Plum Pudding Murder (25 page)

“Which was?”

“Look! you uttered, your voice trembling like a stalk of grain in a tornado. And then you took a deep bracing breath and uttered two more words. There! Look!”

“Bravo!” Hannah clapped her hands together. “You’re really good at this, Lisa. I think the Lake Eden Players have dropped the ball by not snagging you as their leading lady.”

“Thanks,” Lisa said, blushing. “I’d better get back and let Andrea come in. She says she has news for you.”

Hannah had no sooner covered the apple slices with the batter she’d mixed up earlier and slipped the pan into the oven than Andrea fairly flew through the door.

“Oh, boy!” she said pouring herself a cup of coffee before Hannah could do it. “It’s a zoo out there!”

“Lots of questions about the crime scene?”

“Yes, but they don’t dare talk to me about it, being that I’m the sheriff’s wife and all. The only question anyone asked me was when Lisa was coming back.”

“Lisa’s got quite a story to tell,” Hannah said, pouring her own coffee and taking a seat at the workstation across from her sister.

“That’s what everyone said. Bertie pulled me aside and told me it was simply hair-raising.”

“Hair-raising is something she’s qualified to talk about,” Hannah said with a laugh, referring to the fact that Bertie Straub owned the local beauty parlor, the Cut ’n Curl.

“What do you have to eat?” Andrea asked. “I didn’t have time for lunch.”

“I could make you a sandwich. There’s tuna in the pantry.”

“No, thanks. I’m really in the mood for something sweet.”

“Then help yourself to anything on the baker’s rack. I’d offer you some apple cake, but it won’t come out of the oven for almost an hour, and it has to cool before I frost it.”

“Cookies will be fine.” Andrea walked over to take a look and gave a little sigh of contentment. “Lisa’s Pieces,” she said taking one of the macadamia nut, white chocolate chip cookies. “They’re just about my favorite. And here’s my Pecan Divines. I just love those. And Blueberry Crunch. Those are so good! And just look at these beautiful Cherry Winks with red and green cherries. They’re so nice and Christmassy. I think I’ll have a red one and if I’m still hungry, I’ll come back for a green one.”

Hannah just shook her head as Andrea loaded four cookies on a napkin and carried it to the workstation. Her sister had a perfect figure, but if she kept this up, she’d be eating nothing but salads with low-cal dressing before long. “Did you find out anything for me?” she asked once Andrea had finished her first cookie.

“Yes.” Andrea took a sip of coffee and drew a piece of paper from her pocket. “I wrote it down so I could give you the exact words. I asked Doug about investing and whether there were any records of the people who’d invested in Larry’s business. He said, Larry probably kept records. There should be contracts between the investors and Larry, but I don’t believe it’s necessary to file any legal papers.”

“Okay,” Hannah said. “How about Al? Did you get a chance to talk to him?”

Andrea nodded. “Al said, If they didn’t have a signed contract with Larry, they’re dumber than dumb. And when I asked him if he’d invested with Larry he said, Are you kidding? And then he laughed like crazy.”

“Anything else?” Hannah gave a little sigh.

“Yes. I called Howie Levine and asked him if you had to fill out any paperwork to invest in a private corporation. He said no, but you’d be an idiot if you didn’t get a signed contract clearly stating all the terms.”

“Did he mention whether anyone in town had hired him to draw up such a contract?”

“I asked him that and he told me that information like that was confidential.”

Hannah rolled her eyes at the ceiling. “That sounds like Howie.”

“I know. So I asked him a couple of other legal questions to throw him off the track and then I went in the backdoor.”

“How did you do that?”

“That’s not important. What’s important is that Howie drew up contracts for two businessmen in Lake Eden. One was Mayor Bascomb, but we already knew about him. And the other was Jon Walker.”

Hannah flipped open her notebook and reached for her pen. She was about to add the owner of Lake Eden Neighborhood Pharmacy to her suspect list when she remembered who’d been in the last private booth at the Inn last night when she’d passed by with Norman.

“Aren’t you going to write him down?” Andrea asked her.

“No. Jon and his wife were at the Lake Eden Inn for dinner last night and they were just being served their entrees when Norman and I left.”

“Oh, drat!” Andrea looked very disappointed. “I thought we had another live one.”

“Another live one?”

“Yes! I forgot to tell you. Right before I left the office, Mayor Bascomb came in to see Al. I already knew he’d signed a private contract with Larry when he invested in the Crazy Elf, so I asked him whether he’d visited Stephanie last night and how she was doing in the hospital.”

“Smart,” Hannah said.

“He said Stephanie’s still there and he stayed with her until visiting hours were over. And I promised to go see her tonight and take her something.” Andrea turned and stared at the baker’s rack.

It didn’t take a particle physicist to understand Andrea’s gesture. “I’ll pack up some cookies for you,” Hannah said.

“Anyway, I called the hospital to check on visiting hours and I found out that everyone has to leave at nine. It’s only about ten minutes from the hospital to the park, and that means Mayor Bascomb might not have an alibi for the time of Larry’s murder.”

“Bingo,” Hannah said, flipping to the suspect page again and putting a star by Mayor Bascomb’s name. “I’ll send Mother to see him. She’s fearless.”

“Good! If anybody can intimidate Mayor Bascomb, it’s Mother.” Andrea picked up her last cookie and by the expression on her sister’s face, Hannah knew that if there were a little gauge from Andrea’s mouth down to her stomach, it would be full to the brim. “Can I take this one with me?” she asked.

“Of course. Let me go pack up those cookies for Stephanie.”

Andrea nibbled at her one remaining cookie as Hannah packed a dozen of Lake Eden’s first lady’s favorite Carrot Cake Cookies. By the time she turned back to her sister, the Cherry Wink had disappeared and Andrea was blotting her lips with the napkin.

“I couldn’t help it. They’re so good,” Andrea said by way of explanation. “I’m showing a house at four, but I’m free until then. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

Hannah was about to shake her head when she thought of a bit of legwork that Andrea could do quite easily. She pulled out one of the papers that Luanne sent with Delores and referred to it again. “How about dropping by to see Jessica Murphy?”

“She’s not a suspect, is she?”

“No. I just need to know what Larry paid her for those crocheted animals she makes. And I also need to know if he asked Jessica to sign any blank receipts.”

“I can do that. I need to talk to Jessica anyway about finding a bigger place now that they have two children. That house is going to be too small for them really soon now. Anything else I can do?”

Hannah glanced down at the sheet again. “Larry got his Christmas trees from Winnie Henderson’s farm. I need to ask her what he paid and whether she signed any blank receipts.”

“You got it,” Andrea got up from her stool, took the box of cookies Hannah handed her, and headed for the door. “Don’t worry. I won’t eat these cookies. I know they’re really good, but I’ve finally had enough.”

It was almost five in the afternoon when Hannah finished frosting the last apple cake. She was about to carry it to the walk-in cooler to join the others she’d made when Norman came into the kitchen.

“Hi, Hannah,” he greeted her with a smile and came up to give her a hug. But when he was close a worried expression replaced his smile. “You look tired. How about going out for a steak at The Corner Tavern with me?”

Hannah didn’t hesitate. “I’d love to!” she said quickly. “A steak is exactly what I need. Thanks for asking me, Norman.”

“And after the steak, I can help you wrap those presents,” Norman offered. “If you’re not too tired, that is.”

“That would be perfect. We can even have dessert at my place. I want to try out a new bar cookie recipe.”

“Hi, guys!” Andrea breezed into the kitchen wearing a huge smile. “I just sold another house!”

“Congratulations!” Hannah said.

“From me, too,” Norman added. “How about a celebratory steak at The Corner Tavern? Hannah and I are going and we’d love to have you join us.”

Andrea’s smile grew wider, something Hannah hadn’t thought was possible. “That’s just perfect,” she said. “Tracey’s going out to Karen Dunwright’s house for a sleepover, Bethie has a little case of the sniffles so Grandma McCann is putting her to bed early, Bill has to work late, Mother’s having dinner with Dr. Love, and I have absolutely no plans for dinner.”

“You do now,” Norman told her. “Just let me call for a reservation. What time can you leave, Hannah?”

“Now,” Hannah said, glancing at the clock and making an executive decision. “I’ll tell Lisa to lock up right now and leave a little early. Her throat’s probably sore from all those stories she’s been telling about us finding Larry.”

Thirty minutes later, they were sitting in a circular booth at The Corner Tavern, enjoying the chef’s famous Caesar salad. Hannah and Norman had anchovies while Andrea had opted for none. They were just picking up their forks when the owner, Nick Prentiss, came over with a bottle of champagne in a silver bucket.

“I understand congratulations are in order,” he said, popping the cork. And then he turned to Hannah. “Is tonight a special occasion for you and Norman?”

There was dead silence for a moment and then Andrea jumped into the breach. “It certainly is!” she said with a smile. “Hannah and Norman just ordered the porterhouse for two and that’s worthy of a celebration in its own right. But we’re here because I just sold another house this afternoon.”

“Congratulations!” Nick reached out to shake Andrea’s hand and then he leaned closer. “Did you order the garlic bread?”

“Of course. It’s the best in Minnesota.”

“Thank you. And are you having your usual order to go for Sheriff Todd?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Then please let me include a nice half bottle of Chianti with my compliments. It goes so well with the garlic bread. Mayor Bascomb was quite impressed with it last night.”

“Mayor Bascomb was here for dinner?” Hannah asked, suddenly attentive to what Nick was telling them.

“Oh, yes. He drove here right after he visited his wife in the hospital. Such a lovely lady. I hope she recovers soon.”

“So do we,” Norman said, picking up on the questioning as Nick poured their champagne. “None for me please. I’m driving. Do you know what time the mayor arrived here last night?”

“A few minutes after nine. He drove here directly from the hospital.” Nick leaned in a little so people in the neighboring booths couldn’t hear him. “He said he needed a good meal after he saw what they served to his wife in the hospital. Why can’t they cook something good in that place? Sick people need good food.”

“Oh well,” Andrea sighed after Nick had poured champagne and left. “I didn’t really think Mayor Bascomb did it anyway.” She took a sip of her champagne and reached over to give Norman a hug. “Thank you for the celebration.”

“My pleasure. I’m just sorry Bill isn’t here to enjoy it with us.”

“Me, too.” Andrea turned to Hannah. “Do you want to know what I found out from Jessica and Winnie?”

“Yes.” Hannah pulled her steno pad from her purse and flipped it to the proper page. “How about Jessica?”

“Larry paid her ten dollars for each stuffed animal she made and he never had the receipts ready. She signed blank copies and he paid her in cash.”

“So it was a hundred percent profit on Jessica’s toys, and not the twenty percent Courtney thought it was!”

“That’s right. Winnie signed blank copies too, and Larry paid her in cash. She gave me her price list and I remember what I paid for my tree. It was a twenty dollar markup over Larry’s cost.”

Norman whistled. “If that’s true across the board, Larry wasn’t losing money after all.”

“He was losing money on paper,” Hannah said, spearing an anchovy with her fork. “Luanne went over the books for Courtney and they showed that Larry was in the red. And there was barely enough to cover the check he gave us for his cookie order in his business account.”

“Hold on,” Norman said. “If Larry was making a profit on everything he sold, where was the money going?”

“To his private account at Lake Eden First Mercantile Bank and probably to accounts at other banks, too.”

“You’re right,” Andrea agreed. “It’s pretty clear that Larry was cooking the books.”

“We suspected that all along, but now we’ve got proof. The next thing we have to do is find out who else proved it.”

“And killed him because of it,” Norman said.

DIXIE LEE’S GERMAN APPLE CAKE

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

4 cups peeled and sliced apples (4 or 5 medium size apples)

3 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cups white (granulated) sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

2 cups all-purpose flour (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)

Grease (or spray with Pam or another nonstick baking spray) the inside of a 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan. (I used Pam baking spray, the kind with flour in it.)

Peel, core, and slice the apples as you would for a pie. Place the sliced apples on the bottom of the prepared cake pan.

Hannah’s Note: You can mix the cake batter by hand or with an electric mixer. We use our electric mixer down at The Cookie Jar because we quadruple the recipe and make 4 apple cakes at once.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk the eggs with the oil until they’re thick. Then add the sugar and beat it in.

Mix in the vanilla, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Mix thoroughly.

Add the flour in one-cup increments, mixing after each cup.

Scrape down the bowl, give a final stir with a spoon, and then drop the batter over the apples in spoonfuls. (Don’t worry if it doesn’t completely cover the apples–the batter will spread out during baking.)