Christmas Caramel Murder

by Joanne Fluke

Bake the muffins in a 375 F. degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes. (The tea-bread should bake from 5 to 10 minutes longer than the muffins, but test it with a cake tester or long toothpick when your muffins are done. Insert the tester in the center of the loaf. If your tester comes out clean, your tea-bread is done.)

  When your muffins are baked, take them out of the oven and set the muffin pan on a wire rack or a cold stovetop burner to cool for at least 30 minutes. (The muffins need to cool in the pan for easy removal.) Then just tip them out of the cups, or lift them out by the edges of the cupcake papers. Serve with salted butter for those who want it, and enjoy.

  These muffins are wonderful when they’re slightly warm, but the raspberry flavor will intensify if you store them in a covered container overnight.

  Yield: 12 delicious muffins with a little batter left over for several more muffins or a small loaf of tea-bread.

  Chapter Twelve

  “Do you have a couple of minutes to talk?” Hannah asked, handing the muffins to Danielle.

  “Normally, no. I usually have a private class right after the one that just ended, but it’s cancelled for today.” Danielle looked down at the bag. “Whatever is in here smells divine! What did you bring, Hannah?”

  “Red Raspberry Muffins. Michelle made them for breakfast this morning.”

  “I love raspberries! Let’s go in the kitchen. I’ll put on the coffee and then we can talk.”

  Several minutes later, Hannah was seated at Danielle’s kitchen table, holding a cup of French roast coffee. “You make good coffee, Danielle.”

  “It’s the coffeemaker and the pods, but thank you. I’m getting better in the kitchen, but I’m afraid I’ll never be a really good cook. And I’d never be able to make anything as luscious as these muffins!”

  “I’ll tell Michelle that you like them.”

  “Good!” Danielle took another bite and smiled. “Heavenly! Now I’m almost glad that Bonnie cancelled her class this morning.”

  “Bonnie?”

  “Bonnie Surma. She’s taking private lessons from me to learn some dance routines that she can use with the Jordan High cheerleaders.”

  Hannah knew that she must have looked completely puzzled, because Danielle went on to explain.

  “Bonnie used to coach the cheerleaders ten years or so ago. That was about the time that you were in high school, wasn’t it, Hannah?”

  “Yes, it was. But I don’t remember that.”

  “Were you a cheerleader?”

  “Heavens, no! Andrea was the one who went to the try-outs, not me. I never was very athletic.”

  “Then that’s probably why you didn’t know that Bonnie was coaching the cheerleaders.”

  “I remember that Bonnie was always at the school for one thing or another. She did a lot of things there, but I never knew that she was involved with the cheerleaders.”

  “Well, she was. Boyd told me that she had classes for the cheerleaders in the gym after school on Mondays and Wednesdays. Bonnie was a head cheerleader in college and she taught the girls all the cheers she remembered. It was part of her volunteer work. She’s always been very active with the school, and in the community, too.”

  “I know,” Hannah said with a smile. “Bonnie belongs to as many clubs as my mother does. And that’s a whole lot!”

  “To tell the truth, I don’t know how Bonnie does it. She never backs down when they ask her to do something, and she’s on the board of almost every charity. She’s very active with the children’s home, and she even volunteers at the senior center.”

  Hannah’s mind was spinning so fast at this new information, she wasn’t quite sure what to ask next. But that didn’t matter because Danielle began to elaborate.

  “I think that’s one of the reasons why Bonnie cancelled her class today. She must be very upset about what happened to Phyllis Bates. Phyllis was one of Bonnie’s cheerleaders, and Bonnie worked very hard to turn Phyllis’s life around. Bonnie and Gil never had children and Phyllis was like a daughter to Bonnie. She took Phyllis shopping for the right kind of clothes, gave her advice on everything from schoolwork to dating, and picked her up for church every Sunday.”

  “Bonnie told you all that?”

  “Yes. Bonnie’s a fascinating woman, a real do-gooder, and I mean that in a positive way. She said that Phyllis was heading down the wrong path when she was in junior high, flirting with the older boys and wearing clothes that were too provocative. Bonnie just knew that Phyllis would get into trouble if she didn’t change her ways, so she took Phyllis under her wing.”

  “By encouraging Phyllis to try out for the junior varsity cheerleading squad?” Hannah guessed.

  “That’s right. Bonnie said she did her best to teach Phyllis how to be a lady and maintain good grades and good moral values. And Bonnie was proud that her effort had worked. Phyllis gained self-confidence and began to date a really nice senior boy.”

  “Herb Beeseman,” Hannah said.

  “Yes. Bonnie said that Herb was a very good influence on Phyllis. Phyllis had never dated such a nice boy before. And then Phyllis’s mother moved to Minneapolis, and Bonnie lost touch with Phyllis.”

  Hannah was beginning to see the whole picture. “And Bonnie didn’t know what had happened to Phyllis until Mayor Bascomb hired her and Phyllis moved back here to Lake Eden?”

  “Exactly. It just about killed Bonnie when she heard that Phyllis was involved with Mayor Bascomb. She didn’t want to believe it at first. Phyllis was Bonnie’s big success story, and she was doing everything that Bonnie had taught her not to do.”

  “Bonnie must have been terribly disappointed in Phyllis.”

  “Oh, she was. And Bonnie didn’t know what she could do about it. She was desolate, Hannah, and horribly depressed. I’ve known Bonnie for quite a while now, and I’ve never seen her so upset.”

  Hannah felt a chill run through her. “Did Bonnie try to talk to Phyllis, to set her back on the right track again?”

  “Bonnie was going to do exactly that, but before she had the chance, the mayor broke it off with Phyllis and reassigned her to Herb’s office. Bonnie was sure that Herb would have a good influence on Phyllis, now that he was married and all, and everyone in town knew that he was in love with his wife.”

  Hannah asked the question again, just to be sure. “So Bonnie never talked to Phyllis about her . . . behavior with the mayor?”

  “I don’t think so. She would have told me if she had. And then the mayor appointed Phyllis as Mrs. Claus, and that changed everything for Bonnie. I talked to her on the phone right after I heard about it, and Bonnie said she thought that playing Mrs. Claus might be a turning point for Phyllis. She said she hoped that playing a sweet, kind woman on stage would have a real positive effect. Bonnie said that we learn by doing and she hoped that Phyllis would learn from the experience.”

  “I . . . see,” Hannah said, scenes from the rehearsal she’d seen flashing through her mind. Phyllis’s inappropriate costume, the way she’d kissed Herb, and the fact that Bonnie had been sitting next to Tory Bascomb and watching the whole thing.

  “Poor Bonnie!” Danielle said with a sigh. “My heart goes out to her, especially now that she’s so sick.”

  That got Hannah’s attention. “Bonnie’s sick?” she asked.

  “Yes. That’s why she cancelled her private lesson today. Bonnie caught a terrible cold and she’s running a fever. She’s blaming it all on the fact that she has holes in her boots and she got her feet wet in the snow. Bonnie’s very frugal and she patched the holes with duct tape, but she admitted that it didn’t work very well and she was avoiding deep snow.”

  “I’m sorry Bonnie’s sick,” Hannah said, hoping to keep the conversation going.

  “So am I. Bonnie told me that it’s just a cold, but I think it might be something more serious than that.”

  “Why do you think that?”

  “Because doctors don’t usually prescribe antibiotics for a common cold, and Bonnie told me that Doc Knig
ht put her on antibiotics. My guess is that Bonnie got run down worrying about Phyllis and her immune system couldn’t fight off the bug she got. Now she’s not only sick, she’s also grieving for Phyllis because she never got the opportunity to talk to her and try to help her.”

  Or did she get that opportunity? Hannah’s mind asked the question, but this wasn’t the time to say it out loud. She’d consider it later, after she was alone and could think clearly.

  “Thanks for telling me, Danielle,” Hannah said, getting to her feet. “I’ll drop in on Bonnie later to bring her some soup or something. Do you know if she’s home?”

  “I don’t know for sure, but I think she probably is. She sounded awful when she called me this morning, and I really doubt that she left the house. When you see her, please give her my best and tell her I said to get well in a hurry.”

  * * *

  Hannah was thoughtful as she walked down the long staircase. Her mind was churning with unanswered questions. When she got down to the outside door, she stopped and drew her murder book out of her purse. She turned to the suspects page and was about to write down Bonnie Surma’s name when she remembered that she had done the very same thing before.

  “Not now,” Hannah said out loud. She wouldn’t think about her father, and the dreams she’d had, and anything else right now. She jotted down Bonnie’s name, thrust her murder book back in her purse, and pulled open the outside door.

  Hannah thought about Bonnie and Phyllis all the way back to The Cookie Jar. When she got there, she was glad to see that the kitchen was deserted and everyone was out in front, waiting on customers. She needed time to think. And she needed time to devise a way to get Bonnie to tell her what she knew.

  Even though Hannah didn’t think that Bonnie had murdered her former protégé, she couldn’t dismiss that possibility. The Ghost of Christmas Present had shown her an image of what she’d written in her murder book. She had been unable to read it, but she was fast becoming convinced that it had been Bonnie’s name.

  Hannah thought back to her first visitation, the one from the Ghost of Christmas Past. Bonnie had been sitting on a stool at the bar in the Corner Tavern when Hannah had walked in. When the stool next to Hannah had become vacant, Bonnie had moved to join her and Hannah had looked over to make sure that Bonnie hadn’t left any of her belongings behind.

  “Shoes!” Hannah said aloud, remembering that Bonnie had been wearing bright red tennis shoes and gray and orange argyle socks. The socks were Gil’s. Hannah was sure of it. Gil Surma had always been fond of argyle socks, and he wore them to school every day. Red shoes with a pair of her husband’s gray and orange socks was an odd combination for Bonnie. She was someone who normally dressed conservatively. Bonnie’s tennis shoes hadn’t looked wet, and there had been no puddles of moisture in the sawdust on the floor. Had Bonnie worn her damaged boots inside the Corner Tavern and changed to her tennis shoes when she’d hung up her coat? And had the only dry socks in her car been a pair of Gil’s?

  Hannah jotted a note. Where were Bonnie’s boots? Were they still on the boot rack at the Corner Tavern? There was only one way to find out, and Hannah was just getting up from her stool at the workstation when Michelle came into the kitchen.

  “Hi, Hannah. I didn’t hear you come in. Did Danielle like the muffins?”

  “She loved them. She was going to save one for Benton, but I’m not placing any bets that he’ll actually get it.”

  Michelle laughed. “Did you find out what you needed to know?”

  “I’m not sure. About the only thing I know for sure is that Bonnie Surma is sick. Danielle told me that. I thought it might be nice to take her something to cheer her up. What do we have that might be good for someone who’s got a terrible cold?”

  “Janelle’s Chicken Soup,” Michelle answered immediately. “I made a pot the last time I was here at The Cookie Jar, and I stuck some in the freezer. I’ll get it out and thaw it for you.”

  “Perfect. Thanks, Michelle.”

  “Take some Butterscotch Crunch Fudge, too. Lisa and I made it while you were at Danielle’s dance studio. It’s in the cooler and it should be ready to cut by now. It’s delicious, and Bonne’s bound to like that. I’d give you one of the Cashew Candy Rolls we made for the opening night of the play, but they’re not hard enough to cut yet.”

  “That’s okay. I’m sure Bonnie will love the soup and the Butterscotch Crunch Candy.”

  “The recipe for the candy is on the counter. Take it with you if Bonnie wants to know the ingredients. I’ll pack everything up for you right now.”

  “Okay. I’m running out to the Corner Tavern first to check something out. Do you want me to bring some food back for your lunch?”

  “Thanks, but no. Lonnie’s coming to pick me up and we’re going down to Hal and Rose’s Café for lunch. I was about to ask you if you wanted to come along.”

  “I haven’t had one of Rose’s roast beef sandwiches in ages. How long do you plan to be there?”

  “An hour if that’s okay with you. That’s how long Lonnie has for lunch. And if Mike can get away to join us, it might be a little longer than that.”

  “An hour’s fine with me, and so is longer. Take all the time you want, Michelle. It’s not like I’m paying you for working here, or anything. I may drop by on my way back from Bonnie’s house if you’re still there. I’ll give you a call on your cell when I leave Bonnie’s.”

  “Okay, Hannah. Don’t forget to stay in touch with Mike. I know he asked you to.”

  “I won’t. And don’t worry, Michelle. I’m just going out to the Corner Tavern and over to Bonnie’s house. I’ll be perfectly fine.”

  BUTTERSCOTCH CRUNCH CANDY

  You do NOT need a candy thermometer to make this candy.

  half of a 15-ounce bag of salted stick pretzels (the thin stick kind—I used Snyder’s)

  14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk (I used Eagle Brand—do NOT use evaporated milk)

  ¼ teaspoon salt

  2 cups (12 ounces) butterscotch chips (I use Nestle)

  Hannah’s 1st Note: you can make this candy in a heavy saucepan on the stove over MEDIUM heat or in a large, microwave-safe bowl in the microwave on HIGH. Either will work just fine.

  Put the pretzels into a bowl and break them into pieces. You don’t have to be exact, but try to make sure each pretzel is broken into at least 4 pieces.

  Hannah’s 2nd Note: When Lisa and I make this candy at The Cookie Jar, we put the pretzels in a large, sealable, plastic bag and crush them up with a rolling pin until there are no large pieces left.

  Prepare an 8-inch square brownie pan by lining it with a piece of heavy-duty foil that is large enough to stick up at least two inches above the sides of your pan. You will use these “ears” of foil to lift out your candy after it has cooled and hardened.

  Spray the inside of the foil with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray.

  Open the can of sweetened, condensed milk and pour it into another microwave-safe bowl.

  Sprinkle the salt on top of the sweetened condensed milk.

  Place the 2 cups of butterscotch chips on the top.

  Stir everything up with a heat-resistant rubber spatula.

  Set aside your spatula and microwave the contents of the bowl on HIGH for 2 minutes.

  Let the bowl and its contents sit inside the microwave for 1 minute to cool.

  Stir the contents of the bowl with your heat-resistant spatula to see if the chips are melted. If you can stir the mixture smooth, you’re ready to complete your candy. If you can’t stir the mixture smooth, microwave it on HIGH in 20-second increments followed by a 1-minute standing time until you can stir it smooth.

  Quickly add your broken pieces of pretzels to the mixture in your bowl and stir them in.

  Spread your Butterscotch Crunch Candy out in your prepared pan. Smooth it out on top with your heat-resistant spatula.

  Hannah’s 3rd Note: This is going to look lumpy. That’s because of the pret
zels.

  Place the pan in the refrigerator, uncovered, for at least 2 hours.

  Take the pan from the refrigerator, lift out the foil with the candy inside, and peel off the foil.

  Cut your Butterscotch Crunch Candy into fudge-sized pieces.

  Store the pieces in a covered container in the refrigerator.

  Take the container out approximately 20 minutes before you want to serve your Butterscotch Crunch Candy.

  Yield: 2 to 3 dozen pieces of delicious candy that both adults and children will love. The number of pieces depends, of course, on how large you cut them.

  CASHEW CANDY ROLLS

  Hannah’s 1st Note: You do NOT need a candy thermometer to make this candy.

  14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated milk)

  3 cups white baking chips (18 ounces—see Hannah’s 2nd Note)

  1 teaspoon salted butter

  1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  ¼ teaspoon salt

  1 and 1/2 cups roughly chopped salted cashews (measure AFTER chopping)

  Hannah’s 2nd Note: If you use Ghirardelli chips, that’s one 11-ounce bag and a little more than half of another. If you use Nestle Chips, that’s one 12-ounce bag and half of another.

  If you haven’t already done so, chop the salted cashews into pieces about the size of coarse gravel. Then measure out one and a half cups. (Cashews are easy to chop if you have a food processor and use the steel blade in an on-and-off motion, but a knife and a chopping board will work just fine.)