Blackberry Pie Murder (A Hannah Swensen Mystery)

by Fluke, Joanne

  When the time is up, pull the saucepan off the heat and onto a cold burner. Add the butterscotch sauce quickly and stir it in quickly.

  Pour this mixture over the baked crust as evenly as you can.

  Hannah’s Note: When I do this, I pour about 4 lines of hot brickle that run the length of the pan and then turn the pan to pour about 4 lines of hot brickle that run the width of the pan. If your lines of brickle don’t completely cover the crust, spread them out a bit with a heat-resistant rubber spatula. Work quickly before they harden too much. Don’t worry if there are some gaps. They will spread out a little when you bake them in the oven.

  Slide the pan into the oven and bake the bar cookies at 350 degrees F. for another 10 (ten) minutes.

  While the pan of butterscotch brickle is baking, put the butterscotch chips and the chocolate chips in a bowl. Mix them together with your impeccably clean fingers.

  When the time is up, remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle the butterscotch and chocolate chip mixture over the top. Give the chips a minute or two to melt and then spread them out as evenly as you can with a heat-resistant rubber spatula, a wooden paddle, or a frosting knife.

  If you decided to use chopped nuts, sprinkle them on now while the chips are still soft.

  Slip the pan into the refrigerator and chill it thoroughly.

  When the pan has chilled, peel the foil from the cookies and break them into random-sized pieces.

  Yield: A whole cake pan full of yummy treats that are a cross between a cookie and a candy.

  Michelle says that when I make these, it always reminds her of Christmas.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  “Good job, Mother,” Hannah said, glancing at her watch as she parked in front of her mother’s house. It was six-thirty at night and that was less than an hour later than she usually got home from The Cookie Jar.

  “Thank you, dear. I must say, I had a good time today. I can hardly wait to tell Doc all about it!”

  As Hannah watched, the front door of her mother’s house opened and Doc stood there, waiting for Delores. “Doc’s at your house?” Hannah asked, realizing that her mother must have given him a key.

  “Yes, dear. It’s Wednesday and we always stay here on Wednesday nights. It’s my place Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. And his place Tuesday, Thursday, and the weekends.”

  “TMI, Mother.”

  “What is TM . . . whatever those initials were that you just rattled off?”

  “TMI. It stands for Too Much Information. I don’t need to know where you are every night of the week, and I certainly don’t need to know that you’re spending nights with Doc!”

  Delores gave an exasperated sigh. “Doc’s right. I raised a prude.”

  “What?!”

  “Both Doc and I agree that you’d be much happier if you had a fulfilling love life.”

  Hannah’s mouth dropped open and she closed it again with a snap. She took a deep breath and swallowed hard. “Mother!”

  “Don’t Mother me. It’s true.”

  “Maybe it is, but you shouldn’t be telling me that. What are you encouraging? Promiscuity?”

  “Of course not. I just want you to settle down with a man who loves you. And I want you to be as happy as I am.”

  Hannah thought about that for a moment. Actually, she wanted the same thing for herself. The problem was that she seemed incapable of choosing which man it would be. But there was no way she wanted to get into that now, at six-thirty at night, after a long day with her mother. It was best to either ignore it, or make a joke of it.

  “Am I correct in assuming that you’re saying this because you love me and want me to be happy?”

  “You certainly are.”

  “And am I correct to think that Doc also loves me and wants me to be happy?”

  “Of course he does.

  “Then you’re right, Mother,” Hannah said.

  “I am?” Delores was clearly surprised at the admission. She seemed pleased for a moment, but then, as she thought about it, she looked a bit dubious, as if she were waiting for the other shoe to drop.

  “Yes, you’re right,” Hannah said, getting ready to fling the other shoe at the floor. “I want to settle down with a man who loves me and wants me to be happy. And you said Doc loves me and wants me to be happy. Unfortunately . . . Doc’s already taken.”

  Hannah pulled into her garage at seven o’clock on the dot. She’d shared a good laugh with her mother and Doc, and her long day was almost over. Michelle was here and Lonnie’s car was parked in her second space. Obviously, Lonnie had brought Michelle home from The Cookie Jar and they were both waiting for her upstairs. Perhaps they’d even have food. That would be wonderful. Delores had decided that she wanted to drive straight home to Lake Eden and not stop to eat on the way. That meant Hannah hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast and she was as starved as a bear after a long winter’s hibernation.

  When she’d locked the loaner car and climbed the steps to ground level, Hannah glanced at the visitor’s parking lot. It was full and that was unusual for seven o’clock on a weekday night. She didn’t really look at the individual cars until she noticed a Hummer parked illegally on the ring road that ran around the pond. Only one person parked there if Hannah’s parking spots were taken. And that was because the guard at the gate knew his car and wouldn’t call it in. Mike was here.

  Hannah turned and her eyes scanned the cars in the visitor’s lot. Yes, Norman was here. And so was Andrea. It seemed it was company night again, and she’d been planning to have a bite to eat with a glass of wine, and then relax on the couch in front of the television with Moishe purring in her lap.

  How much did her legs weigh anyway? Hannah thought about that as she climbed the stairs. Weren’t people’s legs supposed to be a quarter of their weight, or something like that? But that didn’t make sense. Then her legs would weigh . . . no, she didn’t want to think about dividing how much she weighed by any percentage at all. If she did that, she’d have to recall what she’d weighed the last time she’d stepped on the scale, and that was a three-digit figure she’d rather forget. Her legs weighed a lot, though. With each step she climbed, they seemed heavier and heavier. She knew that was probably because she was dreading the thought of acting bright and cheerful for company. Although they were her best friends and dearest family members, and she loved each and every one of them, she truly didn’t feel like putting on a happy face when she was so utterly exhausted.

  There’s nothing for it but to do it, Hannah repeated one of her great-grandmother Elsa’s favorite sayings in her mind. She forced a smile on her lips and told herself to Always look on the bright side, another one of her great-grandmother’s favorite sayings. They would have eaten already and saved her some leftovers. And Andrea certainly couldn’t finish a whole jug of wine by herself . . . or could she?

  As she neared the door of her condo, Hannah could hear voices and laughter coming from inside. She stopped at the door and raised her hand to knock. Then she dropped her arm to her side again, feeling rather foolish about what she had been about to do. It was her condo. She owned it. She didn’t have to knock on her own door!

  Just then the door opened and Michelle stood there looking as cute as a button in white shorts and a royal blue top. “Hi, Hannah. I thought I heard you coming up the stairs. Kick off your shoes and go make yourself comfortable on the couch while I pour a glass of wine for you. We’ve got food, too. I came back here at noon and put dinner in the Crock-Pot and Andrea brought her new whippersnapper cookies. They’re really, really good.”

  Hannah walked in and greeted everyone with a smile. Then she went straight to her spot on the couch and sat down. Her earlier ruminations seemed silly in retrospect.

  As usual, Hannah was the filling in a Mike and Norman sandwich, sitting between them on the middle cushion, but tonight she didn’t mind at all. It might have had something to do with the fact that Norman started rubbing the kinks out of her neck while Mike spread som
e of his Busy Day Pate on a cracker for her. Michelle came in to hand her a chilled glass of wine and a full plate of food, and Hannah felt her spirits rise from the soles of her feet all the way up to the ceiling. She had thought she was bone-tired, but now she was beginning to feel happy and full of energy. What a great welcome! It was wonderful to be home with the people who loved you. As the conversation flowed around her and she ate Michelle’s excellent dinner, she felt renewed and refreshed.

  “Try my new cookies, Hannah,” Andrea urged her. “They’re called Golden Raisin Whippersnappers and I really like them.”

  Hannah’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “But you don’t like raisins.”

  “I know, but I like these cookies. I think it’s the golden raisins. It’s the brown ones I don’t really like.”

  Hannah reached for a cookie and took a bite, chewing and swallowing quickly. “These are great, Andrea! They’re as light as air and they have just the right amount of sweetness. Is that cinnamon I taste?”

  “Yes. It’s in the powdered sugar I used when I coated them. I figured cinnamon went with raisins.”

  “Oh, it does,” Michelle jumped into the conversation. “And everybody who had one at the coffee shop thought so, too. Andrea brought them in for us to try, and they were a huge hit.”

  “Then we’ll add them to the menu,” Hannah promised, making an executive decision that she knew would please her sister.

  “Do we have to leave some for Bill, or can I have another couple of cookies?” Mike asked Andrea.

  “Help yourself,” Andrea answered. “You don’t have to leave any for him.”

  Hannah came close to groaning. It seemed the ongoing feud was still going on. And the longer it lasted, the more difficult it would be to resolve.

  “Still mad at him?” Mike asked.

  “Yes, but I left two dozen on the kitchen counter for him when I left this morning. And I left another two dozen for Grandma McCann and the girls.”

  Hannah breathed a breath of relief. Andrea might not know it yet, but the feud was nearing its demise. If Andrea was leaving cookies for Bill, it wouldn’t last much longer.

  “Are you rested enough to tell us what happened in the Cities today?” Andrea asked. “I don’t want to rush you, but my curiosity is killing me.”

  “Let me get you another glass of wine first,” Mike said to Hannah. “How about you, Andrea? Do you want a refill?”

  “Yes. I just love this wine, but make it only half a glass, please. I promised Tracey I’d be home by eight so we could read a chapter in her new book before bedtime.”

  “I’ll get it,” Michelle said, jumping to her feet before Mike could even get up from the couch. This made Hannah smile. Michelle knew Mike would probably grab the jug and bring it into the living room, never suspecting that they were keeping the brand, price, and source of Andrea’s favorite wine a secret from her.

  When the coffee cups and glasses were filled, or half-filled in Andrea’s case, Hannah told her story. She made it entertaining, but she also gave them the facts they’d learned from Starlet.

  “So the upshot was,” she concluded, “Starlet confirmed the rumor that one of Keith Branson’s girls died from a beating. The girl’s name was Sugar, but that was her street name and Starlet didn’t know her real name. She also said that she’d heard that Keith was dead and at first she was glad about that. But then Keith’s girlfriend, Lady Die, had taken over, and she was even worse than Keith had been.”

  Andrea looked shocked at this information. “I didn’t know that they had women pimps.”

  “Oh, yeah,” Mike said. “Sometimes the women are even tougher on the girls than the men.”

  “Starlet said the word on the street was that Lady Die was in the hotel room with Keith when he beat up on Sugar. Starlet said she heard that Lady Die was the one who beat her so badly, she died.”

  Norman just sighed and shook his head. “It’s a terrible life for these girls. And most of them get into it young, before they know what’s really going on. They don’t learn the truth until it’s too late for them to get out.”

  Hannah reached out to squeeze his hand. Norman looked very sad and she knew he was remembering the volunteer work he’d done at the Seattle dental clinic for the unfortunate people who lived on the street.

  “There was only one more thing that Starlet told us and it’s important,” Hannah went on. “She said Keith left last week for some little town because he was chasing a girl who ran away so he could take her back.”

  “Who?” Mike asked.

  “Someone she knew as Honey, but I’m afraid that doesn’t help us much. We don’t even know if Honey passed through Lake Eden. Keith may have just stopped here on his way to somewhere else.”

  “How about the diamond in the tooth?” Norman asked her. “Did Starlet know anything about that?”

  “No. Starlet was relatively new to the street. She said she’d been working for less than a year, and Keith had the diamond in his tooth when she met him.”

  “Where did she meet him?” Mike asked.

  “In her hometown in Wisconsin. She didn’t mention the name of the town, and we didn’t want to press her.”

  “Okay,” Mike said. “How about the ring?”

  “She knew nothing about that. She said she didn’t think that Keith ever wore a ring. I think Doc’s theory is right and that Keith picked it up after the man who fought with him lost it.”

  “Did she say any more about Lady Die?” Lonnie asked.

  “Not really, just that she was really nasty and mean.”

  “I’ll call Stella and give her Lady Die’s name,” Mike said. “Or better yet, I’ll talk to some of the guys I know in Vice.”

  “If you talk to Stella, thank her for me,” Hannah told him. “And . . . ask her if there’s any way she can arrest Starlet for something so that they can bring her into the station. Lady Die sounds dangerous and if she finds out that Starlet talked to us, Starlet could be in big trouble.”

  Mike shook his head. “It’s not going to work, Hannah. Stella’s got enough juice to do it, but she can’t keep Starlet there indefinitely.”

  “I know, but maybe Starlet will tell Stella where she’s from and she can get out of Minneapolis and go back there.”

  “I’ll mention it, but it’s probably not going to happen,” Mike said and he sounded sad and very weary. “You can’t rescue somebody who doesn’t want to be rescued. And it doesn’t sound to me like Starlet wants to go back home quite yet.”

  Hannah thought that over for a moment. Perhaps Mike was right. Starlet had expressed no desire to go back home and she had seemed content to stay on her corner.

  “You did a good job, Hannah,” Norman said, “and so did your mother.”

  “That’s right,” Mike agreed, and Hannah knew he was making a deliberate effort to be upbeat for her benefit. “You can’t save them all, Hannah.”

  “I know. It’s just a shame, that’s all.”

  Mike gave a humorous chuckle. “Why do you think I got out of Vice and became a homicide detective? Murderers are a lot more fun than pimps and prostitutes.”

  They all stared at Mike for a moment and then Hannah burst into laughter. That broke the ice and everyone laughed.

  “I’ve got to go,” Mike said when they’d quieted down. “Hannah’s tired and I’ve got an early day tomorrow.”

  “You’re back at the department?” Andrea asked him, and Hannah noticed that she sounded hopeful.

  “Nope. Your husband’s as stubborn as a mule, but he’ll come around eventually. I’ve just got some loose ends to tie up, that’s all.”

  “And I have to read a whole chapter to Tracey.” Andrea stood up and turned to Mike. “Walk me down to my car?”

  “Sure thing.”

  “Both of us will,” Norman said, rising to his feet. “I’ve got an early day, too.”

  Lonnie glanced at his watch. “So do I, and it starts at midnight. They’ve got me on swing shift tonight.”
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  Once goodbyes were said, the living room emptied out quickly. In the space of a couple of minutes, Michelle and Hannah were the only two left.

  “It’s bedtime for me,” Michelle said, yawning widely. “How about you, Hannah?”

  It had to be true that yawns were contagious because Hannah yawned, too. “I’ll turn in now.” She looked down at the cat who was curled up in her lap. “And I think Moishe has already turned in.”

  There was a sleepy yowl from Moishe as she stood up to follow Michelle down the hall. “Come on, then,” Hannah told him. “I’m so tired tonight, you can probably steal my pillow and I won’t even notice it’s gone.”

  GOLDEN RAISIN WHIPPERSNAPPER COOKIES

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

  For the Cookies:

  ½ cup boiling water

  1 teaspoon brandy extract

  ½ cup golden raisins (Andrea uses golden raisins, but you could use regular raisins if you prefer)

  1 large egg

  2 cups thawed, not frozen Cool Whip (measure this—Andrea said her tub of Cool Whip contained a little over 3 cups.)

  1 package (approximately 18 ounces) spice cake mix (Andrea used Duncan Hines)

  For Rolling Cookie Balls:

  ½ cup powdered (confectioner’s) sugar

  ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

  Either boil the half-cup of water on the stove and then pour it into a microwave-safe bowl OR heat the half-cup of water in a microwave-safe bowl (Andrea used a one-cup Pyrex measuring cup) for 60 seconds on HIGH. This might not be boiling, but it will be hot enough for your purposes.