Devil's Food Cake Murder (25 page)

“That’s what I thought. Well, you’re about five hours ahead of Mike and Lonnie. They didn’t come in to ask me questions until suppertime.” Alice sighed and sat down on her own stool behind the counter. “Tell me honestly, Hannah, am I still your prime suspect?”

“Not anymore. I cleared you about an hour after Norman and I were here.” Hannah was silent, waiting for Alice’s response.

Alice looked surprised for a moment, and then she smiled. “That makes me feel a lot better! How did you clear me?”

“Doc Knight set the time of death between midnight and two in the morning. And you left the church office at eleven-thirty.”

As the two Swensen sisters watched, telltale spots of red appeared on Alice’s cheeks. “How do you know that?” she asked.

“Jacob told us. Remember the mynah bird that was sitting on the bookcase in his cage?”

“Yes. But …” Alice stopped speaking abruptly, realizing that she’d admitted to being at the church office the night of the murder, something she hadn’t intended to admit.

Hannah was silent. So was Michelle. Both of them just sat there waiting for Alice to go on.

“It’s not like it looks. I mean…I just needed to see him again, to find out if he still…liked me, you know? It was just a matter of curiosity, that’s all.”

“And did he still like you?” Hannah asked.

“Yes. He was the old Matthew, just like in high school. And he explained why he didn’t come over to see me before he left town. He said that he just couldn’t bear to see me again because he knew that if he saw me, he’d do something foolish like ask me to run off with him to get married, or settle down in Lake Eden and turn down the offer he got from Concordia College. He told me he wrote me a letter saying all that, and asking me if I’d be willing to wait for him to graduate and get his first posting as a minister, and then we could be married.”

“But you never got the letter,” Michelle said with a sigh.

“That’s right. My dad kept it from me. He didn’t want me to marry Matthew and leave Lake Eden. He wanted me to stay right here and help him run the bowling alley.”

“Did you believe Matthew?” Hannah asked.

“Of course! He was …” Alice stopped and wiped away a tear with the back of her hand. “He was kind, and sweet, and considerate, just the way he’d been all those years ago. He even said I looked wonderful, and that was when he invited me out to dinner on Monday night. Maybe nothing would have come of it. Maybe we would have gone our separate ways once he was through filling in for Reverend Bob. But I can’t help wondering if …” Alice’s voice trailed off, and tears began to roll down her cheeks.

“Here,” Hannah said, pulling a couple of paper napkins from the dispenser that sat on the refreshment bar and handing them to her. “Brace yourself, Alice. I’ve got some news that’ll change everything.”

Alice looked up with tear-filled eyes. “What?”

“Matthew’s alive. The minister you went to see at the church office wasn’t a minister at all. He was Matthew’s cousin Paul.”

For a brief second Alice was silent and then she began to shake her head. “No,” she said. “No, he couldn’t have been Paul. I know he wasn’t Paul. I knew Paul. They looked alike, sure, but they weren’t anything alike really. Paul wasn’t a nice person. I would have known if the man I met was Paul!”

“Matthew’s here now,” Michelle told her. “He drove in from Wisconsin this morning, right after he heard the news that he was murdered in Lake Eden.”

“Matthew positively identified the victim as Paul this afternoon at the morgue,” Hannah told her.

“But …” Alice swallowed hard. “I was so sure. I never doubted that it was Matthew. And now you tell me that it was Paul.” Alice reached for another paper napkin and wiped her eyes again. “I just can’t believe it.”

“Do you want to go see the real Reverend Matthew?” Michelle asked her. “I could fill in for you here.”

Alice shook her head. “No! I’ve had enough for today! I just can’t…cope with anything else. Maybe tomorrow. Or the day after. I just…have to get this all straight in my head.”

“Of course you do,” Hannah said comfortingly, sliding off her stool and motioning for Michelle to do the same. “We understand, Alice. This whole thing has been a terrible shock. I only have two more questions for you, and if you can answer them, it’ll help me a lot.”

“I…yes. I can.” As they watched, Alice took a deep breath and visibly pulled herself together. “What’s the first question, Hannah?”

“When you left the church on Sunday night, did you see anyone else, anyone who could have been waiting to get in, parking in the lot or on the street, or even walking?”

Alice shook her head. “There was no one around. I looked. I didn’t exactly want to be seen. It’s just that Matthew and I used to date and everybody thinks I’m still carrying a torch for him. No, Hannah. There was no one within a block of the church, no one but me.”

“That helps, Alice. Thanks. The second question is about Paul, so you’re going to have to switch gears. Did Paul have any friends when he was here at Jordan High?”

“Only one that I can think of. Of course Matthew was his best friend. When they first got here, they palled around together. But then Matthew started dating me and Paul hooked up with Lenny Peske.”

“The bartender at the Eagle?” Michelle asked her.

“Yes. They were partners in crime, if you want to call it that. Paul and Lenny did all sorts of bad things, like breaking into school lockers, and playing nasty tricks on the teachers they didn’t like.”

“Thanks, Alice,” Hannah said quickly. She could tell that Alice was shaken and really needed to be left alone. “Call me if you need me for anything. You have my cell phone number, don’t you?”

“Yes. You gave it to me this afternoon.”

“Here’s mine, too,” Michelle took a card from her purse and handed it to Alice. “Sometimes Hannah forgets to charge hers.”

“So do I,” Alice said, giving Hannah a wan smile. And then she asked a question of her own. “Does Mike know that Paul was the one who was murdered?”

“He does now. The real Reverend Matthew went into the sheriff’s station to report it this afternoon.”

“Then they’ll probably be back tonight to ask me more questions. Maybe I’ll just ask one of the bowlers to run the tournament for me and lock up when it’s over. Digger’s here and he’s reliable. He took over for me Sunday night until I got back here at twenty to twelve. You can check with him on the time.”

“Thanks,” Hannah said.

“I hate to skip out again tonight, but I need some time to sort this out before the police ask me any more questions.”

“Don’t forget you’ve got an alibi,” Hannah reminded her.

“Yes, but does Mike know that?”

“Not yet,” Hannah admitted. “I’ll tell him the next time I see him, but I don’t think that’ll be until tomorrow. Of course he doesn’t know that you were at the church office, either. We just learned about it a few hours ago.”

“Okay. I’m going to go home, put on my favorite old robe, and watch a movie on television with my dogs. I’m going to eat every single one of your cookies, and maybe I’ll even have a couple of beers to wash them down. I’m not going to answer the door or the phone for anybody! Not even you, Hannah.”

“That’s fine with me. I’m not going to call you. You answered all the questions I can think of for now. Just go home and get some rest. You’ve been on an emotional roller coaster.”

Alice thought about that for a moment. “You’re right. It has been a roller coaster, and I always get sick on roller coasters. But I think I’m doing all right this time.” She reached down to grab the bag of cookies that Hannah had brought her, and held them aloft. “This time, I didn’t even lose my cookies.”

Hannah laughed, and so did Michelle. It wasn’t really that funny, but they were glad that Alice had recovered enough to make an attempt at humor.

“Come with me and you can talk to Digger,” Alice invited. “Ask him what time I got back here Sunday night, and he’ll tell you. And then I’ll ask him to fill in for me again tonight.”

Alice led the way to a team of bowlers in the seats behind the foul line at lane number three. Hannah noticed that Digger was there, and he was wearing a bright purple sweatshirt emblazoned with his team name, Lucky Stiffs.

“That’s a bad pun,” Michelle commented, “especially for an undertaker.”

“I know. Digger’s got more humor in him than you might think.” Alice stopped just short of approaching Digger and his team, and turned to Hannah. “Please don’t find any more bodies, Hannah. If I get implicated in any more murders, I’m going to have to put Digger on the payroll.”

NUTMEG SNAPS

Do not preheat the oven yet—this cookie dough must chill before baking.

1 cup salted butter, softened (2 sticks, 8 ounces, 1/2 pound)

2 and 1/2 cups dark brown sugar (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)***

2 large eggs

1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground nutmeg (or 1 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg)****

3 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)

2/3 cup dried apricots, chopped (measure AFTER chopping)

extra sugar (about 1/2 cup) for rolling dough balls before baking

*** - If you don’t have dark brown sugar, you don’t have to rush right out to buy it. As far as I can tell, there are 3 types of brown sugar. One is called “brown sugar,” another is called “light brown sugar,” and the third is called “dark brown sugar”. Light brown sugar has the least molasses and dark brown sugar has the most. If you have regular brown sugar in the house, just add a half-teaspoon of molasses to your mixing bowl and you’ll have dark brown sugar.

**** - If you’re using ground nutmeg in the jar and it’s old, do go out and buy a new jar. Unlike fine wine, nutmeg doesn’t age well. It tends to taste like soap! If you grate your own nutmeg, that’s preferable. Just use 1 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg instead of the 2 teaspoons of ground nutmeg that it calls for in the recipe.

Hannah’s 1st Note: Although you can certainly make this recipe by hand, it’s a lot easier with an electric mixer.

Place the softened (room temperature) butter in a mixer bowl and beat it until it’s smooth.

Add the dark brown sugar and beat it until it’s nice and fluffy.

Mix in the eggs. Make sure they’re thoroughly incorporated.

With the mixer running on LOW speed, add the baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Keep beating until you’re sure they’re evenly combined.

Add the flour in half-cup increments, beating after each addition.

Shut off the mixer, and stir in the chopped dried apricots by hand. (They tend to stick to the beaters.)

You can leave your cookie dough right in the mixing bowl if you wish. Just tear off a sheet of plastic wrap and press it down over the top of your dough, tucking it in on the sides so that no air gets in.

Refrigerate the cookie dough for one hour (overnight is fine, too) to chill it and make it easier to work with.

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

Take your cookie dough out of the refrigerator and set it on the counter.

Line your cookie sheets with parchment paper, or spray them with Pam or another nonstick baking spray.

Put some white sugar, a half-cup should do, into a small bowl. You’ll be rolling dough balls in the sugar before baking.

Roll the dough into 1-inch balls without making them smooth.

Roll each dough ball in the sugar, covering it completely.

Arrange the dough balls on your cookie sheets 2 inches apart. You should be able to get 12 dough balls on each cookie sheet.

Flatten each ball with the bottom of a glass, or the flat blade of a metal spatula.

Bake at 350 degrees F., for 8 to 12 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown. (Mine took 11 minutes, and so did JoAnn’s cookies.)

Remove the cookies from the oven, let them cool on the baking sheets for a minute or two to firm up. Then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.

These yummy Nutmeg Snaps can be stored in an air-tight container or in a covered cookie jar up to one week. They freeze beautifully if you stack them like coins in a wrapper, roll them in foil, and place the rolls in freezer bags.

Yield: approximately 6 dozen cookies, depending on cookie size.

Hannah’s 2nd Note: These cookies make great “dunkers”. Bill always dunks his in his coffee when he comes into The Cookie Jar for an afternoon break. Mother does it too, but please don’t mention it if you see her. I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone because she says it isn’t proper etiquette.

“I’m really glad I didn’t have to settle for a chunk of pickled ring bologna!” Michelle said, biting into her double-double cheese mushroom burger.

Hannah waited until she’d swallowed a bite of her double-double gorgonzola burger before she replied. “What made you think you’d have to settle for pickled bologna?”

“I looked at the menu at the refreshment stand just in case Alice decided to take me up on my offer to fill in for her while she went up to the parsonage to see the real Reverend Matthew. The only things she serves are sodas, beer, chips, popcorn, and pickled bologna. She had that in one of those big glass jars behind the counter.”

“No pickled pigs feet?”

“No. I guess they’re too messy. A chunk of bologna’s neater.”

The two sisters fell silent as they ate their burgers and drank from chilled mugs of root beer. They didn’t speak again until their burgers were almost gone.

“I’m thinking about ordering a burger to go for Norman,” Hannah said, “but he must really be tied up. I thought he’d read my note and come straight out here.”

“Maybe the dental emergency is really complicated.” Michelle stopped speaking and began to frown. “Never mind. It’s not.”

“How do you know?”

“The dental emergency, if there really was one, is over. I can see through the leaves of the artificial plant sitting on top of the room divider, and Norman’s here.”

“Wave at him. He might not be able to see us way back here.”

“I hope he won’t. Whatever you do, don’t stand up, Hannah. We need to keep a really low profile.”