Cream Puff Murder (6 page)

Hannah was sadly out of breath by the time she arrived at the Lake Eden Community Center. She’d obeyed her fitness guru’s maxim and walked instead of driving her cookie truck. She pushed open the outer door, crossed the small enclosure that accommodated double doors and kept the temperature of the lobby constant in both summer and winter, and entered the lobby. As she walked down the hallway toward Janice’s classroom, she caught sight of herself in one of the mirrors that dotted the walls. Her cheeks were rosy red, but that wasn’t from exertion. A cold north wind was blowing. It had picked up snowflakes from the light, loosely packed blanket that had fallen during the morning and showered them against her face. That really hadn’t bothered Hannah at all. It was quite refreshing. But during the last five minutes of her walk, the wind had picked up in velocity to bombard her with what had felt like icy needles.

“Hi, Hannah.” Janice Cox stepped out into the hall as Hannah approached. “Does that box contain what I think it does?”

“Of course it does. I couldn’t come into a classroom of kids without cookies, could I?”

“No, I don’t think you could. But you didn’t come over just to bring us cookies. What’s up?”

“I need to talk to you about that teacher’s assistant position. Is it still open?”

“It sure is. I can’t afford to pay very much, and the two people I interviewed wanted more hours than I could give them. It’s only from noon to four, Monday through Friday.”

“That’s just perfect!”

Janice cocked her head to the side and stared at Hannah. “Perfect for you?”

“No, not for me. It’s perfect for Sue Plotnik. Phil works the swing shift at Del Ray, and he sleeps until midafternoon. She’d get home about the time he was getting up.”

“I’d love to hire Sue. She’d be absolutely perfect, but she’s way overqualified. Most of her time would be spent reading to the kids, helping them blow their noses, and cleaning up messes.”

“She’s the mother of a two-year-old. That’s what she does now.”

“You’ve got a point.” Janice took a couple of steps toward the table where six children were busily tracing around their hands. “Linda? Please get a tissue from the box on my desk and give it to Bradley before he drips on the paper. And Heather? Don’t color your thumb. That’s the head.”

“Thanksgiving turkeys?” Hannah guessed.

“That’s right. We tried pilgrims last year, but the kids really like the turkeys better.” Janice gave a little sigh. “Do you really think Sue would be interested in something like this? I talked to her after church on Sunday, and she mentioned that she was only a few credits short of her teaching degree.”

“That’s true, but she can’t go back to finish college until Kevin’s in school. She doesn’t want to leave him with a babysitter, and Phil wouldn’t like that either. Could she bring him along with her if she worked for you?”

Janice took a minute to think about that. “I don’t see why not. I’m not set up for kids who need two naps a day and aren’t potty trained, but it’ll only be for four hours, and the older kids will love having a toddler coming in every afternoon to visit. Shall I call Sue tonight and make her an offer?”

“Yes. Do it before Phil leaves for work. And I’ll stack the deck by talking to him when he drops by The Cookie Jar this afternoon.”

“I hope Sue decides she wants the job. It would be just…” Janice stopped in midsentence and rushed across the room to rescue a container of paint that was about to tip over. “Leave the paints in the center of the table, honey.” She gave the little blonde at the easel a smile to show that she wasn’t angry, and then she hurried back to Hannah. “…great,” she said, picking up right where she’d left off. “It would be just great to have Sue here for four hours every day. If you talk to her, tell her that unless I grow another pair of arms and learn how to be in two places at once, I really need her here to help me out!”

“Good afternoon, dear!”

Hannah looked up to see the perfectly coiffed, perfectly poised woman who’d just taken a seat at the counter. Delores Swensen was wearing a buttercup yellow wool suit with a white silk blouse under the jacket, and the combination was stunning with her dark brown hair and flawless makeup. Even though Delores admitted to being over fifty and Hannah knew for a fact that she was a decade older than that, she was still one of the most attractive women in Lake Eden. “Hi, Mother,” she said.

“Do you have time for coffee, dear? I have something I need to discuss with you.”

“Yes, if you can wait. Lisa’s due back from her coffee break in five minutes.”

Delores glanced at the dainty silver watch on her wrist.

It was decorated with diamonds around the face, and Hannah knew it was from Cartier. Her father had presented it to her mother on their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, and he’d joked that it cost almost as much as the first house they’d bought in Lake Eden.

“I really don’t have much time, dear,” Delores declared, “but since it’s not a private matter, I’ll just catch you between customers. If that’s all right with you, that is.”

“It’s fine with me.” Hannah reached out with the coffee carafe and refilled Earl Flensburg’s coffee cup. The county tow truck and snowplow driver was sitting on her mother’s right. She went quickly down the counter, refilling cups for Mayor Bascomb, Doug Greerson, and Florence Evans, who owned the Red Owl grocery store. “What’s this about, Mother?”

“It’s about my book launch party.”

Hannah stifled a groan. Delores was a founding member of the Lake Eden Gossip Hotline, and nothing escaped her. Naturally her mother had learned about Andrea’s membership at Heavenly Bodies and how Hannah was going along as a guest so she could lose enough weight to fit into her dress for the launch party. “It’s not about my dress for the party, is it, Mother?” Hannah simply had to ask.

“Of course not. I’m very happy to hear you’re doing…” Delores paused and Hannah knew she was attempting to be discreet, “…what you’re doing, but that’s another matter, dear. What we need to discuss now are the refreshments.”

Hannah gave a little sigh. She hadn’t even thought about the refreshments yet. “Well…I haven’t actually started planning…”

“Oh, good!” Delores interrupted her. “I want to give you my input, dear. I know I told you I wanted to serve Regency desserts.”

“That’s right.” Hannah felt like holding her breath. Coming up with desserts that were authentic to the time period of her mother’s novel was not easy.

“Well, I know how much work that is, and I’m rethinking the whole concept.”

“Rethinking,” Hannah repeated, hoping her mother wasn’t going to come up with something even more difficult.

“Perhaps we don’t have to serve Regency desserts. What do you think?”

“Serve cream puffs,” Earl Flensburg jumped in, not even pretending that he hadn’t been listening to their conversation.

“Why should Delores serve cream puffs?” Florence wanted to know.

“Because they’re my favorite dessert. And I know Delores likes them, too. Isn’t that right, Delores?”

Delores began to smile. “Actually…it is. I love cream puffs. But how did you know that, Earl?”

“I still remember the birthday party you had in second grade. Your mother brought about a dozen boxes of little tiny cream puffs, and they were all filled with something different.”

“I remember that!” Delores looked as pleased as punch.

“Grandma Zimmerman baked miniature cream puffs?” Hannah was amazed. As far as she knew, her maternal grandmother hadn’t set foot in the kitchen.

“Of course she didn’t bake them.” Delores gave a little laugh. “You know she never cooked. Aunt Bertha took care of all of our meals. She made the best cream puffs I’ve ever tasted.”

“Me, too,” Earl echoed.

“Do you have her recipe?” Hannah asked.

“No, dear. I’m not even sure she used one. But the puff part wasn’t what made them so good.”

“It was the filling!” Earl jumped in. “I still remember the ones I had. One was apple, one was blueberry, one was strawberry, and the fourth was chocolate.”

“You had four?” Delores asked, and Hannah noticed that Earl looked slightly embarrassed.

“Yeah. I know we were only supposed to have two, but Alvin Burkholtz went home sick that morning, and I figured I’d eat his.”

“You weren’t the only one to eat Alvin’s cream puffs,” Delores said with a little laugh. “Mother always brought plenty of extras, and I’m almost positive there weren’t any left. But all this talk about cream puffs is irrelevant. I want to serve a dessert that has something to do with my book. And cream puffs don’t have anything to do with Regency romances.”

“Sure they do.” Earl obviously wasn’t willing to give up the fight yet. “They’re light and fluffy. And romances are light and fluffy, too…aren’t they?”

“Well…I like to think my story has more to offer than that, but perhaps you’re right.” Delores turned to Mayor Bascomb. “What do you think, Ricky Ticky?”

Mayor Bascomb looked a bit startled by the use of his childhood nickname, but Delores had been his babysitter one summer, and that gave her certain privileges. “I think cream puffs are completely appropriate, Delores. They’re sweet and that’s what romance is.”

“You’re certainly an expert on that!”

Delores’s comment fell like a stone into a widening pool of silence. Everyone at the counter had heard rumors about the mayor’s peccadilloes, but Delores was the only one who ever mentioned it.

“I think cream puffs are just perfect,” Florence said, jumping in to break the tense moment. “They’re not something you have every day. A cream puff is a special dessert for a special occasion.”

“That’s true, but…I’m just not sure…”

“I think we’ve all missed the most important part,” Hannah interrupted her mother’s objection. “At first glance, cream puffs might look insubstantial, but just like Mother’s book, the inside is surprisingly complex and completely satisfying.”

Mayor Bascomb’s mouth dropped open, and he turned to stare at Hannah. “Wow! That was brilliant, Hannah. Have you ever thought about going into politics?”

Delores joined in the laughter at the counter, and after it was over, she was still smiling. “You talked me into it. We’ll serve mini cream puffs at the launch party.” And then she turned to Hannah. “You can do that, can’t you, dear?”

“Yes, Mother.” Hannah hoped she didn’t look stressed. Her To Do list was growing longer and longer. In addition to doing her own work at The Cookie Jar, she had to re-create the cheeseburger cookies for Calvin Janowski’s birthday party, find a good mini cream puff recipe for her mother’s book launch party, attend class at Heavenly Bodies with Andrea each morning, stick to her diet and lose enough weight to fit into the dress her mother had given her, and talk Sue Plotnik into going to work for Janice at Kiddie Korner. It was more than most people had to do in a month, and she had to accomplish it all in only two weeks. It was a good thing there hadn’t been any murders in Lake Eden lately. She was way too busy to help Mike investigate, even if he performed an about-face and asked her!

“M y mom used to make cream puffs.” Lisa looked sympathetic after Hannah had told her about the book launch party.

“Do you have her recipe?”

“It’s probably in one of her recipe boxes. I’ll look tonight, I promise.”

“And I’ll look for that photo of those cheeseburger cookies,” Hannah exchanged promises, “right after I make dinner for Mike.”

“You’re fixing dinner for Mike?” Andrea, who was sitting at the counter talking to them both, looked confused. “I thought he was pulling a double.”

“He is,” Hannah told her. “He called me a couple of minutes ago and said he’d only have forty-five minutes once he got to my place.”

“That’s not much time for dinner,” Lisa commented.

“What are you making?” Andrea asked, and Hannah noticed that she looked a bit worried.

“Something quick and easy. And something substantial with plenty of calories. Whatever it is, it’s got to carry him through another eight-hour shift.”

“Substantial? Calories?” The worried expression on Andrea’s face intensified. “And you’re going to eat dinner with him?”

“Of course. But stop looking so worried. I’m having a diet meal. I promise I won’t even touch anything that’s left on his plate when he leaves.”

“That’s good!” Andrea gave her an approving nod. “Did he tell you why he’s pulling a double?”

“No. I just assumed that somebody was out sick.”

“Not exactly. Bill called me earlier and told me all about it. Rick Murphy’s taking compassionate leave, and everybody’s taking turns filling in for him.”

“What’s wrong?”

“His wife’s in the hospital. She went into labor last night, and she almost lost the baby. Doc Knight’s got her on strict bed rest.”

Lisa sighed deeply. “I hope they weren’t fighting about Ronni Ward.”

“You heard about that,” Hannah commented. She wasn’t surprised, but if the news had reached The Cookie Jar, people were definitely talking. No wonder Bridget had been so angry with Ronni at Bertanelli’s!

“Of course I heard. All I have to do is walk around with the coffee carafe and I hear everything that’s happening in Lake Eden. I heard all about Bridget confronting Ronni only ten minutes after it happened.”

“How?” Hannah was curious.

“A couple of Jordan High seniors were talking about it. The girls were here, and one of the boyfriends was texting his girlfriend on her cell phone.”

Hannah winced. She wasn’t sure which offended her more, the fact that all the Jordan High kids were sending text messages with improper spelling and no punctuation, or the fact that texting was fast becoming accepted as a word.

“I heard her telling her friends about Mrs. Murphy and Ronni,” Lisa went on. “There was something about a food fight and how they’d better not go out there for pizza for a while, but I’d been standing there for too long and I had to move on.”

“Invisible waitress trick,” Hannah said to Andrea. “It works every time.”

The bell on the door jingled, and all three of them turned to see who’d come in. Hannah gave a little wave as she recognized the man under the hooded parka with fur that hid most of his face.