Christmas Cake Murder

by Joanne Fluke

  “Oh, look!” Hannah said to Cliff. “Lisa and Michelle have already lined everyone up with the cakes they’re going to carry.”

  Cliff looked amazed as he surveyed the long line of cakes. “And you actually baked all these cakes?”

  “Yes, but I had help. Michelle and Lisa walked to The Cookie Jar every day after school to bake with me.”

  “This one is amazing.” Cliff pointed to the massive cake, shaped like a Christmas tree, that sat on the kitchen counter closest to the door. “Is this the Christmas Cake that you were telling me about?”

  “Yes. It’s the lead cake in the parade.”

  “It’s beautiful,” Cliff said admiringly. “Does it pull apart?”

  “Yes, we baked miniature Bundt cakes and arranged them in an ascending tower to form the tree. We started with an almost full platter on the bottom, and each tier of the tree has a smaller number of miniature Bundt cakes.”

  “Did you frost them separately?”

  “Yes. And then we stacked them up and used the drizzle icicle frosting to tie them together.”

  “Very clever! And it’s beautiful!”

  “Make sure you tell Lisa that. The design was her idea.”

  “The red and green cherries look like Christmas ornaments.”

  “That was Lisa’s idea, too. The cake is really heavy though. Are you sure you can handle it if I help you carry it?”

  “Let’s see.” Cliff picked up the platter with surprisingly little effort and held it aloft. “It’s not a problem, Hannah,” he assured her. “I can carry the cake by myself. The bags of concrete mix that I stack in the hardware store are a lot heavier than this. You just walk next to me and look pretty.”

  “Well . . . if you’re sure . . .”

  “Don’t worry. I won’t drop it. Besides, you’ll be busy lighting the candles when Mayor Bascomb finishes his speech.”

  “If he ever does,” Hannah retorted, and she was rewarded by a laugh from Cliff.

  “I know what you mean, Hannah. I don’t think the people in Lake Eden realized how long-winded he could be when they elected him. But I think he’s beginning to wind up now.”

  They were silent, listening to what they hoped was the end of Mayor Bascomb’s welcome speech. His amplified voice reached the kitchen and Hannah picked up the fireplace lighter she’d brought to light the candles they’d placed on top of all the cakes and began to light them.

  “Thank you all for attending this wonderful event tonight. And thank you to our guest of honor, Essie Granger, for her years of service to the Lake Eden community. Please remain seated at the tables around the perimeter of the ballroom for the Christmas Cake Parade. And a big thank-you from all of us to Hannah Swensen, who, with the help of Michelle Swensen and Lisa Herman, baked all of the cakes for the parade.”

  There was applause from the guests in the ballroom and Hannah felt her cheeks turn warm at the unexpected praise.

  “We will dim the lights so that you can see the parade in all its lighted glory. Please stay in your seats and do not move around the ballroom during the ceremony.”

  “Smart move,” Cliff said in a low voice. “I was wondering how they’d do that.”

  “And now, ladies and gentlemen, I urge you all to enjoy the Christmas Cake Parade!”

  As Andrea dimmed the lights, very slowly so that Hannah would have time to light all the candles on the assorted cakes, the orchestra leader turned on the Christmas medley that they’d recorded. Hannah spotted Rod Metcalf with his camera, standing in a good vantage point against the ballroom wall, and she knew that there would be photos of the parade in the next issue of the Lake Eden Journal.

  She lit the candles on the huge Christmas tree cake last and as Cliff picked up the cake, she turned to the Jordan High students in line.

  “Are we all ready?” she asked them. “And do you all know where your cakes will be placed?”

  There were nods all around and Hannah drew a deep breath as the medley of Christmas carols played. “The last two out are Lisa and Michelle, and they’ll turn off the kitchen lights. Let’s go!”

  The light in the huge chandelier overlooking the ballroom had dimmed all the way as they emerged from the kitchen door. Hannah and Cliff led the parade to Essie’s wheelchair, and Hannah leaned down to give Essie a kiss on the cheek. Then they continued past the wheelchair in a giant loop around the edges of the dance floor. The applause from the spectators built up to a crescendo and Hannah smiled as she walked with Cliff.

  Hannah heard a man’s voice over the familiar strains of “Silent Night.” “I found you, Sharon,” the man said.

  A moment later, there was a sound Hannah had never expected to hear at the Christmas Ball. A shot rang out and there was a muffled scream as a bullet hit its mark.

  By the time a second round was fired, Hannah had pinpointed the location of the shooter by the flash from the muzzle of the gun. Luckily, she was only a few feet away. She plucked a miniature Bundt cake from the top of the Christmas cake and threw it toward the origin of the gunfire as hard as she could. She heard a gasp as the cake hit its mark and she threw a second cake, and a third and a fourth as the lights began to come on.

  There he was! The man she’d noticed as she’d greeted Essie, the stranger both Essie and Hannah had spotted. He was down on the floor, rubbing at his face, when Sheriff Grant and Andrea’s husband, Bill, pulled his hands behind his back and cuffed him.

  “It’s the stranger Essie kept staring at earlier,” Hannah told Cliff. And then she shouted, “Who did he hit?”

  “Essie,” Doc Knight answered. “Clear the way for us! Hurry! We have to take Essie back to the hospital right now!”

  * * *

  Since Bill had left with Sheriff Grant and the cuffed shooter, Hannah, Michelle, and Lisa went to sit at Andrea’s table to hear Mayor Bascomb, who was speaking at the microphone. For once, their mayor was struggling for words as he urged everyone to stay calm and to please return to their seats. Then he asked everyone to stay to honor Essie and said that if she were here, she would want everyone to stay until the end of the evening. He mentioned that Essie had told him she wanted the Christmas Ball to be her thank-you to the Lake Eden community for enriching her life and giving her a home she loved.

  A few people left after the mayor’s speech, but most of the guests stayed. The orchestra began to play again, the cakes were sliced and served, and conversations began to start once again. Some couples began to dance to the music that the orchestra was playing, and gradually, more people filled the dance floor. It wasn’t an entirely normal revelry, the way more large parties in Lake Eden were, but it was no longer hushed and somber.

  Andrea sat with her cell phone out on the table. Delores, Annie, and Grandma Knudson had followed Essie to the hospital. Hannah knew that all three of them would be sitting in the small lobby outside the operating rooms, waiting for word about Essie’s condition. Delores had promised to call Andrea the minute there was any news. She had already called once to say that Essie was still in surgery and so far things were going well.

  “Drink your champagne,” Andrea insisted, gesturing toward the glass that Mayor Bascomb, himself, had carried to Hannah. “One glass won’t hurt you and maybe you’ll stop shaking.”

  Hannah took a sip even though she didn’t feel at all like celebrating anything. Champagne was for special occasions like weddings, engagement parties, milestone birthdays, and New Year’s Eve. It was not for nights when someone you respected and had come to love had been almost killed by a bullet from a stranger’s gun.

  Andrea’s cell phone rang and she answered it immediately. Everyone close to her was watching and they all looked hopeful as Andrea ended the call and walked toward the microphone.

  “That was Mother,” Andrea reported. “Essie is out of surgery and her prognosis is good. She’s still unconscious, but Doc Knight told me that was to be expected because the second bullet grazed her head. Essie’s vital signs are good and they’re waiting for he
r to regain consciousness in the recovery room at the hospital.”

  It was good news and spontaneous applause broke out as Andrea walked back to her table. People began to smile, but Hannah wasn’t quite ready to smile yet. She’d seen Doc’s worried expression as they’d taken Essie down to ground level in her wheelchair, and she suspected that he had been putting the very best spin on things for Andrea and the Christmas Ball guests.

  Cliff approached the table and Hannah managed to smile at him. Once he’d realized what was happening, Cliff had set the Christmas tree cake on a vacant table and rushed to see if Sheriff Grant or Bill had needed his assistance.

  “Julia and I are going to leave now,” Cliff told her. “Will you have lunch with me at Hal and Rose’s café sometime next week?”

  “Sure. That would be nice.”

  “Great. If it’s okay with you, I’ll invite Julia to join us so that you can get a chance to talk to her.”

  “That’s fine with me,” Hannah said quickly.

  “Good. One other thing, Hannah. Julia said that your Ultimate Lemon Bundt Cake was the best she’d ever tasted.”

  “What did you think of it?”

  “I liked it a lot, but personally, I loved your Ultimate Christmas Bundt Cake even more.”

  “Thanks, Cliff. And thanks for being here to help me tonight.”

  “No problem. I’ll call you when I set a time for lunch.”

  Cliff walked off and Andrea gave Hannah an assessing look. “Do you think you might be . . . interested in Cliff?”

  Hannah thought about that for a moment. “Cliff’s a friend. I think that’s it, Andrea. And he already has someone he’s dating. I know you like Cliff and I hope you’re not too disappointed.”

  “I’m not. You have to find somebody that’s right for you.”

  “Like you did?” Michelle asked her.

  Andrea smiled. “Yes, exactly like I did.”

  “You met Bill when you were a junior in high school. Do you think I should start looking?” Michelle asked.

  “Not yet,” Andrea answered quickly. “You have to go to college. If the time is right, you’ll meet someone there.”

  “But you didn’t go to college,” Lisa pointed out.

  “That’s true, but I didn’t want to go to college. And the moment I met Bill, I knew that he was the one.”

  “How about you, Hannah?” Lisa turned to her. “Did you meet someone in high school that you thought might be the one for you?”

  “Not me,” Hannah answered quite truthfully.

  As the conversation between Andrea, Lisa, and Michelle went on, Hannah realized that she’d told the truth. She wanted a man in her life . . . eventually. But right now she was content with her new business, her new condo, and her family in Lake Eden. The future might bring other choices for her, but for right now, she was content.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Hannah felt a sense of foreboding as she drove to Lake Eden Memorial Hospital. Essie was still in a coma and Doc Knight wanted to see Hannah. Hannah parked in one of the spots marked for visitors, and opened the outer door to the lobby with hands that were shaking slightly. The trembling in her hands was not from the cold, although it was less than ten degrees above zero. She had no idea why Doc Knight had specifically asked for her.

  She opened the inner door and stepped into the lobby, heading straight for the desk and the volunteer who was sitting there. “Doc Knight called and said that he wanted to see me this morning.”

  “Could I have your name, please?”

  “Hannah Swensen.”

  The volunteer gave Hannah a big smile. “Of course. I saw you at the Christmas Ball and your mother told me that you were going to open a bakery and coffee shop on Main Street.”

  “That’s right.” Hannah was puzzled. It was clear that the volunteer knew Hannah’s mother, but Hannah didn’t recognize her. She looked familiar, but Hannah couldn’t quite place her.

  “I’m Diane Jamison. I went to school with you, but I moved away when we were in the third grade.

  “Diane!” Hannah began to smile, remembering that she’d liked Diane in grade school. “And now you’re back in Lake Eden?”

  “Yes, I married one of Cyril Murphy’s mechanics last year. It’s good to see you again, Hannah.”

  Hannah felt a bit embarrassed. “I’m sorry that I didn’t recognize you, Diane.”

  “That’s okay. I didn’t recognize you either. Hold on a second and I’ll page Doc Knight for you.”

  Hannah and Diane chatted for a few minutes while they waited for Doc Knight. Diane said she’d just signed a contract with the Little Falls School District to teach second grade and Hannah invited her to the opening of The Cookie Jar. They had almost run out of conversation when they spotted Doc Knight coming down the hall.

  “I’m glad you’re back in Lake Eden, Diane,” Hannah told her.

  “Come with me, Hannah,” Doc Knight said, reaching out to take her arm. “I’ll take you to my office, where we can talk.”

  “Essie’s okay, isn’t she?” Hannah asked the moment they entered Doc’s office.

  “She’s still in a coma, but her vitals are good. I have every hope that she’ll come out of this.”

  “Is she still in the recovery room?”

  “No, she’s stable and we moved her to I.C.U. I want to monitor her very closely.”

  “Is there any way that I can see her?”

  “Yes. Normally, we’d only allow family, but since Essie doesn’t have any relatives, I’m allowing certain friends to see her for a limited time. You’re one of them. I’ll take you there in a bit, but I need to talk to you first.”

  Hannah took a relieved breath and nodded. “What is it, Doc?”

  “Essie left a note for you.”

  “But . . . how could she do that? Mother told us that Essie was unconscious when you took her to the hospital. And when she called Andrea, she said that Essie went straight into surgery.”

  “That’s completely correct. Essie left the note in a drawer of her bedside table right before we left for the Christmas Ball. The nurses didn’t find it until this morning.”

  Hannah gave a little gasp. “She wrote it before she went to the ball?” she asked.

  “That’s the logical deduction.”

  “Then she must have known that something awful might happen to her.”

  “Either she knew or she suspected,” Doc Knight corrected her. “And yes, Hannah. I came to the same conclusion.”

  “Essie did say something rather odd when I got to the ballroom and went over to greet her. First she complimented me on all the baking we did. And then she said, Tonight will be a full circle for me, Hannah. Now I won’t have to wait and worry much longer. That scared me, Doc. What do you think Essie meant?”

  Doc Knight looked every bit as puzzled as Hannah had been by Essie’s words. “I don’t know, Hannah.”

  “Do you think she knew that someone was going to try to . . . to kill her?”

  “Some people do seem to know when death is approaching, but that’s usually when they have a terminal disease. One of my patients, an elderly man with lung cancer, told one of my nurses not to change his bed, that he wouldn’t be needing it that night. And he drew his last breath no more than five minutes later.”

  “But Essie wasn’t terminal. Isn’t that right?”

  “That’s right. When she first came to the hospital, I told her that she was malnourished, anemic, and dehydrated. We were taking care of all those problems, including the injuries from her fall. She knew she was healing and that she was feeling much better. I really don’t believe that Essie believed she was dying.”

  “So it must have been the Christmas Ball? Essie believed that she’d die at the Christmas Ball?”

  Doc Knight shrugged. “Perhaps she knew something that we don’t know, some danger she was risking by going to the ball. As I said before, Hannah, I just don’t know what was going through Essie’s mind when she wrote that note. Open it
and read it to me. Maybe then we’ll have a better idea of her mental state.”

  Hannah opened the note and pulled it out of the envelope. She was almost afraid to read what was written there in Essie’s fine, spidery hand, but her curiosity prompted her to read it.

  “Dear Hannah,” she read aloud. “Thank you for being my friend and making the Christmas Ball happen again. And please thank your mother and Annie and Grandma Knudson for me. I believe that this is the end of this long journey for me. Please find the beaded purse that I carried to the Christmas Ball. One of my nurses took me on a tour of the kitchen and while she was talking to your sister and Lisa, I hid it in an empty drawer. Please go there to get it and give it to Annie at the Children’s Home. She can use it to help the children. Now is my chance to get rid of the evil that took my baby from me. Once he kills me, he’ll stop looking for my baby. That’s all I ever wanted. Please remember me with kindness, Hannah. And help me to thank the people of Lake Eden for giving me a safe place to live out my life.”

  Tears came to her eyes and Hannah brushed them away. “I don’t understand, Doc. What was she talking about? Essie didn’t have a baby, did she?”

  Doc Knight shook his head. “Not that I know of. I do know that she didn’t have any children with Alton. I started as an intern in Lake Eden right before she married him.”

  “Then it must have been before that. Or . . . in another place.” Hannah thought back to the notebooks that Essie had written and the story about the young pregnant woman on the train. “Did Dr. Kalick keep any records of his patients?”

  “He kept meticulous records. They’re all in the basement of the hospital. Would you like to go through them?”

  “Yes, I have to figure this out, Doc. I need to know what Essie meant. All this is a puzzle and I have to solve it for her.”

  * * *

  Hannah climbed the steps to the second floor ballroom. She’d borrowed the key from Rose at the café, claiming that she’d forgotten several platters in the hotel kitchen. She could have gotten the key from Delores, but her mother had gone out to the mall and Hannah hadn’t wanted to wait until Delores came back home.