Cream Puff Murder

by Joanne Fluke

  The inside of her windshield was beginning to fog up, and Hannah opened her window a crack. There was a delightful scent in the air, a sugary, chocolaty scent with undertones of cinnamon and maple that set her mouth watering and her mind flipping through the sweet possibilities. She knew this scent. She’d smelled it before. But where?

  When speculation didn’t lead to an answer, Hannah zipped her knee-length jacket and stepped out of her truck. She started to the right, but the scent faded. It was something to her left, and she was going to find it!

  When she walked around the corner of the building, she encountered the back doors of several closed shops. There was no way Bianco’s could be the origin of this delightful scent. It was an Italian shoe store, and it smelled of leather and packing material. The next store was an upscale kitchen boutique. Unless they were doing a cooking demonstration, which was unlikely since there were no other cars in the parking lot, it couldn’t be coming from there either.

  Hannah walked on until she came to a likely prospect. It was a small space that had previously belonged to a flower shop. It had changed hands and the new name was stenciled on the door. It read, DORO’S DOUGHNUTS, in thick gold script, and Hannah had all she could do not to knock on the door and demand entrance.

  “Hannah?” A voice called her name, and Hannah turned to see Andrea. “You’re not going in there, are you?”

  Hannah stepped away from the door. “Of course not. I just smelled the doughnuts and wondered where they were.”

  “Good thing I got here when I did,” Andrea said. “How did you do on your diet yesterday?”

  “I had a small glass of orange juice, two scrambled eggs, and a piece of whole wheat toast for breakfast.”

  “That sounds good. Did you scramble the eggs in butter?”

  “No, I used a nonstick cooking spray. They couldn’t have had many calories. They were perfectly tasteless.”

  “Excellent.” Andrea favored her with a smile. “How about the toast? Did you butter it?”

  “Absolutely not,” Hannah said, grateful that Andrea hadn’t asked about the jar of apricot jam on the top shelf of her refrigerator.

  “How about lunch?”

  “I’d love to, thanks,” Hannah quipped, but she sobered when Andrea frowned at her. “I had a green salad with two tablespoons of diet dressing on it. I did have a cookie for dessert, though. Lisa wanted me to try a new recipe, and I baked a quarter batch at home. Her cousin Tiffany sent it to her.”

  “What kind of cookie was it?”

  “They’re called Pistachio Winks, and they’re really good. We’re going to bake them today and try them out on our customers.”

  “I’ll have to try one when I come in later. I just love pistachios. But I’m getting sidetracked here. You only had one cookie for lunch, right?”

  “That’s right.” Hannah decided not to mention the fact that she’d eaten several more cookies for an afternoon snack, along with a bowl of vanilla ice cream, just to see if the combination would work.

  “How about dinner?”

  “Sausage,” Hannah said, leaving it at that. She’d been thinking about her missed opportunity at Bertanelli’s and how she deserved a last meal before starting her new exercise regime. She’d sworn Ellie to secrecy over the phone, and she’d picked up a double order of garlic bread and a supreme pizza with everything on it to take back to her condo for dinner.

  “Did you have any potatoes or rice with the sausage?”

  “Of course not. I know better than that.”

  “And you know that a dieter’s biggest downfall is late night snacking?”

  Hannah could testify to that. She’d eaten every one of the candy bars she’d been saving to make Brownies Plus.

  “Well,” Andrea turned to smile at her, “you didn’t do badly except for the cookie. I really think diet and exercise is going to work for you, as long as you stick to it.”

  “Me, too,” Hannah said, hoping she could stick to it.

  “Let’s go and I’ll show you your exercise routine.” Andrea pulled Hannah across the parking lot toward the back door of Heavenly Bodies. “Roger and I worked it out for you. We worked out one for Bill, too. He promised me he’s going to go in early and work out in the sheriff’s department gym every morning.”

  Hannah nodded, but she had her doubts. Bill had once confessed to her that he liked to exercise about as much as Hannah did. Both of them had agreed that rowing on a river or riding on a bike path might be enjoyable, but performing the same activity on a stationary machine while staring at a cinderblock wall was about as boring as it got.

  “Here we go,” Andrea said, marching up to the door. She punched in some numbers on the keypad, inserted her key card in the slot, and opened the door to what Hannah had always thought of as a torture chamber.

  “You have to do the keypad and the key card?” Hannah asked, stepping into the hallway that led to another door.

  “Yes. That way if someone steals your key card, they can’t use it unless they know your personal code.”

  “It’s just like a bank machine. You need your P.I.N. and your card to make it work. Does it keep track of when people come and go?”

  “It’s not that sophisticated,” Andrea told her. “Bill says that kind of setup would cost a lot more. The owner probably thought he didn’t need it since he’s got mall security and cameras on the entrances and exits.”

  The first thing Hannah noticed when she stepped inside the inner door was the scent of oranges. The fragrance had the distinctive artificiality of room freshener, and Hannah suspected plug-in dispensers at strategic points throughout the spa. There was another scent under the citrus bouquet, a combination of damp towels, sweat, and chlorinated water. “There must be a pool,” she commented.

  “Two. There’s a lap pool that runs the length of one wall. That’s for the serious swimmers. And there’s another pool for hydrotherapy and aquatic gymnastics. There’s a sauna, too. It’s coed so you have to wear a suit.” Andrea stopped and the corners of her mouth turned up. “Unless, of course, you come in at three in the morning with your husband, and there’s no one else here.”

  Hannah’s mouth dropped open. She couldn’t help it. “You didn’t!”

  “Not me. You know Bill. He’s not that daring, especially now that he’s sheriff. Just think of the headlines in the Lake Eden Journal!”

  “THE NAKED TRUTH ABOUT COUNTY LAW ENFORCEMENT,” Hannah said with a grin. “SHERIFF TODD EXPOSES THE BARE FACTS.”

  Andrea laughed as she flicked on the lights. “Bill would never even consider doing anything like that, but I can’t say the same about the rest of the members. I’ve heard some pretty racy rumors about a couple of them.”

  “Ronni Ward?”

  “Her name was mentioned. And that’s one of the reasons Bill is going to phase out her job at the sheriff’s department. But she’s not the only one.”

  “Who else?” Hannah asked, following Andrea to a dressing room with the word WOMEN painted on the door. The door across the hall from it read MEN, and Hannah was slightly disappointed. She’d expected some designation to go with the name Heavenly Bodies, a pairing like STARLETS and COMETS, or perhaps even VENUS and MARS.

  “Nobody’s really naming names, at least not to me,” Andrea went on with her explanation. “I think that’s because I’m the sheriff’s wife.”

  Andrea sounded a bit disappointed, and Hannah grinned. “Bill’s job is a real handicap?”

  “When it comes to gossip, it is. Nobody tells me anything anymore.” Andrea walked over to a bank of forest-green lockers with bright pink trim. “Put your things in my locker, and let’s get going.”

  Once her purse and jacket were stashed away, Hannah glanced around the dressing room. It was a very attractive place. Hanging plants decorated one mirrored wall, and they were reflected in the mirrors on the opposite wall. Pink-and-white flowers were in abundance, and Hannah turned to her sister. “What are those flowers?” she asked.


  “Begonias. The owner told me they’re perfect for the moisture level in here. See those lights above you?” Andrea pointed up to the bank of florescent lights. “There’s another bank that comes on after hours. They’re grow lights, and begonias just love them.”

  “Very pretty,” Hannah said, following Andrea out of the dressing room.

  “Good morning, ladies,” a male voice greeted them, and Hannah had all she could do not to turn around and rush back into the dressing room. Andrea had assured her they’d be alone, and some guy was standing there smiling at them.

  “Hi, Tad. Meet my sister, Hannah.” Andrea turned to Hannah. “This is Tad Newberg. He’s one of the night security guards.”

  Hannah shook hands with the short, chubby security guard. Tad had what she’d always thought of as a baby face, with round cheeks and freckles. He looked as if he belonged in junior high, but his sandy hair was thinning just a bit on top. He wasn’t as young as he looked, and Hannah was willing to bet he was about her age.

  “Glad to meet you, Hannah,” Tad said.

  “Same here,” Hannah replied.

  “I’ll leave you two to your workouts, then.” Tad turned on his heel and headed for the door. “If you have any problems, just holler,” he called out over his shoulder.

  “Tad’s a nice guy,” Andrea said, unlocking a door with her key. Hannah followed her into a room with stark black machines that looked highly threatening.

  “We’ll start here.” Andrea led the way to something that looked like a bicycle that was fashioned out of the wrong parts. “Just watch me for a while and then you can try it.”

  Oh, goodie! I can hardly wait! Hannah felt like saying sarcastically, but of course she didn’t. Andrea was trying to help her, and she should be more grateful.

  “You put your hands here.” Andrea grasped the handlebars and placed her feet on the pedals. “And your feet here. And then you push back with your feet and pull forward with your arms.”

  “Right,” Hannah said.

  “It’s just like a rocking chair, except that you have to work at it.”

  “Right,” Hannah said again, watching her sister push and pull to glide back and forth. It reminded her a bit of an animal in a zoo, mindlessly repeating the same behavior over and over again, hoping for some reward. Wasn’t there some way to tone up and lose twenty pounds without sacrificing her dignity in the process?

  Andrea hopped off the machine and Hannah noticed that her sister wasn’t even breathing hard. “You try it now. It’s a great way to tone up, and it really stretches your muscles.”

  Hannah had all she could do not to groan as she got into the proper position. The seat was too small, and it didn’t seem to conform to human anatomy. The handlebars were up too high, and she wasn’t sure she could pull herself forward on them. The pedals were set at an awkward height, and she knew her legs would cramp if she spent more than a few minutes riding the infernal contraption.

  “All set?” Andrea asked her.

  Hannah struggled to duplicate her sister’s actions. It had looked easy when Andrea had done it, but her sister’s seemingly effortless glide back and forth took real muscle to accomplish. She told herself that it would get easier once she got used to it, but she didn’t hold out any real hope that would be the case.

  “That’s it. You’ve got it now.”

  Hannah might have replied, but she was panting too hard from her efforts. Not only that, she didn’t trust herself to speak. She’d just glanced at her reflection in the mirrored wall and remembered the time their father had taken the whole family to the circus. They’d all laughed when the baby elephant had ridden a child-size tricycle around the ring, but it didn’t seem that funny at all in retrospect!

  PISTACHIO WINKS

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

  1 cup butter (2 sticks, 1/2 pound)

  3 cups white (granulated) sugar

  4 eggs, beaten (just whip them up in a glass with a fork)

  1/8 cup (2 Tablespoons) molasses

  1 teaspoon salt

  1 teaspoon baking soda

  3 teaspoons vanilla

  2 cups finely chopped pistachio nutmeats

  4 cups flour (pack it down in the measuring cup when you measure it)

  1/2 cup white (granulated) sugar for later

  15 to 30 red or green maraschino cherries cut into quarters

  Melt the butter in a microwave-safe bowl or measuring cup. It’ll take about 90 seconds on HIGH. (You can also melt it in a pan on the stove if you prefer.)

  Pour the butter into a mixing bowl and add the sugar. Mix well and let the mixture cool to room temperature.

  Mix in the beaten eggs. Add the molasses and mix well. (If you spray your Tablespoon measure or your 1/8 cup measure with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray, the molasses won’t stick to it when you measure.)

  Add the salt, baking soda, and vanilla. Stir everything together and then mix in the finely-chopped pistachios.

  Add the flour in one-cup increments, mixing after each addition.

  Form the dough into 1-inch balls with your fingers and place them on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray. Form 12 dough balls for each standard-size cookie sheet.

  Spray the flat bottom of a water glass with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray. Dip the glass in a bowl of white sugar and flatten the balls on the cookie sheet. Dip the glass into the sugar after every ball you flatten.

  Place a quarter cherry in the center of each cookie. Press the cherry down with the tip of your finger.

  Bake the cookies at 350 degrees F. for 10 to 12 minutes. Let the cookies set up on the sheet for one minute, and then remove them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

  Yield: 8 to 10 dozen delicious cookies, depending on cookie size.

  Chapter Three

  “So how was it?” Hannah’s partner, Lisa Herman Beeseman, asked when Hannah came in the back door of The Cookie Jar at a quarter past eight.

  “Not as bad as I thought it would be.” Hannah hung her jacket on the rack by the back door and headed for the minuscule shower enclosure that was attached to the bathroom. “As a matter of fact, it was almost fun once the class started.”

  Lisa looked shocked. “I never thought I’d hear you say that exercise was fun!”

  “I didn’t say fun. I said, almost fun. I’ll take a quick shower and then I’ll set things up in the coffee shop.”

  “It’s all done,” Lisa called after her.

  Hannah stopped in her tracks and turned around to stare. Lisa was diminutive, only five feet tall, and Hannah was willing to bet that she didn’t weigh in at much over a hundred pounds, but her young partner was tireless when it came to getting things done. “You finished the baking and set everything up in the coffee shop?”

  “Yes.”

  “What time did you get here anyway?”

  “Five thirty. Herb had to run out to highway patrol headquarters for an early meeting, and I didn’t feel like sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee alone.”

  “What kind of meeting?”

  “I’ll tell you all about it right after your shower. You’re not going to believe what Mayor Bascomb is thinking about doing now!”

  Hannah made short work of her shower. Lisa’s husband, Herb Beeseman, was their small town’s only law enforcement officer, and he reported directly to the mayor. If anyone knew what Mayor Bascomb was planning to do next, it was Herb.

  When Hannah emerged wearing jeans that she thought might be a wee bit looser in the waist, a mug of strong black coffee was waiting for her at the stainless steel work island. She sat down on a stool, took a huge swallow of coffee, and gave a sigh of contentment. “Okay. Tell me what our esteemed mayor has up his sleeve this time.”

  “Red-light cameras.”

  “On what? There aren’t any stoplights in Lake Eden.”

  Lisa just smiled. “You’re right. There aren’t any…yet.”

&n
bsp; “He’s at it again!” Hannah groaned and put her head in her hands. “Don’t tell me he’s still fixated on putting in a light at the end of Main Street?”

  “No, he’s not.”

  “Well, thank goodness for that!” Hannah took another sip of life-enhancing caffeine, but before she even swallowed, a dreadful thought crossed her mind. “He’s given up the idea of having one at the end of Main Street, but he wants to put one somewhere else?”

  “That’s right.”

  “I’m afraid to ask, but…where?”

  “Third and Main. Remember that traffic survey the varsity baseball team did last summer?”

  Hannah had seen several members of the baseball team, equipped with folding chairs and beach umbrellas, staking out various corners in Lake Eden to count the cars that passed through the intersections. “I remember, but I thought it was just an excuse to pay for their new uniforms from the city budget.”

  “So did everybody else, but it seems Mayor Bascomb had a double agenda. He asked Herb to tally up the results last week, and the most heavily trafficked corner in town is ours.”

  “But we don’t need a stoplight. As far as I know, there’s never been an accident on our corner.”

  “True, but he’s not doing it as a safety measure. Herb says to look at it from his point of view. People are used to driving right through our intersection without stopping. And that means when they put in a stoplight, it’ll take a while for them to get used to it. They’ll drive on through the red light the first couple of times, and the red-light camera will catch them. Then Herb will watch the tapes, issue a ticket to any drivers who run it, and the city will have another source of revenue. That’ll provide more money for our school and all the programs at the Community Center, and Mayor Bascomb will look good.”