Plum Pudding Murder (4 page)

“Bertanelli’s? The Corner Tavern? Sally’s at the Inn?” Norman named the places Hannah had already thought of and dismissed.

“I’d rather go home and make something there,” Hannah said, “if that’s all right with you, that is.”

“That’s fine with me, but I don’t want you to work. You’ve had a full day.”

“It’s okay. I’ve got some meatloaf I can heat up and I’ll pop in a batch of Easy Cheesy Biscuits.”

“Easy Cheesy Biscuits? I don’t think I’ve tasted those.”

“I know you haven’t. I just got the recipe last weekend from an old classmate of mine at Jordan High. Prudence left Lake Eden right after school and moved to Niagara Falls.”

“Do you have everything you need to make them? Or shall we run by The Quick Stop?”

“I have everything I need. I planned on baking them tonight anyway. Lisa loves cheese so I thought I’d take her a couple for breakfast.”

The roads were clear and Norman zipped along in his well-maintained car. Hannah felt as if she were living in the lap of luxury as she listened to mellow jazz on the stereo and watched the night stream past her window. All too soon, they turned in at Hannah’s condo complex and Hannah handed him her gate card to raise the wooden lever that let the residents in and out. This time the wooden barrier was intact and Hannah wondered if they’d solved the gate card problem at last. Even though residents were warned of the consequences, they still stuck the magnetic gate cards in their wallets next to other cards with information strips. When the gate cards ceased to work, some irate condo owners crashed right through the wooden arm. Perhaps she was exaggerating slightly, but Hannah believed that the one-by-four designed to keep nonresidents out was broken more often than it was not.

“You can park in my extra spot,” Hannah said, and Norman took the ramp to the underground garage. Her condo came with two parking spots, and Norman pulled in next to her cookie truck.

The first thing Hannah noticed when she got out of the car was the cold. Perhaps it was the fact that she’d just left a warm car, but it seemed even colder than it had at the college. “Better plug in your car,” she said.

“Good idea.”

Hannah watched as Norman unwound the power cord that was part of winterizing a car in Minnesota, right along with antifreeze, and the survival pack careful drivers kept in the trunk. The box containing blankets, extra parkas, gloves, an empty coffee can, a candle, and matches wasn’t quite as necessary as it had been in the years before cell phones, but it was still possible to get stuck in a snowstorm with a nonworking cell phone, and freeze to death in subzero temperatures.

When Norman was through, they walked across the floor of the garage and climbed the steps to ground level. When they left the shelter of the stairwell, a cold blast of wind hit Hannah’s face and her eyes began to water. Norman grabbed her arm and rushed her up the covered staircase to her second-floor condo, taking the keys from her hand and opening the door.

A projectile with orange and white fur hurtled at them the moment the door opened, and Norman caught Moishe in his arms. Hannah’s cat began to purr as Norman carried him inside and set him on his favorite perch on the back of the couch.

“Are you glad to see us, Big Guy?” Norman asked, and Moishe answered him with an even louder purr. “What do you say I throw your catnip mouse for you?”

This time Moishe gave a happy yowl and hopped off the couch to stare up at Norman while he located the mouse. With her cat occupied, Hannah shrugged out of her parka and went off to the kitchen to begin preparing dinner.

The Easy Cheesy Biscuits were first. Hannah preheated the oven, took out one of her medium-sized mixing bowls, and gathered the ingredients. She’d just completed the first step in her food processor, and she was about to dump the mixture into her bowl, when Norman came into the kitchen.

“Do you want some help?” he asked.

“Sure,” Hannah answered, never one to turn down a genuine offer of assistance. “You can grate the cheese. I need a half cup of cheddar, a half cup of Asiago, and a half cup of Parmesan. You can use the food processor with the grating blade.”

Norman eyed the food processor which still had a bit of flour clinging to the sides of the bowl. “I’d better wash it out.”

“There’s no need. I just used it to mix up the dry ingredients and butter for the biscuits. Since the cheese is going in the biscuit dough, it won’t make a speck of difference.”

Norman made short work of grating the cheeses and Hannah added the grated cheddar and Asiago to her bowl. She saved the grated parmesan for the biscuit tops and was just about to break the eggs into a glass to beat them when Norman spoke up.

“I can do that for you,” he said.

“Okay. Just crack two into my glass and beat them up with a fork. I’ll measure out the sour cream and the milk.”

They worked in silence for several moments and then Norman handed the glass to her. “Are these okay?”

“They’re fine,” Hannah said, glancing down at the homogenous mixture of yolk and white. “Do you want to stir while I add everything else to the bowl?”

“Sure.” Norman picked up the spoon.

Hannah added the eggs and he stirred them in. Then she scooped in the sour cream. When that was incorporated, she added the milk, dribbling it in slowly so that Norman could stir it in without splashing.

“Looks just like lumpy wallpaper paste,” Norman said, but Hannah saw the grin he tried to hide and knew he was kidding her.

“I prefer to compare it to cottage cheese,” she countered. “At least that’s edible.”

“I’m not so sure about that. Mother made green Jell-O with cottage cheese and chives the last time I went to her house for dinner. And speaking of Mother, there’s something I want to talk to you about. I was going to wait until after we’d eaten, but it’s really bothering me.”

“What is it?” Hannah asked, distracted enough to spray her baking sheet with Pam even though the recipe said it wasn’t needed.

“I usually meet her on Thursday nights for dinner. One week she cooks and the next week I take her out. We’ve been doing it ever since I moved to Lake Eden.”

“You’re still doing it, aren’t you?” Hannah asked, dipping a soup spoon into the batter and forming her first biscuit.

“I am, but I’m not so sure about Mother.”

“What do you mean?” Hannah wet her fingers under the faucet and made one of the biscuits she’d dropped on the sheet a little rounder.

“I always thought Mother had a good time when we got together, but she’s canceled on the last three Thursdays.”

Hannah looked over and saw the concern on his face. “Didn’t she give you a reason for cancelling?”

“Yes, but I don’t think it was the real reason. The first time she said she was getting a bad cold, but when I talked to her the next day, she sounded just fine. The next week she said she was going to work late at Granny’s Attic with Delores, but I drove by on my way home from the clinic and the lights were off in their shop.”

Hannah wasn’t sure what to say, but it certainly sounded as if Carrie had lied to Norman. Instead of commenting on that, she asked a question. “How about the third time?”

“That was last Thursday. When I called to confirm with her, she said that something came up and she couldn’t make it. And when I asked about it, she wouldn’t tell me anything. What do you think, Hannah? Am I making a mountain out of a molehill?”

“Not necessarily,” Hannah said, sprinkling the last of the grated Parmesan cheese on her biscuits. She popped them into the oven, set the timer for fourteen minutes, and turned back to Norman. “Carrie did the same thing to Mother. That’s the reason I went to class with her tonight. Our mothers signed up for the course together, but Carrie hasn’t made it to a single class. Mother says she always backs out at the last minute.”

“Is Delores concerned, too?”

“Yes. She told me that Carrie’s always been very open with her, but things have changed lately. Mother’s feelings are hurt because she thinks Carrie doesn’t trust her enough to confide in her.”

Norman was silent for a moment and then he shook his head. “I don’t know if that makes me feel better, or worse.”

“What do you mean?”

“On one hand, I feel better that it’s not just me my mother is avoiding. On the other hand, I feel worse because if both Delores and I think there’s a problem, then there probably is. I wonder if it would work to come right out and ask Mother what’s wrong.”

Hannah shrugged. “You can try it if you want to, but I doubt she’ll tell you anything. Mother tried that and Carrie just said she’d tell her when the time was right.”

“What does that mean?”

“I don’t know.” Hannah took the meatloaf out of the refrigerator and sliced it. She put the slices in the frying pan with a bit of butter, turned the burner on medium, and clamped on a cover. “I’ve got a bowl of Sally’s Summer Salad. Do you want some?”

“Sure. I’ll dish it up for both of us.” Norman took the container Hannah handed to him and spooned the broccoli and cauliflower salad into two bowls. “I was just wondering…I know it’s a lot to ask, but…” Norman stopped and swallowed hard. “It’s just that I really need to know what’s going on. It’s not like Mother to cut me off from her life this way.”

“That’s true.” Hannah flipped the slices of meatloaf and clamped the lid back on. Carrie was the type of mother who’d always wanted to manage her son’s life and that meant being a nearly constant part of it. It was one of the reasons Norman had built the house Hannah had designed with him and moved five miles away. Norman had once told her he felt like a boy who had to report everything to his mother when he’d lived in the same house with Carrie.

“There goes the timer,” Norman said, sprinkling some salted sunflower nuts on top of their salads. “Do you want me to take out the biscuits?”

“Yes, if they’re golden brown on top. If they’re not, give them another minute or two. And don’t turn off the oven when you take out the biscuits. I’ll turn it up to five hundred degrees before we carry our plates to the living room.”

“Five hundred degrees is a really hot oven.” Norman sounded quite proud of himself for knowing that. “Are you planning to bake something else?”

“I thought I’d mix up some Hot Fudge Sundae Cakes for dessert. They only bake seven minutes and they’ll be ready by the time we have our second cup of coffee. You’re going to love them.”

“There’s no doubt about that since they contain two of my favorite things.”

“Hot fudge and cake?” Hannah guessed.

“That’s right. But getting back to what we were talking about before…will you help me?”

“Of course I will.” Hannah didn’t even stop to consider that she’d broken one of rules she lived by. She’d promised to do something without finding out exactly what it was.

“Thanks, Hannah. I knew I could count on you.”

Hannah gave him a smile and then she asked the important question, hoping her promise wasn’t one she’d live to regret. “What do you want me to do?”

Norman looked very uncomfortable for a moment and then he blurted it out. “I want you to help me spy on my mother.”

EASY CHEESY BISCUITS

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

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

2 teaspoons cream of tartar (this is important)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon sea salt (regular table salt will also work)

½ cup salted softened butter (1 stick, 4 ounces, ¼ pound)

½ cup shredded strong cheddar cheese

½ cup shredded Asiago cheese
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(or blue cheese, Havarti, etc.)

2 large eggs, beaten (just whip them up in a glass with a fork)

1 cup sour cream (8 ounces)

½ cup milk
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½ cup grated Parmesan cheese for a topping (use real Parmesan cheese–it’s so much better than the type in the green foil can.)

FIRST STEP

Use a medium-size mixing bowl to combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir them all up together. Cut in the salted butter just as you would for piecrust dough.

Hannah’s Note: If you have a food processor, you can use it for the first step. Cut ½ cup COLD salted butter into 8 chunks. Layer them with the dry ingredients in the bowl of the food processor. Process with the steel blade until the mixture has the texture of cornmeal. Transfer the mixture to a medium-sized mixing bowl and proceed to the second step.

SECOND STEP

Stir in the shredded cheddar cheese and the shredded Asiago cheese. Then add the beaten eggs and the sour cream in that order. Mix everything all up together.

Add the milk and stir until everything is thoroughly combined.

THIRD STEP

Drop the biscuits by soup spoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet, 12 large biscuits to a sheet. (Prudence uses an ungreased baking sheet, Lisa bakes hers on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper, and I spray my cookie sheet with Pam—everyone’s biscuits turn out just fine.)

Once the biscuits are on the baking sheet, you can wet your fingers and shape them if you like. (I leave mine slightly irregular so everyone knows they’re homemade.)

Sprinkle shredded Parmesan cheese on the top of each biscuit.

Bake the biscuits at 425 degrees F. for 12 to 14 minutes, or until they’re golden brown on top.

Cool the biscuits for at least five minutes on the cookie sheet, and then remove them with a spatula. Serve them in a towel-lined basket so they stay warm.

Yield: Makes 12 large cheesy biscuits that everyone will love!

Hannah’s Note: When I make these for Mother, she takes home one of the leftovers for breakfast. The next morning, she splits it, toasts and butters it, and eats it with her scrambled eggs.

Lisa’s Note: Herb loves to take these to work. I spread them with mayo and mustard and put a nice thick slice of ham in the middle. He says they make the best ham sandwich he’s ever tasted.

“T his hot fudge sauce is incredible!” Norman spooned up the last of his ice cream and gave a satisfied sigh. “It’s the kind of dessert I dream about.”