Red Velvet Cupcake Murder (16 page)

H
annah had just finished transferring her wet clothes from the washer to the dryer when her phone rang again. She took a half-second to set and turn on the dryer and then rushed back to the living room to answer it. “This is Hannah,” she said, sinking down on the couch.

“And this is Michelle,” Hannah’s youngest sister answered. “Can I come and stay with you for a couple of days? I’ve got a little time off before my work-study program starts, and it’s lonely at our house. Everyone else has left on summer break.”

“Of course. You know you’re always welcome. What day are you coming?”

“I’m here. Mother picked me up at the Quick Stop and Sean said we just missed Andrea. Mother will drive me to your place if that’s okay with you.”

“It’s fine with me. Have you eaten?”

“Not yet, but I’ve got a couple of energy bars with me, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

“It’s no worry. I’m already fixing night lunch for Andrea, Norman, and Mike. It’s easy to add you and Mother to the mix.”

“Oh, good! Mother hasn’t eaten either. Can we pick up anything on the way?”

Hannah thought fast. “Some orange juice. That’s a natural with breakfast sausage and my Oatmeal Apple Pancakes.”

“You got it. How about dessert?”

“I’ve got cookies and French vanilla ice cream in the freezer.”

“That sounds good. I’ll pick up some toppings to go on the ice cream. There’s no way Mother can eat a whole meal without chocolate so I’ll get hot fudge.”

“Good thinking.” Hannah glanced over at Moishe, who was staring at her intently. “Is Mother wearing silk stockings?”

“Yes. But why did you want to . . .” Michelle stopped speaking and laughed. “I get it! I’ll pick up some kitty treats so Mother can placate Moishe. We’ll see you in less than an hour.”

Hannah hung up the phone and sighed. It didn’t do any good to have a cold glass of lemonade if she didn’t get the chance to drink it. It was a good thing she made it fairly strong so that all she had to do was pour it in a larger glass and add fresh ice. She had just accomplished that and was on her way back to the couch when the phone rang again.

There were times when she really wanted to answer the phone and times when she really didn’t. This was one of those “really didn’t” times. In Hannah’s case, reluctance bowed to responsibility and took center stage because she reached for the phone. “This is Hannah,” she said, trying not to sound as exasperated as she felt.

“Hi, Hannah. It’s Mike. I got through early and I would have been out there by now, but Doc Knight’s doing the autopsy and I’m waiting for the results. I’m almost sure I can be there by nine, though. Is that all right?”

“That’s fine. Are you hungry?”

“As a bear. Do you want me to stop at the Corner Tavern and pick up burgers for us?”

“Thanks, but no. I’m cooking. And just so you know, I’m about to get a houseful.”

“Who’s coming?”

“Andrea’s the first. She should be here fairly soon. And Mother and Michelle are right behind her.”

“Great. I haven’t seen Michelle in a while. Anyone else?”

“Norman. He hasn’t eaten since breakfast and I invited him to join us. You don’t mind, do you?”

“Not at all. I need to talk to him anyway. When I went out to the Inn to interview Sally, she said he had lunch with Bev.”

“Had
lunch
?” Hannah was a bit disconcerted. Norman had told her he hadn’t eaten lunch.

“Okay, I should have said that Norman was
with
her at lunch. Neither one of them ate. He had coffee and she had sparkling water. Sally also said that Norman looked the opposite of thrilled to be with Bev again. What are you cooking, Hannah? Do you need me to pick up anything on the way?”

“Thanks, but I think I’ve got it covered. We’re having pancakes and sausage with cookies and ice cream for dessert.”

“Sounds good! I’ll see you as soon as I get those results.”

Hannah took time to drink her lemonade and then she went into the kitchen to get out her electric griddle. With six for pancakes, she needed more cooking space than she could get with frying pans on the stovetop. She was just getting out the vegetable oil, butter, flour, and milk when the phone rang again.

“Grand Central,” she said as she picked up the wall phone by her kitchen table.

There was a burst of laughter from her caller and Hannah recognized the laugh. “Lisa?” she asked.

“It’s me. I just wanted to tell you that Jenny’s going to come in tomorrow to meet you.”

“Jenny?” Hannah asked, thoroughly puzzled.

“Jenny Hester, the nurse with the Easy Fruit Pie recipe. I talked to her on our break tonight. She just moved here a couple of weeks ago and if she isn’t working for Doc Knight at the hospital, she’s at the college taking classes. She told me she’s been so busy she hasn’t had a chance to get to The Cookie Jar yet, but she wants to come in and meet you.”

“Great. I’ll look forward to meeting her.” Hannah paused as she heard a knock on the door. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, Lisa. I’ve got company coming and I think they’re here.”

It only took a moment or two to hang up the phone and cross the living room to the door. Hannah opened it without looking through the peephole and chided herself for her negligence. She had to get into the habit of looking before she opened the door.

“You didn’t look through the peephole,” Andrea accused as she handed Hannah a grocery bag.

“How do you know I didn’t?”

“Because I was looking in from outside, and nothing blocked the light behind it.”

“Then if I’d looked, all I would have seen was your eye.”

“Oh. I guess you’re right. But you really ought to look, Hannah. Bill says it’s really important.”

“I’ll try to remember.” Hannah glanced inside the grocery bag. “I’m glad you didn’t get the really small canister of oatmeal.”

“How much do you need for those pancakes?”

“Only half a cup for each batch, but a batch only makes six small pancakes. We’ll be six for dinner and I’ll need at least four batches, maybe more. I just hope I have enough cookies in the freezer.”

Andrea began to smile and it was a very happy smile. “Go put that big bag in the kitchen and then look inside the smaller bag I’m carrying.”

“What’s in there?” Hannah asked as Andrea followed her to the kitchen.

“Something I hope you’ll like. I made them when I got home this afternoon.”

The moment the large bag of ingredients was empty, Hannah took a peek at Andrea’s smaller bag. “Cookies?” she asked, looking through the almost transparent green plastic lid of the food storage container inside.

“Yes. The kids really liked them and so did Grandma McCann. Of course the kids like almost anything, but Grandma McCann is a really good cook so her opinion counts.”

“Yes, it does,” Hannah agreed, lifting the lid and removing one of the cookies. If Andrea’s nanny and housekeeper thought the cookies were good, they were definitely good.

Hannah took a bite and chewed. And then she took another bite. “Excellent,” she said, but only after she’d finished the cookie. “I’ve never tasted anything quite like them before. You’re turning into a very good baker.”

“Thanks!” Andrea beamed at the compliment. “Of course Tracey and Bethie deserve some of the credit. Tracey stirred and she reminded me to put the scooping spoon in the freezer so the dough wouldn’t stick.”

“Good for Tracey.” Hannah already knew that her almost-seven-year-old niece was a big help to Andrea, but she wondered what two-year-old Bethie could do to help. “How about Bethie? What did she do?”

“She drank the pineapple juice after I drained the pineapple. And before you say anything, I know that’s not really helping, but I told her it was. And she did critique the cookies. She said,
Yummy, Mummy!
And then she asked for another one.”

“That’s a seal of approval in my book. Are all these cookies for me?”

“Yes. I’ve got another container at home for Lisa and Herb. I’ll bring them by The Cookie Jar in the morning.”

“Would you mind if I served your cookies tonight? They’d be really good with vanilla ice cream.”

Andrea’s face lit up. “I wouldn’t mind at all! Who’s coming over? You said there were six.”

“You, me, Mike, Norman, Mother, and Michelle.”

“Then it’s a family party except for Bill. He’s working late on some paperwork that has to be filed. He says it takes him a lot longer now that he has to explain everything to one of the temporary secretaries. Barbara used to take care of all that.” Andrea gave a little sigh. “I wonder if she’s ever going to come back to work. It’s so sad. And they’re still in the dark about exactly what happened and who attacked her. I wonder if she’ll ever be able to tell us.”

“I think she will. She was rational for longer periods of time when I saw her this afternoon. She said some strange things, but some things made sense, too.”

“Let me help you set the table,” Andrea offered. “And when we’re through, you can tell me all about it.”

“I
really shouldn’t but . . . just one more, Hannah. I really like these pancakes.”

Hannah smiled as she passed the pancake platter. Her mother had already eaten two pancakes and this would be her third. As far back as Hannah could remember, her mother had never eaten more than one and a half.

“I like them too, and I don’t even like oatmeal,” Andrea commented, forking another piece of sausage. “I’d have another, but we want to save some for Mike, don’t we?”

Hannah shook her head. “No. I’ll make a fresh batch when he gets here. They’re best hot off the griddle.” She turned to look at the cats, who were rubbing against her legs. “Sorry, guys. You already shared a whole piece of sausage.”

“And don’t even think about trying that chase ploy again,” Norman warned them. “It worked with Lonnie’s steak, but it won’t work with the sausage. I’m holding the platter and my plate is empty.”

Moishe looked as innocent as a cat could look and Michelle laughed. “Look at Moishe. He’s pretending he doesn’t know what we’re talking about.”

“I almost forgot.” Delores turned to Hannah. “Doc says it’s fine if you bring Moishe out to visit Barbara. He thinks it might do her some good to have visible reminders of her current life beyond the isolation of her hospital room. He said reminders of the present could give her a temporal reference.”

“So Barbara realizes that some of the people she thought were currently in her life are really in the past?” Michelle asked.

“I think that’s what he meant, dear. It does make sense. Andrea and I are going to go over to Barbara’s house tomorrow to get some object that’s relatively new and one that’s from her parents’ era. Once she sees the two objects together she may remember that the house is hers now and she’s living there alone because her parents are dead.”

“That might work as far as her father is concerned, but I don’t think it’ll have any effect on the monster,” Hannah predicted. “Does Doc Knight have any suggestions for that delusion?”

“What monster?” Norman asked, and Hannah realized that he was out of the loop.

“Barbara said a monster comes into her room at night at the hospital. It scares her and she wants Moishe to chase it away.”

“Is she dreaming?” Norman asked.

“I don’t know and I don’t think anyone else does either. Barbara does think she saw a monster though. I could tell that she believed it.”

“You’re right. She did,” Delores confirmed. “Doc told me the monster has him puzzled. Barbara was quite rational all morning, and other than a couple of little slips with us, she was rational during our visit.”

Norman looked thoughtful. “Could there really be a monster?” He gave a little laugh as he saw their incredulous looks.

“I don’t mean a monster like
Frankenstein
or
Beowulf
, but something that Barbara construes as a monster. It could be as simple as a shadow on the wall, or a tree branch that rubs against her window.”

“You could be right,” Michelle said. “Things look different at night, especially when you first wake up. I remember thinking that my teddy bear turned into a monster at night when I was little.”

“
That’s
why you always threw a towel over his face!” Hannah exclaimed.

“That’s right. If he couldn’t see me, he couldn’t eat me.”

“It could be something like that with Barbara,” Delores suggested. “Doc says it’s common for patients on pain pills to have some level of confusion. Barbara could have seen something perfectly ordinary and thought it was a monster.”

Hannah wanted to remind her mother that Barbara had described the monster as a giant white rat and shadows weren’t white, but she bit her tongue and said nothing. No one wanted to think that Barbara’s mind had been badly damaged. They all needed to believe that her condition was temporary and soon she’d return to the happy, productive woman they knew.

Andrea cleared her throat and Hannah looked over at her. There was an expression of anticipation on her face and for a moment Hannah didn’t know what her sister wanted. It hit her then, and she gave a slight nod. Moments later she was clearing the table, putting on the coffee, and getting out the dessert bowls Delores had given her for Christmas several years ago. Andrea had been waiting for the meal to be over so that it would be time for dessert. It wasn’t that she wanted to eat it, at least not necessarily. What Andrea was anticipating was receiving more compliments on her new whippersnapper cookies.

 

At eight-thirty there was a knock on the door and Hannah went to answer it. This time she looked through the peephole because she knew it had to be Mike and he’d be upset with her if she didn’t take that precaution. Mike stood there in the light and he wasn’t smiling. That made Hannah experience a moment’s anxiety, but she managed to shrug it off. He was probably tired from working so hard. And he was probably hungry.

“It’s Mike,” she said to everyone inside and then she opened the door. “Hi, Mike. Come in.”

“Thanks.” Mike stepped in, but he still wasn’t smiling.

“Are you hungry?” Hannah asked him.

“Yes, but I don’t have time to eat.” Mike gave a little wave to the group assembled in the living room and then he turned back to Hannah. “I’m sorry, Hannah, but you’ll have to come with me.”

Hannah was thoroughly puzzled. “But . . . why?”

“I was going to take your statement here, but things have changed. We need to keep this formal. Will you go with me, or not?”

Mike sounded so serious, Hannah knew something was dreadfully wrong. “Of course I’ll go with you,” she said. “Just tell me what things have changed.”

“Doctor Beverly Thorndike’s accident was not an accident.”

“Murder?” Hannah’s voice shook slightly as she asked the question.

“Yes.”

There were gasps from the others, but no one spoke. Hannah surmised the reason was that they were every bit as shocked as she was and they didn’t know what to say.

“But you’ve taken my statements in other murder cases right here in the condo. You’ve never asked me to go down to the station before. Why is it so different this time?”

Mike sighed deeply. He was obviously reluctant to elaborate. He swallowed hard and then he answered in as few words as possible. “Because you’re the prime suspect,” he said.