Cinnamon Roll Murder hsm-16

by Joanne Fluke

  Norman thought about that for a moment while they walked through the lobby toward the front door. “Peaches,” he said, stopping at the coat rack to pick up his coat. “I haven’t had anything with peaches for a long time.”

  “Then we’ll bake you some peach cookies. How about that?”

  “Sounds good.”

  Norman’s response came fast, and Hannah knew he was looking forward to the night ahead. But she still wasn’t sure exactly what Michelle was trying to accomplish.

  Once they’d put on their coats and pulled on their boots, they stepped out into the crisp night air and began the short walk to the parking lot. In colder weather and snowy conditions, Dick hired someone to ferry customers back and forth to the parking lot, but it was well above forty degrees tonight, and Norman shook his head when the college kid offered to take them to their cars. “We’ll walk,” he said, and then he turned to Michelle and Hannah. “Is that okay with you?”

  “Fine with me,” Hannah said quickly.

  “Me, too,” Michelle responded, falling into step with Norman as they began to walk down the lighted path to the parking lot.

  Michelle and Norman made polite conversation as they walked, but Hannah didn’t say a word. She was much more interested in seeing what Michelle would do and say next. But nothing of import happened until they entered the parking lot.

  “How about taking Hannah home with you?” Michelle said as they reached Hannah’s cookie truck. “That way I can run out for baking supplies and we won’t waste any time. You can get started on that photo Andrea’s going to send you,” she said to Norman. “And Hannah can start pulling out all the utensils and small appliances we need in the kitchen.”

  “Good idea!” Norman said, taking Hannah’s arm.

  “Do you want me to get the supplies first and then stop off at the condo to get the cats?” Michelle asked him. “I bet they’d like to visit while we bake.”

  “You can’t,” Hannah said quickly. “Doctor Bev’s allergic.”

  “But she’s in the Cities,” Michelle pointed out. “What do you say, Norman?”

  Norman thought about it for all of a second or two, and then he said, “I say yes. I haven’t seen Cuddles and Moishe in way too long.”

  “But ... what about her allergy?” Hannah asked him.

  “Let’s see if it really is an allergy. If Bev comes over on Sunday night and she doesn’t have any reaction, I’ll know it’s not an allergy.”

  When the cat’s away, the mice will play, Hannah thought, hiding a grin. Or in this case, When the fiancée’s away, our cats will play! She was proud of Norman for showing some backbone instead of just believing everything Doctor Bev told him. “Can you handle the cats alone?” she asked Michelle.

  “Of course. I’ll use the carrier for Cuddles, and I’ll put Moishe on his harness and leash. When I get back to Norman’s house, I’ll beep the horn, and you can come out and help me get them into the house.”

  “We’ll both help,” Norman offered quickly. “Come on, Hannah. Let’s go. I want to get all the cat toys out of the garage and put out the scratching post again.” Then he turned to Michelle. “Thanks for thinking of it, Michelle. It’s the best idea I’ve heard in a very long time.”

  “So! We’re all ready,” Norman said, positioning the scratching post by the window in the den. “Do you think they’d like a fire in the fireplace?”

  “I don’t know about them, but I would,” Hannah said, laughing a little. She was very encouraged by the fact that Norman had kept all of the cat toys. She just hoped it meant that he was having second thoughts about giving up the cat he loved so much.

  “This has got to be moved,” Norman said, picking up a glass-topped end table and putting it in a closet. “It’s Bev’s. She moved it over here last week. If Cuddles starts playing chase with Moishe, they could break it and hurt themselves.”

  Hannah smiled. She noticed that Norman had said, They could break it and hurt themselves, not They could break Bev’s table. At least for now, he had his priorities straight.

  “Do you need me to find anything else for you in the kitchen?” Norman asked.

  “I don’t think so. We’ve got the mixer, food processor, mixing bowls, measuring cups, and measuring spoons. And all your spoons, spatulas, and whisks are in the drawer in the kitchen. Your cookie sheets are still in that flat drawer under the ovens, aren’t they?”

  “Nothing’s changed, at least not yet. And actually ... I don’t think it will change. Since Bev’s not going to be cooking in the kitchen anyway, I’m not going to let her remodel it. It seems like a waste, doesn’t it?”

  “It does to me.”

  “Then we’re agreed. I’ll start in on that background check for Buddy Neiman if you don’t need me for anything else.”

  “That’s fine. The first name on his driver’s license was Bernard so you might try that, too. It’s Bernard Alan Neiman.”

  “Okay. I’ll be in my office.”

  “I’ll bring you a fresh cup of coffee when it’s ready.” Hannah walked over to the espresso machine on the counter, poured in some bottled water, and flicked it on.

  “That would be great! And ...” Norman paused to listen. “Was that a car horn I heard?”

  “I think it was. And that means Michelle must be here. Let’s go help her bring in the cats!”

  Hannah eyed the huge box of ingredients that Michelle carried into Norman’s kitchen. “Where did you get all that?”

  “At the Red Owl.”

  “They were open past eight at night?”

  “I drove past on the off-chance Florence might be there, and she was in the back, unpacking some boxes. When I told her I needed lots of stuff, she was happy to let me shop.”

  “Just look at all this!” Hannah started to pull ingredients from the box. “Cream cheese, peach jam, peach pie filling, white sugar, flour, baking soda, two pounds of salted butter, ground cinnamon, whole nutmeg, and a nutmeg grater?”

  “That’s only the first layer. I’ve also got pecans, eggs, and sliced canned peaches. And in that second box over there,” Michelle pointed to another box, “I’ve got bran flakes, oatmeal, raisins, brown sugar, and vanilla. I figured Norman must have salt so I didn’t buy that.”

  “This must have cost you a fortune!”

  “Oh, it did. But that’s okay. I can afford it.”

  “How? You don’t earn much working part-time at the college.”

  Michelle laughed. “I can afford it because I charged it to Mother.”

  “But ... but ...”

  “You sound like a motorboat,” Michelle interrupted with the tease they’d used as children. “It’s okay, Hannah. Mother told me to charge all expenses to her. She wants us to break up Norman and Doctor Bev, and she also wants us to solve Buddy’s murder. She said it’s her assignment to us and she’s happy to pay for it.”

  Hannah felt a little like a kid stealing money from her mother’s purse, something she’d never dreamed of doing when she was growing up. It made her very uncomfortable. “Maybe I should pay Mother back.”

  “Absolutely not. It would only make her mad. Mother gave me her credit card and told me to use it. Besides, Mother can afford it. I can’t, and you can’t.”

  “You’ve got a point.” Hannah gave a little shrug. “Okay. I’ll buy that. What kind of cookie are we going to make for Norman?”

  “We’re making Peaches And Cream Cookies. I thought it all out when I was shopping in the store. They’re going to be soft, creamy, delicious cookies. Just wait and see.”

  “You’re the boss on this one. I don’t think I’ve ever made peach cookies in my life.”

  “There’s always a first time,” Michelle said, tossing Hannah a can of sliced peaches. “Open these and drain them, will you? I’m going to start softening the salted butter and the cream cheese.”

  Thirty minutes later, Norman looked happier than Hannah had seen him look in several months. He was sitting at the kitchen table watching th
em mix up cookie dough, and Cuddles was in his lap. Hannah could hear her purring even over the whine of Norman’s stand mixer, and Moishe was purring too. Perhaps she was anthropomorphizing, but Hannah was convinced that her own cat was purring because he was happy to see his friend, Cuddles, so happy.

  As Hannah watched, Cuddles jumped down from Norman’s lap and walked over to rub noses with Moishe. Then she turned, swished her tail, and wiggled her rear as she walked away.

  “She wants Moishe to follow her,” Norman explained his cat’s actions. And to Hannah amazement, Moishe jumped up and padded after her.

  “Where are they going?” Michelle asked.

  “They’re going to check out the house to see if anything’s changed. And now that I put that silly table in the closet, they’re going to find out everything’s exactly the same. Cuddles is leading the way because she still considers it to be her house.”

  From your lips to God’s ears, Hannah thought, remembering the phrase her neighbor used to use when she wanted things to be as she said they were.

  There was a loud thump from the den and then a startled meow. A scant second later, there was the sound of running footfalls on the stairway Norman had built for Moishe before he’d adopted Cuddles.

  “The chase is on,” Norman said. There was another loud thump and then the sound of footfalls running down the circular staircase.

  “And the chase has picked up speed,” Hannah commented. “Any second now they’ll probably ... feet up everybody! Here they come!”

  Hannah and Michelle hopped up to sit on the kitchen counter. Norman lifted his feet to the seat of a neighboring chair. They were just in time as the two cats rounded the corner into the kitchen and skidded across the tiles.

  “Careful, guys!” Norman warned, but of course they didn’t listen. Norman didn’t speak cat and the cats didn’t speak caution. They slid past the refrigerator, rounded the center island on three paws, and ran smack dab into the cupboard under the sink.

  “Rrrrow!” Moishe yowled, sounding dazed.

  “Merrrowww,” Cuddles moaned, adding her voice to the complaint.

  “Are they hurt?” Michelle asked, preparing to jump down from the counter.

  “I really don’t think so,” Norman said with a chuckle, as the two cats shook their heads, regained their feet, and started to chase each other all over again. “Do they do this at your house?” he asked Hannah.

  “Oh, yes. Every night.”

  “But your place is so much smaller! How do they manage it?”

  “They fly,” Hannah said, and left it at that.

  PEACHES AND CREAM COOKIES

  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

  15 canned peach slices to garnish your cookies

  1 and ¼ cups white (granulated) sugar

  ½ cup (1 stick, 4 ounces, ¼ pound) salted butter, softened

  4 ounces cream cheese, softened (the brick kind, not the whipped kind—I used Philadelphia Cream Cheese in the silver box)

  3 large eggs

  ½ teaspoon salt

  1 teaspoon cinnamon

  ½ teaspoon nutmeg (freshly grated is best, of course)

  1 teaspoon baking soda

  1 and ½ cups peach pie filling (I used Comstock— my can was 15.5 ounces net weight, and it was exactly 1 and ½ cups)

  2 Tablespoons (that’s cup) peach jam

  3 and ½ cups all-purpose flour (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)

  1 cup finely chopped pecans

  Drain the can of peach slices in a strainer over the sink, or over a bowl. You do not need to reserve the juice. Let the peaches drain while you mix up your cookie dough.

  Hannah’s 1st Note: Unless you have a very strong stirring arm, use an electric mixer to make this cookie dough.

  Place the sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer.

  Place the butter and the cream cheese, which must be softened to room temperature, on top of the sugar.

  Turn the mixer to LOW and mix for one minute. Gradually increase the speed of the mixer, scraping down the sides of the bowl frequently and beating for one minute at each level, until you arrive at the highest speed.

  Beat at the highest speed for at least 2 minutes or until the resulting mixture is very light and fluffy.

  Turn the mixer down to LOW, and add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.

  Continue to mix on LOW speed while you add the salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking soda. Mix until they are thoroughly incorporated.

  Measure out a cup and a half of peach pie filling. If there are any large pieces of peach, chop them up with a knife into small pieces about the size of mini chocolate chips. The goal is to get some into each cookie.

  With the mixer on LOW speed, add the peach pie filling to your bowl and mix it in.

  Measure out the peach jam. If there are any large pieces of peach, chop them up with a knife just like you did with the peaches in the pie filling.

  With the mixer on LOW speed, add the peach jam to your bowl and mix it in thoroughly.

  Mix in the flour, one cup at a time, mixing on LOW after each addition. (You don’t have to be exact—just add the flour in 4 increments)

  Shut off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Then give the mixture a final stir by hand. The resulting cookie dough should be fluffy, but not at all stiff like sugar cookie or chocolate chip cookie dough. Let the bowl sit on the counter while you ...

  Line your cookie sheets with parchment paper. It’s the easiest way to bake these cookies. If you don’t have parchment paper and you really don’t want to go out to get any, grease your cookie sheets heavily, or spray them thoroughly with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray.

  If you haven’t already done so, put the pecans in the bowl of a food processor with the steel blade in place, and process them with an on-and-off motion into fine pieces.

  When the pecans are ready, place them in a shallow bowl. This is what you’ll use to coat the outside of your Peaches And Cream Cookies.

  Using a teaspoon (not the measuring kind, but one from your silverware drawer), drop a rounded teaspoon of cookie dough into the bowl of finely chopped pecans. Use your fingers and a light touch to form the cookie dough into a ball. Lift the ball gently and place it on your baking sheet. Continue to form dough balls covered with finely chopped pecans, 12 to a standard-size cookie sheet.

  Lay your peach slices out on layers of paper towels on the counter. Pat them dry and then cut each one into two pieces, making thinner slices.

  Top each Peaches And Cream cookie dough ball with a thin peach slice, cut side up. Press it down gently.

  Bake your Peaches And Cream Cookies at 375 degrees F. for 12 minutes. Take them out of the oven and slide the cookie-laden parchment paper onto a wire rack to cool. If you used greased cookie sheets, you’re going to have to let the cookies sit on the cookie sheets for 2 minutes and then remove them to a wire rack with a metal spatula.

  Let the cookies cool completely before you attempt to remove them from the wire rack.

  Yield: Approximately 4 to 5 dozen soft and moist cookies, depending on cookie size.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  “One thing’s for sure,” Norman said grinning at Hannah. “These are the best peach cookies I ever ate.”

  “These are the only peach cookies I ever ate. But I agree that they’re wonderful. Michelle is really talented at making up recipes. These are so good, I think I might have to serve them at The Cookie Jar.”

  “Not these!” Norman jerked the plate away from her. “These are my cookies. You’ll have to get the recipe from Michelle and bake your own cookies.”

  A message flashed on Norman’s computer monitor and he gave a little sigh. They were in his home office, a large room with a sofa, chairs, a spectacular view of the woods, a fireplace, and two walls of floor to ceiling bookcases. “I’m sorry, Hannah. None of the hits I got on Bernard Alan Neiman panned out.”

  “That’s okay. I
t just goes a little further toward proving my fake name theory.”

  “But we may never know who Buddy actually was.”

  “I know that, but Doc and Mike are working on identifying him too, and they may have gotten some leads we don’t know about. Mike’s running his fingerprints and he’s got deputies checking for anyone who fits Buddy’s description in the missing person’s records.”

  “That’s a big job.”

  “Yes it is, but Andrea says Bill’s all for it. He even called in some retired deputies to work on it.”

  “Is Doc helping the deputies?”

  “No, he’s got his own plan. He told Mother that he was going to post Buddy’s picture in something called Hospital News. It’s a magazine like those airline magazines you read when you’re on a plane. Hospitals subscribe to Hospital News and put it in their waiting rooms. Lots of people see it, and one of them might recognize Buddy and know who he really is.”

  “Doc really wants to know, doesn’t he?”

  “Yes. He says that since Buddy died in his hospital, he feels a certain responsibility. And that responsibility is doubled because Mother was the one who discovered Buddy’s body. Both of them think that Buddy may have family or someone who needs to know what happened to him.”

  “They’re probably right. Human beings don’t live in a vacuum.”

  Norman’s computer gave a little ding, and Hannah turned to look at the screen. “What does that ding mean?”

  “It means I have an e-mail message. It’s probably Andrea with the photo. Time to get busy, Hannah. I’ll download the photo and we’ll see if we can find out more about the woman in Shelby’s photograph.”

  Hannah watched with envy as Norman called up his e-mail program and signed in. She really ought to learn to do some of these things. He’d offered to teach her on several occasions, and she simply hadn’t gotten around to taking him up on his offer. Now it was too late if his marriage to Doctor Bev went off as planned. If, she reminded herself. Those two little letters contained a world of possibilities, and she intended to take full advantage of them.