Lemon Meringue Pie Murder (Hannah Swensen Mysteries)

by Joanne Fluke

  “People underestimate Freddy,” Lisa said, looking rather fierce. “They think he can’t learn new things, but they’re wrong. Janice Cox told me that she taught him to tell time.”

  “That’s good,” Hannah said, turning to look as a car drove up and parked in front of the shop. “There’s Andrea and she’s early. She isn’t supposed to meet Norman here until nine-thirty.”

  Lisa jumped up from her chair. “I’ll go let her in. Just sit there and relax. I know you were up late last night catering that bridal shower.”

  Hannah sat. She was tired. The shower had been a big event, over forty guests. Andrea had been invited, but she’d stayed only long enough to deliver her gift, congratulate the bride-to-be, and give Hannah a message from Mike. Mike was out of town, attending a five-day conference in Des Moines on intervention techniques for youthful offenders. When he hadn’t been able to reach Hannah on the phone, he’d called Andrea to say he was staying over on Sunday night, but he’d be back in Lake Eden at noon on Monday and he’d drop by The Cookie Jar to see her.

  The two sisters hadn’t had time to exchange more than a few words before Andrea had to leave. She’d told Hannah that Bill had turned into a regular mother hen now that she was pregnant. He urged her to rest when she wasn’t tired, he was forever bringing her afghans and pillows she didn’t need, and just recently he’d taken to making her high-energy snacks that played havoc with her prenatal diet.

  “Hi, Hannah.” Andrea breezed in through the door, the picture of chic. She was wearing a light green skirt that swirled gracefully when she walked and a matching hip-length top. There was a turquoise scarf around her waist, a color combination Hannah would never have thought to attempt, and a silver and turquoise pendant around her neck. Andrea’s light blond hair was pulled up in a complicated twist. She could have stepped from the pages of a glossy magazine.

  “You’re looking gorgeous this morning,” Hannah said with only a small stab of envy. Andrea always looked fashionable and Hannah often felt like a frump beside her.

  “Mother called you about Michelle, didn’t she?”

  “Yes, I’m meeting her bus. It’s going to be great having her home.”

  “I know. We haven’t seen her in ages.” Andrea pulled out a chair and sat down. “Why didn’t you call me last night? I left a zillion messages on your answer machine.”

  “I forgot to check it. I didn’t know about Norman’s new house until he called me this morning.”

  Andrea looked disgruntled. “Well, don’t blame me for not telling you. You really need a cell phone, Hannah.”

  “I don’t want a cell phone.”

  “Everyone who’s anyone has one.”

  “Then I guess I’m not anyone. I know it’s the age of technology, but I don’t like the idea of being on an electronic leash.”

  “It’s not like a leash. Anytime you don’t want to answer it, you can just turn it off.”

  “That would be all the time.” Hannah began to grin. The end of the argument was in sight. “And if I never answer my cell phone, why have one in the first place?”

  “Coffee, Andrea?” Lisa called out, holding up an empty mug.

  “No, thanks. Doc Knight limited me to one cup a day and I’ve already had it.”

  “How about a glass of orange juice?”

  “That sounds good.” Andrea smiled at Lisa, then turned back to Hannah. “I had to get up at the crack of dawn. The only time Doc Knight could see me was at seven-thirty.”

  “Seven-thirty isn’t exactly the crack of dawn.”

  “For me it is. I’m fine, by the way. I turned down the ultrasound. We don’t want to know the baby’s sex until he’s born.”

  “Until he’s born?”

  “I’m just saying he as a concession to Mother. She’s positive it’s a boy this time.”

  Hannah was amused. “What makes her so sure?”

  “She says if you carry the baby in front and your stomach sticks out, it’s a boy. If you’re big all over, it’s a girl.”

  “That sounds like an old wives’ tale to me. Besides, your stomach is still as flat as a board.”

  “No, it’s not. I’ve been dressing to hide it, but nothing fits me right anymore. I’m going to start wearing maternity clothes the minute Claire’s shipment comes in.”

  “You asked Claire to order maternity clothes for you?” Hannah was surprised. Claire Rodgers owned Beau Monde, the dress shop next door to The Cookie Jar, and her clothes were expensive.

  “I know it’ll probably cost an arm and a leg, but Bill wants me to have the best. He says it might even be tax deductible. After all, I’m a real estate agent and I have to be well dressed for my job.”

  “You’d better check with Stan about that.” Hannah curbed her impulse to laugh. Stan Kramer was the best tax man in Lake Eden. He was pretty liberal about what was and what wasn’t a tax deduction, but Hannah didn’t think he’d go quite that far.

  Andrea looked up as Lisa brought over a plate of cookies. “Thanks, Lisa. These look wonderful and I didn’t have time for breakfast. What are they?”

  “We call them Apricot Drops and they’re Hannah’s invention. They’re Oatmeal Raisin Crisps made with chopped dried apricots instead of raisins.”

  The phone rang and Lisa rushed off to answer it. Hannah watched as Andrea took a bite of her newest cookie and she relaxed as her sister started to smile. “You like them?”

  “These cookies are winners, Hannah.” Andrea took one more bite, then leaned forward. “So? What do you think about Norman’s plans?”

  “They’re great. I can hardly wait to see our dream house.”

  “Then you said yes?”

  Hannah bit back a grin, knowing full well what her sister was asking. “Yes to what?”

  “To marrying Norman, of course!”

  “No.”

  “Then you said no?”

  Hannah shook her head. “I didn’t say anything. Norman didn’t ask me.”

  “He didn’t? I thought for sure he would.” Andrea began to look anxious. “He’s not dating anyone else, is he?”

  “Not that I know of.”

  “Well…that’s good. Maybe you should give him a little nudge in the right direction. You’re not getting any younger, and if you want to have kids…” Andrea stopped in mid-sentence and sighed. “Sorry, Hannah. I’m beginning to sound like Mother.”

  “Yes, you are.”

  “But at least I stopped before I got to your biological clock ticking down.”

  “No, you didn’t. You just said it.”

  Andrea looked nonplussed for a moment, but she recovered quickly. “I said I was sorry. Look, Hannah…I know it’s a touchy subject with you. I apologize for bringing it up.”

  Hannah’s mouth dropped open. Andrea didn’t apologize often. She had to squelch the urge to rush down to Lake Eden Neighborhood Drugs to buy a box of gold stars like the ones Miss Gladke had used to mark special days on the classroom calendar. She was about to say she accepted Andrea’s apology when Lisa came back to the table.

  “It’s good news and bad news,” Lisa informed them. “Which one do you want to hear first?”

  Hannah made an instant decision. “The bad news. We’ll save the good for last.”

  “That was the caterer. Pamela’s parents canceled the wedding. She had a big fight with Toby and she eloped with the boy she used to date in high school.”

  Hannah groaned. “I think you’d better tell us the good news now.”

  “I told the caterer we’d baked all the cookies and she promised to pay us for them. She said she’d send a check and we could keep them.”

  “That’s nice. But what are we going to do with them? We can’t sell cookies with the bride and groom’s initials on them, unless…” Hannah reached out for a paper napkin and flipped it over so she had a perfectly blank square. “Do you have a pen?”

  “I always have a pen.” Andrea reached in her briefcase and pulled out her gold Cross pen.

&nb
sp; Hannah drew a large circle and wrote Pam’s and Toby’s initials inside. She stared at it for a moment and then she turned to Lisa. “Will you get one of the wedding cookies for me? I’ve got an idea.”

  A moment later, a sample cookie was resting on a napkin in the center of the table. Hannah studied it for a moment, then looked up at Lisa with a grin. “Is there room to squeeze an ‘H’ and an ‘A’ in front of Pam’s initials?”

  “There’s plenty of space. I had to leave room for the purple heart.”

  Andrea looked surprised. “Was the groom a war hero?”

  “No, but he deserves to be for putting up with Pamela.” Hannah turned to Lisa again. “How about a ‘Y’ at the end of Pam’s initials?”

  “That’s easy. What are we doing to Toby’s initials?”

  “Not much. All we have to do is put a big number four in front.”

  “I get it!” Andrea said, sounding excited. “Then they’ll say, ‘HAPPY 4TH.’ The cookies are white. If you do all the letters in blue and the number in red, they’ll be Independence Day cookies.”

  Lisa pushed back her chair. “It’s perfect, Hannah. I’ll get started on them right now. I need to match that blue frosting before it dries.”

  “Won’t the cookies get old before the Fourth?” Andrea asked. “It’s five days away.”

  “Not if we decorate them and pop them in the freezer. We’ll thaw them the night before and give them out at the parade.”

  “Tracey can do that for you,” Andrea offered. “She’s almost five and that’s old enough to be in the parade. She could ride on The Cookie Jar float and pass out the cookies.”

  Hannah shook her head. “That’s a nice idea, but we don’t have a float.”

  “No float?” Andrea looked shocked.

  “We wanted to build one, but we didn’t have time, not to mention the money it would have cost us.”

  “But you’ve got to have a float! Everybody’s having a float. I’ll build it for you, Hannah. It’ll be a fun project for me.”

  Hannah opened her mouth to say that “fun” was a noun, not an adjective, but she didn’t have the heart to correct Andrea. Her sister was obviously serious about wanting to build the float. With Tracey in preschool and Bill at work, she must be at loose ends. “Have you ever built a float before?”

  “Not exactly, but how hard can it be? Please let me do it, Hannah. Think of it as a favor. You’ll be saving me from terminal boredom and it won’t cost you a dime. Bill’s dad has a hay wagon I can borrow and I’ve got tons of decorating supplies in the garage.”

  Hannah found it hard to resist the pleading look on her sister’s face. Andrea hadn’t looked this excited since she’d planned her own wedding. “But are you sure you want to tackle a rush project like this?”

  “Of course. I’ve got loads of time. Just say the word and I’ll get started right away.”

  Hannah knew she might live to regret it, but she nodded. “Okay.”

  “You’re the best sister in the whole world!” Andrea jumped up and rushed around the table to hug her. “I’m going to run down to Kiddie Korner and tell Tracey. She’ll be so excited.”

  “Don’t forget about your meeting with Norman. You have to be back by nine-thirty with the house papers.”

  “I’ll be here. Thanks again, Hannah. You’ve given me a whole new lease on life.”

  Hannah sighed as Andrea raced out the door, climbed into her Volvo, and drove away. She was glad her sister was happy, but giving her permission to build the float might have been a strategic mistake, especially since Bill was being so overprotective. How would he feel toward Hannah when his pregnant wife announced that she’d be working long hours designing and decorating a float for The Cookie Jar?

  Lemon Meringue Pie

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.,

  with rack in middle position.

  1 nine-inch baked pie shell

  FILLING:

  3 whole eggs

  4 egg yolks (save the whites in a mixing bowl and let them come up to room temperature—you’ll need them for the meringue)

  1 cup white sugar (granulated)

  ½ cup water

  ¼ cup cornstarch

  1⁄8 cup lime juice

  1⁄3 cup lemon juice

  1 to 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

  1 tablespoon butter

  (Using a double boiler makes this recipe foolproof, but if you’re very careful and stir constantly so it doesn’t scorch, you can make the lemon filling in a heavy saucepan directly on the stove over medium heat.)

  Put water in the bottom of a double boiler and heat it until it simmers. (Make sure you don’t use too much water—it shouldn’t touch the bottom of the double boiler top.) Off the heat, beat the egg yolks with the whole eggs in the top of the double boiler. Add the ½ cup water and the combined lemon and lime juice. Combine sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl and stir until completely blended. Add this to the egg mixture in the top of the double boiler and blend thoroughly.

  Place the top of the double boiler over the simmering water and cook, stirring frequently until the lemon pie filling thickens (5 minutes or so). Lift the top of the double boiler and place it on a cold burner. Add the lemon zest and the butter, and stir thoroughly. Let the filling cool while you make the meringue.

  MERINGUE: (This is a whole lot easier with an electric mixer!)

  4 egg whites

  ½ teaspoon cream of tartar

  1⁄8 teaspoon salt

  ¼ cup white sugar (granulated)

  Add the cream of tartar and salt to the egg whites and mix them in. Beat the egg whites on high until they form soft peaks. Continue beating as you sprinkle in the sugar. When the egg whites form firm peaks, stop mixing and tip the bowl to test the meringue. If the egg whites don’t slide down the side, they’re ready.

  Put the filling into the baked pie shell, smoothing it with a rubber spatula. Clean and dry your spatula. Spread the meringue over the filling with the clean spatula, sealing it to the edges of the crust. When the pie is completely covered with meringue, “dot” the pie with the flat side of the spatula to make points in the meringue. (The meringue will shrink back when it bakes if you don’t seal it to the edges of the crust.)

  Bake the pie at 350 degrees F. for no more than 10 minutes.

  Remove the pie from the oven, let it cool to room temperature on a wire rack, and then refrigerate it if you wish. This pie can be served at room temperature, or chilled.

  (To keep your knife from sticking to the meringue when you cut the pie, dip it in cold water.)

  (This is Lisa’s favorite pie—she loves the zing of the lime juice.)

  Chapter

  Three

  A ndrea pointed to a line marked with a blue checkmark. “You’re next, Hannah. Sign here.”

  Hannah signed her name where Andrea indicated, right under the lines with the green, red, and purple checkmarks. Andrea had explained the color-coded system when they had first taken their seats at the tables in the rear of the cookie shop. Norman was green, Rhonda Scharf was red, Andrea was purple, and Hannah was blue. It seemed that Norman’s first step into the world of home ownership began with a polychromatic autograph assembly line, but he didn’t seem to mind. Hannah watched him smile as he signed his name on the next paper and when he looked up at her, she smiled back.

  Howie Levine held his hand out for the paper she’d just signed and Hannah handed it over. Howie notarized the signatures and placed the paper on the stack of completed pages by his left elbow. The pile was growing with each passing minute. Hannah wondered how long it would take to top the one-inch mark.

  Hannah glanced over at Rhonda Scharf and caught her checking her watch. It was clear Rhonda was pleased at selling her great-aunt’s property, but they’d been signing papers for the past fifteen minutes and the novelty had worn off. Rhonda had dressed for the occasion in a pink knit pantsuit with a cloud of iridescent butterflies appliquéd on the front. The largest and most colorful butterfly wa
s perched just below the vee of her low-cut neckline and called attention to her considerable cleavage. Rhonda, at fifty, still had a voluptuous figure and she liked to show it off. The only jarring note was her shoes, lime green tennis shoes that had been dyed to match the smock Rhonda wore behind the cosmetic counter at Lake Eden Neighborhood Drugs.

  “Only ten left.” Andrea signed and passed another document to Rhonda. Rhonda signed and handed it to Norman. When Norman had signed with the Rhodes Dental Clinic pen that Hannah had located, he handed the paper to her. From Hannah it went to Howie, who notarized it and placed it on the top of the stack.

  It seemed to take forever, but at last they were almost finished. The only thing left was for Rhonda to sign the deed.

  “Excuse me…Howie?” Rhonda hesitated, her pen poised over the deed. “Before I agreed to the sale, I asked Norman if I could go out there over the weekend to pick up a few family mementos. Do we need a separate agreement for that?”

  Howie turned to Norman. “Is that all right with you?”

  “Sure. I already told Rhonda that she could.”

  “Then it shouldn’t be a problem. A verbal agreement is fine for something like that.”

  “Okay. I just wanted to make sure,” Rhonda said and signed the deed.

  Once the deed had joined the stack of completed papers and Rhonda was in possession of Norman’s cashier’s check, Howie pushed back his chair and stood up to shake hands with Rhonda and then with Norman. “I’ll file these papers today, but since it’s a Friday, you’ll have to wait until Monday morning to take possession.”