Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder

by Joanne Fluke

  Just as Hannah was reaching for the inner door to let herself in, it opened and Bill appeared. “Come on in, Hannah. I was in the office and I saw you pull up.”

  “Hi, Bill,” Hannah greeted him, handing over the plate of toffee.

  “What’s this?”

  “English Toffee. I made it last night. And I brought cookies, too. Do you have time for coffee? I need to talk to you about something.”

  “I’ve got nothing but time. It’s been dead as a doornail all night.” Bill stopped and frowned slightly. “I wonder what that means anyway.”

  “What what means?”

  “‘Dead as a doornail.’ I’ve been saying it all my life and I don’t know what it means.”

  “It dates back to the thirteen hundreds. Shakespeare even used it in Henry IV. Most scholars think it came from clinching a nail.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Driving in a long nail and hammering the end over on the inside, so it can’t be removed. That’s what they used to do before they had screws to lend extra strength to things like doors. The doornails were called ‘dead’ because they were bent and they couldn’t be pulled out and used again.” Hannah stopped talking when she noticed that Bill was staring at her in amazement. “What?” Hannah said.

  “I was just wondering how you know all that.”

  Hannah shrugged. “I read it somewhere and it just stuck in my mind. Things do that sometimes.”

  “Okay, I’ll take your word for it. Go on down to my office and I’ll get you some coffee from the break room. It’s fresher than what’s in the vending machine.”

  “But is it better?” Hannah asked, and then she headed for his office. She’d find out soon enough.

  Hannah walked down the hallway and opened the door with the fake brass plate that said, “William Todd, Detective” in stamped letters designed to look like engraving. She stepped inside the room that was more cubicle than office, and took one of the chairs in front of the desk. Regular deputies had desks in a type of squad room. Each desk was enclosed by chest-high walls that created a feeling of privacy if you were seated. That illusion was quickly shattered by standing up, and deputies practiced what they called the “over the back fence” communication all the time. When you needed to talk to another deputy, you simply stood up, peered over the walls, and shouted.

  When Bill had made detective, one of the perks was an office with real walls, an actual door that locked, and a nonfunctioning window that looked over the guest parking spaces. As she waited, Hannah turned to look out Bill’s window. Her cookie truck was in plain sight, appearing more wine-colored than red in the wash of bluish light from the spotlights mounted on the front of the building. No other “guests” had arrived. Her truck was the only vehicle to break the profile of the flat, white snow stretching across the treeless expanse of county land that ended abruptly at the road.

  Hannah heard footfalls outside in the hallway. It must be Bill with the coffee. She quickly stuck a smile on her face and took a deep breath to steady herself. It wasn’t in her nature to be duplicitous. Most people could tell when she was feeding them a line simply to get information. But Bill had been at work for over five hours already, and he was bound to be tired. Perhaps he wouldn’t tumble to the fact that this was far more than a social call.

  “Look who I found in the break room,” Bill said, stepping in with the coffee. “I told him you brought cookies and he insisted on coming along.”

  Hannah turned, expecting to see Rick Murphy or one of the other deputies she knew, but instead she found herself staring at Mike Kingston. What was he doing here so early? As head detective, he worked regular hours and never drew a double unless there was a big case or…

  “Hi, Mike,” she said, interrupting her own train of thought.

  “Hannah.” Mike took the other chair in front of Bill’s desk and reached out to touch her hand. “You’re up early.”

  “I’m always up early. I have to bake before we open.” Hannah met his friendly blue eyes and fought the urge to lean closer. The man was charismatic, not to mention incredibly attractive. “I didn’t know you worked graveyards.”

  It wasn’t until Mike laughed that Hannah realized she’d made a joke. A homicide detective working graveyards. Very funny. “Sorry about that,” she apologized. “I was just surprised to see you here this time of the morning.”

  “I’m a morning person. I like to come in when it’s quiet and ease into the day. Bill said you wanted to talk to him. I can leave if it’s personal.”

  “No! I mean…it’s not personal at all. It’s theoretical. At least I hope it’s theoretical.” Hannah took a deep breath and went into the speech she’d rehearsed during her drive from the condo.

  “Lisa’s cousin ran away from home, and she’s only fifteen. Her mom thinks she’s bunking in with a friend and she’ll come back when she gets tired of sharing a bathroom, but she asked Lisa what would happen if the girl got picked up by the police.”

  Bill smiled as he reached for a cookie. “That’s easy, Hannah. She’s underage, so the authorities would return her to the custody of her parents.”

  “But what if she won’t tell the authorities who her parents are or where they live?”

  “That makes it a little harder.” Bill handed the sack of cookies to Mike, who took one and passed it back. “Then the authorities will remand her to the custody of Child Protective Services until the parents can be located. What kind of cookies are these, Hannah? They’re great!”

  “Butter-Scotchies. They’re made with butterscotch chips and rolled oats.” Hannah did her best to curb her impatience. She needed more information, and she had to be careful neither man suspected that she was describing Candy and her own situation at The Cookie Jar.

  “These are perfect for breakfast,” Mike said, reaching for another, “especially because they’ve got oatmeal. My mother used to try to get me to eat it every morning, and I would have if she’d baked it in cookies like these.”

  Hannah smiled to acknowledge the compliment, but it was time to get down to business. “Let’s say this runaway turns up right here in Lake Eden, and she refuses to cooperate with you. She won’t give her last name, or her hometown, or even her home state. She claims she’s over eighteen, but she doesn’t look it and she can’t prove it. What steps will you take?”

  “I’ll contact Lisa and tell her to call her aunt. The girl can stay with Lisa and her father until her mother comes to get her.”

  Hannah came close to groaning. Mike was taking her literally. Perhaps she was better off asking Bill. “Okay, forget I mentioned Lisa. I’m curious and I want to go back to the theoretical. Let’s pretend that you don’t know the girl and you don’t know the parents. What will you do, Bill?”

  “After we interview her, we’ll call Child Protective Services to come and get her. They’ll take custody and make sure she’s cared for. Then we’ll concentrate on finding out where she came from.”

  “How will you do that?”

  “We’ll check the missing persons reports,” Mike stepped in, “and compare the picture we took of her to the pictures on file. And we’ll file our own report with her picture, saying we found her and listing anything we know about her. Then we’ll run her prints to see if she’s in the juvie system. If she’s run away from home before, she could be there.”

  “And that’s it?” Hannah asked, gazing at the two men in surprise. “That’s all you’ll do?”

  “That’s all we can do,” Mike corrected her.

  “So she’ll just stay in the Winnetka County Children’s Home until they decide she’s eighteen?”

  Mike shrugged. “That’s the way it happens sometimes. But don’t forget that there’s a reason she ran away from home in the first place. Maybe she’s better off in the county home.”

  Hannah had done volunteer work at the Winnetka County Children’s Home. The children were well cared for and the staff tried their best to make it cheerful, but the old granite building
was an institution, not a real home.

  “Gotta run,” Mike said, standing up and reaching out for Hannah’s hand. “How about Saturday night? Do you want to go have a burger and take in a movie or something?”

  “I’d love to,” Hannah said, glad that her voice hadn’t squeaked, or quavered, or done anything to show how excited she was that he’d asked her for another date.

  “See you at six, then. If you’re ready to leave now, I’ll walk you to the front door.”

  “We’ll both walk her to the front door,” Bill said, getting to his feet. “It’s the least we can do for all those cookies.”

  Hannah felt a little strange as Bill took her left arm and Mike took her right. And she felt even stranger as they walked down the hallway toward the desk at the entrance. If anyone had been waiting in the plastic chairs in the lobby, she might have felt the need to explain that she wasn’t under arrest, that the detective on her left was her brother-in-law and the man on her right was her date for Saturday night.

  BUTTER-SCOTCHIES

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

  1 cup butter (2 sticks, ½ pound—melted)

  1 cup brown sugar

  1 cup white (granulated) sugar

  2 eggs—beaten (just beat them up in a glass with a fork)

  1 teaspoon baking powder

  ½ teaspoon baking soda

  ½ teaspoon salt

  1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  2 cups flour (don’t sift—pack it down in the cup)

  2 cups butterscotch chips (an 11-ounch package will do just fine)

  1 ½ cups rolled oats (uncooked oatmeal—I used

  Quaker’s Quick 1-Minute rolled oats)

  Melt the butter in large microwave-safe bowl. (About 90 seconds on HIGH.) Add the sugars and let it cool a bit. Then add the beaten eggs, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and vanilla extract.

  Mix in the flour and then the butterscotch chips. Add the rolled oats and mix in thoroughly. Let the dough rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes to allow the butter to solidify.

  You can either drop this dough by rounded teaspoon onto a greased cookie sheet, 12 to a sheet, or roll the dough in balls with your hands and place them on the cookie sheet, pushing them down just a bit so they won’t roll off on their way to the oven. (I prefer rolling the dough balls—the cookies turn out nice and round.)

  Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes and then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.

  These freeze really well if you roll them in foil and put them in a freezer bag.

  Yield: This recipe makes approximately 8 to 9 dozen cookies, depending on cookie size.

  Hannah’s Note: Mother’s friend Carrie just loves these when I use one cup of butterscotch chips and one cup of milk chocolate chips.

  Chapter Six

  “Okay, so what’s going on with Lisa’s aunt?”

  “Andrea?”

  “That’s right. Bill just called and told me you brought him some goodies. And while you were there, you told him that Lisa’s cousin ran away from home. Is that true?”

  “Well, actually…”

  “I didn’t think so, especially when Bill said you asked him some questions about underage runaways. So where are you keeping her?”

  Hannah glanced over at Candy, who was helping Lisa transfer several pans of freshly baked cookies to the glass jars they used for display. When the phone had rung at seven-thirty in the morning, she’d answered it assuming that it was her mother. Instead it was Andrea with a mouthful of questions.

  “Right here.” Hannah gave a little sigh. She thought she’d done a fine job of convincing Bill and Mike that her questions were purely theoretical. “Bill’s on to me?”

  “No, Bill’s not on to you. I’m the one who’s on to you. You never could fool me, Hannah.”

  “Not even second-hand?”

  “Not even then. So what gives?”

  Hannah sighed and stretched the phone cord out so that she could step into the coffee shop for more privacy. Even at a young age, Andrea had always known when Hannah was trying to pull the wool over her eyes. At the same time, Andrea was fiercely loyal to her family. If Hannah told her about Candy and asked her to keep it a secret, Andrea wouldn’t say a word to anyone.

  “Two nights ago, a homeless girl broke into my shop to get out of the cold. I left her some food last night and managed to catch her. I told her she could stay here and I promised that I wouldn’t call the cops. I’m pretty sure she ran away from home.”

  “And she’s underage?” Andrea asked.

  “Norman and I both think so.”

  “Norman saw her?”

  “We had a date last night and he helped me catch her.”

  “Some date!”

  Hannah chuckled. “Well, that wasn’t all we did. We went out to dinner first.”

  “Good. At least it wasn’t a total waste. So what are you planning to do with her?”

  “Keep her and try to find her mother. She said her father’s dead and that rang true.”

  “You’re going to try to do it by yourself?”

  “Yes. If I turn her over to the authorities, they’ll just put her in the county home.”

  “That’s true.” Andrea gave a little sigh that smacked of resignation to Hannah. “Okay, I’ll help you. It’s almost like a murder and we already know we’re good at solving those.”

  “How is it like a murder?” Hannah asked, torn between wanting a peek into her sister’s thought processes, and believing that she was better off not knowing.

  “Instead of looking for a killer, we’ll be looking for a mother.”

  “Right,” Hannah said, wishing she hadn’t asked. “Don’t forget that you’re married to a sheriff’s detective and I’m harboring a runaway. Are you sure you want to get involved?”

  “Of course I do! I have to save you from yourself. There’s no way you can get any information because you can’t lie. You’ve never been any good at it.”

  Hannah didn’t bother to deny it, since her sister was right.

  “I, on the other hand, am an expert liar!”

  Again, Hannah was mute. She didn’t want to get into an argument about whether expertise in something that was morally reprehensible should give Andrea bragging rights.

  “Just let me take care of everything. I’ll stop by to see the girl after I get my hair done. And you should watch her around Tracey.”

  “She’s a nice girl, Andrea. She wouldn’t hurt Tracey.”

  “You underestimate me, Hannah. That isn’t why I said you should watch her. If she’s really good with Tracey, it might mean she’s used to being around kids that age. And that might mean she’s got a younger brother or sister.”

  “You’re absolutely right.” Hannah knew it was time to eat a little crow. “Good thinking.”

  “Thank you. I’m good at these things.”

  “You certainly are.” Hannah decided that constituted her last bite of crow. “Don’t forget to be careful what you say when you meet her. You can’t let on that you know she’s a runaway, or she’ll bolt and we’ll never see her again.”

  “Right. What cover story are you going to use about why she’s there at The Cookie Jar?”

  “I haven’t come up with one yet.”

  “Then you should let me do it. I’m better at cover stories than you are. Let’s say she’s Ellen’s youngest sister.”

  “Ellen?”

  “Ellen Wagner, your old college roommate. You introduced me when we drove up for your graduation.”

  “You’re right. I’m surprised you remember her.”

  “I remember the dress more than her. Girls that big shouldn’t wear large prints, especially in bright colors. She came from a big family, didn’t she?”

  “Yes, in North Dakota.”

  “That’ll work. A grain of truth always helps in a cover story. Anyway, Ellen called you and asked you to hire her sister for your busy tim
e over the holidays. And the reason she wanted you to hire her is because…What’s your runaway’s first name? Do you know it?”

  “It’s Candy.”

  “Okay.” Andrea took a deep breath that Hannah could hear over the phone as she picked up the threads of her fabrication again. “Ellen asked you to hire Candy over the holidays because Candy’s boyfriend broke up with her and he started dating her best friend. And Candy couldn’t stand to be in the same small town with them.”

  “That sounds good to me. And it gives us another grain of truth for your cover story.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Everyone in Lake Eden knows I could use some help over the holidays. Lisa and I are so busy, we have to make an appointment with the Kleenex box to sneeze.”

  Baking at The Cookie Jar was a dream come true. Hannah was nice and she said funny things that made Lisa and Candy giggle. Candy hadn’t felt this good since she’d grabbed her things and hit the road, and she found herself smiling as she shaped a pan of Candy Cane Cookies the way Lisa had taught her. It was easy. All you had to do was roll out a spoonful of white dough and another of pink dough, twist the two rolls together, and shape it into a cane with a crook on top.

  “We bake these only nine minutes,” Hannah told her. “Any longer and the white part will turn brown.”