by Joanne Fluke
Hannah took a sip of her rapidly cooling coffee. She didn’t really want it, but she wanted to be sure that what she was about to say would be received in the right way.
“What?” Michelle asked, noticing the thoughtful expression on Hannah’s face.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, Michelle, but I wonder if P.K. is beginning to develop . . . feelings for you.”
Michelle looked surprised. “You mean you think that he might be falling in love with me?”
“That’s exactly what I mean. I just wasn’t sure how to say it. It’s fine if you feel the same way about him, but it could become a problem if you don’t.”
“I don’t, and if you’re right, it might become a problem. P.K.’s a friend, but that’s it.” Michelle stopped speaking and began to look worried. “You don’t think I’m using P.K., do you? Because of the commercials he does for the plays I’m directing?”
“No, I don’t. You wouldn’t do that, Michelle. I’m just hoping that P.K. doesn’t perceive your interest in him as something more than it is.”
“I see what you mean. I’ll have to be very careful that I don’t give him any encouragement on the romance front. It just never occurred to me that he might be developing those kinds of feelings for me.”
Hannah gave a little shrug. “I could be wrong. I just thought I sensed something. And as your big sister, I wanted to warn you.”
“Thanks. Now that I think about it, you could be right, Hannah. Just last week, P.K. told me that he was engaged to the girl he’d been dating since high school, but they’d broken up. I asked him why, but he said it was still painful and he didn’t really want to talk about it.”
“Okay.” Hannah got up and gave her sister a little hug. “It’s like Great-Grandma Elsa used to say, Forewarned is forearmed. Let’s forget about it for now and concentrate on what we’re going to bake next. We’ve got a lot of cookies to make and a lot of bowls of dough to mix up before we can drive out to get those burgers.”
“And fries.”
“And onion rings. And stop it right now, Michelle. I’m getting hungry and we still have a couple more hours to go!”
* * *
“Just what I wanted!” Hannah said, biting into her juicy, mustard-, mayo-, and pickle-laden burger.
“Oh yes!” Michelle said with a happy sigh as she dipped a crispy French fry into the side of blue cheese dressing they’d ordered. “I’m really glad we stopped here, Hannah, and it’s not just because of the food. It was really nasty out there.”
“I know. The snow was blowing so hard, it was almost impossible to see the side of the road. Let’s hope it lets up a little while we’re eating.”
“Here are some complimentary onion rings,” their waitress announced, placing a paper-lined basket on the table between them. “They just came out of the fryer. I haven’t seen your mother at the Red Velvet Lounge lately, Hannah.”
“Maybe we’ll all come in for lunch on Saturday,” Hannah said, smiling up at the waitress, who also worked at the restaurant in Delores and Doc’s condo building. “Thanks for the onion rings, Georgina.”
“Don’t thank me. Thank the fry cook. He put up that order by mistake and I nabbed it for you two. How’s Ross doing, Hannah? I heard that KCOW-TV sent him out to do a special program. Where is he, anyway?”
“The last time he called, he was in New York,” Michelle jumped in before Hannah was forced to tell the lie that their whole family had devised. She turned to Hannah. “You didn’t hear from him today, did you, Hannah?”
“Not yet,” Hannah responded truthfully.
“Well, when you talk to him, tell him we’re all really curious about that program he’s doing.”
Hannah smiled. This she could handle. “I’ll do that, Georgina.”
“Now eat up those onion rings before they get cold.” Georgina turned to face Michelle. “I heard you’re coming along great with the Thanksgiving play. Everybody says it’s going to be wonderful.”
“Thanks for telling me, Georgina. You got tickets, didn’t you?”
Hannah was secretly amused. She’d heard Michelle ask The Cookie Jar customers the very same question.
“I got mine the first day they went on sale.”
“They’re going to run an ad for the play on KCOW tonight,” Michelle told her. “P.K. just filmed it today.”
“What time?”
“Between eight and eight-thirty.”
Georgina looked disappointed. “I’m on until ten tonight.”
“Maybe they’ll put it on in the bar and you can sneak away to see it,” Hannah suggested.
“I’ll tell the bartender about it,” Georgina promised. “And I’ll call my sister. She can always record it for me.” She turned to look at another table. “I’d better go. They probably want coffee at table sixteen. Bye, girls.”
They were both hungry, and it didn’t take long for Hannah and Michelle to finish their meal. Georgina brought them coffee and the check, and Hannah gave her a generous tip. Once they’d finished their coffee, Hannah glanced at her watch. “We’d better go. If it’s still windy out there, it might take a while to get home.”
“Good idea,” Michelle agreed, standing up and slinging her purse over her shoulder. “Hurry up, Hannah. I’m going up to the register to pick up coffee to go for us. Your truck is going to be cold.”
In less than five minutes, they were in Hannah’s cookie truck, pulling out of the parking lot. The wind was still blowing, but visibility was much better than it had been when they’d driven in.
“What smells so good?” Michelle asked, after they’d turned on the access road to the highway.
“It’s probably the Pineapple Crunch Cookies. I packed up the ones that were left so that we could take them home.”
“Brilliant,” Michelle complimented her. “I’ll make a pot of coffee once we get to the condo, and we can eat cookies and drink coffee while we’re waiting for P.K.’s commercial to air. There’s only one problem with that.”
“What’s that?” Hannah asked her.
“I want a cookie right now,” Michelle said, leaning over the back of her seat to see if she could reach the cookies that Hannah had packed for them.
Hannah just smiled, deciding not to voice the thought that was running through her mind. You just ate two double double cheeseburgers with bacon, a side of French fries, a side of coleslaw, and most of the onion rings that Georgina gave us. And now you’re rummaging around in the back of the truck for cookies?
PINEAPPLE CRUNCH COOKIES (LIGHT FANDANGO COOKIES)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
1 can (8 ounces by weight) crushed pineapple (I used Dole)
1 cup salted butter (2 sticks, 8 ounces, ½ pound)
1 cup white (granulated) sugar
1 cup brown sugar (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large beaten eggs (you can just beat them up in a cup with a fork)
2 and ½ cups all-purpose flour (not sifted – pack it down in the measuring cup)
2 cups corn flakes (I used Kellogg’s)
1 to 2 cups white chocolate (or vanilla) chips
Open the can of crushed pineapple and drain it in a strainer. Save the juice if someone in your house likes pineapple juice.
Place the butter in a microwave-safe bowl or measuring cup. Heat it on HIGH in the microwave for 1 minute. Let it sit in the microwave for an additional minute and check to see if it’s melted. If it’s not, heat it in 20-second increments until it is.
Place the white sugar in a large mixing bowl.
Add the brown sugar and mix both sugars together until they are a uniform color.
Pour the melted butter on top of the sugar. Mix it in thoroughly.
Sprinkle in the baking soda, salt, and vanilla extract. Mix until everything is thoroughly combined.
Feel
the mixing bowl to make sure it’s not so hot it could cook the eggs. If it’s still hot, let it cool for a few minutes.
Mix in the beaten eggs. Continue mixing until everything is smooth and combined.
Add in the flour in half-cup increments, mixing it in thoroughly after each increment.
Pat the crushed pineapple with a paper towel and add it to your mixing bowl. Beat until it’s thoroughly mixed in.
Measure out the corn flakes and put them in a sealable plastic bag. Seal up the bag and crush the corn flakes with your hands, by squeezing the bag, or by rolling it with a rolling pin. Continue to crush until the corn flakes are the size of crushed gravel.
Add the crushed corn flakes to your bowl and mix until they are well combined.
Take the bowl out of the mixer, if you used one, and get ready to add the white chocolate or vanilla chips by hand.
Add the 1 to 2 cups of chips, mixing in enough to satisfy your family’s sweet tooth.
Let the dough sit on the counter for a minute or two to rest. (It doesn’t really need to rest, but you need time to prepare your cookie sheets.)
Spray your cookie sheets with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray, or line them with parchment paper. (I prefer parchment paper so that I can simply pull the paper off on a wire rack, cookies and all, when they’re baked.)
Form the cookie dough into walnut-sized balls with your fingers and place them on your prepared cookie sheets, 12 to a standard-size sheet.
Hannah’s Note: I baked a test cookie first. If it spreads out too much in the oven, either chill the dough in the refrigerator before baking, or turn the dough out on a floured board and knead in approximately ⅓ cup more flour.
Press the dough balls down just a bit with your impeccably clean hand so that they won’t roll off on the way to the oven.
Bake your Pineapple Crunch Cookies at 350 degrees F. for 10 to 12 minutes or until they are golden brown.
Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and place them on cold stove burners or wire racks.
Let your cookies cool on the cookie sheets for 2 minutes. (If you remove them from the cookie sheets right after they come out of the oven, they may bend and/or break.)
Use a metal spatula to remove the cookies to a wire rack. (The rack is important—it makes them crisp.)
Yield: approximately 6 to 8 dozen, depending on cookie size.
Chapter Four
Michelle was smiling as she turned to Hannah. They were sitting in front of the giant-screen television, and they’d just watched the commercial that P.K. had made for the Thanksgiving play. “I loved it! How about you?”
“P.K. did a super job. Everyone who saw it is going to come to the play.”
“Irma’s keeping track of advance ticket sales. I’ll check in with her to see if there’s a jump in sales tomorrow. The cast really looked good, didn’t they?”
“The cast looked really great,” Hannah agreed. “I loved those costumes.”
“I’m really glad we took the time to do makeup and get into our costumes.” Michelle gave a little smile. “At first, I was upset when P.K. suggested it because it takes so much time, but he was right. It looks so much better than seeing the characters in their everyday clothes.”
Hannah was about to go to the kitchen to get more coffee when Michelle’s cell phone rang. “That’s probably P.K. to see if you liked his commercial,” she speculated.
“I bet you’re right,” Michelle said, reaching out for her cell phone. “I’m going to record it to see if he liked his commercial.” She answered the call, and almost immediately began to frown.
“What is it?” Hannah asked quickly as a distressed expression crossed Michelle’s face.
“It’s P.K. There’s something wrong, Hannah! Look!”
Hannah glanced at the display and realized that she was watching a video of P.K. driving Ross’s car.
“It’s real time,” Michelle said quickly. “He’s got his phone in the dashboard holder Ross has in his car.”
“Mic . . . kie,” P.K. said, giving a lopsided smile. “How . . . you, girl?”
“He sounds drunk!” Michelle exclaimed.
“Or drugged. Can you ask him if he’s okay?”
“Are you okay, P.K.?” Michelle asked.
“Mic . . . kie.” P.K. reached up to rub his face. “Pret . . . ty Mic . . . kie. Doan feel goooood.”
P.K.’s phone was positioned so that they could see his face and also the driver’s side window. As the two sisters watched, the edge of the road appeared to move forward and then recede.
“Tell him to pull over!” Hannah said, grabbing Michelle’s arm. “Hurry! He almost went in the ditch!”
“Pull over, P.K.!” Michelle said loudly. “You shouldn’t be driving. Pull over right now!”
Hannah moved closer so that she could listen for his response, but there was no response at all. “Please, P.K.,” she shouted. “Pull over!”
“It’s no use,” Michelle told her. “Either he’s got our audio off or he’s too drunk or stoned to listen to us.”
“Noooo,” P.K. said, and both sisters could see that his eyes looked vague and unfocused. “Thought I . . . juss hung . . . gry. Ate Rossss . . . hiz . . . desk. Can . . . dees . . . sickkk.”
“Pull over!” Hannah shouted again as the car veered toward the center of the road and then lurched back toward the ditch again. “Pull over, P.K.!”
“Please pull over!” Michelle added, the panic clear in her voice.
There was no response to their pleas and Michelle shook her head. “He can’t hear us, Hannah.”
“You’re probably right, but at least he’s back on his side of the road again.”
“No . . . more . . . can . . . dees,” P.K. mumbled, and then his eyelids began to lower. “Got . . . ta get . . . Doc . . . hospit . . . uh . . .”
Both Hannah and Michelle watched in horror as the car weaved from one side of the road to the other, barely missing a county road sign. They had just given sighs of relief when the car began to drift toward the wrong side of the road again.
“Wake up, P.K.!” Michelle called out, leaning close to the phone. “Listen to me! You’ve got to stay awake!”
Again, there was no response from P.K. The only thing they heard was the sound of the engine growing louder and louder.
“He’s stepping on the gas!” Hannah said in horror.
“I know! I can hear it! And he’s . . . oh no!”
Michelle’s last word was an anguished cry, and Hannah felt as if it had come from her own throat. P.K.’s eyes were closed now, but the car was going faster and faster.
The scene outside the driver’s side window appeared to bounce up and down as the pine trees rushed past at breakneck speed. Then there was a loud blaring sound.
“The horn’s on!” Michelle identified it. “P.K. must be blowing it for help.”
Or he’s wedged on the steering wheel, Hannah thought, but of course she didn’t say what she was thinking.
“Look!” They watched as the bakery box with the Raspberry Danish that they’d given P.K. that morning flew past the screen as if it had suddenly grown wings.
“He’s in the ditch!” Michelle gasped. “And the car’s still going!”
Her horrified words were no sooner spoken than the screen on Michelle’s cell phone went black.
“His phone shut off, or broke, or something!” Michelle gasped. “We have to do something, Hannah!”
Hannah thought fast. “You said you were going to record the call.”
“I did!”
“Can you send that video to Mike’s cell phone?”
“I . . . yes, I think so.”
“Do it right now. I’ll call Mike and tell him it’s coming.”
While Michelle figured out how to retrieve the video and send it, Hannah placed a call to Mike. Then she ducked into the kitchen to speak to him in private. Michelle was upset enough already. There was no way Hannah wanted her to overhear the conversation she was
about to have with Mike.
Luckily, Mike answered on the second ring, and Hannah told him the video was coming. “It looked really bad, Mike, and I recognized a couple of landmarks. I think P.K. went off the road right before Abe Schilling’s back pasture, the one where he keeps his bull in the summer. Do you know where that is?”
When Mike had assured her he knew the particular pasture she’d described, Hannah added her final sentences, the ones she hadn’t wanted Michelle to overhear. “Hurry out there, Mike. There may be a chance that P.K. is still alive, but . . . I really doubt it.”
Before she left the kitchen, Hannah poured the rest of the coffee into a thermos and carried it out to the living room. “Did Mike get the video?” she asked Michelle.
“Yes. He just texted me.”
“Good. Now go get your parka and your boots. We’re going out there.”
“How? We don’t know where P.K. went off the road!”
“I recognized some landmarks and I think I know where it happened. Hurry up, Michelle. And don’t forget your warm scarf and mittens.”
* * *
“Is that the county road sign we saw?” Michelle asked as Hannah drove down the winding road.
“I think so. And if I’m right, we only have a mile or two to go.” Hannah slowed for another bend in the road. “Do you hear a siren?”
Michelle lowered her window. “Yes. I hear it, too.”
“It’s probably Mike.”