Key Lime Pie Murder (11 page)

Pam glanced down at the packet she’d received from the judging committee, and then she looked up with a frown. “It’s on here as a novelty pie.”

“Novelty?” Hannah was surprised. “But novelty pies are pies that don’t fit into any other category.”

“Or pies that have unusual ingredients,” Pam reminded her.

Willa thought about that for a moment. “Well, it certainly fits into the two-crust fruit pie category, so it must have an unusual ingredient. Why don’t you check the recipe, Pam?”

“I can’t. We don’t get the novelty pie recipes. They don’t want us to know what’s in them until we judge them.”

“Because if we knew the unusual ingredient, it might prejudice us?” Hannah guessed.

“That’s right.”

“But what could be that unusual?” Willa asked.

“I’m not sure.” Pam turned to Hannah. “Any ideas?”

“Several. Have you ever eaten my Mystery Cookies?”

“Lots of times. I love those cookies,” Pam stated.

“They’re the best spice cookie I’ve ever had,” Willa echoed the sentiment.

“If I’d told you the mystery ingredient, you might not have tasted them in the first place.”

“We already said we love them,” Pam said, “and we’re not about to change our minds. Right, Willa?”

“You can tell us the mystery ingredient now,” Willa said.

“Tomato soup,” Hannah said. And when they just sat there stunned, she got up to slice the first novelty pie.

KEY LIME PIE

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

The Crust:

Make your favorite graham cracker or cookie crumb crust (or buy one pre-made at the grocery store—I used a shortbread crust.)

The Filling:

5 eggs

14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest (optional)

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup key lime juice *

1/4 cup white (granulated) sugar

*
Key limes are difficult to find. If your store doesn’t have them, look for frozen key lime juice. If you can’t find that, just buy regular limes and juice those.

If you don’t have lemon zest, DO NOT substitute lime zest, especially from regular limes—it can be very bitter and the little flecks of green aren’t very appetizing.

Crack one whole egg into a medium-sized mixing bowl. Separate the remaining 4 eggs, placing the 4 yolks into the bowl with the whole egg and the 4 whites into another mixing bowl. Leave the bowl with the 4 whites on your counter. They need to warm a bit for the meringue you’ll make later.

Whisk the whole egg and the egg yolks until they’re a uniform color. Stir in the can of sweetened condensed milk. Add the lemon zest, if you decided to use it, and the sour cream. Stir it all up and set the bowl aside.

Juice the limes and measure out 1/2 cup of juice in a small bowl.

Hannah’s 1st Note: Key limes aren’t easy to juice. They’re very small and a regular lime juicer won’t work very well. I just roll them on my counter, pressing them down with my palm, until they’re a little soft. Then I cut them in half on a plate, (so that I can save any juice that runs out,) hold each half over a measuring cup, and squeeze them with my fingers. It’s a little messy, but it works.

Add the 1/4 cup sugar to the key lime juice and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Now add the sugared lime juice to the bowl with your egg mixture and whisk it in.

Pour the filling you just made into the graham cracker or cookie crust.

Bake the pie at 325 degrees F. for 20 minutes. Take it out of the oven and set it on a rack to wait for its meringue.

DON’T TURN OFF THE OVEN! Instead, increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. to bake the meringue.

The Meringue: (This is a whole lot easier with an electric mixer!)

4 egg whites (the ones you saved)

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

a pinch of salt

1/3 cup white (granulated) sugar

Add the cream of tartar and salt to the bowl with your egg whites and mix them in. Beat the egg whites on HIGH until they form soft peaks.

Continue to beat at high speed as you sprinkle in the sugar. When the egg whites form firm peaks, stop mixing and tip the bowl to test the meringue. If the egg whites don’t slide down the side, they’re ready.

Spread the meringue over the filling with a clean spatula, sealing it to the edges of the crust. When the pie is covered with meringue, either “dot” it with the flat side of the spatula to make points in the meringue, OR smooth it out into a dome and make circular grooves with the tip of your spatula from the outside rim to the center, to create a flower-like design.

Bake the pie at 350 degrees F. for an additional 12 minutes.

Remove the pie from the oven, let it cool to room temperature on a wire rack, and then refrigerate it if you wish. This pie can be served at room temperature, or chilled. It will be easier to cut and serve if it’s chilled.

(To keep your knife from sticking to the meringue when you cut the pie, dip the blade in cold water.)

Hannah’s 2nd Note: Key lime juice is a very pale green color, midway between green and yellow. The eggs and egg yolks added to the filling will color it more yellow than green. If you see a key lime pie that’s green inside, the baker added green food coloring.

They’d tasted three out of the four entries in the novelty pie category, and they were equally divided. Hannah liked the peanut butter cream pie with the chocolate crust the best, Willa preferred the vanilla ice cream pie with caramel sauce, and Pam was intrigued by the four-layer concoction with peach jam, baker’s custard, vanilla wafers and M&Ms.

“I can’t believe you really like it,” Hannah said, once Pam had told them her favorite.

“I can’t either, but I think the contestant deserves some sort of consideration for making something completely different.”

“Let’s see if we can agree on the apple,” Willa said, getting up to cut them a sample.

“How does it slice?” Hannah asked.

“Beautifully. And it maintains its shape on the plate.”

“It looks good,” Pam said when Willa had brought their plates. “And it smells wonderful!”

“Cinnamon, lemon, and…nutmeg?” Hannah did her best to identify the scents for them. “Pass me those coffee beans, will you?”

Pam passed over the canister of coffee beans the head judge at the rose competition had given them. He’d told Pam that sniffing coffee beans or freshly ground coffee between other scents refreshed the nose.

“Does that actually work?” Willa wanted to know.

“It seems to,” Hannah answered her. “That third scent is definitely nutmeg. I can smell it now.”

Again the room was silent as Hannah and her companions tasted Marge’s pie. Pam took a sip of water and tasted again. “I’d say the spices are perfect.”

“Agreed,” Willa said, “and the crust is flaky and a little sweet. I like that.”

Hannah gave a little sigh. “I’d be happier if the apples had a little more texture, but other than that, it’s a winner.”

“So you think it takes the novelty pie category?” Pam asked.

“Yes,” Hannah said.

“Definitely,” Willa agreed. “It’s even better than my grandmother’s pie, and that’s going some.”

“So it takes first in the category?” Both Willa and Hannah nodded, and Pam held out her hand for their score sheets. “Okay. We’ve got the winners in all categories. Now all we have to do is tally the scores, pick the best pie of them all, and we’re through.”

With Willa on the calculator and Hannah reading the scorecards aloud, it didn’t take long to tally the results. The Key Lime Pie took first prize overall, Marge’s apple pie took second, and a delicious pineapple custard pie took third.

Once the goodies were divided, the three judges headed for the door. Pam went to hand in the master scorecard, and Hannah and Willa lingered at the top of the steps.

“Are you sure you don’t want this?” Hannah asked, glancing down at the Key Lime Pie she was carrying. “I know you loved it, and it’s not like I need it or anything.”

“I’d love to take it, but I’m not going straight home. I have to meet someone and I don’t know how long that’ll take.”

“Okay,” Hannah said, glad that she’d asked and even gladder that Willa hadn’t taken the pie. Michelle had a date with Lonnie, and she’d share it with them when they got back to the condo. “See you tomorrow, then.”

“Yes. Tell Michelle…” Willa stepped a little closer and lowered her voice. “Tell her that I hope she wins. She’s the nicest of all the contestants. Of course I can’t say that directly to her.”

“I understand.” Hannah smiled as Willa walked away. It seemed the youngest Swensen sister had made another friend. She could hardly wait to tell Michelle that Willa was pulling for her.

“Hannah?” a voice called out.

Hannah turned to look and she gave a little wave as she saw Lisa and Herb walking through the crowd of 4-H kids hanging around the entrance to their building. “I didn’t know you’d be at the fair tonight.”

“We came with Marge and Dad,” Lisa explained. “I know you probably shouldn’t tell us, but how did Marge’s pie do?”

“I shouldn’t tell you, but the results will be posted tomorrow morning, so it doesn’t really make any difference. It took second place.”

“Fantastic!” Lisa did a little high-five with Herb. “Then you must have liked it?”

“It was a really good apple pie.”

“But?” Herb caught the hesitation in her voice.

“But…I thought the apples were just a bit overcooked. I wish they’d had just a bit more texture.”

Hannah watched in amazement as Lisa let out a whoop and dissolved into laughter. Herb laughed right along with her, and then they exchanged another high-five.

“What?” Hannah asked.

“The apples couldn’t have more texture,” Lisa said, grinning at her.

“Why not?”

“Because…they weren’t apples!” Herb finished the explanation.

“What?!” Hannah was astounded, and it took her a full minute to recover. When she did, she posed the obvious question. “If they weren’t apples, what were they?”

“Soda crackers,” Lisa and Herb said in unison. And then they held on to each other and collapsed into gales of laughter again.

Hannah gave them a minute. They were obviously deranged. “Soda crackers?” she asked at last.

“Saltines, to be exact,” Lisa told her. “And Marge owes us ten dollars. She thought you’d guess, but you didn’t.”

Hannah gave a little groan. Both Lisa and Jack had mentioned Lisa’s mother’s Mock Apple Pie with soda crackers instead of apples, but she’d fallen for it anyway. “Okay. You guys win. I really thought they were apples.”

“I think it’s the lemon juice,” Lisa said, giving her an out. “Mom always said it tickles the taste buds into believing you’re eating apples. And the spices help, too.”

“Your mother was right. I never suspected that the pie wasn’t made from apples.”

“I can hardly wait to collect our bet,” Herb said, giving Lisa a little hug. Then he turned to Hannah. “Do you want to tell Mom that she won a red ribbon? We’re meeting them at the Ferris wheel in five minutes.”

Hannah glanced at her watch. It was past nine-thirty, and she had two stops to make before she was through for the night. “You two tell her. It’ll be official any minute now. I still have a couple of things left to do and then I’m heading home.”

“Did Moishe eat anything yet?” Herb asked her.

“Not much. He crunched a little dry food, but that was it.”

“Lisa and I bought this for him.” Herb handed her a white plastic bag with the words THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATRONAGE printed on the side in green script.

“What is it?”

“A Paul Bunyan burger,” Lisa answered. “We had them leave off the onions and the steak sauce, so it’s mostly just meat. It’s really good beef, and Herb thought maybe Moishe would eat it if you warmed it up a little in the microwave.”

Hannah was touched. It was very sweet of Herb and Lisa to be so concerned about Moishe. “I’ll try it on him the minute I get home,” she promised. “Thanks from both of us.”

After Lisa and Herb had left, Hannah hurried in the opposite direction. She was going to stop by the Lake Eden Historical Society booth to assess the possibility of contracting swimmer’s ear during her scheduled stint on the dunking stool. Delores had said the bull’s eye was small and difficult to hit, but Hannah wasn’t sure she believed her mother. After all, this was the same mother who’d tricked her into donning a frilly dress and sitting on the stool in the first place!

“And here she is now!” Delores called out, as Hannah approached the booth. “Now we can get it right from the horse’s mouth.”

Hannah felt like giving a loud whinny, but of course she didn’t. She might have if she’d known all the customers gathered in front of the counter.

It was obvious that Delores was playing queen bee again. She was dressed in a bright yellow pantsuit that highlighted her perfect figure like a beacon. With her dark, beautifully styled hair, perfect makeup, and a tan that Hannah suspected came from hours under a sun lamp, Delores looked closer to forty than sixty. Norman’s mother, Carrie, a plump bleached blonde, appeared to be several decades older in comparison.

“Hi, Mother,” Hannah said, stepping up as the crowd miraculously parted for her. It was a little like Moses parting the Red Sea. Hannah almost made a crack about that, but she reminded herself that her mother might make the bull’s eye larger if she was upset with Hannah’s attitude, so she didn’t do that, either.

“We were just talking about the pie judging, dear.” Delores reached out to pat the shoulder of a rail-thin woman with lovely white hair. “This is Cora Gruman. She lives across the street from the lady who baked the Key Lime Pie. Did you like it?”

Hannah knew her mother was fishing, but there was no reason not to tell her. “We all liked it…a lot. We gave it the blue ribbon.”

“Marvelous!” Delores and Cora looked absolutely delighted, just as if they’d baked the pie themselves. “How about second place? Can you tell us that?”