Christmas Cake Murder

by Joanne Fluke

  Cyril’s Garage was only a mile down the road and Hannah pulled into the driveway behind her mother. Delores took a parking spot right next to the door, and Hannah took the spot on the other side. There weren’t many cars in front of the building, but that was normal for a workday. Cyril opened at seven for people who had to drop off their cars for servicing or repair but still get to work on time.

  Delores waited for Hannah to join her and then she opened the door. “Cyril knows we’re coming,” she said. “I called right before we left the house. How did the car run, dear?”

  “Just fine. I’m no mechanic, but it seemed to be in perfect working order.”

  “That’s all to the good, dear. That means we’ll have a good trade-in value.”

  Hannah was a bit puzzled at that comment. “Trade-in? Are you planning to trade it in, Mother?”

  “That’s right, dear. We are.”

  “I don’t understand. Are you planning to replace Dad’s car with another car?”

  “That’s exactly what we’re going to do.”

  “But I thought you liked your car.”

  “I do like my car. I’ll probably keep it for years.”

  Hannah could feel her confusion grow. “But you just said that you were going to trade Dad’s car in on another car. And then you said you were keeping your car. You don’t need two cars, do you?”

  “No, but you need a vehicle,” Cyril said, coming up behind them. “Your mother told me all about your bakery and I’m going to be one of your first customers. I still remember the last batch of cookies you brought out here and I think I’ve got the perfect SUV for you.”

  Hannah just blinked for a second. She wasn’t sure what to say.

  Cyril laughed as he turned to Delores. “Now we’ve done it, Delores. We’ve rendered Hannah speechless.”

  “And that’s no easy trick,” Delores replied, and then she joined in the laughter.

  Hannah just stared at the two of them as if they’d suddenly gone crazy. That made them laugh harder, and even though she tried to refrain, she was compelled to join in their laughter.

  “You should have seen your face!” Cyril said between chuckles.

  “Your startled expression was priceless,” Delores managed to gasp out.

  “A deer in the headlights,” Cyril described it.

  Gradually, they all stopped laughing and Delores turned to Hannah. “I’m sorry, dear. Perhaps I should have discussed this with you earlier.”

  This brought on another chuckle from Cyril. “Maybe it’s a good thing you didn’t do that, Delores. She just would have argued with you.”

  “I . . .” Hannah paused and gave a deep sigh. “You’re probably right. But don’t you want the money for Dad’s car?”

  “I don’t need the money,” Delores said. “But you do need a truck or a van to move all those cakes and the other baked goods to the hotel for the ball.” She turned to Cyril. “You said you had something in mind when I talked to you this morning. What is it?”

  “I’ve got a Chevy Suburban that came in last week. It’s only two years old, but it needs a little body work.”

  “What kind of work?” Delores asked.

  “We have to hammer out a few dents and the passenger-side door needed to be replaced, but we’ve already done that. And of course it’ll need to be repainted. We don’t do that here, but I know a good place and I can take care of it for you once Hannah picks out the color she wants. Everything that’s left is cosmetic, Delores.”

  “Sometimes cosmetic work is more expensive than mechanical work,” Delores commented. “How much do you estimate that the cosmetic work will cost? If it’s too much, perhaps you could suggest something else.”

  Hannah turned to look her mother in admiration. She should have remembered the remarkably low prices Delores had paid for valuable antiques at auctions and estate sales. Her dad had often said that his wife was a horse trader from way back, and now Hannah knew exactly what he’d meant.

  “It won’t be that much, Delores. We got the door from a junkyard and hammering out the dents will only take fifteen minutes or so. My painting place gives me a discount and they do excellent work.”

  “Then it’s not one of those cheap, overnight places in the Cities?” Delores asked him.

  “No, the place we use takes their time and they do it right.” Cyril turned to Hannah. “What color do you want for your Suburban, Hannah?”

  Delores reached out to put her hand on Hannah’s arm. “It’s too early to ask that, Cyril. Hannah and I need to see the Suburban first and test-drive it. And then I need the price, minus the trade-in of course.”

  “Of course. Follow me, ladies. I’ll take you to see the Suburban right now.”

  “Get the keys,” Delores told him. “If we like the looks of it, we’ll want to test-drive it.”

  “They’re right here in my pocket.” Cyril patted his uniform pocket. “I brought them with me when I saw you out here.”

  Hannah smiled, coming to the conclusion that she’d had the privilege of watching not one, but two horse traders in action. And the show wasn’t over yet. She found that she was looking forward to seeing the vehicle that Cyril had chosen for her. Her dad used to say that Cyril had a gift for choosing just the right car for the right person and she really hoped he’d been right.

  * * *

  Thirty minutes later, Hannah and Delores left Cyril’s office. Hannah was now the proud owner of a Chevy Suburban that one of Cyril’s mechanics would drive to the paint shop before noon. Cyril had demonstrated his uncanny gift once again when both Delores and Hannah had decided that the Suburban was exactly the right vehicle to be Hannah’s cookie truck. Hannah had decided to have it painted candy apple red, and she planned to put signs on both sides advertising The Cookie Jar.

  “I really don’t know how to thank you enough, Mother,” Hannah told her as Delores pulled onto the two-lane road that led to the highway.

  “Just help me make the Christmas Ball a success, dear. That’s all the thanks I need. And make a success of your business, too. Your sisters and I will help you in any way we can. Andrea and I will lend a hand decorating the place and if I need a little respite from decorating, I know Michelle will go hunting with me.”

  For a moment, Hannah wondered if the strain of the last few days of constant activity had been too much for her mother. Lars had gone deer hunting every year with a group of his friends, and although Delores enjoyed eating the venison he brought home, she had refused to even look at the photos he’d taken of his successes.

  “You’re going hunting with Michelle?” Hannah asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

  Delores laughed. “Not that kind of hunting, dear. Michelle and I are going to look for that counter you wanted in your coffee shop and the mirror that’ll go behind it. There must be some small neighborhood bars that have gone out of business in the Tri-County area. You wouldn’t mind a bar and bar stools, would you?”

  “Not at all. And bars usually have mirrors, too.”

  “That’s what Michelle said. And you’ll be proud of me, Hannah.”

  “I already am. But why do you say that, Mother?”

  “I didn’t ask Michelle how she knew that bars had mirrors. I decided it was more important to ask her what she thought of finding small cafés that had gone out of business and seeing if there were tables and chairs in the building that we could buy. And then she mentioned lunch counters and how the little neighborhood drugstores often had soda and ice cream counters with stools attached.”

  “Those are great ideas, Mother.”

  “I know. Michelle is the practical one. I’ll tell her that you appreciate her suggestions.” Delores drove in silence for a few minutes and then she glanced at Hannah. “You’re going to test all the appliances today, aren’t you?”

  “That’s my plan, but I’ll have to call the utility companies and put everything in my name first.”

  “Al told me that he was going to do that when I talked
to him last night. The only thing you have to do is buy the ingredients you need from Florence and mix up a batch of cookies.”

  “The first batch I bake is for you, Mother. What kind do you want me to bake?”

  “Surprise me, dear.”

  “But what if you don’t like the kind I choose?”

  “Impossible. I like everything you bake.”

  “Thanks,” Hannah said with a smile. “Let’s narrow it down a little.”

  “That’s easy,” Delores answered immediately. “I’d love to have something with cashews. I haven’t had salted nuts since your father died. We’d buy the mixed nuts and he’d pick out all the walnuts while I ate all the cashews. Then we’d munch on the rest of them while we watched a movie on television. Did you know that if you mix a few chocolate chips in with the cashews and eat some with every bite, the taste is simply delicious?”

  “I haven’t tried it, but I will,” Hannah promised. “And now I know which kind of cookie I’m going to bake for you.”

  “Tell me, dear.”

  “I’ll bake Cashew Butter Blossom Cookies. It’s a new recipe I want to try and it has cashews and chocolate.”

  “Wonderful!” Delores declared, a delighted smile spreading across her face. “How many cookies will a batch make?”

  Hannah tried to come up with a number, but since she was baking this recipe for the first time, she decided not to commit to a number. “A lot, Mother.”

  “Will I have enough left over to send some to Lisa’s father and take some to Essie?”

  “I’ll make sure that you do.”

  “Perfect,” Delores said, pulling off the freeway and driving down an access road that Hannah didn’t recognize. She pulled into a condo complex, identified herself to the guard at the gate, and he used a remote control to raise the wooden bar that blocked her entrance.

  “Where are we going?” Hannah asked her.

  “You’ll see,” Delores told her, traveling down a narrow, winding road that led to a parking lot. “We’re here.”

  “We’re where?” Hannah asked. “And why? Do you know someone who lives here?”

  “As a matter of fact, I do. I know several people who live here.”

  “And you’re going to visit one of them?”

  “No, we’re meeting Al Percy in one of the units.” She shut off her car and opened the door. “Come on, Hannah. It took a little longer than I expected at Cyril’s and I don’t want to keep Al waiting. He has another appointment after ours.”

  There was nothing for Hannah to do except open her own door, get out of the car, and follow her mother as Delores led the way down a curved walkway. There were shrubs planted at the side of the walkway, and the buildings were nestled beneath tall pine trees. The buildings, which looked as if they housed four units each, were painted a shade of forest green that mirrored the color of the pine trees that surrounded them.

  “Do you see those planters that separate the buildings?” Delores pointed to one planter.

  “Yes.”

  “All they have in the winter is juniper and they’re year-round, but the gardeners plant flowers between the shrubs every spring. You can’t see them now because they’re covered with snow, but there are stepping stones in a line across the center of the planter for people who want to take a shortcut to their unit. We could have parked anywhere, but I decided to take the walkway so that you could see how scenic this complex is.”

  Hannah’s curious mind searched for answers as Delores pointed out the virtues of this particular condo complex. It was almost as if her mother was pretending to be a real estate agent who was taking a client on a guided tour. Hannah gave a little gasp as the most plausible explanation for her mother’s behavior occurred to her. Delores had rented a condo for her before Hannah had even seen it!

  Chapter Eleven

  “Just a minute, Mother,” Hannah said, stopping short on the walkway.

  Delores stopped and turned back to look at her. “What is it, dear? Am I walking too fast for you?”

  “No.” Hannah paused for a moment, searching for the right words. Her mother looked totally innocent. Did that mean that Hannah was wrong in her assumption? The last thing she wanted to do was accuse her mother of something she hadn’t done.

  “What is it, Hannah?” Delores asked, looking concerned.

  Hannah wanted to know what was going on, and the only way to find out was to ask. She took a deep breath for courage and blurted out her question. “Did you rent a condo unit for me here?”

  “Of course not!” Delores exclaimed, looking completely shocked. “I’d never rent an apartment without asking you! Living accommodations are personal, like . . .” Delores paused, attempting to find just the right analogy. “They’re like purses,” she declared. “Purses and perfume are personal. You shouldn’t choose them for someone unless you know exactly what they want. I let you buy your own purses, dear.” Delores glanced at Hannah’s saddlebag-size purse. “Obviously, I do. And I try not to criticize your choices, although at times it’s difficult.”

  “I imagine that’s true,” Hannah admitted.

  “You have no idea how many times I’ve wanted to buy a smaller purse for you, something that’s more stylish. But I knew that if I bought a smaller purse for you and gave it to you for one of your Christmas presents, you’d feel obliged to use it every time you thought you were going to see me. I’m right, aren’t I, dear?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you’d hate that, wouldn’t you?”

  Hannah laughed. Her mother had a valid point. “Yes, I’d hate that. If I had to switch to a smaller purse, I wouldn’t have room for the things I want to carry with me.”

  “Exactly. And wouldn’t you be disappointed if I bought an expensive bottle of perfume for you and it wasn’t a scent you liked?”

  “Yes,” Hannah agreed.

  “And wouldn’t you resent it if I chose an apartment for you and you felt you had to pretend that you loved it to keep from hurting my feelings?”

  “Yes, I would,” Hannah answered honestly.

  “Then I can assure you that I didn’t put a deposit down on the place we’re about to see. It’s something Al told me about this morning, and both of us are seeing it for the first time.” Delores stopped at the base of a covered staircase that led up to a second-floor bridge that connected two four-unit buildings. “Wave at Al, dear. He’s standing outside the front door of the place I want you to see.”

  Hannah looked up and waved. Al waved back and motioned for them to climb the outside staircase. As she climbed, Hannah thought of how clever it was to have a roof on the outside staircase. The sides were open to let in the air and the light, but the roof protected the concrete steps from rain in the summer and snow in the winter.

  “I like the covered staircase,” Delores commented as they neared the top.

  “So do I,” Hannah agreed, following her mother. The stairs were wide enough to fit the largest and longest feet, and they were perfectly spaced for the easiest climb possible.

  As they reached the top of the staircase and stepped out on the bridge that connected the buildings, Hannah stopped to admire the view. The highway was not visible, even from this vantage point, and that meant there would be no traffic noise. The towering pines promised privacy for the entire complex, and she could see a pool and Jacuzzi, next to a large building that she assumed was the clubhouse. It was centrally located and convenient to all of the residents.

  “Hello, Al.” Delores stepped forward to greet him. “You said that this place comes with some furniture?”

  “That’s right. The owners didn’t want to take anything with them except a few small pieces and their personal items. They only lived here for six months before they had to leave, and they didn’t have time to buy much furniture.”

  “Why did they move?” Hannah asked, hoping the reason wasn’t that they’d found something wrong with the complex or the unit that Al was about to show them.

  “He taught
at the community college and he landed a much better position at the University of Georgia. Since most of her family live only forty minutes away from the campus, both of them wanted to move back there.”

  “But they liked it here in this complex?” Delores asked, and Hannah silently applauded her mother’s probing question.

  “They loved it. They said they were hoping to find a place this nice close to his campus. I talked to them a few minutes ago and they agreed to a rent-to-buy option.”

  “I don’t know anything about that option,” Hannah admitted.

  “It was your sister’s idea. She’s very interested in real estate.”

  “Which sister?” Delores asked.

  “Andrea. When they bought their house, she asked me some very good questions about real estate in Lake Eden. I think she’d make a great real estate agent, but please don’t tell her I said that. She might just open her own office and put me out of business.”

  “I had no idea that Andrea was interested in real estate!” Delores said, looking very surprised. “She never mentioned it to me.”

  Hannah was just as surprised as her mother was. “I didn’t know either. If Andrea had gone on to college, I assumed that she’d major in art or interior design.”

  “What does it take to get a real estate license in Minnesota?” Delores asked Al.

  “My advice would be to take a pre-license course at the community college. It prepares students who want to take the exam.”

  “And if they pass the exam, they qualify as an agent?” Hannah asked him.

  “It’s not quite that easy. Once you pass the exam, you need to work as a licensed real estate salesperson and then you can go on for a broker’s license. I have my broker’s license, but it was easier to get one back then.”

  “And it’s more difficult now?” Hannah asked.

  “Yes, and it takes longer. Most really large real estate companies also run a real estate school. That’s another source of revenue for them. And I was talking to an agent in Minneapolis the other day who said the broker’s exam is a lot harder than it was when we took it.”