Wedding Cake Murder (31 page)

2 and ½ cups all-purpose flour
(pack it down in the cup when you measure it)

1 and ½ cups peanut butter chips
(I used Reese’s, a 10-ounce by weight bag. I know that’s close to 2 cups, but I like
lots
of
peanut butter chips in these cookies)

Lisa’s Note: The butter in this recipe should be at room temperature unless you have an un-insulated kitchen and
it’s winter in Minnesota. In that case, you’d better soften it a little.

Hannah’s 1
^st
Note: 5 to 6 cups of whole potato chips will
crush down
into about 2 cups. Crush them by hand in a plastic bag, not with a food processor. They should be the size of coarse gravel when they’re crushed.

Mix the softened butter with the white sugar and the molasses. Beat them until the mixture is light and fluffy, and the molasses is completely mixed in.

Add the vanilla and baking soda. Mix them in thoroughly.

Break the eggs into a glass and whip them up with a fork. Add them to your bowl and mix until they’re thoroughly incorporated.

Put your potato chips in a closeable plastic bag. Seal it carefully
(you don’t want crumbs all over your counter)
and place the bag on a flat surface. Get out your rolling pin and roll it over the bag, crushing the potato chips inside. Do this until the pieces resemble coarse gravel.
(If you crush them too much, you won’t have any crunch—crunch is good in these cookies.)

Measure out 2 cups of crushed potato chips and mix them into the dough in your bowl.

Add one cup of flour and mix it in.

Then add the second cup of flour and mix thoroughly.

Add the final half cup of flour and mix that in.

Measure out a cup and a half of peanut butter chips and add them to your cookie dough. If you’re using an electric mixer, mix them in at the slowest speed. You can also take the bowl out of the mixer and stir in the chips by hand.

Let the dough sit on the counter while you prepare your cookie sheets.

Spray your cookie sheets with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray, or line them with parchment paper, leaving little “ears” at the top and bottom. That way, when your cookies are baked, you can pull the paper, baked cookies and all, over onto a wire rack to cool.

Drop the dough by rounded teaspoons onto your cookie sheets, 12 cookies on each standard-sized sheet.

Hannah’s 2
^nd
Note: I used a 2-teaspoon cookie scoop at The Cookie Jar. It’s faster than doing it with a spoon.

Bake your Peanut Butter Potato Chip Cookies at 350 degrees F. for 10 to 12 minutes or until nicely browned.
(Mine took 11 minutes.)

Let the cookies cool for 2 minutes on the cookie sheet and then remove them with a metal spatula. Transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Yield: Approximately 5 dozen wonderfully chewy, salty and soft cookies that are sure to please everyone who tastes them.

Hannah’s 3
^rd
Note: DO NOT bake these for anyone with a peanut allergy!

Lisa’s Note: These cookies travel well. If you want to send them to a friend, just stack them, roll them up like coins in foil, and cushion the cookie rolls between layers of Styrofoam peanuts, or bubble wrap.

Chapter Twenty-one

A
ndrea was their first stop after they left The Cookie Jar. Hannah and Michelle walked across the street to Lake Eden Realty and entered the small office. Andrea was sitting behind her desk, working on the computer. The bell inside the door tinkled as they entered and she looked up.

“Hi!” she said. “I was just about to call you two.” She turned to Hannah. “You’re investigating, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“That’s what I thought, since Michelle found the body.” Andrea swiveled in her chair to face Michelle. “I’m really sorry you had to go through that, Michelle. I remember how I felt when I found Max’s body in the old barn.”

“I’m okay now, but I don’t want to go inside that cooler ever again!”

“I know that feeling,” Hannah echoed their sentiments. “There are more than a few places in Lake Eden that I don’t want to go. I have to force myself to do it, but it does get better with time.”

“You’re probably right,” Andrea said. “What can I do for you two? I know you didn’t come in just to say hello.”

Hannah laughed. “You’re right, of course. We were wondering if you could get . . .” She stopped speaking when Andrea pulled her center desk drawer open, took out a large manila envelope, and placed it on top of her desk. “Is that what I think it is?” she asked Andrea.

“Yes, I got it this morning while Bill was in the shower. There’s a copy of the police lab report, the autopsy report, and the crime scene photos. It’s a really good thing Bill takes long showers. It took me quite a while to copy everything.”

“That’s great, Andrea!” Hannah told her. “This will help a lot!”

Andrea looked very smug about getting Hannah something she needed. “Bill always brings a copy of the casework home with him. I just hope that he never catches on to what I’m doing.”

“I’m almost sure he won’t,” Hannah said.

“Is there anything else I can do to help you?” Andrea asked.

Hannah noticed that her sister looked hopeful. Like Michelle, Andrea enjoyed being a part of Hannah’s investigations. Hannah thought for a moment. “Actually . . . yes. We have to go to see Heiti. Would you like to come with us?”

“You want me to go to
Haiti
with you?” Andrea asked, looking shocked.

“Not the country, the person,” Michelle explained. “It’s spelled differently, but pronounced the same. Heiti is a man who’s working at Aunt Nancy’s house, building her bookcases.”

Andrea gave a little laugh. “Oh! That’s different. Is this man a suspect?”

“Yes, until I clear him,” Hannah told her.

“Does he know you’re coming to talk to him?”

“I don’t think so. We didn’t tell anyone where we were going when we left The Cookie Jar.”

“What are you going to tell Heiti when you get there?” Andrea asked. “You don’t really have any excuse for going to Aunt Nancy’s house, do you, Hannah?”

“Not really. I’d planned to say that Aunt Nancy had told us about the wonderful bookcases that he was building and the beautiful tole painting border he’d painted in her kitchen and living room, and we’d dropped by to see it.”

“That’s pretty lame,” Andrea said. “You need something a little more important than that. But don’t worry, I’ve got the perfect excuse for going there. I sold Aunt Nancy the house and Al is doing this great promotion to increase our business. He’s giving everyone who buys a house from us an insurance policy that covers the structure of the house and the major appliances. Lake Eden Realty pays for the first year. After that, the homeowner can choose to renew it and take over the premiums, or let it lapse.”

“Does Aunt Nancy get that insurance policy?” Hannah asked, already guessing the answer.

“Yes. I was planning to drop by to give it to her anyway. I can say that I was going to just leave it under the doormat, but when I noticed that someone was inside the house, I decided to drop it off personally.”

“That’s a great idea!” Michelle complimented her.

“I know.” Andrea looked very proud of herself for coming up with such a convincing story. “I’ll make sure I notice the bookcases in the living room when I hand him the paperwork, and I’ll tell him how great they look. And then I’ll say that Aunt Nancy mentioned the painting he was doing and we all wanted to see it.”

“Brilliant!” Hannah told her. “Do you have to get right back to the office when we’re through at Aunt Nancy’s?”

“No, I’m through working for the day. I was just killing time on the Internet, and there’s no reason for me to go home. Grandma McCann is taking Bethie to an open house at Kiddie Korner so that she can meet the rest of the kids. That’ll give Janice Cox and Sue Plotnik a chance to evaluate her to see if she’s mature enough to enroll. Then they’re going to pick up Tracey when school’s over and they’ll go out to the Tri-County Mall to look for Halloween costumes.”

Michelle looked impressed. “You’re really lucky to have Grandma McCann. She’s so good with the kids.”

“I know. I wouldn’t be able to work at all if she hadn’t agreed to live with us and be a part of our family. We could make it if I stayed home with the kids and all we had was Bill’s salary, but we wouldn’t be able to put much away for our retirement or Tracey and Bethie’s college expenses.”

Andrea stood up and grabbed an envelope from the outbox on her desk. “Okay. I’ve got Aunt Nancy’s insurance policy. Doc Knight said the time of death was between midnight and three in the morning. Let’s go find out if Heiti has an alibi for that.”

“He’s coming,” Hannah said, hearing the sound of footsteps as someone approached Aunt Nancy’s front door. A moment later, the door opened to reveal a tall, sandy-haired man in his late fifties. He was more handsome than Hannah had expected and there was a smile on his face.

“Yes?” the man inquired.

“Hello. I’m Andrea Todd,” Andrea introduced herself. “I’m the real estate agent who sold this house to Nancy.”

“Glad to meet you,” the man said with a friendly smile. “My name is Heiti and I’m doing some work on the interior for Nancy. What can I do for you, Miss Todd?”

“Mrs. Todd,” Andrea corrected him. “I just stopped by to drop off Nancy’s insurance policy. It’s something we provide for anyone who buys a house from Lake Eden Realty. Do you happen to know if Nancy’s had any trouble with the structure or with any of the major appliances?”

“I don’t think she has. At least she didn’t mention it to me.” He turned to Hannah and Michelle. “Are you two real estate agents, too?”

Hannah shook her head. “No, I’m Andrea’s sister, Hannah Swensen, and this is our youngest sister, Michelle.”

“The cookie lady!” Heiti reached out to shake her hand. “Nancy talks about you all the time. She told me that you’re a marvelous baker.”

It was the perfect opening for Hannah and she took it. “And she told me that you’re a wonderful carpenter and painter.”

“She said you were building bookcases for her,” Michelle said, once Heiti had taken her hand and greeted her with a similar handshake.

“That’s right. Would you like to see my work?” Heiti asked, opening the door wider.

“We’d love to!” Andrea told him, stepping in.

Hannah and Michelle followed on Andrea’s heels as Heiti led them into the kitchen and showed them the bookcases lining one wall.

The kitchen was exactly as Aunt Nancy had described it, a long, fairly narrow room with the appliances against one long wall, and bookcases against the other. The bookcases were finely crafted, and Hannah immediately wished she had them instead of the old plank and brick bookcases she’d built herself in her living room.

“They’re beautiful,” she commented, “and there are so many!”

Heiti laughed and it was clear that he was amused. His laugh was obviously genuine, and the sound of his laughter was musical in nature. Hannah felt herself smiling back at him, and she saw that Andrea and Michelle were also smiling. She began to understand how Aunt Nancy had become so fond of him. Heiti seemed like a man who loved life and found enjoyment in little things.

“Yes, there are many bookcases,” Heiti told her, “but not enough to hold all of Nancy’s books. Come with me, and I’ll show you the others I built for her.”

“Wait!” Andrea stared up at the border around the kitchen ceiling. “This is just incredible, Heiti! Did you paint it?”

“Yes. I finished it last week. This week, I’ve been working on the border in the living room.”

“Aunt Nancy mentioned that,” Hannah told him. “She said she invited you to go to the competition with her, but you were painting the border in the living room and you wanted to finish it.”

“That’s true. Tole painting is a new hobby of mine and Nancy was kind enough to let me try my hand at it in her house.”

“The border you painted in the kitchen is just wonderful,” Michelle told him, “and I can hardly wait to see the one in the living room. Aunt Nancy said that you’d just finished and you were cleaning your brushes when she got home from the competition.”

“She also said that you were very sympathetic when you heard about what had happened with Chef Duquesne,” Hannah picked up where Michelle had stopped.