Plum Pudding Murder (20 page)

Hannah thrust her feet into slippers and headed straight for the kitchen. A cup of coffee would perk her right up and get rid of that not-enough-sleep syndrome that usually plagued her in the morning. This morning it was even more severe than usual, perhaps because she’d stayed up until almost eleven with Norman, trimming her Christmas tree.

She was halfway down the hall when she heard a thumping from the living room. There was also a low rumbling noise that sounded a bit like a growl. At first she was hard-pressed to identify the origin, but as her steps brought her within a few feet of the living room, she heard a series of sounds she’d heard before. It was an ack-ack sound, a bit like the words GI’s in World War II had used to describe antiaircraft rounds going off in the distance. Except that this sound wasn’t in the distance. It was in her living room. And the ack-ack in question wasn’t coming from military weaponry. It originated deep within her feline’s throat and it was a prelude to a leap, a pounce, and then, at least in Moishe’s mind, the happy crunching of avian bones.

Hannah rounded the corner at the run, just in time to see orange and white fur in motion. Her cat appeared to be leaping straight up near the far corner of the room, and Hannah knew what that meant. It was a death rattle for Great-Grandma Elsa’s birds, those lovely red cardinals and snow white doves that were fashioned from…

“Uh-oh!” Hannah groaned. And then, as she caught sight of the carnage that had been wreaked upon her living room rug, she uttered a phrase that would surely have been bleeped on network television. There were white and red feathers everywhere, along with several bird feet that had been fashioned from wire and yarn. Five black beads that had served as bird eyes sat upon her coffee table, and Hannah almost chuckled despite the scene of utter devastation. There were bird’s eyes on her bird’s-eye maple coffee table. That coincidence seemed pretty funny until she remembered that Great-Grandma Elsa had dyed the feathers and handcrafted the cardinals and doves herself. And now her great-great-grandcat, Moishe, had destroyed them.

Hannah turned to look at her feather-seeking missile, but he was no longer in the room. He’d vanished in a puff of cat dander, leaving one white feather floating slowly down to settle on top of the television set.

Cleanup and then coffee? Or coffee and then cleanup? It was no contest for Hannah. She averted her eyes from the avian massacre, turned on her heel, and stepped into the kitchen to get away from it all.

“I heard,” Lisa said as Hannah walked into the kitchen at The Cookie Jar.

“Jake and Kelly?”

Lisa nodded and went to pour Hannah a cup of freshly brewed coffee. She carried it over to the stool Hannah had taken at the stainless steel workstation, and gave a little sigh. “I don’t suppose you got a chance to…”

Before Lisa could finish her question, Hannah reached into her purse, pulled out the envelope, and held it up. “He must have been expecting us, because it was right there on the table next to the door.”

“Thanks,” Lisa said, taking the check and carrying it over to the file she kept for accounts receivable. The concept of accepting a check that had been so close to a murder victim might bother her a bit, but it was clear that it wouldn’t deter her from depositing it.

“What do we have to bake today?” Hannah asked as she sipped her coffee.

“Everything. They’re going to come through the door in droves. But you don’t need to worry. I’ve got a good start on it. How about a little chocolate to get you going?”

“Sounds good to me. What do you have?”

“Chocolate Chip Crunch Cookies, German Chocolate Cake Cookies, Desperation Cookies, and a few Frosting Splatters.

“Frosting Splatters?” Hannah picked up on the cookie name she didn’t recognize. “What are those?”

“They’re something my mother used to make when she had leftover frosting. All you do is take out a splatter of soda crackers, tip it salt-side down, and…”

“Hold it.” Hannah held up her hand. “What’s a splatter?”

“That’s what my Mom called four soda crackers in a sheet. They used to come in the box that way, remember?”

“I do, but I’ve never heard them called a splatter.”

“I think it was Mom’s word, a combination between split because that’s what you do to them before you eat them and platter because they’re flat.”

“Makes sense to me.”

‘I don’t think they come in splatters anymore. Or if they do, Florence doesn’t have them down at the Red Owl. The only crackers I could get were individual soda crackers in sleeves, but I’m still calling them splatters.”

“I’d like to try a couple of Frosting Splatters.”

Lisa hurried to the counter and came back with three Frosting Splatters. One was a soda cracker topped with German Chocolate Cake Cookie frosting, another was covered with the Mocha Frosting they used on their Cappuccino Cookies, and the third cracker had the frosting from Chocolate-Covered Cherry Cookies.

“See how the salt cuts the sweetness?” Lisa asked, as Hannah finished the first Frosting Splatter.

“I do. It works perfectly.” Hannah made short work of finishing the other two.

“So you’re all ready for baking?”

“I am.”

“Good. I got talked into something last night and I’m hoping you’ll approve. I said we’d make a dozen Christmas cookies for each family that benefits from Christmas For All.”

“What’s Christmas For All?” Hannah asked.

“It’s a group that provides a family Christmas for kids whose parents can’t afford a celebration. The men dress up like Santa and they deliver food and presents on Christmas Eve.”

“I like that. We should definitely provide cookies.”

“That’s what I thought you’d say when your mother called me last night.”

“My mother called you?”

“That’s right. She said you weren’t home from dinner with Norman yet, so she was calling me. That must have been when you were discovering…uh…Larry.”

“You’re probably right.”

“Anyway, your mother and Carrie are involved.”

Hannah frowned. “They don’t have anything to do with the food, do they?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Thank goodness for that!”

“What do you mean?” Lisa asked.

“Mother cooks only when the restaurants are closed, and she alternates between two entrees, Hawaiian Pot Roast and EZ Lasagna.”

“How about Carrie? Doesn’t she cook either?”

“Carrie cooks. She cooked for Norman until he moved out.”

“Was that one of the reasons Norman moved out?”

“I’m fairly certain it was. Carrie thinks it’s her mission in life to influence people’s diets. And she believes in a low-salt, low-fat, no-taste menu that’s laden with powdered food supplements and rich in exotic vegetables that no one in Lake Eden grows in their gardens.”

“Oh. Well then…maybe it’s good that your mother and Carrie just provide the baskets to carry the food.”

“It’s very good.” Hannah got up from her stool and carried her coffee cup over to the sink. “Let’s get started.”

“Okay. Everybody who comes in is going to ask what you saw when you found Larry’s body.”

“You’ll tell them?” Hannah asked, hoping that Lisa would be the storyteller again this time and that she could hide out in the kitchen.

“I will, but you have to describe everything for me. We can do it while we’re baking. If we don’t get busy and bake at least a hundred dozen cookies this morning, we’re going to run out.”

FROSTING SPLATTERS

Leftover frosting of any type

Salted soda crackers in sheets of 4, (if you can find them,) or individual crackers packed in sleeves.

Lay out the crackers salt side down on a cookie sheet, counter, or platter. Spread the unsalted side with frosting.

Yield: Makes as many crackers as you have frosting to top.

Lisa’s Note: Kids love these and so do adults. A few Frosting Splatters might just keep them from digging into the frosted cake until it’s ready to be served.

T here was a knock on the back door and Hannah sighed. “That’s got to be Mother. She listens to KCOW radio when she drives to work in the morning and she’s probably dropping by to accuse me of corrupting Norman.”

“By taking him with you to find murder victims?” Lisa guessed.

“Exactly right. You know how she feels about my affliction.”

“Is that what she calls it?” Lisa giggled and Hannah was reminded again how young her partner was.

“Among other things. It embarrasses her because none of her friends have daughters who stumble across murder victims.”

“She’s not entirely wrong, you know. You do seem to have a knack for it.”

“A knack? Now there’s a word she hasn’t used to describe it.” There was another knock at the door, a little louder this time, and Hannah got up from her stool. “I’d better open the door before she freezes out there.”

“Good morning, dear,” Delores said, as Hannah opened the door and ushered her into the kitchen. There was a smile on her face and Hannah knew instantly that she hadn’t heard about Larry Jaeger. “I just dropped by on my way out to the college.”

“It’s good to see you, Mother. Would you like a cup of coffee?”

“I’d love to have a cup of coffee with you. I didn’t have time for breakfast this morning. Do you have any cookies…” Delores stopped speaking as her gaze landed on the baker’s rack that was filled with freshly-baked cookies. “That was a silly question for me to ask. Of course you have cookies!”

“We have Boggles, Raisin Drops, Spicy Dreams, or Orange Julius Cookies,” Lisa told her, naming the cookies on the rack for Delores.

“Orange Julius Cookies? I don’t think I’ve ever tasted those.”

“I know you’ve never tasted them,” Hannah said. “The recipe’s from Andrea’s friend, Kathy Bruns, and this is the first time we’ve baked them.”

Lisa placed two of the cookies on a napkin in front of Delores. “I’m going to get things ready in the coffee shop,” she said, heading for the swinging door that separated the two areas. “It was nice to see you, Mrs. Swensen.”

“Lisa’s always so formal and I’ve known her since she was a baby,” Delores said, once Lisa was out of earshot. “What do I have to do to get her to call me Delores…or Mother?”

“You could adopt her.”

“Perhaps that would do it,” Delores said with a laugh. “Very good, dear.”

As Hannah filled her mother’s coffee mug, she thought about her choices. She could wait until Delores heard about Larry’s murder on the radio, or she could take the bull by the horns and blurt it out now. Either way would result in upsetting her mother, but she might be a bit less upset if she heard it straight from the horse’s mouth.

“I guess you haven’t heard about Larry Jaeger,” Hannah said, placing the coffee in front of her mother and jumping into what could be the frigid waters of motherly displeasure with both feet.

“What about Larry Jaeger?”

“Someone murdered him last night.” Hannah waited for her mother’s predictable gasp. Once that occurred, she was about to go on when she had a brilliant idea. Although she’d been the one to spot Larry on the floor, Norman had actually discovered that he had no pulse and was dead. “Norman discovered him dead on the floor of his trailer.”

“Norman?!” Delores stared at her daughter open-mouthed. “You said Norman found Larry’s dead body?”

“That’s right. We had dinner at the Inn last night and then we dropped by the Crazy Elf to pick up a check for the cookies I delivered yesterday afternoon. It was all arranged ahead of time and Larry left the gate open for us. When he didn’t answer our knocks at Elf Headquarters, we thought he might be somewhere else in the park and we decided to wait for him inside. Norman opened the door to the trailer and he found Larry dead on the floor.”

“Poor Norman!” Delores sighed and shook her head. “It must have been awful for him.”

“He didn’t seem to be terribly upset,” Hannah said, pleased at the way this conversation was going. “I’d like to think that it was because I was with him.”

“It’s probably because he’s a dentist,” Delores contradicted her.

“What does being a dentist have to do with it?”

“Think about it, dear. Dentists are used to the sight of blood and other unpleasant things like that. This must have been just another unpleasant episode in a long line of unpleasant episodes for him.” Delores took another sip of her coffee. “Well, I’m glad you told me about it before I heard it from someone else. Does Carrie know?”

“I’m not sure. It was late by the time Mike took our statements. Norman might not have called to tell her last night, but he probably talked to her this morning.”

“No doubt you’re right,” Delores agreed, looking a bit disappointed that she couldn’t break the news to her friend. She took another sip of her coffee and then something shocking must have occurred to her, because Hannah saw her carefully arched brows shoot up toward her perfect coiffure.

“What is it, Mother?”

“I just remembered. I’d better tell Nancy.”

“Nancy?”

“Dr. Love. We’ve gotten to be great friends, dear. I know she’s considerably younger than I am, but we’re involved in a lot of the same things.”

“Like what?” Hannah asked.

“Dorcas Circle, and the Lake Eden Historical Society. She just joined our Regency romance group, and then there’s Christmas For All. That’s where I first met her. It’s an organization for…”

“Lisa told me all about it,” Hannah cut her off before Delores asked her to join.

“Nancy says she considers me the mother she never had.”

Too bad you’re not the mother I never had, Hannah thought, but of course she didn’t say so. She really didn’t mean it. She loved Delores and she respected her as her mother. But it was a very funny comeback and it just about killed her not to say it.

“What’s the matter, dear? You look strained.”

“Nothing, Mother.” Hannah put on a smile.

“Well, I really should see Nancy. She might not have heard about it. It won’t take long, I promise.”

Hannah frowned slightly. Why was her mother assuring her that her visit with Dr. Love wouldn’t take long? Luanne opened Granny’s Attic for business every day, and Delores and Carrie could come in as late as they pleased. Her mother’s time was her own. She could stay out at the college for hours chatting as long as she liked.