jar. She says she’s going to freeze some so he’ll have them when he visits her, but she’s going to mark the package “Lutefisk Patties” so her roommates won’t get into them.

Yield: Approximately 8 to 10 dozen, depending on cookie size.

CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES

6 tablespoons chilled butter (¾ stick, 3 ounces)

12-ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips (two cups—I used Ghirardelli’s)

½ cup firmly packed powdered sugar (confectioner’s sugar)

6 egg yolks

1 Tablespoon rum, brandy, flavored brandy, or vanilla extract

Put an inch or so of water in the bottom half of a double boiler and heat it to a gentle boil. Cut the butter in chunks and place them in the top half of the double boiler. Add the chips and then the powdered sugar and set the top half over the bottom half. Put on the cover and let everything melt while you…

Beat the egg yolks in a small bowl with a whisk. Whisk until they’re thoroughly combined, but stop before they get fluffy or lighter in color.

Stir the chocolate until it’s completely melted. It will be thick, almost like fudge. Remove the top half of the double boiler and set it on a cold burner.

Stir several spoonfuls of beaten egg yolk into the chocolate mixture. When that’s incorporated, stir in several more spoonfuls. Keep adding egg yolk in small amounts, stirring constantly, until all the egg yolks have been incorporated and the chocolate mixture is smooth and glossy.

Stir in the rum, brandy, or vanilla. Put the lid back on the top of the double boiler and refrigerate the chocolate mixture for 3 hours.

To Decorate Truffles:

finely chopped nuts

powdered (confectioner’s) sugar

chocolate sprinkles

shaved chocolate

cocoa powder

finely shredded coconut

Warning: This next step is fairly messy. If you like, wear disposable plastic food-server gloves. You can also lightly grease your hands, or spray them with Pam or other nonstick cooking spray so the chocolate won’t stick to your fingers.

Form small balls of chilled chocolate with your hands and roll them in bowls of the above ingredients. You can mix and match, or give all of your truffles the same coating. Place the truffles in ruffled bon-bon papers and store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

These are incredibly delicious candies. They’re super easy to make, but let’s keep that a secret. It can’t hurt to let people assume that you went to a lot of trouble, just for them.

Yield: 4 to 5 dozen, depending on truffle size

Hannah and Andrea broke into applause when Tracey spelled onomatopoeia, a very difficult word for the third-grade girl she was playing. They were standing at the back of the classroom, pretending to be parents who’d come to watch the spelling bee and doubling as extras since Dean Lawrence had decided at the last minute he wanted a few “parents” involved.

He cued Andrea, who was playing Amy’s mother shortly before the fatal accident that would claim her life, and she rushed to the front of the room to hug Tracey. They held their pose for a moment and then Dean cued in several of the real third graders, who’d been instructed to look both angry and jealous, and to start whispering to each other.

“Cut,” Dean called out, once he’d gotten the shot. “That’s a wrap, everybody. We got it in just one shot.”

The real third graders took their cue from their teacher and the whole class applauded. Hannah could tell that they were very excited about being in a movie.

Dean caught Andrea’s arm as she moved to pass him, and he bent down to address Tracey. “That was perfect, Sweetheart. You’re a fine little actress. And Mommy?” Dean straightened up and took Andrea’s hand. “You were every bit as wonderful as I knew you’d be. Now don’t forget what I told you, all right?”

“I won’t forget,” Andrea said, leading Tracey from the room with Hannah following in her wake.

“What did he mean by that?” Hannah asked, as soon as they’d cleared the doorway. “What did he tell you?”

Andrea gave an elaborate shrug, but she didn’t meet Hannah’s eyes. “Nothing, really. He just said he thought I’d be perfect in that scene as Tracey’s mother.”

“Because you are Tracey’s mother?”

“Maybe,” Andrea said, leaning forward to re-tie the bow in Tracey’s hair. “Okay, honey. Say good-bye to Aunt Hannah. We’ve got to get you home so we can take off that makeup.”

Once Tracey and Andrea had left, Hannah walked back to The Cookie Jar. Andrea had left in such a hurry she’d forgotten she’d promised to give Hannah a ride. That was odd, and so was the comment Dean Lawrence had made as they’d exited the classroom. Could Andrea’s doubts about Bill’s fidelity have driven her into another man’s arms? Hannah didn’t think so. She was positive that Andrea loved Bill. But jealousy and doubt could be taking its toll, and a real womanizer would attempt to capitalize on that. The voice she’d heard when she’d delivered Dean’s cheesecake this morning sounded a lot like her sister’s voice. But certainly she must be mistaken about that.

Hannah put her suspicions firmly out of mind as she passed the park with its empty play equipment. The chains on the swings hung straight down like suspenders holding up a pair of pants, and the gleaming metal slide had a puddle of melted snow at the bend. Tracey’s favorite, the Flying Dutchman, Merry-Go-Round, or Whirl-A-Whirl, whatever you cared to call the large circular platform with metal handholds that the children rode as it spun around and around, was perfectly motionless and surrounded by melting bits of snow. The area beneath it, scraped clear of grass by children’s feet, was beginning to turn muddy in the noonday sun.

Down at the far end of the park, the skating rink gleamed in the sun. Hannah was amazed that the ice looked so firm until she remembered that it was artificial. If the day kept up its warming trend, all the snow would melt and Ross would have to rely on fake snow as well as fake ice. That wasn’t so bad, but Tracey and the other girls would broil in their heavy costumes during the skating scene.

Once she’d passed the circular sidewalk that ringed the park, Hannah crossed the street and walked up Fourth to Main Street. She rounded the corner by the now-defunct Magnolia Blossom Bakery, and found herself glancing in the front plate glass window and remembering how beautifully decorated it had been. Some of those decorations, including the lovely round tables and matching chairs, now graced the coffee shop at The Cookie Jar. Hannah still felt a bit guilty for taking advantage of Vanessa’s panicked offer to sell them to her at such a ridiculous price, but she wasn’t about to give them up. She’d done the right thing and contacted Gloria Travis, who should have inherited the money Vanessa had spent to buy them, and Gloria had told her to keep everything she wanted and give away the rest.

Lake Eden Realty, the office where Andrea worked, was humming in lonely splendor. The computers were on, the desk lamps were lit, and the fax machine was spewing out paper. The owner, Al Percy, wasn’t there and neither was Andrea. Since Ross had rented Main Street for the week, no business except movie business would be conducted.

Her shop looked busy and Lisa must have been waiting for her to arrive, because she opened the front door and motioned to her. Hannah dashed across the street and into The Cookie Jar, wondering what sort of emergency had reared its ugly head in the forty-five minutes she’d been gone.