Devil's Food Cake Murder (26 page)

“What are you talking about?”

“Norman’s at a table for two in the middle of the dining room. He must have walked in shortly after we did.”

“Is he waiting for us?”

“I doubt it. He’s with Doctor Bev.”

At first all Hannah felt was shock, but then her spirits sank to a new low. “Then the dental emergency was just an excuse to break free from me so he could take Doctor Bev to dinner.”

“Don’t jump to conclusions, Hannah. If you turn around, you’ll be able to see Norman through the greenery.”

“I don’t want to see him!”

“Oh, I think you do. It’s pretty obvious that Norman doesn’t want to be here.”

“Really?”

“Really. Just turn your head and look. You’ll see what I mean.”

Hannah turned around. It was just as Michelle had said. There was Norman at a table for two in the middle of the dining room, and Doctor Bev was with him. She was facing away so all Hannah could see was the back of her head and her expensive haircut, but Norman was facing them and he didn’t look at all happy. “He looks…upset,” she said.

“Yes, he does. I think he looks just as upset as he did when he got the phone call about the dental emergency.”

“The fake dental emergency,” Hannah corrected her. “It was probably her.”

The two sisters watched for a moment, and then Michelle said, “Look! She must have said something Norman didn’t like at all. Now he looks irritated.”

“He looked irritated on the phone this afternoon, too.”

“They’re arguing about something,” Michelle said. “Look how he’s clenching his hand. That breadstick he’s holding is going to be nothing but crumbs in a couple of seconds. She’s reaching for his other hand to try to calm him down.”

Hannah narrowed her eyes. “It’s not going to work. He just pulled his hand back, and he’s scowling.”

“Maybe it’s the light, but Norman’s face looks red.”

“It’s not the light,” Hannah told her. “Norman’s face is red. He’s angry, very angry.”

“Furious. Have you ever seen Norman look this mad before?”

“Never. Norman isn’t the type to fly off the handle. It just isn’t like him.”

“Then she must have pushed him to the bitter end about something,” Michelle commented.

“I wonder what she’s doing now. She just picked up a napkin and she’s holding it up to her face.”

“Crocodile tears,” Michelle informed her. “Either that, or she’s actually crying. There’s a girl in my drama class who can cry on command. That’s really useful when you’re an actress.”

“Well, it’s coming in handy for lady dentists, too. Norman just reached out for her hand.”

Michelle gave a little sigh. “You can’t blame him for that. There are some guys who just can’t stand to see a woman cry. I’ll bet Norman’s like that.”

Hannah gave a little shrug. “I’m not sure. Actually I’m not sure about a lot of things now. Norman says he loves me, but this doesn’t look good. And Mike says he loves me, but that’ll probably change when he finds out I’m working on his murder case. Maybe neither one of them loves me!”

Michelle motioned for their waitress and pulled out her wallet. “Maybe money can’t buy you love, but it’ll buy you chocolate. And that’s almost the same thing. I’m going to order a double fudge brownie delight for both of us to go.”

“To go? But we can’t leave yet. We’ll have to walk right past them, and I don’t want to do that.”

Michelle started to grin. “Afraid you’ll kill her?”

“Of course not! But there may be much too much ketchup and mustard in her future.”

This time a grin wasn’t enough for Michelle. She started to laugh. “I wouldn’t blame you. Follow me, Hannah. We can stand in the kitchen to wait for our takeout and then we’ll go out the back way. We can sneak back in the front door to get our coats and boots.”

Hannah considered that for a moment. “But don’t you think that’s the coward’s way out?”

“No, it’s the cheapest way out. The dry cleaners will charge you a fortune to get the ketchup and mustard stains out of her white cashmere sweater.”

“Better?” Michelle asked, after they’d polished off their double fudge brownie delights.

“Much better. Thanks, Michelle. I was really upset when I listened to that message from Norman, saying he was still tied up with his so-called dental emergency.”

“I know,” Michelle commiserated. “Did you remember to print out those recipes for me? I can make a couple of pans of cookie bars tonight.”

“I remembered,” Hannah said, walking over to her desk to pick up some papers and handing them to Michelle. “I have three bar recipes and a drop cookie recipe.”

“Great! Let’s bake together. That’ll make both of us feel good. Where shall we start?”

“You can do Black Forest Brownies, and I’ll do Strawberry Shortbread Bar Cookies.”

For ten minutes the only conversation in Hannah’s kitchen consisted of questions like, “Will you please hand me the sugar?” or “Where do you keep your heavy-duty aluminum foil?”

Both ovens, upper and lower, were set for the correct temperatures, and Michelle and Hannah didn’t sit down again until two pans of bar cookies were in each oven. Then Hannah put on the coffee pot and joined her sister at the kitchen table. “You know Lenny Peske, don’t you?”

“Not personally, but he’s one of those one-toe-over-the-line guys.” When Hannah looked blank, Michelle went on. “He’s a wannabe crook, but not quite.”

“He skirts around the law?”

“Exactly. Lonnie’s Uncle Pat knew him pretty well. They went to Jordan High together.”

“Does Lonnie’s uncle live around here?”

Michelle shook her head. “He’s been in Chicago for years. The last time Lonnie visited him, they sat around talking for hours. It was Uncle Pat who said that Lenny’s always been a one-toe-over-the-line guy. I think we should talk to him.”

“Uncle Pat?”

“No, Lenny. We can always catch him at the Eagle.”

Hannah was surprised. Most people in Lake Eden knew that the Eagle, a backwoods bar and dance place, was a real dive. The last time Michelle had gone out there to do undercover work on a murder case, it had almost turned into a disaster. “Do you really want to go out to the Eagle again?” she asked.

“No, but that’s where Lenny works. You don’t want me to go undercover again, do you?”

“Absolutely not!”

“Okay, then let’s all go.”

“Who do you mean by all?”

“You, Andrea, and me. There’s strength in numbers and there’s no way I want to go out there alone again. How about tomorrow night?”

“That’s fine with me. I’ll check with Andrea in the morning, and see if she can go. But don’t mention it to Mother or she’ll want to go, too. And then we’ll have to look out for her.”

“Do you know how mad Mother would be if she heard you say that?”

“Oh, yes. I know.” Hannah turned to look at the ovens as the timer rang. “Is that yours? Or mine?”

“Yours. Your crust bakes only fifteen minutes. Then you cool it for five, put on the strawberry pie filling and the topping, and bake it for another thirty minutes. I read your recipe.”

“Okay. I’ll get my crust out. Tell me how long your Black Forest Brownies have to go and I’ll reset the timer.”

“You don’t have to. I’m keeping my eye on the clock. We always bake together when I come home, so I’ll run by the Red Owl tomorrow and pick up a second kitchen timer.”

“While you’re watching the clock, why don’t you call the Eagle and find out if Lenny’s working tomorrow night. It’d be a waste of time to drive all the way out there and find out he’s got the night off.”

Michelle reached for the phone on the wall. “Good idea. I’ll do it now. My bars still have fifteen minutes to go.”

Hannah’s crust had cooled the required five minutes, she’d finished assembling the cookie bars, and she was slipping them back into the oven by the time Michelle hung up the phone. “What took so long?” she asked.

“Lenny was in a private meeting in the office with someone, and the door was locked. They put me on hold until he came out.”

“Lenny has private meetings at the Eagle?”

“That’s what one of the waitresses said. She told me her name was Silky.”

“Do you think that’s a real name?”

“No. Waitresses at a dive like that don’t usually use their real names. They don’t want the customers to know anything personal about them.”

Hannah stared at her baby sister. “Should I ask you how you know that?”

“You can if you want to. One of my roommates worked in a bar for the summer, and they gave her a name tag with a fake name. Anyway, Silky said that Lenny started locking the office when he took over as manager, and he’s got the only key. On the nights he doesn’t work, they can’t open the door.”

“Really!” Hannah’s mind ran through the possibilities, taking Uncle Pat’s character assessment into account. “My bet is that he’s using it for something borderline illegal.”

“I’m sure you’re right. Silky also said that up to four months ago, the waitresses were going in and out to use the phone, but now nobody except Lenny can get in.”

“That makes me want to get a good look at that office when we go out there,” Hannah told her.

An hour passed with the two sisters baking, talking, and generally having a good time together. They’d finished six pans of cookie bars when Hannah decided it was time for them to get some sleep.

“You’d better turn in, Michelle. You have to get up early in the morning if you want to ride to town with me.”

“Sounds good.” Michelle stood up and gave Hannah a hug. “Goodnight, Hannah.”

“Goodnight, Michelle,” Hannah hugged her back. “I’ll turn in soon, and then …” Hannah stopped talking abruptly as the doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it on my way to bed,” Michelle called out as she opened the door. “It’s probably Norman.”

“No, it’s probably Mike,” Mike said, stepping in. “Didn’t you look through the peephole?”

“It doesn’t do any good. Hello, Mike. Good to see you. And goodnight, Mike. I’m going to bed.”

“Goodnight, Michelle,” Mike said as she left the room, and then he turned to Hannah. “What’s the matter with your peephole?”

“It’s the outside light,” Hannah explained, coming over to take his coat. “I petitioned the association to move the light so my visitors’ faces aren’t in shadow. They approved it, but the handyman hasn’t been around to do it yet.”

“I’ll do it on my day off,” Mike promised.

“But you don’t have to …”

“I want to. I want you safe, Hannah. It’s after eleven at night. You should know who it is before you open the door. Besides, I’m law enforcement, and that means I’m responsible for your safety and well-being. I have a vested interest in keeping you around.”

“Oh, really?” Hannah said as Mike moved closer. She tried to keep it casual, but she knew what was coming and her voice shook slightly. “What’s that?”

“I’ll show you.”

Before Hannah could do more than draw in her breath, Mike pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

It felt good to be loved, even by the man she was almost convinced was wrong for her. He’d been dating Doctor Bev, and he hadn’t even mentioned it to her. Of course he also hadn’t mentioned the other women he’d dated, like Shawna Lee Quinn, her sister Vanessa, and Ronni Ward. Then again Norman, who she suspected was right for her, had been up-front about taking Bev out to dinner when Hannah had a date with Mike. Except tonight. Tonight Norman had betrayed her, and …

Hannah stopped thinking. Mike’s kiss was too compelling to spoil with thoughts of anything but him and how very good it felt to be loved, even if it wasn’t forever.

STRAWBERRY SHORTBREAD BAR COOKIES

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

Hannah’s 1st Note: These are really easy and fast to make. Almost everyone loves them, including Baby Bethie, and they’re not even chocolate!

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

3/4 cup powdered (confectioner’s) sugar (don’t sift unless it’s got big lumps)

1 and 1/2 cups salted butter, softened (3 sticks, 12 ounces, 3/4 pound)

1 can (21 ounces) strawberry pie filling (I used Comstock)***

*** - If you can’t find strawberry pie filling, you can use another berry filling, like raspberry, or blueberry. You can also use pie fillings of larger fruits like peach, apple, or whatever. If you do that, cut the fruit pieces into smaller pieces so that each bar cookie will have some. I just put my apple or peach pie filling in the food processor with the steel blade and zoop it up just short of being pureed. I’m not sure about using lemon pie filling. I haven’t tried that yet.

FIRST STEP: Mix the flour and the powdered sugar together in a medium-sized bowl.

Cut in the softened butter with a two knives or a pastry cutter until the resulting mixture resembles bread crumbs or coarse corn meal.

(You can also do this in a food processor using cold butter cut into chunks that you layer between the powdered sugar and flour mixture and process with the steel blade, using an on-and-off pulsing motion.)

Spread HALF of this mixture (approximately 3 cups will be fine) into a greased (or sprayed with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray) 9-inch by 13-inch pan. (That’s a standard size rectangular cake pan.)

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the edges are just beginning to turn golden brown.

Remove the pan to a wire rack or a cold burner on the stove, but DON’T TURN OFF THE OVEN!

Let the crust cool for 5 minutes.

SECOND STEP: Spread the pie filling over the top of the crust you just baked.

Sprinkle the crust with the other half of the crust mixture you saved. Try to do this as evenly as possible. Don’t worry about little gaps in the topping. It will spread out and fill in a bit as it bakes.

Gently press the top crust down with the flat blade of a metal spatula.

Bake the cookie bars at 350 degrees F. for another 30 to 35 minutes, or until the top is lightly golden.

Turn off the oven and remove the pan to a wire rack or a cold burner to cool completely.

When the bars are completely cool, cover the pan with foil and refrigerate them until you’re ready to cut them.

(Chilling them makes them easier to cut.)