Cream Puff Murder (15 page)

1 cup chopped walnuts (measure after chopping)

3½ cups flour (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)

1 cup coconut (chopped a little finer than it comes out of the bag)

3 cups finely grated carrots

Terry’s tips for her recipe:

1. When she drains her crushed pineapple, Terry uses a wire mesh sieve and presses the pineapple against the mesh to remove as much liquid as possible.
   

2. When she’s in a hurry and doesn’t want to grate her own carrots, Terry buys shredded carrots and then chops them up a bit finer in her food processor with the steel blade, or with a chef’s knife on a cutting board.
   

3. Terry says she uses a medium cookie scoop (approximately 2 Tablespoons) and puts 12 cookies to a sheet. She always uses parchment paper instead of a bare cookie sheet. She rinses her cookie scoop after every 4 or 5 cookies so the dough won’t stick to the scoop.
   

Hannah’s Note: These are a lot easier to mix if you use an electric mixer. You can also do them by hand, but it does take some muscle.

Beat the butter, sugar, and eggs together until all three ingredients are thoroughly incorporated and the mixture is smooth, fluffy, and light yellow in color.

Make sure your applesauce is well drained. You don’t really want to add liquid here. (I pat off any excess liquid with a paper towel before I add it to my bowl.) Add the applesauce to your bowl and mix in thoroughly.

Mix in the vanilla extract.

Blend in the baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Mix it well, until the dough is smooth and is a uniform color.

Mix in the pineapple, golden raisins, and walnuts.

Blend in the flour, about a rounded cupful at a time. You don’t have to be exact—the point is to add the flour in three parts so that you don’t try to mix it all in at once. If you add the whole 3½ cups at once and then try to beat it, it’ll spill out all over your counter and floor! (The next time you come into The Cookie Jar, you can ask me how I know this.)

Remove the bowl from your mixer. You’ll have to do this next part by hand. Coconut and shredded carrots tend to bunch up inside your beaters and will cause a real mess. (You can ask me how I know this, too!)

Stir in the coconut. When it’s incorporated, stir in the shredded carrots. Mix well to make sure everything is blended.

When the dough is all mixed, it will be thick and rather sticky, much like very thick cake batter. That’s why you have to chill it. It would be impossible to work with without “hardening” it in the refrigerator.

Cover the dough with plastic wrap, and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. (Overnight is fine, too.)

When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

Prepare your cookie sheets by lining them with parchment paper (the best method for this cookie) or spraying them with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray.

Use two spoons to drop the dough onto the cookie sheet, 12 cookies to a standard-size cookie sheet. Each cookie should contain about 2 Tablespoons of dough.

Wet your fingers and shape the dough into rounds if needed. This won’t make them taste any different, but they’ll look more uniform.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 12 minutes. Leave the cookies on the cookie sheet for a minute, and then remove them to wire racks to cool. When they’ve cooled, frost them with Terry’s Cream Cheese Frosting.

Yield: approximately 10 dozen yummy cookies

TERRY’S CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature

1 stick (½ cup, ¼ pound) butter at room temperature

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1-pound box of confectioner’s (powdered) sugar (3½ to 4 cups)

Mix the cream cheese and butter together until they’re smooth and blended to a uniform color.

Mix in the vanilla.

Blend in confectioner’s sugar in one-cup increments until the resulting frosting is smooth and creamy.

Hannah’s Note: This frosting is a win-win proposition. If it turns out to be too thick to spread, mix in a few drops of milk or cream to thin it. If it turns out to be too thin, mix in a little more confectioner’s sugar to thicken it.

“Y es, I did find her. And yes, she was in the Jacuzzi.” Hannah poured more coffee for a table of women who’d come in for the express purpose of getting more information from her. “I really can’t tell you any details. The sheriff’s department is investigating her death, and they should be circulating an official press release very soon.”

“Hannah?” Lisa motioned her over to the counter.

Hannah made her apologies to the table of ladies and hurried to her partner’s side. “What is it?”

“More cookies. We only have a dozen left, and that’s with the new prices.”

“New prices?”

Lisa nodded. “You told me to handle the financial end of things, and that’s what I’m doing. We’re going to make a good profit today.”

“That’s the only thing I ever felt like thanking Ronni for,” Hannah said, frowning slightly.

“I feel exactly the same way. Anyway…do we have any more cookies left in the freezer?”

“I don’t think so, but I’ll go look. If we don’t, do you want me to bake some?”

“Yes, if you can think of something quick.”

“How about some Boggles?”

“They should work, since the dough doesn’t have to chill.” Lisa glanced at the clock. “It’s almost time for the lull between lunch cookies and afternoon cookies, but I don’t think it’ll be much of a break today. Everybody’s coming in to see you. They’ll wait if I promise them fresh cookies and your firsthand account of finding Ronni.”

“But I can’t give them very much information. About all I can tell them is that she was dead in the hot tub.”

“You don’t have to give them details of the crime scene. Just tell them about your reaction when you found her.”

“My reaction?”

“You know. Say something like this…I was all ready to climb into the water when I realized that there was something in the Jacuzzi. But nobody else was there except Andrea, and she was still exercising. I had a really strange feeling, the kind you get when you think something is wrong. My heart was pounding like a trip hammer, and…”

“Hold it,” Hannah interrupted her. “What’s a trip hammer?”

“I don’t know, but that’s what they always say. Anyway…My heart was pounding like a trip hammer, and my palms were damp, but I just had to move closer. One step and then another, and I stared down into the bubbling water to see what it was.”

“That’s good,” Hannah said, giving her a smile. “What’s next?”

“Let’s see. You could say, I caught sight of it almost immediately. It was red and black, and that’s when I realized it could be…” Lisa stopped and frowned. “No, make that, and that’s when I realized it had to be one of the exercise outfits the female staff wore. But what was it doing in the Jacuzzi? Was one of the instructors using the hot tub as a washing machine? Had someone accidentally dropped it there as they passed by on their way home? Or had someone tossed it in there deliberately to play a prank on an instructor?”

“That’ll have them sitting on the edges of their chairs,” Hannah complimented her partner. “What next?”

“I still felt that prickling sensation. As a matter of fact, it was getting stronger. But I just had to find out what was going on, so I stepped right up to the rim of the tub and grabbed it to haul it out. Now this is when you pause for a minute to build up the suspense. And then you say, I came very close to screaming when my hand encountered something I wasn’t expecting, something that had once been living, and breathing, and teaching classes at Heavenly Bodies. And even though I didn’t really want to, I grabbed that someone, whoever she was, and rolled her over. One look at her still beautiful but lifeless face, and I realized it was my very own fitness instructor, Ronni Ward!”

Hannah just stared at Lisa for a long moment. And then she asked, “Have you been reading a lot of murder mysteries lately?”

“Well…actually, I have. Marge drops them off from the library. When Herb works late, I read. It keeps my mind off missing him.”

“Well, you ought to try writing one. You’re pretty good. I have only one suggestion to give you.”

“What’s that?”

“You tell that story for me. You’re much better at it than I am. Just say I’m in the kitchen baking, but I told you everything, and I said it was okay for you to repeat it.”

Lisa began to smile. “I can do that. It’ll be fun for me, and besides, it’ll give you a break to bake and think about the case. If you take it, that is. You are going to take it, aren’t you?”

“Absolutely. I don’t want the killer to get away with something like this!”

“You’re right, Hannah. Murder is awful.”

“Oh, it’s not murder that’s the problem.” Hannah gave a little grin to show Lisa that she was kidding. “Whoever killed Ronni smashed my cream puffs. And to add insult to injury, since I’m on a diet for Mother’s book launch party, I didn’t even get the chance to taste one!”

Hannah had just finished mixing up the dough for the Boggles when there was a knock on the back door. She hurried to answer it, assuming it was Norman, but instead came face-to-face with her very agitated sister.

“Andrea. Come in.” Hannah took her sister’s coat, hung it on the pegs by the back door, and led her to a stool at the workstation. “You’re shaking. Don’t tell me there’s been another murder!”

“No, but it’s almost as bad as that. I need to calm down, Hannah. Do you have any chocolate?”

“You’ve come to the house of endorphins, the source of the Dark Chocolate River, the heart of the Milk Chocolate Valley, and the foothills of the White Chocolate Mountains.” Andrea gave a wan smile, acknowledging the attempt at humor, but Hannah noticed that her sister was still shaking. “Hold on a second. I’ll get you chocolate you’ll never forget.”

Two minutes later, four Brownies Plus from a catering order and a full mug of coffee sat in front of Andrea. Three minutes later, only two Brownies Plus remained. Another minute and a half, and Andrea was wiping her face and sipping her coffee. That was when Hannah figured it was time to speak. “So tell me what’s wrong,” she said.

“Everything. Remember Shawna Lee?”

“How could I forget?” Hannah gave a deep sigh. Shawna Lee was the last woman who had trifled with Mike’s affections. Or perhaps Mike was the trifler and Shawna Lee was the triflee. Then again, both of them could have been triflers…or triflees. Hannah just wasn’t sure.

“Well, it’s Shawna Lee all over again!” Andrea pronounced.

“Because of Mike? I already know Bill took him off the case.”

“That’s part of it, but it’s even worse than that. It’s Section Fourteen, Article Six of the Winnetka County Sheriff’s official rulebook. A detective must be excused from duty or reassigned at the sheriff’s discretion in the case of personal involvement with the victim. When Shawna Lee was murdered, Bill had to take two detectives off the case.”

“I know that.”

“Well, this time Bill had to take off three detectives!”

“Three detectives were personally involved with Ronni?”

“Yes. And that includes Lonnie.”

“Uh-oh,” Hannah breathed. “Michelle’s going to be livid.”

“That’s what I thought. I called her to break it to her gently, but she already knew because Lonnie called her just as soon as it happened. She’s going to take a midterm early and catch the bus this afternoon. It’ll get in at the Quick Stop at five forty-five tonight.”

“Uh-oh. We’d better meet her and check for weapons. She probably wants to grind Lonnie into little pieces and use him for hamburger.”

“Wrong.”

“Wrong?” Hannah stared hard at her sister.

“She told me they were testing their relationship by dating other people.”

Hannah shook her head. “You’re kidding!”

“No, I’m not. Remember at Lisa and Herb’s family reunion when Michelle told us she wanted to be free to date some professor of hers if he asked?”

“I remember.”

“Well, she must have worked that out with Lonnie. At least he felt free enough to take Ronni dancing last Saturday night. And before you say it, I know he’s at least five years younger than she is…I mean five years younger than she was.”

“This isn’t good,” Hannah said, covering her face with her hands. She sat there for a moment, taking it all in, and then she dropped her hands. “So what’s Michelle’s attitude about all this?”

“It was hard to tell. She was hurt. I could hear that in her voice. But she was the one who said they should try dating other people. I really don’t think she expected Lonnie to go out with anybody.”

“That figures. I wouldn’t expect him to go out with anyone, either. I know he loves Michelle. But I suppose she told him she was going to do it, so he felt he had to follow suit. It was probably a case of male pride. Is Michelle going to stay with Mother?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Mother’s really busy with her business. She told me that the Christmas rush for antiques is already starting at Granny’s Attic, and she’s got all sorts of things to do before her book launch party. She feels she won’t be able to give Michelle the attention she needs, and she told me that she’s not very good at dealing with problems when it comes to affairs of the heart.”

“Affairs of the heart? Is that what Mother said?”

“Yes. I thought it was a nice way of putting it.”

“Doctor Love,” Hannah said.

“On KCOW Radio?”

“Yes,” Hannah affirmed it, and then she got back to the subject at hand. “Michelle is welcome to stay with me.”

“I think that would be best. Bill loves Michelle, but there’s going to be a procedural problem since Lonnie’s a murder suspect.”

“What?!”

“Lonnie admits he went out to Heavenly Bodies after he finished his shift at ten. He wanted to tell Ronni he had to cancel the date they’d made for the movies on Friday night. He told Bill he was only there for twenty minutes or so, but there was something wrong with the security system, and the cameras didn’t record him leaving. He also admitted to Bill that they exchanged angry words about something personal.”