by Joanne Fluke
“Her name was Pinkie?”
“That’s what he called her, but I think it must have been short for something else. P.K. said that pink was her favorite color and she’d always wanted a pink Jeep. He was going to sign it over to her right before he proposed and gave her an engagement ring.”
“That’s a really nice engagement present.”
“Yes, and it’s unique. I’ve never seen a pink Jeep before.”
“Neither have I!” Hannah gave a little laugh. “Did you paint her Jeep here?”
“No, P.K. took it to one of those places that paint your whole car in a day. He picked it up the next day and brought it back here. We put it up on the hoist so she wouldn’t see it right away and it could be a surprise. They got engaged in bay two of my garage.”
“She didn’t know about the pink Jeep?”
“She didn’t know about any of it, including the ring P.K. hid in the glove box. We lowered the hoist and you should have seen her face! P.K. handed her the keys, told her that the Jeep was his present for her, and said that there was another present for her in the glove box. They got in, she opened the glove box and found the engagement ring, and they kissed for what must have been a whole five minutes. My mechanics still talk about how much fun we had that day.”
“I can see why.” Hannah was still amused at the idea of a pink Jeep. “Did she love her pink Jeep?”
“She surely did. She was totally in love with the paint job, and she even noticed that they painted the inside of the glove box and all four wheel wells. That was a great day, Hannah. We toasted them with champagne for us and sparkling apple juice for them because P.K. had told us that they didn’t drink. We closed the shop early that day, and all the customers who came in to pick up their cars joined in the party.”
“I wish I’d been here.”
“So do I. We really had a good time. We ordered pizza and made sure we got a special chicken and mushroom one for her because she doesn’t eat red meat. And when a couple of the mechanics’ wives came to pick them up, we turned on the radio and danced to the music. Then Bridget came in with the engagement cakes she’d baked for them.”
“Cakes?” Hannah asked, noticing that Cyril had used the plural to refer to his wife’s contribution to the party.
“That’s right. She made three of them, exactly the same. When I asked her why, she told me that she just knew it was going to turn into a big party.”
“What kind of cake was it?”
“Chocolate. Everyone who was here had a slice with ice cream on top because she didn’t have time to frost them. She told me that she got the recipe from you.”
“Did she call it Ultimate Fudgy Chocolate Cake?” Hannah asked him.
“That sounds right. It was so good, I asked her to make it for all my birthdays from then on.”
“Tell Bridget I’ll give her the recipe for my chocolate frosting. It’s fast and easy to make. And it’s the perfect frosting for that cake.”
Hannah and Cyril arrived at the outer door to the garage and they walked to his office. Once Hannah had seated herself in the chair in front of his desk, she drew out her checkbook.
“I want to write you a check for whatever I owe you on Michelle’s car. And if it’s more than I have in my checking account, I want to pay off the rest on time.”
“That’s nice of you, Hannah, but you don’t owe me anything. As a matter of fact, I owe you five hundred dollars.” Cyril laughed at her astounded expression. “That’s right, Hannah. I got a great price for the car Ross signed over to you. Even adding in the registration and insurance, you still came out five hundred bucks to the good.”
“Really? Are you sure that includes everything?”
“I’m positive. This isn’t the first car I’ve sold, Hannah.”
“I know. It’s just hard to believe you got that much for Ross’s car. You must be a great salesman!”
“Of course I am. I’m Irish.” Cyril gave her a smug grin. “Some people might call it Irish blarney, but I call it Irish charm.”
“You’re wonderful, Cyril. Thank you so much for your Irish charm. Between you and Ross, Michelle has a great gift.”
“Maybe I shouldn’t ask you this, but what’s happening with Ross, Hannah? Is he coming back? I know the word on the street is that he’s out on location for a special project, but the fact he signed his car over to you makes me wonder.”
Hannah took a deep breath, readying herself for the explanation her whole family had urged her to make. She opened her mouth to speak the rehearsed words, but she just couldn’t do it.
“Truthfully, I just don’t know,” she admitted. “I can’t explain why he signed his car over to me, and I can’t ask him until he comes back.”
“Fair enough, Hannah. Maybe he was planning to get a new car, or maybe he had some sort of premonition that something was going to happen to him and he wanted to provide for you, just in case. People do have premonitions, you know. They call it the gift of second sight.”
“Anything’s possible, Cyril,” Hannah responded, even though she didn’t want to think about it.
“Keep the faith, darlin’,” Cyril told her, patting her shoulder. “It’s better to believe that everything’ll be all right than it is to worry that it won’t.”
UPSIDE DOWN PEAR COFFEE CAKE
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
Sweet Crumb Topping:
½ cup finely chopped pecans
⅓ cup brown sugar (pack it down in the cup when
you measure it)
¼ cup all-purpose flour (pack it down in the cup
when you measure it)
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 and ½ ounces cold salted butter (that’s
3 Tablespoons)
Fruit Layer:
¼ cup salted butter (2 ounces, ½ stick, pound)
½ cup brown sugar (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)
3 pears, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced, either fresh or canned.
½ cup golden raisins
Coffee Cake Batter:
2 cups all-purpose flour (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)
1 cup white (granulated) sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder (that’s one Tablespoon)
1 teaspoon salt
⅓ cup softened, salted butter
1 cup whole milk
1 large egg
Prepare your baking pan(s). You’ll need a 9-inch by 9-inch square pan with 2-inch tall sides.
Hannah’s 1st Note: If the only square pan you have is 8 inches square, use that and also use a standard-size bread pan. Baking times for alternate pans are different, so test for doneness by inserting a long toothpick or cake tester in the center of the pan. If it comes out clean, your cake is done. If not, give it a bit more baking time in the oven.
Spray your pan(s) with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray.
While your pan(s) are prepared, empty, and still cool, find a pretty, heatproof platter. Make sure that the platter is larger than the surface of the pan. It will also help if the platter has slightly raised edges because the butterscotch liquid that will be formed in the oven will drizzle down when you invert the pan over the platter. And you won’t want to lose a drop of that wonderful butterscotch taste!
Prepare the Sweet Crumb Topping first.
Use a fork from your silverware drawer to mix the chopped pecans and the brown sugar together in a small mixing bowl.
Next, mix in the all-purpose flour and the cinnamon.
Use the fork or a pie crust blender to cut in the cold butter.
Continue to mix until the resulting mixture is crumbly.
Set the Sweet Crumb Topping aside on the counter while you prepare the fruit layer.
Place the butter in the bottom of your prepared baking pan(s). Set the pan(s) in the oven until the butter has melted. Use pot holders to take the pan(s) out of the oven and then move to a wire rack or a cold stove burner.
Sprinkle the brown sugar on top of the melted butter in the pan(s).
Arrange the thinly sliced pears in the pan(s).
Sprinkle the golden raisins on top of the sliced pears.
Let the pan(s) sit on the rack or cold burners while you make the Coffee Cake Batter.
Hannah’s 2nd Note: This coffee cake is easier to make if you use an electric mixer. You can do it by hand, but it will take some time and muscle.
Combine the flour, white sugar, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix for a few seconds on LOW speed and turn off the mixer.
Add the softened butter, milk, and egg. Mix them in on LOW speed for a minute and then turn the mixer up to MEDIUM speed.
Mix for one minute, then shut off the mixer and scrape down the bowl.
Mix at MEDIUM speed for another 2 minutes, shut off the mixer, and scrape down the bowl again.
Take the bowl out of the mixer and give it another stir by hand with a rubber spatula.
Pour the Coffee Cake Batter over the fruit layer in your pan(s).
Remember that Sweet Crumb Topping? It’s now time to use it.
Sprinkle the Sweet Crumb Topping over the Coffee Cake Batter in your pan(s).
Bake your yummy creation at 350 degrees F. until a cake tester, long toothpick, or thin wooden skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean with no batter sticking to it.
Baking time for the 9-inch by 9-inch square pan should be approximately 50 minutes.
If you used an 8-inch by 8-inch square pan, baking time should be approximately 40 minutes.
If you also used a standard-sized bread pan, baking time should be approximately 40 minutes.
Hannah’s 3rd Note: Start testing your Upside Down Pear Coffee Cake 5 minutes before the end of the baking time.
Use pot holders to remove the pan(s) from the oven, then immediately invert a heatproof serving platter over the top of your pan. Hold on to the pan(s) with pot holders and invert the pan quickly. Leave the pan(s) in place, sitting on top of your Upside Down Pear Coffee Cake, for one or two minutes so that the butterscotch formed by the butter and brown sugar can drizzle down over the top of your coffee cake(s).
Yield: Approximately 9 servings unless you invite Mike or Norman.
Michelle’s Note: The next time I make this, I’m going to try it with thinly sliced fresh peaches.
Chapter Thirteen
Promptly at nine o’clock, Hannah stood at the top of the steps of the Lake Eden First Mercantile Bank, waiting for Lydia Gradin, the head teller, to open the front door.
“Good morning, Hannah,” Lydia said in her best customer service voice as she unlocked the door and ushered Hannah in.
“Hi, Lydia,” Hannah responded, stepping inside the cavernous interior. The bank was built entirely of Minnesota granite, trucked here from the Cold Spring granite quarries.
“I’ll help you in just a minute,” Lydia told her. “Just let me open the safe and unlock my cash box.”
“Take your time, Lydia,” Hannah said, watching her walk away. Lydia was wearing a tight red pullover sweater that she must have purchased when she was two or three sizes smaller, and an extremely short black skirt that Delores would have termed “inappropriate” for a woman approaching sixty.
The only bank in town was nicely decorated with fake palm trees of a species that would never grow in the Minnesota climate. Comfortable chairs upholstered in a beautiful shade of lavender graced the waiting area, and Hannah chose one to occupy. There were small glass-topped tables between the chairs, and large colorful paintings of tropical flowers that would quickly wither and die if they had been planted in a local garden. The décor had been updated when Doug Greerson had taken over as president of the bank, and Hannah had once asked him why he’d chosen to decorate in fake trees and flowers that would be more at home on a tropical island. Doug had laughed and confessed that since he never had time for vacations, entering the newly decorated bank every morning gave him the illusion of tropical warmth and was second best only to taking a trip to Aruba.
“I’m ready for you.” Lydia motioned to Hannah as she took her seat on the high swivel chair behind the first teller’s window.
Hannah got up and hurried to Lydia’s window. “I have a deposit for my personal checking account.”
Lydia examined the check Hannah pushed through the grate that separated the tellers from the customers. Then she flipped it over and frowned slightly. “You have to endorse it, Hannah.”
“Of course I do.” Hannah felt like a fool as Lydia pushed the check back through the grate. “Sorry about that,” she apologized as she quickly endorsed the check. “I know my account got really low, and this check should help a lot.”
“Let’s put it in and I’ll give you your new balance,” Lydia said, clicking some keys on her computer keyboard. A moment later, she began to frown.
“What is it, Lydia? I haven’t reconciled my latest bank statement yet, but I’m not overdrawn, am I?”
“I should say not!” Lydia looked shocked at Hannah’s question. “I’ll write the current balance on your receipt of deposit.”
It took a moment for the printer to generate the receipt, and then Lydia flipped it over and wrote on the back of the slip. She pushed it through the grate to Hannah and watched as Hannah read the amount.
“But this says . . .” Hannah took a deep breath before she read off the amount. “Sixty thousand eight hundred and seventy-six dollars!”
“That’s what my screen says. Did you make a big deposit to your personal account that should have gone in your business account?”
“No! I’ve never had that much in my business account. This is wrong, Lydia. Somehow my personal account was credited with someone else’s deposit.”
“Just let me see whose initials are on that large deposit.” Lydia typed something on her keyboard and waited for a response. “Oh, dear!” she said, wincing slightly.
“Who is it?”
Lydia leaned closer to the grate. “It’s Doug Greerson. Let me go see if he’s in his office, Hannah. I’m not sure how this happened, but somehow a terrible mistake has been made.”
Two minutes later, Hannah was seated in front of Doug’s desk, a cup of cappuccino from his espresso machine in her hand. She sipped as Doug typed something on his keyboard and then he looked up at her.
“It’s not a mistake, Hannah. That is your correct balance. Did you think you had more than that in your account?”
“Good heavens, no! I’ve never deposited that much money in my life, and now I have sixty thousand dollars more than I’m supposed to have. I was credited with someone else’s deposit, Doug, and by now their checks are probably bouncing all over the place!”
Doug smiled. “It’s not someone else’s deposit, Hannah. It’s yours. And I think I see the problem. Didn’t Ross tell you that he was transferring money to your account before he left to go out on location?”
Hannah was so shocked that, for a moment, she couldn’t speak. “No,” she answered in a small voice. “I . . . I was at work and we didn’t get a chance to talk before he left.”
Doug pulled out his desk drawer and removed a folder. “Well, he certainly took care to make sure that you wouldn’t need any money while he was gone. I have some signature cards for you to sign.”
“Signature cards?”
“Yes. For his accounts. He listed you on all his accounts and he said he wanted to make them joint accounts. He told me he felt bad that he hadn’t done that before you two were married.”
Hannah watched as Doug pulled some cards from his folder. “There are three accounts, and here are three signature cards. Just sign your full name on the second line of each card and you’ll be able to access any and all of them.” Doug stopped speaking and stared at her across his desk. “You look pale, Hannah. Are you all right?”
“I . . . I . . . yes. It’s just . . . a surprise, that’s all.” Hannah looked down at the signature cards so that Doug couldn
’t see how rattled she was. It appeared that Ross had left all of his assets to her, including his car. Was Cyril right and had Ross gotten a premonition that something bad was going to happen to him and he might not be able to come home? Or was this even more proof that he had planned to leave and never come back home to her? But Ross had taken his keys to the condo with him. Didn’t that prove that he’d planned to come back?
As Hannah signed the first card, she tried her best to trust Cyril’s advice about believing that everything would be all right instead of worrying about the worst. But faced with this new information about the man she had married, it was even more difficult not to worry.
“While you’re signing, I’ll print out the balances,” Doug said, turning to his keyboard again. “Ross told me he wanted you to know exactly what was in each of his accounts.”