by Joanne Fluke
Once Hannah had transferred the hot cookies to a rack and slipped another pan in the oven, she put the dozen cool cookies she’d made on a plate and carried them into the living room. “Here. These are ready and I’ve got more on the way.”
“Thanks, Hannah.” Andrea took a cookie with her left hand and munched while she continued to take notes from Norman’s computer screen. “These are really good. They’re moist and cinnamony and…is that a word?”
“Is what a word?”
“Cinnamony.”
Hannah laughed. “If it’s not, it ought to be.”
“Mmm…” Andrea reached out for another cookie. “What are these?”
“Spice cookies. I’m going to call them Mystery Cookies.”
“That’s a good name.” Norman grabbed a cookie before Andrea could take her third. “What’s the mystery?”
“There’s a secret ingredient and I don’t think anyone can guess what it is. Except maybe Andrea.”
“Me?” Andrea looked surprised. “How would I guess? You know I don’t bake.”
You don’t cook, either , Hannah thought, but she didn’t say it. Andrea had taken enough heat over the years about her lack of culinary skills. “Just think about Grandma Ingrid’s Red Spice Cake and you’ll know.”
“But that was made with…” Andrea stopped abruptly and began to grin. “I think I get it. Does this mystery ingredient come in a red and white can?”
“Yes, and don’t tell anybody. I’ll have to tell Lisa because she’ll be helping me mix the dough, but I’ll swear her to secrecy.”
“I’ll never tell. I promise.” Andrea raised her hand to her chest and gestured. “Cross my heart and hope to die. I wonder where that comes from.”
“It’s a reference to the crucifixion. It’s like knock on wood . That’s a reference to the wooden cross.”
“Really?” Norman turned to stare at her. “How do you know that?”
Hannah shrugged. “I read it somewhere a long time ago. Little things like that stick in my head.”
“If you had a computer you could find out all sorts of things like that on-line,” Norman told her.
Hannah sighed. They’d had this discussion before. Norman was trying to pull her kicking and screaming into cyberspace. “Why would I need to find it out if I already know it?”
“You don’t know it all. It’s fun doing research on the Web and it’s way past time for you to get a computer. As a matter of fact, I think you should have two.”
“One for each hand?” Hannah quipped.
“No, one for here and one for The Cookie Jar.”
“But why? I’m doing just fine without a computer.”
“You could have a master file of your recipes,” Andrea jumped into the fray. “Then you wouldn’t have to make copies and keep them in both places. If you made a change in a recipe at work, you could send it to your computer at home. When you got home, you could print it out and then you’d always have the updated version.”
“That’s what I do now. I just run down to the drugstore and make a copy and bring it home.”
“But that’s the whole point.” Andrea was insistent. “You wouldn’t have to run down to the drugstore. You’d be saving money, too. That copier down there is expensive.”
Hannah laughed. “And two computers aren’t?”
“Not as expensive as you think,” Norman took over the argument. “They’re practically giving away last year’s models. Since you don’t need it for anything fancy, you wouldn’t need to be state-of-the-art.”
“You’re ganging up on me,” Hannah accused them. “And here I am, feeding you cookies. That’s not nice.”
Andrea reached out for her fourth cookie. “You’re right. I wish you had a printer at home, though. Then I wouldn’t have to copy all this stuff off Norman’s screen. It’s like copying off the blackboard at school and I hated doing that. I always got a terrible headache.”
That’s because you refused to wear your glasses , Hannah thought, but she wasn’t mean-spirited enough to say it.
“Of course, that’s because I wouldn’t wear my glasses. I thought they made me look ugly,” Andrea went on. “That’s one of the things I like about using computers. If I get close enough, I don’t have to wear them. I think I hear your timer, Hannah.”
Andrea was right. Hannah got up to take another sheet of cookies from the oven. She stuck in another sheet, set the timer again, and when she came back, she found Andrea and Norman smiling broadly. “You found something?”
“Bingo!” Andrea said, and held up Hannah’s notebook. “I copied it all down for you. There were two men and they stole over two hundred thousand dollars. One was apprehended that night, but the other one got away with the money. He was caught a week later, trying to cross the Canadian border, but he only had five thousand dollars with him and he refused to say where he’d hidden the rest. Since one of the bank guards was killed in the robbery, both men were charged with murder and sentenced to life in prison.”
“Which prison?”
“That’s the one thing the article doesn’t say. I can find out, though. First thing tomorrow morning, I’ll call the prisons and ask if the robbers are there.”
“I hate to put a damper on your spirits, but I don’t think that’ll work.” Norman shook his head. “Prison officials don’t give out that kind of information on the phone.”
Hannah laughed. “They don’t, not usually, but you’ve never seen Andrea in action.”
“That’s right.” Andrea preened a bit. “I’m a real estate agent. We’re trained to get confidential information out of people.”
The doorbell rang and Hannah glanced at her watch. It was only eleven and Michelle had said she’d be late.
“Look through the peephole before you open the door,” Andrea advised.
“I can’t use it at night. The outside light’s in the wrong place and all I can see is a silhouette.”
“Then leave the chain on,” Norman suggested.
Hannah thought it was silly, but she did leave the chain on. After all, there was a killer on the loose.
“It’s me, Hannah,” Michelle said, waving at Hannah through the crack in the door.
“You’re early. Did something go wrong on your date?”
“No. Or maybe that’s a yes. Lonnie got called back to the station.”
“Did they catch Rhonda’s killer?”
“No, nothing like that. Lonnie’s the youngest deputy and they call him in to do all the grunt work.”
“That’s too bad,” Hannah said, knowing exactly what Lonnie was going through. The most recent hire in any business had to do all the things the veteran employees didn’t want to do. “Wait just a second. I have to shut the door to take off the chain.”
When the chain was off and the door was fully open, Michelle stepped inside. She made a maneuver that would have made any running back proud, and neatly blocked Moishe’s headlong rush to the door. “Hi, Moishe. You remember me from last night, don’t you?”
“He remembers the smoked salmon you brought him for Christmas. Listen to that. He’s purring already.”
“I don’t have any salmon this trip, but I do have this.” Michelle reached into her purse and brought out a cellophane wrapper with a long string tied around it.
“He really doesn’t play, Michelle,” Hannah said, as Michelle dropped the wrapper on the rug.
“He’ll play with this. Just watch.”
Hannah watched as Michelle began to walk forward, tugging the wrapper behind her. And then the cat Hannah had thought was non-playful began to chase the wrapper. Moishe pounced, Michelle jerked the wrapper away, and then they did it all over again, all the way to the sofa where Andrea and Norman were sitting.
“I’ll be!” Hannah said, heading for the kitchen to take the last pan of cookies out of the oven. She’d spent a fortune on high-priced kitty toys when Moishe had first moved in with her, and he hadn’t played with any of them. Now it seemed that all she
’d needed was a crumpled cellophane wrapper and a piece of ordinary string.
When Hannah came back with a fresh plate of cookies, Michelle dug right in. She ate two in rapid succession and then she gave Hannah a thumbs-up. “These are great. I waited for you to get back so I could tell you all together. The reason Lonnie had to go back to the station is that Freddy Sawyer got in trouble tonight.”
“Is Freddy okay?” Hannah asked, imagining the worst. Freddy had told her that Jed was teaching him to fight.
“He’s fine now, but he got hauled in for drunk and disorderly. Jed promised that it would never happen again and they let him off with a warning.”
“I didn’t think Freddy drank.” Andrea looked puzzled.
“He didn’t before his cousin got here,” Hannah said with a sigh. “But now that Jed’s in the picture, he’s teaching Freddy all sorts of things that aren’t good for him.”
“I got the same impression,” Michelle said. “Lonnie and I sobered Freddy up and then we drove him home to sleep it off. Lonnie had to go back to the station to file the paperwork, so he dropped me off here.”
“I’m sorry your date didn’t work out,” Norman said. “Lonnie seems like a really nice guy.”
“You know him?” Michelle looked surprised.
“He’s been coming in every Saturday morning since he got his dental insurance. It’s part of the county heath package. His teeth were in good shape to start with, but we did a few things to correct his bite.”
“Right. You never know when you have to bite someone in the line of duty,” Hannah joked, and then she turned to Michelle. “Tell us what happened with Freddy. Was he in a bar fight?”
“No, nothing like that. He was riding in the back of that pickup truck Jed just bought and mooning people as his cousin passed them on the road.”
Hannah was shocked. It wasn’t really a serious offense since no one had been hurt, but it would offend a lot of people. “As far as I know, Freddy’s never been in trouble with the law before. And that doesn’t sound like something he’d think of to do, all by himself.”
“You’re right. According to Lonnie, the girl Freddy was drinking with in the bar admitted that she’d egged him on. She said she thought it was funny.”
Hannah felt sick. “Freddy’s drinking, getting involved with girls in bars, and mooning people on the road? If this is Jed’s way of teaching him to be a man, I don’t like it one bit!”
“Neither do I,” Norman said. “Freddy did some work for me when I was remodeling the clinic. He was always a good, responsible worker and he seemed a little shy to me. This just doesn’t sound like it’s in character for him.”
“You’re right,” Andrea agreed. “Jed’s the one who’s giving Freddy ideas. And now that Freddy’s mother is dead, there’s no one to really look out for him. I don’t think Mrs. Sawyer approved of Jed. He never came around when she was alive.”
“I’ll try to talk to Freddy tomorrow,” Norman promised, setting his laptop in its carrying case and zipping it up. “Jed has a lot of influence with him, but that’s because we let him. We’re all too busy with our own lives and we don’t take enough time to really get involved.”
After Norman had said his good-byes to Andrea and Michelle, Hannah walked him to the door. She followed him out on the landing, closed the door behind them, and gave him a big hug. “You’re a good man, Norman.”
“Thanks, but I didn’t do that much. Looking up things on-line is simple.”
“Not that. I was talking about Freddy. It’s really good of you to offer to get involved.”
“But you’re involved. You always take time to talk to Freddy, even when you’re busy. There’s no reason why I can’t find the time to help him, too.”
“That’s what I mean. You’re a good man.” Hannah hugged him again.
Norman’s arms tightened around her and he started to grin. “Is this your idea of a reward for good behavior?”
“Maybe. What’s wrong with that?”
“Absolutely nothing. I just think I need a little bigger reward.” Norman tipped her face up and kissed her.
It was a sweet kiss and Hannah didn’t want it to end. It felt good to be this close to Norman. It was comforting, and warm, and nice, and exciting, too. And while her bones didn’t melt and her legs didn’t tremble in the same way they did when Mike kissed her, she didn’t have that little doubt in the back of her mind about how many other women he’d kissed in exactly this way.
“Good night, Norman,” Hannah said, when their kiss had ended. “Thank you.”
“For the kiss?”
“Yes. And for being you.”
Norman smiled and started down the stairs, but he stopped halfway and turned to look back at her. “I’m glad I’m me, especially tonight. I really don’t like the idea of you kissing somebody that’s not me.”
Mystery Cookies
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.,
with rack in middle position.
½ cup melted butter (1 stick)
3½ cups white sugar
2 beaten eggs (just whip them up with a fork)
1 can condensed tomato soup (the regular plain kind, not “Cream Of Tomato” or “Tomato with Basil” or anything else fancy—I use Campbell’s)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons nutmeg (if you grind your own, use 1 teaspoon instead of 2)
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups raisins (either golden or regular)
2 cups chopped walnuts (measure after you chop them)
4½ cups flour (no need to sift)
Microwave the butter in your mixing bowl to melt it. Add the sugar, let it cool a bit, and mix in the beaten eggs. Open a can of condensed tomato soup, add that to your mixing bowl, and then mix it all up. Stir in the cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Then add the raisins and the walnuts, and stir. Measure the flour and add it in one-cup increments, mixing after each addition.
Let the dough sit for ten minutes or so. Drop the dough by teaspoons onto a greased or Pammed cookie sheet, 12 to a standard sheet. (If the dough is too sticky to scoop, you can chill it for a few minutes, or dip your teaspoon into a glass of cold water.)
Bake at 350 degrees F. for 10 to 12 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown on top. Let them sit on the cookie sheet for a minute or two (no longer or they’ll stick) , and then transfer them to a wire rack for complete cooling.
A batch of Mystery Cookies yields about 10 dozen. (I know that’s a lot, but they’ll be gone before you know it.) They’re soft and chewy and a real favorite. (And if you don’t tell the kids that they’re getting a helping of tomatoes with their cookies, I guarantee they’ll never guess.)
Chapter
Twenty-One
“I t’s eleven-thirty. Aren’t you tired?” Hannah asked her sisters when she came back into her living room.
“Not me.” Michelle shook her head.
“How about you, Andrea?” Hannah turned to her. “You’re the one who’s sleeping for two.”
Andrea laughed. “That’s eating for two. There’s no such thing as sleeping for two. The baby sleeps whenever he wants to. It doesn’t matter whether I’m awake or not.”
“Are you sure you’re not tired?”
“You sound like Bill. Really, Hannah. I’m not a bit tired.”
Michelle looked confused. “But I thought pregnancy was so tiring.”
“It is, in the last couple of months. But that’s when you’re carrying around all that extra weight. I’ve only gained five pounds so far. My feet get tired if I stand all day, but that’s the only part of me that does. I actually have more energy now than I did before I got pregnant.”
“I’m a real lightweight when it comes to pulling all-nighters, like when I have to study for a test. Maybe I should get pregnant and then I’d have more energy.” Michelle noticed the shocked expression on her sisters’ faces and she giggled. “Just kidding. I want to wait to get pregnant until
I’m as old as Hannah.”
Hannah groaned. She wasn’t sure if that was an insult, but it sure felt like it.
“That’s a bad idea. Don’t wait that long,” Andrea advised.
Hannah groaned again. This time she was sure it was an insult. “Forget about my biological clock. Mother’s already got that covered. If we’re going to stay up and talk, I’ll make us some hot chocolate. Andrea? You can bring Michelle up to speed on everything we learned about the robbery case.”
It took a while to make the hot chocolate, because Hannah made it the old-fashioned way with cocoa, milk, and sugar. Once she’d poured it into two mugs and refilled her own mug with no-calorie coffee, she carried them back out to the living room. She caught the tail end of the conversation when she entered the room.
“…like him a lot, but there’s someone at school I’m dating.” Michelle turned to smile as Hannah set down her mug of hot chocolate and went on. “It’s not exclusive, but we’re really good friends, if you know what I mean.”
“How good?” Andrea asked, taking her mug from Hannah.
Hannah winced as she took her place on the sofa. She’d apparently missed a conversation about Michelle’s boyfriends and it sounded as if Andrea was grilling their baby sister.
“Not that good.” Michelle looked a bit exasperated. “I’m not sleeping with him, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Tell me about him. Is he a student?”
“Yes. He’s twenty-four, he’s going for his M.B.A., and his name is Raj.”
It was time for her to step in and Hannah did it with a rush. She wasn’t sure how Andrea felt about inter-cultural dating. “Will you ask Raj if his mother has a good recipe for curry? I know most families from India have their own blend of spices and I don’t really like the bottled curry powder you can buy in the stores.”