Chocolate Cream Pie Murder

by Joanne Fluke

  You’re not going to go back to sleep so you might as well get up, Hannah’s rational mind told her. That made sense and Hannah folded back her quilt. As she always did when she looked at her quilt, Hannah smiled. It was printed with cute, frolicking cats, and Norman had given it to her the one time in her life that she’d been locked up in the Winnetka County Jail.

  Once Hannah had made her way to the bathroom and taken her morning shower, she felt fully awake, her neck had loosened, and she craved coffee. She sniffed the air, half-hoping that Michelle had heard the master bedroom shower running and had decided to get up, too. But it was clear that Michelle was still asleep because all was silent outside her bedroom door.

  It didn’t take long for Hannah to dress since she’d chosen her morning outfit before she’d retired for the night. Jeans and a long-sleeved aqua-blue top would be perfect for winter weather, especially if she added the matching cardigan sweater. She could always take the sweater off when she got to work and tie on her signature apron with The Cookie Jar emblazoned on the bib in red.

  Once she’d brushed her curly red hair, Hannah turned to look at the cats. They were still sleeping soundly and even though she half-wished for some company in the much-too-early morning, she didn’t have the heart to wake them.

  Hannah stopped in the hallway and listened, but there was still no sound from Michelle’s room, so she resumed her trek down the carpeted hallway. When she entered the living room, she peered over at the couch where Norman was sleeping.

  He looks like a little boy in his sleep, Hannah thought, smiling slightly. Everyone always said that people looked younger in their sleep, but she’d never really believed it before. Norman’s chest was rising and falling evenly, and there was a slight smile on his face. He was obviously dreaming about something pleasant and Hannah found herself wishing that he was dreaming about her.

  She stepped forward, moving silently across the living room carpet, and entered the kitchen, reaching out toward the light switch. And that was when she pulled her hand back. There was no way she was going to turn on the multiple banks of fluorescent fixtures that made the white walls of her kitchen resemble the inside of an operating theater. Norman was still sleeping and he had to go to work at his dental office today. The sudden change in illumination that would flood in from the kitchen could wake him and Hannah didn’t want to do that.

  Hannah reached for the light switch on the opposite side of the kitchen doorway. When she’d moved into the condo, she had installed soft lighting under the hanging cabinets that lined three walls of her kitchen. She switched that on and smiled as she realized that she now had plenty of light for her purposes.

  As she always did when she couldn’t sleep or she was upset about some situation in her life, Hannah needed clarity. She’d discovered, early on, that one method she could use to accomplish that clarity, to see things with fresh eyes, was to bake. There was something about performing the familiar steps involved in following a recipe that cleared her mind of distractions and gave her new ideas for dealing with problems.

  Before coffee? Her rational mind asked her, and Hannah thought about that for a moment. Perhaps she’d wait to bake until she’d fortified herself with caffeine.

  The recipe for Chocolate Cream Pie that Sally had given her was on the counter next to the toaster. Hannah paged through it, reading the ingredients and directions as she went. She had all the ingredients she needed to make Sally’s pie. She didn’t even have to turn on the oven because the chocolate pudding part of the pie was made on the stovetop.

  She went to the cupboard that contained her baking things to get one of the prepared crusts she kept there. She had graham cracker, shortbread, and chocolate wafer crusts. Sally had used a chocolate wafer crust, but Hannah knew that any of the prepared crusts would do even though Sally made hers from scratch. Hannah didn’t feel like being that much of a purist, and she didn’t mind using a prepared crust if it saved her valuable time.

  Once the crust was unwrapped and sitting on the counter, Hannah assembled the ingredients for the pudding that filled the chocolate pudding layer of the pie. In a very short period of time she had set out a package of mini chocolate chips, cocoa powder, white granulated sugar, a quarter of a stick of salted butter, a container of half-and- half, a carton of large eggs, and a box of cornstarch. She checked the recipe to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything, carried the recipe to the table to read, after she’d had her first cup of coffee, and hurried to the coffeemaker.

  The first thing Hannah did was thank her lucky stars that Delores had given her a new coffeemaker for Christmas. The water in the reservoir heated very rapidly and she slipped in one of the large pods filled with coffee that made a whole pot. Once the carafe was in place, she pressed the button to brew the coffee and the coffeemaker gurgled and began to transfer hot water to the pod. A second or two later, brewed coffee dripped into the carafe. That was when Hannah did something the instructions did not recommend. With a coffee mug in one hand, she grabbed the carafe with the other, pulled it out quickly, and replaced it with her coffee mug. Once the machine had filled her mug, she quickly removed it with one hand and slid the carafe back in place with the other hand. All this had taken a bit of juggling, but once Hannah had taken her first sip of freshly brewed coffee, she was convinced it had been well worth it.

  “Ahhhh!” She breathed, feeling euphoric as she carried the full mug to the kitchen table, pulled out a chair, and sat down. There was nothing like a bracing cup of strong coffee first thing in the morning!

  “Can you sneak one out for me, too?” a male voice asked, and Hannah turned to see Norman standing in the doorway.

  “I’m so sorry, Norman!” Hannah apologized. “I didn’t mean to wake you!”

  “You didn’t. I woke up to my favorite morning scent, freshly brewed coffee. Can you sneak out another mug, Hannah?”

  “Of course I can,” Hannah replied immediately, taking another coffee mug from the cupboard and beginning to execute a similar procedure for Norman. Once she’d successfully completed the maneuver, she carried his coffee to the table and sat down next to him.

  “Watching you do that without spilling a drop makes me think I ought to teach you some of my magic tricks,” Norman commented.

  “Not unless you promise to be my assistant and you’re willing to wear that awful purple gown.”

  “Never mind. I’m drawing the line at that!”

  Hannah chuckled and so did Norman. They sat there, silent for a time, sipping their coffee and enjoying the feeling of being awake when everyone else was sleeping. Then Norman reached out to pat her shoulder. “Are you nervous about today, Hannah?”

  Hannah knew exactly what he meant. It was Monday and Ross was scheduled to come back to Lake Eden to sign the withdrawal slip so that she could get his money from Doug at the bank. “I’m a little nervous,” she admitted.

  “A little? Or more than a little?”

  Hannah thought about that for a moment. “Maybe a bit more nervous than I’d like to be. I wish I knew whether Ross was coming or not. And I wish I knew what he’ll do when Doug says he couldn’t get that much money on such short notice.”

  “Don’t worry. After you went to bed last night, I called Mike and we talked about that. Mike and I are going to stay with you at The Cookie Jar, and Lonnie and Rick are going to back Doug up at the bank. You don’t have to worry, Hannah. We won’t leave your side until we get the word that Ross has left town.”

  “But . . . how about your dental appointments at the clinic?”

  “No problem. I talked to Doc Bennett and he’s happy to fill in for me and make a little extra cash. He’s planning to go on another cruise with the widow he met on the last one.”

  Hannah gave a huge sigh of relief. She hadn’t known she was that nervous about what Ross might do, but with Norman, Mike, Lonnie, and Rick looking out for her, she felt as if a tremendous weight had slid off her shoulders.

  “Feel better?” Norman asked,
smiling at her.

  “A lot better. I guess I was more worried than I thought I was.”

  “What are you making?” Norman asked, gesturing toward the ingredients that were lined up on the counter.

  “Sally’s Chocolate Cream Pie. She gave me the recipe the last time I saw her and I wanted to try it this morning.”

  “Is there anything I can do to help you?”

  Hannah thought about that for a moment and then she began to smile. “You can help me whisk the chocolate pudding when I make it. Sally’s recipe calls for a lot of whisking.”

  “Then I’m your man. I can wield a whisk with the best of them,” Norman promised. “Let’s finish our coffee and try that pie.”

  It didn’t take long to make the pie with both of them working. Once the pudding had cooled a bit, Hannah poured it into the prepared pie shell, covered the top of the pudding with plastic wrap, and stuck the pie in the refrigerator. “It has to chill before I can put on the whipped cream topping,” she told Norman.

  “Something smells like chocolate in here,” Michelle said, coming into the kitchen. “What is it?”

  “Sally’s Chocolate Cream Pie,” Norman told her. “Hannah and I just made the pudding part.”

  “Well, it smells delicious!” Michelle walked over to the coffee carafe and poured herself a full mug. “I’ll make another pot of coffee. This one’s almost gone. And then we can talk about breakfast.”

  “There’s nothing to talk about,” Norman told her. “I’m taking you and Hannah out to the Corner Tavern for breakfast. We’re going to meet Mike and Lonnie there.”

  Michelle looked surprised. “Lonnie didn’t say anything about that.”

  “He probably doesn’t know yet. Mike and I arranged it. I’m going to be Hannah’s guard detail at The Cookie Jar today, and Lonnie and Rick are going to support Doug at the bank.”

  “Then you think that Ross will show up at the bank?” Michelle asked Hannah.

  “If he wants the money, he will! He’s desperate to get his hands on that money, and the last time he called me, I told him that I couldn’t withdraw it for him.”

  Michelle didn’t look convinced. “Did Ross believe you?”

  “I think so.”

  “Okay then.” Michelle drained her coffee mug and stood up. “Is it okay if I use the guest bathroom shower first, Norman?”

  “I’m sure it’s fine,” Hannah told her. “I’ve already showered, so Norman can use the one in the master bedroom. And then we can all go out for breakfast.” Hannah said no more, but her suspicious mind added a final clause to the last sentence. It was, before Ross comes to town and all hell breaks loose!

  SALLY’S CHOCOLATE CREAM PIE

  This pie is a pudding pie with whipped cream and does not bake in the oven.

  The Crust:

  8-inch or 9-inch prepared crushed chocolate wafer or crushed Oreo pie crust.

  Hannah’s 1st Note: You can also use a prepared crushed cookie pie crust, a graham cracker pie crust, or a shortbread pie crust. You can even use a regular pie crust as long as you bake and cool it first.

  The Chocolate Filling:

  6 large egg yolks (save the whites to make your favorite meringue cookies)

  ¾ cup white (granulated) sugar

  2 Tablespoons cornstarch

  3 cups light cream (Half n’ Half)

  1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, finely chopped (measure AFTER chopping)

  ½ stick (4 Tablespoons, ¼ cup, pound) salted butter

  The Whipped Cream Topping:

  1 and ½ cups heavy cream

  ¼ cup powdered (confectioners’) sugar

  ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

  Decorations: (optional)

  shaved chocolate

  chocolate curls

  maraschino cherry halves

  butterscotch or caramel ice cream topping to drizzle on top

  Place the egg yolks in a medium-size saucepan, off the heat.

  Whisk the egg yolks until they are well combined.

  Add the white granulated sugar and the cornstarch. Whisk everything together, off the heat, until the ingredients are well incorporated.

  Turn the stovetop burner on MEDIUM-HIGH heat and add the 3 cups of light cream (half and half) SLOWLY, whisking continuously while the mixture is heating.

  Whisk and bring to a boil until the mixture is slightly thickened. (This will take from 3 to 4 minutes.)

  Stirring constantly, boil mixture for 3 minutes.

  Hannah’s 2nd Note: This is much easier to do if you have a hand mixer turned to LOW speed, but you’ll have to make sure that all areas of the saucepan are being mixed. If you miss an area, your chocolate filling may scorch and you’ll have to start over!

  Whisk in the finely chopped mini chocolate chips and the half-stick of salted butter. Keep your whisk moving the entire time!

  Lower the temperature of the burner to LOW and continue to whisk until the mixture is as thick as pudding. This should take about 5 to 6 minutes.

  When the chocolate mixture has thickened, remove the saucepan to a cold stovetop burner and let it sit for 5 minutes.

  Use a heat-resistant rubber spatula to transfer the contents of your saucepan to the pie crust of your choice and smooth the top with the heat-resistant spatula.

  Cover the surface of the chocolate layer with plastic wrap and place your partially completed Chocolate Cream Pie in the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours. (Overnight is even better, too.)

  To Make the Whipped Cream Topping:

  Hannah’s 3rd Note: If you’re tired or in a hurry and want a shortcut, simply thaw a small tub of Original Cool Whip and stir in butterscotch ice cream topping or caramel ice cream topping. It will hold its shape better than homemade whipped cream and you can put it on your chilled filling an hour or so before your guests arrive, rather than whipping the cream at the last minute!

  Using an electric mixer, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form.

  Turn the mixer off and sprinkle the powdered sugar on top of the whipped cream.

  Mix on HIGH until the powdered sugar is mixed in.

  With the mixer running on HIGH, sprinkle in the half-teaspoon of vanilla extract and mix it in.

  When everything has been thoroughly incorporated, shut off the mixer and take out the bowl with the whipped cream topping. Give it a final stir with a rubber spatula and set it on the kitchen counter.

  Get the pie crust with its chocolate filling out of the refrigerator and set it next to the mixer bowl with the whipped cream topping.

  Peel the plastic wrap off the chocolate filling and use the rubber spatula to transfer mounds of whipped cream to the surface of the chocolate filling.

  Work quickly to dot the entire surface of the chocolate filling with whipped cream. Continue transferring the whipped cream until the mixer bowl has been emptied.

  Using the rubber spatula, spread the mounds of whipped cream together to cover the entire surface of your Chocolate Cream Pie. Make sure the whipped cream topping goes all the way out to the edge of the pie crust.

  Using the flat edge of the rubber spatula, press it against the surface of the whipped cream topping and pull it up quickly. This should cause the whipped cream to form a point on top. Make “points” over the entire surface of your Chocolate Cream Pie.

  Choose the decorating topping you wish to use on top of the whipped cream. You can use more than one topping to really make it look fancy.

  If you choose shaved chocolate, use a sharp knife to “shave” the edge of a bar of sweet chocolate. Place the shaved pieces in a bowl and, using your impeccably clean fingers, sprinkle the shaved chocolate over the surface of your pie.

  If you choose chocolate curls to decorate the top of your pie, simply run a sharp knife down the long edge of a bar of sweet chocolate. If you don’t lift the knife blade, it will form a curl of chocolate. Use these chocolate curls to decorate the top of your Chocolate Cream Pie.

  Maraschino cherries are
always colorful on top of a pie. Cut the maraschino cherries in half vertically and transfer the halves to the surface of the whipped cream topping, rounded side up. Make a large circle of cherry halves around the edge or a design of your own making using the cherry halves.

  If you choose butterscotch or caramel ice cream topping, simply drizzle it all over the surface of your pie in a pretty design.

  Refrigerate your Chocolate Cream Pie for at least 2 hours before serving.

  To serve, cut your Chocolate Cream Pie into 8 pieces and remove the pieces with a triangle-shaped spatula. Place each piece on a dessert plate and serve with a carafe of strong, hot coffee or tall glasses of milk.

  Yield: This pie will serve 8 people . . . or 7 if you invite Mother. She’ll tell you she couldn’t possibly eat more of something so rich, but you won’t have to twist her arm to get her to agree to a second helping.