by Joanne Fluke
Bake your Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake at 350 degrees F. for 55 to 60 minutes. (Mine took the full hour.)
Once your cheesecake has baked, take it out of the oven but DON’T SHUT OFF THE OVEN!
Take the bowl with the topping out of the refrigerator, give it a final stir, and then pour the contents over the top of your baked cheesecake.
Return the cheesecake to the oven for an additional 10 minutes. At the end of that time, your topping should be “set”. (It may even have a crack or two and that is perfect acceptable since you will be covering it with sweetened whipped cream and decorating it.)
After the topping has baked, remove the 2 pans from the oven and set them on a cold stovetop burner or a wire rack.
Let your cheesecake cool to room temperature, cover it loosely with foil, and refrigerate it for at least 24 hours before unmolding, decorating and serving.
Note: This cheesecake is good just as it is. Simply unmold it and cut it into slices. If you wish, top it with sweetened whipped cream and any of the topping ingredients listed.
Yield: 8 to 12 slices of rich, creamy, chocolate and peanut butter cheesecake that everyone will love.
Chapter Five
Hannah refilled Andrea’s champagne glass and carried it out to the penthouse garden. She handed it to Andrea, stashed the bottle in the silver ice bucket in the garden, and sat down to join Andrea, Norman, Michelle, and her mother. She had no sooner taken her chair when the doorbell rang. “I’ll get it,” she said, jumping up quickly and heading for the door before anyone else had time to move.
“Come in,” she said when she saw Lonnie, Mike, and Bill standing there. “Andrea’s in the garden with Michelle, Mother, and Norman, but you three can come straight to the kitchen so that I can feed you before you go out there.”
“Great!” Mike declared, giving Hannah a big smile. “I missed dinner and I’m as hungry as a bear.”
“So am I,” Bill admitted. “I would have come the moment Lonnie called Mike in, but I decided to stay away until after they’d interviewed Andrea. I figured if I came here earlier, Andrea would want to tell me all about it, and I knew Mike and Lonnie would want to interview her first.”
“That was smart,” Mike said, giving Bill a little nod before he turned back to Hannah. “What’s for dinner?”
“Stroganoff Light over noodles,” Hannah told him.
“Light?” Mike asked, looking a bit dismayed. “Does that mean low-cal?”
“No, it just means that I made this stroganoff with chicken instead of beef.”
“Oh,” Mike said. “I like chicken. Does this have sour cream and mushrooms like you put in when you make it with beef?”
“Yes, it does.”
“And the noodles are buttered?”
“Yes, they are.”
“All right then.” Mike pulled out a chair and sat down at the kitchen table. “I’m in, Hannah. Bring it on.”
Hannah came close to laughing as she dished up two plates of buttered noodles and covered them with a generous helping of Stroganoff Light. She knew that wouldn’t be enough for Mike, but Bill would probably eat only one helping. “Lonnie?” she turned to him. “Would you like another helping?”
“No, thanks. I’ll just sit here and keep Mike and Bill company so I can join them for dessert.”
“What’s for dessert?” Mike asked Hannah.
“Triple Chocolate Cheesecake.”
“You can count me in!” Mike responded immediately. “I love cheesecake!”
“Sounds good,” Bill agreed. “Did Andrea have some already?”
“She did. Everybody else has already had some.”
It didn’t take Mike and Bill long to finish their main course. Just as she’d expected, Bill had been satisfied with one helping, but Mike had wolfed down two. She poured coffee, served the three men slices of cheesecake, told them that she was going back to the garden and that they should help themselves to more coffee if they wanted it. “Come out when you’re ready to interview Andrea,” she told them. “You can bring her back here to the kitchen and the rest of us will stay in the garden.”
“Thanks, Hannah,” Mike said. “That’ll make everything a lot easier since Bill can’t be here when we interview her.”
Bill nodded. “I know. It just about kills me, but I know procedure.” He turned to Mike. “You will take it easy on her, won’t you?”
“Of course,” Mike assured him. “Just go give her a hug and a kiss and bring her back here. And afterwards, you can take her home and she can tell you everything she wants to tell you.”
* * *
Of course Andrea was delighted to see Bill, and she got up from her chair and went straight into his arms. Delores, Norman, Michelle, and Hannah felt a rush of happiness as Bill and Andrea embraced. It was obvious they loved each other. Hannah was glad to see her sister happy and still in love, but she couldn’t help but wonder whether she’d ever feel that way about anyone again.
“Mike and Lonnie want you to come with Andrea to her interview,” Bill told her.
“Me?” Hannah was surprised. Usually Mike and Lonnie didn’t want her anywhere near their official interviews.
“Yes, I can’t come with Andrea because of my position as sheriff, but you can.”
“Of course I’ll go,” Hannah responded quickly, “but it’s not like I was there when Andrea found him.”
“They know that, but she called you before she called anyone else, so they feel you have something to contribute.”
Still puzzled, Hannah nodded. “Fine with me. I’ll go with Andrea.”
“Come with me, then,” Bill said. “I’ll take both of you to the kitchen and come back here.”
“You won’t be with me?” Andrea asked, sounding a bit frightened.
“No, but Hannah will be there. I can’t be with you, honey. Husbands can’t be with their wives when they’re interviewed in a situation where the wife is . . . a situation like this.”
Andrea didn’t catch Bill’s hesitation, but Hannah did. Bill didn’t want to tell Andrea that she might be a suspect in Mayor Bascomb’s murder.
Hannah noticed that Andrea looked very nervous. “You can help me put on another pot of coffee when we get to the kitchen,” Hannah told her, even though she didn’t need any help to do that.
“Oh. Okay.” Andrea looked a bit more relaxed when she turned to Bill. “Will they let Hannah stay there for my whole interview?”
“Yes, Hannah should be there, since she was the first one to talk to you. They’re going to ask her some questions, too.”
“Oh. Then that’s fine,” Andrea said, and Hannah could tell she was happy that someone would be with her.
“We’ll get started in a minute,” Hannah said when Bill led them into the kitchen. “Andrea and I are going to put on some coffee first if that’s okay.”
“That’s good,” Mike told her. “I could use another cup. Is there any more of that cheesecake, Hannah?”
“Sorry,” Hannah said, evading a direct answer. “I’ll probably be making another in a day or two and I’ll be sure to save a piece or two for you.”
“Save me a whole cheesecake,” Mike told her. “I’ll order it from you right now and pick it up when it’s ready.” He paused for a moment and looked slightly worried. “Actually, I’ll buy two of your cheesecakes. Then I can treat a couple of the boys at the station.”
“I can do that,” Hannah said quickly, glad that Mike hadn’t asked her a direct question about the cheesecake she’d hidden for Doc. She turned to Andrea. “Would you rather start the coffee, or rinse off the dishes and put them in the dishwasher?”
“I’ll get the dishes,” Andrea replied quickly. “Mother has a different coffee machine than the one I have at home.”
Once everyone had coffee, Hannah and Andrea sat down at the table with Mike and Lonnie. Hannah could tell that Andrea was nervous. Her sister’s hands were clasped in her lap, but they were shaking slightly.
�
�We’d like to know everything you can remember about what you saw tonight,” Mike began. “You can start wherever you wish. Just tell us everything in your own words.”
Andrea nodded, but she didn’t speak for a long, silent moment. Hannah nudged Mike with her foot, and then she smiled at Andrea.
“Why don’t you start with what happened when you left us and drove back to your house, Andrea.”
“Oh,” Andrea responded immediately. “Thanks, Hannah. I can do that! It was . . . it was cold in the car. I remember shivering and wishing I’d worn my heavier parka. When I got back to the house, it was empty. Grandma McCann and the girls had already gone out to the mall to have hamburgers and see a movie. I remember thinking that it was so quiet in the house without Tracey, and Bethie, and Grandma McCann. And I wished that Bill was with me. But instead, I was home all by myself, feeling lonely and scared.” Andrea blinked back tears. “It’s like I’m in some sort of time loop, playing the same scene over and over and over.”
Hannah could tell that her sister was back there again, on the couch in the living room, reliving what happened.
* * *
Andrea leaned back on the couch in her living room and sighed. The palm of her hand hurt and, for a moment, she was puzzled. Then she realized that it was slightly red where she’d slapped Mayor Bascomb. She held it cradled in her other hand and sighed again. She didn’t want to be here in the house alone. She didn’t want to be alone tonight. For a few moments, she actually considered driving back to the penthouse and joining everyone else for dinner. But she didn’t feel like being with other people, even though they were her family and friends. What should she do since she didn’t want to be alone, but she didn’t want to socialize with other people, either? She thought about that for several minutes, but she couldn’t think of a solution that might work to make her feel better.
“Chocolate,” she said aloud as the idea popped into her head. She hadn’t eaten anything since yogurt for breakfast and a few crackers spread with cheese in the penthouse garden. Now that she thought about it, she was hungry, and perhaps the chocolate would work to make her feel calmer and in control.
She hurried to the kitchen and took the Triple Chocolate Cheesecake out of the refrigerator. She didn’t have anything to put on for a fancy topping, the way Hannah had done, but that was okay. She knew that if her older sister had made it, it would be rich with chocolate. It could be just the thing to make her feel happy and less alone.
“Ohhh!” Andrea sighed as she took the first forkful. Hannah’s new cheesecake was absolutely delicious! It was the perfect antidote for her anxiety and depression, and she finished the slice in record time.
“Better!” she exclaimed, heading for the living room couch again with a cup of coffee she’d reheated in the microwave. Doc was crazy if he thought that the endorphins in chocolate didn’t have an effect on a person’s mood. She felt at least a hundred times better now.
As she sipped her coffee, Andrea thought about her afternoon and her confrontation in Mayor Bascomb’s office. She’d really believed that she could keep her temper in check. She’d accomplished it for quite a while, but the mayor had provoked her, and her ire had risen and exploded in the slap that had tipped him right over in his chair.
“I shouldn’t have done that,” Andrea said to the empty living room. “Now he’s probably even more angry with Bill.” She knew she had to do something to fix it and put Bill back in Mayor Bascomb’s good graces. She only wished she could think of a way to erase her actions and make him like Bill again.
“Chocolate!” The minute Andrea thought of it, she said it aloud. She would cut another piece of Hannah’s marvelous cheesecake, a piece twice as large as the one she’d eaten, and take it to him at his office. She would have to apologize profusely for her actions, but she could do that. And she might even have to squeeze out a few tears of remorse for slapping him. It wouldn’t be easy, but now that she felt like herself again she was sure she could convince him that she was truly sorry that she had offended him and that Bill hadn’t been given a choice when it came to arresting the mayor’s nephew.
It didn’t take long to cut another slice of Triple Chocolate Cheesecake, place it on a plate, and cover it with plastic wrap. Andrea got out her small cooler and placed it inside. Then, as an afterthought, she stuck in a plastic fork. He might have utensils in his office, but it was best to arrive prepared.
Andrea glanced down at the clothing she was wearing. It wasn’t quite right for an apology mission. She hurried up to her closet, chose another outfit that was feminine enough, but also business-like, took her parka coat off the rack so that she would be warm when she got to City Hall, and carried the cooler out to her car.
The streets were icy and she drove with caution. Her car had snow tires, but she wanted to take no chances. She was doing this for Bill, trying to save her husband’s job, and it wouldn’t be good to hit a parked car on her way to complete her mission.
As she approached City Hall, Andrea gave a sigh of relief. The lights were still on in Mayor Bascomb’s office. He was still there and she would tender her apology accompanied by a slice of Hannah’s cheesecake. There was no way the mayor could resist that. He was a confirmed chocolate fan and he loved anything that her older sister baked at The Cookie Jar.
There was a parking space directly in front of the building and Andrea took it. She took a deep breath for courage, picked up the slice of cheesecake, and got out of her car. Then she walked up the sidewalk to the front of the building and went into the entrance.
City Hall was quiet as only a deserted, but normally busy building could be. Andrea walked to the staircase, her steps echoing hollowly on the marble surface of the floor. She climbed the steps carefully, balancing the plate of cheesecake in her left hand and her purse in her right hand. Then she walked down the hallway until she came to the mayor’s office.
Andrea tried the door. The knob turned, the door opened, and Andrea let herself inside. She stood there a moment, strengthening her resolve, and then she walked to the door of his inner office.
I can do this, she told herself. Bill always says that I can charm the birds right out of the trees. All I have to do is charm Mayor Bascomb into thinking that Bill is the best sheriff Winnetka County ever had.
With a hand that was still shaking slightly, she knocked on Mayor Bascomb’s inner door. When he didn’t answer, she took another deep breath for courage and called out to him.
“Mayor Bascomb? It’s Andrea Todd. I have a piece of Hannah’s new cheesecake for you.”
The silence from the other side of the door stretched out and became the longest minute Andrea had ever experienced. Several thoughts ran through her mind as she waited for a response. Perhaps she shouldn’t have mentioned her name. He could very well still be angry with her. Had she made a mistake by telling him who she was?
One minute stretched into two minutes. Andrea realized that she was being cowardly and knocked again, a bit louder. But still there was no response from the mayor.
“Mayor Bascomb?” she asked in her loudest voice. “I know you’re angry with me, but I’m coming in to deliver Hannah’s cheesecake. I’ll just put it on your desk and leave if you don’t want to see me.”
Andrea waited another few moments, but again, there was no response from their civic leader. Was the mayor sleeping at his desk? If he was, she’d just walk in very quietly and leave the plate of cheesecake with a note of apology. He was bound to love Hannah’s cheesecake, and it might work to help Bill keep his job.
Andrea carried the plate to Terry’s desk and located a notepad in the center drawer. She used one of the pens on the desktop to write a quick note of apology and put everything back in place again. Then she walked back to Mayor Bascomb’s door and knocked again loudly.
This knock didn’t work, either. There was still no sound from inside, no invitation to enter. Had Mayor Bascomb forgotten to turn out the lights and lock his office when he left? There was only one w
ay to find out, and Andrea tried the inner door. The knob turned, the door opened a crack, and she pushed it open a bit wider so that she could look inside.
Mayor Bascomb was there! He was at his desk with his head down on the desk blotter. Andrea knew that he must have fallen asleep, but she decided not to wake him. She’d simply step close enough to set the note and the plate of cheesecake on his desk and leave.
She was only a couple of steps away from the desk when she saw it. There was something on his head, something dark and wet. That was when she noticed the drops of the dark liquid on his desk blotter and more drops that were drying on the back of his shirt collar.
The scene took a few moments to make sense to her. When it did, she let out a cry of pure terror, dropping the plate of cheesecake on the rug. It was blood! Mayor Bascomb was bleeding. And the blood looked as if it had come from the top of his head!
Andrea froze for several seconds that seemed like a century to her. She couldn’t move. She was stuck there on his white carpet staring at the man who had called her an idiot only an hour or so earlier.
What should she do? The question raced through Andrea’s mind. She was at a loss, not knowing whether she should approach him or keep her distance. But what if he wasn’t dead? She had to do something!
Andrea did her best to think clearly, but there was a buzzing in her ears and she felt very dizzy. What should she do? What would Hannah do if she’d come here and found Mayor Bascomb like this?
Hannah would check for a pulse. And after she did, she’d call someone. Andrea willed her legs to stop shaking and move toward the mayor’s wrist so that she could feel for a pulse, but her body didn’t seem to cooperate. She didn’t want to touch him! What if he was dead and her fingerprints were on his body? Everyone knew that she’d slapped him earlier and tipped him backwards in his chair. But what if he wasn’t dead? What if he was still alive and she failed to call for help? That would be almost the same as if she had killed him, wouldn’t it?