Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder

by Joanne Fluke

  “Yes, if you don’t mind. Andrea and I should be back by one at the latest. All we have to do is serve the luncheon, plate the dessert, and put on dollops of Crème Fraîche. Trudi’s providing all of the plates and cups, and the ladies in her quilting group will help her clean up. We can leave there just as soon as we serve the dessert and refill coffee.”

  “I’ll see you here, then,” Norman said, heading for the rack to get his parka. “Good luck with the luncheon.”

  “And good luck with Cyril,” Hannah called after him as he went out the back kitchen door.

  “What was all that about, Hannah?” Andrea asked when Norman had left. “We can take my SUV if there’s something wrong with your cookie truck.”

  “The Suburban’s just fine,” Hannah told her. “Norman and I are just checking out a car that was parked next to Herb’s car the night of Mayor Bascomb’s murder. Herb said it was big, even bigger than my Suburban, and it had some kind of fluid leak.”

  “Herb could tell that by just looking at it?”

  “No.” Hannah slipped pans with the Deli Brunch Bake into hot packs and picked them up to carry them to her cookie truck. “The car wasn’t there anymore, but its footprint was. And there was some kind of dark fluid on the pavement where it had been parked. We checked with Earl this morning because he saw it, too, when he was plowing. Earl said it could have been oil, or transmission fluid, or brake fluid.”

  “And Herb thinks that it could have been from the killer’s vehicle?”

  “He doesn’t know that, but it’s a lead that we have to follow up. Norman’s checking with Cyril to see if anybody came in with a fluid leak in the last couple of days.”

  Andrea gave a little nod. “I hope Cyril can identify that car. Even if it doesn’t belong to the killer, the person who pulled out right before Herb might have seen the killer.”

  “Exactly.” Hannah turned to give Andrea a smile. “You’re turning into a real detective, Andrea.”

  It was only two blocks to Trudi’s fabric shop and once Hannah and Andrea got there and greeted the members of the Quilting Circle, they made short work of plating the Deli Brunch Bake and serving it.

  “Don’t you want some?” Trudi asked, motioning for Hannah and Andrea to join them at one of the long tables.

  “No thanks,” Hannah said, “but I’ll join you for coffee.”

  “Me too,” Andrea said, filling two cups with the coffee they’d just made and carrying them to the table. They had just seated themselves when the street door opened and Stephanie Bascomb came in.

  “Hello, ladies!” she greeted them.

  “Oh, Stephanie!” Trudi rushed over to greet her. “I’m so very sorry about what happened.”

  “So am I, but I didn’t come over here to make you ladies uncomfortable. I came because I stopped in at The Cookie Jar and Lisa told me that Hannah was here.” She walked over to Hannah and handed her a storage box. “I’d like to talk to you in private for a moment, Hannah.”

  “You can use my office,” Trudi told them.

  Hannah glanced at the other ladies. Everyone was enjoying their entrée and it wouldn’t be time to serve dessert for at least twenty minutes. She motioned to Andrea and stood up. “Will you stay here and get second helpings for any of the ladies who want them, Andrea? I’m going to step in the back for a minute or two with Stephanie so we can talk privately.”

  “No problem,” Andrea said quickly. “You two go ahead. I’ll take care of everything here.”

  When they got to the back room, Hannah pulled out two chairs for them. She placed the storage box on the table that Trudi used for coffee breaks and asked, “What’s this, Stephanie?”

  “A box I found in the garage. There’s a label on the side that says COLLEGE.”

  Hannah turned the box to see the label. “Did you write this label?”

  “No, that’s Richards’s mother’s handwriting. When she died, Richard went through her house and brought home some things that he wanted. I didn’t have time to go through this box, but you said you were interested in Richard’s college years, and there are probably some mementos in the box.”

  “Thank you, Stephanie.” Hannah picked up the box and stood up. “Are you sure you don’t want to open it first? Or would you like to be there when I open it?”

  Stephanie shook her head. “I don’t need to be there, Hannah. The only thing I want you to do is keep everything for me in case there’s something there that Richard’s brother wants.”

  “Of course I will,” Hannah promised. “Do you want to stay and have some Deli Brunch Bake with Trudi’s quilting group?”

  Stephanie took a moment to think about that. “That’s a very good idea, Hannah. I’ve lived in Lake Eden all my life and I know this town. If I don’t stay, they’ll all talk about me when I leave. And then they’ll ask me questions, individually, later. If I stay now, I can answer everyone at once and be done with it.”

  Hannah began to smile. “You’re absolutely right, Stephanie. And you’re a very smart lady. Will you be home later if I have any questions about the contents of the box?”

  “Either I’ll stop by The Cookie Jar or I’ll be home, Hannah. The only thing I have to do in the next couple of days is go to court with Robert to put in a good word for Bruce with the judge. I’m not sure it’ll help, but Robert thinks it might.”

  “That’s really nice of you, Stephanie. Good luck with that. Do you want me to call you to tell you what we found after Andrea and I go through the box?”

  Stephanie thought about that for a moment, and then she shook her head. “No, it’s okay. That box has been sitting in our garage for almost ten years, and I’m fairly sure there’s nothing in there that I need to know about right away.”

  “Would it be okay if I called you about any questions we might have when we open it?” Hannah asked her.

  Stephanie smiled. “If you open it before The Cookie Jar closes, you can ask me in person. I’m coming in to pick up three dozen cookies. All you have to do is tell Lisa that you want to see me, and I’ll come back to the kitchen.”

  “Perfect,” Hannah told her, getting up to give Stephanie a hug. “I know this is hard on you, Stephanie, but you’re holding up like a trooper.”

  Stephanie laughed. “What choice do I have? I’ve never been the little wife who faints at the sight of a mouse. Don’t worry about me. I’ll get through this, Hannah.”

  “You’re very brave and it can’t be easy.”

  “It’s not. Despite Richard’s faults, I loved him, Hannah. I really did, even though everyone in town thought that he was an imperfect husband to me. Richard made me mad, and he made me terribly sad that I didn’t seem to be enough for him, but that didn’t change the love I felt for him.”

  Hannah took a minute to sit and think. She’d learned a lot about Stephanie and Richard’s relationship. Perhaps nothing she’d learned applied to the mayor’s death, but it was more information to write in her murder book.

  Quickly, Hannah found her murder book in her purse and jotted notes about what Stephanie had told her. She learned, early on, that the more information she could gather about the friends and family of a murder victim, the better. Several times, in other murder cases, she’d gotten lucky, and a note she’d taken had led to a clue to the killer. All she could do was hope that the same thing would happen again.

  DELI BRUNCH BAKE

  (A Make-Ahead Recipe)

  1 loaf rye bread without seeds (You will need 12 slices in all.)

  ½ cup salted butter (one stick, 4 ounces, ¼ pound), softened to room temperature

  ½ pound sliced pastrami

  1 Tablespoon brown mustard (I used Stone Ground Gulden’s.)

  4 deli pickles, thinly sliced

  12 slices cheddar or American cheese

  ½ pound sliced corned beef

  ½ cup cole slaw, drained and paper toweled dry

  2 small cans sliced black olives (drained)

  8 ounces shredded Havarti cheese
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  8 eggs, beaten

  2 cups light cream (half-and-half)

  1 teaspoon Kosher salt (sea salt)

  ½ teaspoon seasoned pepper

  1 additional stick of salted butter (4 ounces, ¼ pound) before baking in the morning

  Prepare your pan by spraying the inside of a 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan with Pam or another nonstick baking spray.

  Lay out 12 slices of rye bread on your kitchen counter. Get set to make 6 very fat sandwiches from the bread.

  Fit the bread together as if you’re making a sandwich.

  Butter the inside of your bread sandwich and keep the two halves of your sandwich together.

  Separate the top of each sandwich from the bottom, but place them close together so that you know which sandwich top goes with which sandwich bottom.

  You should have used approximately half of your butter by now. Put the rest of the stick of butter in a microwave-safe cup and melt it in the microwave.

  Pour the melted butter in your cake pan and tip it from top to bottom and side to side until the bottom of your cake pan is covered with a film of butter.

  Divide your pastrami into 6 equal piles, one for each sandwich.

  Place the slices of pastrami on one side of your sandwich.

  Spread the stone ground mustard over the top of the pastrami.

  Cut your deli pickles into thin slices and divide the slices into 6 piles.

  Place one pile of pickle slices on top of the mustard.

  Place 2 slices of American or cheddar cheese on top of the pickles.

  Divide the corned beef slices into 6 equal piles.

  Place one pile of corned beef on top of the American or cheddar cheese slices.

  If you haven’t done so already, put the cole slaw in a strainer in the sink.

  Let the slaw drain for a minute or two and then tear off several pieces of paper toweling and press the cole slaw down into the strainer. Move the cole slaw around in the strainer so that you can paper towel dry the slaw.

  Divide the cole slaw into 6 equal piles.

  Distribute each pile evenly over the corned beef.

  Open the cans of black olive slices and drain them in the same strainer you used for the cole slaw.

  Paper towel dry the black olive slices.

  Divide the olive slices into 6 piles.

  Distribute the black olive slices evenly over the cole slaw.

  Top your deli sandwiches with the remaining slices of rye bread.

  Cut your sandwiches in half horizontally.

  Pick up each half sandwich and place them in your prepared cake pan. Try to space them apart as evenly as you can. Do not overlap the pieces.

  Sprinkle the shredded Havarti cheese over the top of your half sandwiches.

  In a large bowl or an electric mixer, crack open the eggs and beat them together. Start by using LOW speed on the mixer and then gradually increase the speed until the eggs are light and fluffy.

  Mix in the light cream on LOW speed. Beat until everything is thoroughly combined.

  Add the salt and the seasoned pepper. Beat it in on LOW speed until everything is combined.

  Pour the egg and cream mixture over the top of your half deli sandwiches. If there is too much liquid to use all of it, wait a few minutes for it to soak in. Rye bread doesn’t absorb liquid as fast as white bread does.

  When all of your egg mixture is in the cake pan, press down on the half sandwiches with a metal spatula.

  Cover the cake pan tightly with aluminum foil and let it sit on the counter for at least 20 minutes. This is to make sure that the liquid has been completely absorbed.

  Place your pan of Deli Brunch Bake on a shelf in your refrigerator overnight.

  An hour or so before you want to serve breakfast in the morning, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F., and make sure the rack is in the middle position.

  Melt another stick of salted butter in the microwave.

  Pour the melted butter over the tops of your half sandwiches.

  Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil again.

  When your oven comes up to temperature, place your pan inside and bake your creation for at least 45 minutes or until the top is nicely browned.

  Let the pan cool on a wire rack or a cold stovetop burner for at least ten minutes.

  To Serve: Place a half sandwich on each plate to start. It’s almost a forgone conclusion that your guests will ask for a second half. A nice accompaniment to this breakfast is chilled melon slices or any seasonal fruit. Make sure you have plenty of hot, strong coffee as this breakfast dish is very rich.

  EASTER BUNNY’S FAVORITE PIE SQUARES

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

  RED ALERT WARNING: Unless your children love vegetables, it would be wise not to let them read the ingredients or see you mixing up this pie! I once told my niece, Tracey, that I used tomato soup in a spice cookie, and it took me a week to convince her to agree to taste one.

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

  ¾ cup salted butter, chilled (1 and ½ sticks, 6 ounces)

  ½ cup powdered (confectioners) sugar (don’t sift unless it’s got big lumps)

  4 large eggs

  1 and ½ cups white (granulated) sugar

  1 teaspoon salt

  1 teaspoon nutmeg (freshly ground is best)

  ½ teaspoon cardamom (or ½ teaspoon cinnamon, but cardamom is better)

  1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  3 and ½ cups peeled, cooked, and mashed carrots,

  measure AFTER mashing (You can use frozen sliced carrots, cook them, and then mash them, but they’re not as good as fresh carrots.)

  2 cans evaporated milk (12-ounce cans) or 3 cups light cream (that’s half-and-half)

  With the steel blade in place, place one cup of the flour into the bowl of your food processor.

  Cut the chilled butter into 12 pieces.

  Layer the pieces of butter on top of the flour in your food processor.

  Sprinkle the half-cup of powdered (confectioners’) sugar on top of the pieces of butter.

  Sprinkle the final half-cup of flour on top of the powdered sugar.

  Process in an on-and-off motion until the mixture reaches the consistency of cornmeal.

  Hannah’s 1st Note: You can also do this by hand by cutting the pieces of butter into the flour and powdered sugar with 2 knives from your silverware drawer held together in one hand. My great-grandmother Elsa used to do it that way.

  Prepare a standard 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan by spraying it with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray.

  Pour the mixture from your food processor bowl over the bottom of the cake pan you just sprayed.

  Hold the cake pan by both ends and tip and shake it until the crust mixture is evenly distributed.

  Set the cake pan back on the counter, and press the mixture down a bit with a metal spatula.

  Hannah’s 2nd Note: The flour, powdered sugar, and butter mixture in the bottom of your cake pan will make the crust for your Easter Bunny’s Favorite Pie Squares.

  Bake the pie crust at 350 degrees F. for 15 minutes in your preheated oven.

  Take the pie crust out of the oven but DON’T SHUT OFF THE OVEN.

  Let your pie crust cool on a wire rack or a cold stovetop burner while you make the filling for your pie squares.

  Hannah’s 3rd Note: If you have an electric mixer, use it to make your pie square filling. If you don’t, you can mix it by hand, but it will take some muscle.

  Crack the eggs into the bowl of your electric mixer.

  Turn the mixer on LOW speed and beat them until the whites and yolks are thoroughly mixed.

  With the mixer still running on LOW speed, add the white (granulated) sugar.

  Beat until the sugar is thoroughly incorporated.

  Again, with the mixer still running at LOW speed, sprinkle in the salt, nutmeg, cardamom, and cinnamon.

  Turn the mixer off and add
the mashed, cooked carrots. Then turn the mixer back on LOW speed and beat in the carrots, mixing until everything is thoroughly incorporated.

  Turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Then turn the mixer on LOW speed again.

  With the mixer running on LOW, slowly pour in the evaporated milk (or light cream). Mix until everything is thoroughly blended.

  Shut off the mixer, take off the bowl, and give your Easter Bunny’s Favorite Pie Squares filling a final stir by hand with a mixing spoon.

  Carefully pour the filling over the crust you just baked.

  Carry your cake pan back to the oven, and bake your pie squares for 60 or 70 minutes, or until a table knife blade inserted near the center of the cake pan comes out clean. If it doesn’t, and there are still wet drops of filling clinging to the blade, bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes.

  Once your pie squares are done, take the pan out of the oven and cool it on a wire rack or a cold stovetop burner.

  When it has cooled to room temperature, cover it loosely with foil and place it in the refrigerator to chill overnight.

  When you’re ready to serve your Easter Bunny’s Favorite Pie Squares, cut the pie into generous squares. Use a metal spatula to remove the pie squares and place them on a serving platter.

  Top each square with a big dollop of sweetened, whipped cream or spoonful of Cool Whip. Then, if you choose, you can use a small-size candy bunny or candy Easter egg to decorate each square. You can also top the pie squares with Hannah’s Whipped Crème Fraîche.

  Make sure to have tall glasses of icy-cold milk on hand for the kids and strong, hot coffee for the adults at your Easter feast.

  Yield: 12 or more squares, depending on portion size.

  Hannah’s Whipped Crème Fraîche recipe follows:

  HANNAH’S WHIPPED CRÈME FRAÎCHE

  (This will hold for several hours. Make it ahead of time and refrigerate in a bowl covered with plastic wrap.)

  2 cups heavy whipping cream

  ½ cup white (granulated) sugar