Devil’s Food Cake Murder

by Joanne Fluke

  Mike stood up, pulled her to her feet, and gave her a hug. “So tell me what you’re going to take a look at next and then I have to go. It’s getting late.”

  Hannah thought for a moment even though thinking was difficult to do in the warm circle of Mike’s arms. “I’m going to talk to some of the people Paul knew when he went to Jordan High,” she said quite truthfully.

  “Okay.”

  Hannah was surprised. “That’s all right with you?”

  “It’s fine with me. I’m not pursuing that particular avenue, so we won’t get in each other’s way.”

  In other words, you don’t think I’ll find out anything important, Hannah’s mind interpreted Mike’s response, but of course she didn’t say that.

  “Now go to bed and I’ll lock the door behind me,” Mike said, hugging her once more and then heading for the door. “You’d better get a couple hours of sleep before it’s time for you to get up again.”

  WELSH RAREBIT

  If you don’t have a toaster, DO

  NOT preheat the oven quite yet. If

  you do have a toaster, preheat the

  oven to 450 degrees F. (a very hot

  oven), rack in the middle position.

  Hannah’s 1st Note: I usually double this recipe so that it will serve 4 people, even when I make it for only 2 people. Everybody in my family wants another slice!

  2 large slices good white bread (I used egg bread from the deli—you could also use thick-sliced French toast bread)

  4 large eggs

  8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated

  ½ teaspoon dry mustard

  Tabasco or your favorite hot pepper sauce (I used Slap Ya Mama made by Walker & Sons)

  salt

  freshly ground black pepper

  1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

  Toast the bread in your toaster until it’s golden brown. If you don’t have a toaster, lay the bread flat on your broiler pan and toast the first side, watching carefully to make sure it doesn’t burn. When it’s golden brown, flip it over and toast the other side.

  Remove the bread from the toaster (or the broiler pan) immediately. If you used the broiler, shut it off and set the oven to bake at 450 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

  (Your oven will already be very close to that temperature if you used the broiler.)

  Find a baking pan that will hold both slices of bread comfortably. Spray it with Pam or another nonstick baking spray. (I use an 8-inch square pan unless I double the recipe. Then I use a half steam table disposable foil pan placed on a cookie sheet to support the bottom.)

  Place the toast in the bottom of the baking pan.

  Separate the eggs into whites and yolks. Here’s how to do it for this recipe:

  Crack egg #1, and pull the shell into two parts. Do a little juggling to drain off the white part into a medium-sized bowl. Dump the yolk that’s left in the shell into another medium-sized bowl.

  Repeat this process for egg #2 and egg #3.

  Get out a little refrigerator container, the kind that will hold one egg yolk.

  Crack egg #4, separate the white part into the bowl with the other white parts, and dump the yolk into the refrigerator container so that you can add it to your scrambled eggs in the morning. Put the covered container in the refrigerator.

  You now have two medium-sized bowls on the counter, one containing 3 egg yolks, the other containing 4 egg whites.

  Beat the three egg yolks together until they’re well mixed.

  Add the grated cheddar cheese to the egg yolks, and mix everything up with a fork.

  Mix in the dry mustard, stirring until it’s incorporated.

  Stir in the hot pepper sauce.

  Add a generous sprinkle of salt and mix it in.

  Sprinkle in some freshly ground pepper and stir well.

  Set the bowl aside on the counter.

  Add the cream of tartar to the bowl with the egg whites and stir it in. It’ll help the egg whites whip up faster and stiffer.

  Whip the 4 egg whites until they stand up in stiff peaks. You can use an electric mixer or do this by hand with a whisk. (Doing it by hand takes some time and muscle—it’s a lot easier with a mixer.)

  Add a large spoonful of stiff egg whites to the yolks and cheese mixture, stirring it in until it’s well combined. That’s called “tempering.”

  Add the rest of the egg whites to the cheese mixture. Fold them in gently with a rubber spatula, trying to keep as much volume and air as you can in the mixture.

  Hannah’s 2nd Note: To fold in the egg whites, simply place the side of the rubber spatula blade in the center of the bowl, dig it all the way down to the bottom, and then bring it toward you until it touches the side of the bowl nearest you. Keeping the rubber blade flat so that you lift as much of the mixture as possible, move the spatula up the side of the bowl, and flip the mixture you carried on the rubber blade in the center on top. Now give a bowl a little turn on the counter, and do the same thing all over again. It’s like carefully stirring with the flat of your spatula. Do this until there are no big clumps of egg white left. There may be little clumps, but that’s perfectly all right. (You just made a soufflé. It was easy, wasn’t it?)

  Gently spoon the resulting mixture over the toast in the baking pan.

  Bake at 450 degrees F. for 10 minutes, or until your Welsh Rarebit has browned and risen.

  Hannah’s 3rd Note: I made this once at Andrea’s house for Andrea, Bill, Tracey, and me. (That was before Bethie was born.) Tracey thought I was calling it Welsh Rabbit and she didn’t want to eat it because she liked bunnies. I had to make her another piece just to show her that there weren’t any bunnies in it.

  Yield: 2 extremely tasty servings.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  It was almost one in the afternoon, and Hannah was exhausted. She’d talked to Andrea, who’d agreed to come in during her lunch break to talk about their trip to the Eagle, and she’d heard almost all of Lisa’s newest story in bits and pieces as Marge and Michelle came into the kitchen from the coffee shop to refill the glass cookie jars they kept behind the counter. In Hannah’s opinion, today’s story was even better than the one Lisa had told yesterday, and the word was spreading fast. They’d been packed, standing room only, from ten in the morning on.

  As Hannah took yet another batch of cookies from the oven and slid the baking sheets onto the baker’s rack, there was a knock on the kitchen door. She finished her work in double time and hurried to the door to open it.

  “Hi, Hannah!” Andrea dashed in and hung her coat on a hook by the back door. “I don’t think Mother saw me come in here. She invited me to dinner, but I told her I had something else I had to do.”

  “You didn’t tell her we were going out to the Eagle, did you?”

  “Of course not! I wouldn’t be that dumb! Mother would want to go along, and then we’d have to watch out for …” Andrea stopped speaking, a reaction to Hannah’s pained expression. “What’s wrong?”

  “Say hello to Mother,” Hannah said, trying for humor that didn’t work. “I guess the cat’s out of the bag.”

  “Don’t you take the species of my grandcat in vain!” Delores said, marching over to the stainless steel workstation and taking a seat. “Now what’s all this about going out to a horrible place like the Eagle?”

  Hannah sighed deeply and plunged into the icy waters. “We really didn’t want you to know, Mother. We thought you’d worry and there’s really no reason …”

  “Hannah!” Delores interrupted. “You’re just wasting our time making excuses that aren’t going to work anyway. I know you’re going to the Eagle tonight with Andrea and probably Michelle. Why?”

  “To see Lenny Peske. He used to hang around with Paul in high school and they got into trouble together.”

  “Not really serious trouble,” Andrea said quickly. “It was things like breaking into school lockers and playing not-so-nice tricks on teachers they didn’t like.”

  �
�I see. And you think Paul’s murder may relate to some incident that happened in the past when he knew Lenny in high school?”

  “It’s possible,” Hannah told her. “It’s another avenue we can explore.”

  “Yes, I suppose that makes sense. Lenny’s not a suspect, is he?”

  Hannah shook her head. “As far as we know, he doesn’t have a motive.”

  “All right, then. I won’t worry if you go out there just to talk to Lenny while he’s tending bar. But if he says something incriminating, I want you to promise to come straight home and let the police handle it.”

  “Okay,” Hannah agreed quickly. “I promise we’ll leave right away if anything like that happens.”

  “Well, then. I guess that’s settled. How about some coffee, dear?”

  “Of course, Mother. Andrea? You want coffee, don’t you?”

  Andrea shook her head. “No coffee. I’m still a little jittery from dealing with Bonnie Surma. I’ll just have a soothing cookie and a small glass of milk.”

  Hannah did her best to figure out what constituted a “soothing cookie” as she poured Andrea’s milk and her mother’s coffee. She finally settled on filling half a plate with Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookies for their buttery sweetness and smooth melt-in-your-mouth texture, and the other half with squares of Candy Bar Bar Cookies for their endorphin-rich chocolate. “What happened with Bonnie Surma?” she asked as she delivered their drinks and sweet treats.

  “She came in a little before noon,” Delores said, motioning for Andrea to start in on the cookies. “She said she wanted to try on the little black dress Andrea put in the window this morning.”

  Hannah looked blank. “I didn’t see it, but what’s wrong with that?”

  “For one thing, it has a darling draped look over the hips,” Andrea told her. “And Bonnie has her own draped look over her hips.”

  Hannah began to smile. “I get it. The little black dress would have accentuated one of Bonnie’s figure flaws.”

  “Exactly!” Delores exclaimed. “That’s precisely what I told Bonnie, but for some reason she took offense.”

  “I told you, Mother. No one wants to be reminded of their imperfections. There are other, better ways to suggest that the little black dress in the window just isn’t the right look for her.” Andrea turned to Hannah. “It took me over twenty minutes to convince Bonnie not to leave the shop and never darken Claire’s door again. And it took me another twenty minutes to talk her into trying an incredibly gorgeous red dress that I’d just unpacked from the new shipment. Mother ironed it while Bonnie and I talked about which materials would enhance her effervescent personality and the vibrant, jewel-tone shades she was simply born to wear.”

  “The only reason she asked me to iron the red dress that didn’t need ironing was to get me out of the room,” Delores complained, but then she smiled at Andrea. “It turns out she was right. All that silly talk about personalities and color enhancements worked. Bonnie bought three dresses and all of them looked wonderful on her!”

  They stopped talking as they heard the sound of applause coming from the coffee shop. It was obvious that Lisa had concluded this installment of Hannah Finds the Body. A few moments later, Lisa came into the kitchen. Her eyes were sparkling, her color was high, and she was smiling happily.

  “I think that story was the best one today,” she said, sinking down on the stool. “I even got a tip, and the people around here practically never tip!”

  Hannah smiled at her partner. “That’s great! How much did you get?”

  “I’m not sure.” Lisa reached into her apron pocket and pulled out a gold coin. “He said it’s worth a dollar, but Herb thought it might be worth more.”

  “What is it?” Andrea asked her, staring at the coin in Lisa’s hand.

  “A Sacagawea gold dollar. Practically everybody in the coffee shop wanted to see it.”

  “Who gave it to you?” Hannah asked her.

  “Lenny Peske.”

  The swinging door opened, and Michelle came into the kitchen. “They want you back for a curtain call, Lisa,” she said. “By the way, that one was really good.”

  “Thanks,” Lisa hurried back into the coffee shop, but Michelle stayed behind. “Jon Walker wants to see you,” she told Hannah. “He took a look at that gold coin and he says he’s got some information you need.”

  Michelle left and a moment later, she came back in with Jon Walker. He was dressed in his pharmacy greens, and he quickly accepted Hannah’s invitation to join them for coffee and cookies.

  “It’s that gold coin, Hannah,” Jon said, reaching for a Candy Bar Bar Cookie. “When Lisa showed it to me, I turned it over to look at the flip side. It’s part of the first run of the coin. I could tell because the eagle didn’t have the arrows that decorate the more recent runs.”

  “Does that make it more valuable?” Delores asked.

  “Not really, but it’s a coincidence that Lenny had one, because I put five original run Sacagawea dollars in the church collection plate on Sunday.”

  Hannah and Michelle exchanged glances. They knew that part of Sunday’s collection had been stolen, perhaps by the person who had killed Paul.

  “Are original run Sacagawea dollars rare?” Hannah asked him.

  Jon shrugged. “I don’t think they’re that rare. I get them in at the drugstore occasionally. When I do, I put them in the church collection plate. Reverend Bob usually exchanges them for regular dollars and saves them for the kids who win prizes at Vacation Bible School in the summer.”

  “So how many Sacagawea dollars have you taken in this year at the drugstore?” Hannah followed up.

  “I’m not sure. Maybe…ten or twelve.”

  “And how many of those would you say were original run Sacagawea dollars?”

  “Maybe half.”

  “Then it wouldn’t be that unusual for Lenny to have one?” Hannah asked the final question in the series.

  “No. No, it wouldn’t be that unusual, especially since some people save them when they get them and use them for tips. It’s just a coincidence, that’s all I’m saying. Lenny probably took it in while he was bartending out at the Eagle.”

  Once Jon had left and the door had swung shut behind him, Delores gave her three daughters a stern look. “I’m in,” she said.

  “You’re in what, Mother?” Michelle asked. It was clear she was confused since she hadn’t been a part of their original conversation.

  “I’m in and we’re using my car to go out to the Eagle. From what Jon just told us, Lenny could be a suspect. There’s no way I’m going to let my three girls go out there alone!”

  Hannah wrapped tape, sticky side up, around her right hand, and used it on her black sweater. It had been folded on top of the other sweaters in her drawer, but somehow it had picked up what looked like hundreds of orange and white cat hairs. She was almost finished when Michelle walked in.

  “Cat hair on your sweater?” Michelle asked, watching her older sister pat the sweater with the tape.

  “I’ll say! It was in my drawer, and I don’t know how it collected that much cat hair, but Moishe must be …” Hannah caught sight of her sister and stopped in midsentence. “You’re wearing that?”

  “Yes. I love to wear red, and the sequins really set off the color.”

  “You actually bought that?” Hannah asked her, wondering if her youngest sister was having some eye problems.

  “Yes, and it was really cheap. I ran across the alley to the thrift store this afternoon, and I found it in the dollar bin.”

  “But it’s at least three sizes too small for you!”

  “Four sizes, but who’s counting? This sweater, some really bright lipstick, and a pair of tight jeans will make me fit right in with the rest of the bar girls at the Eagle.”

  “I don’t understand. You’re not going undercover tonight. We’re just going out there to talk to Lenny.”

  “You and Andrea are going out there to talk to Lenny. Mother and I are goi
ng undercover to see what information we can learn about Lenny. We planned it all out this afternoon.”

  “But…how is that going to work when we’re all going out in Mother’s car?”

  “We’re not. There’s been a change of plans. Mother’s coming out here to pick us up, but you’re going to drive her car and drop us off at Bud Hauge’s place. Mother and I are borrowing his new truck.”

  Hannah couldn’t help but be suspicious. “Mother put you up to this, didn’t she?”

  “Yes, but I didn’t take much convincing. I think it’ll be fun. I’ve never gone undercover with Mother before.”

  Hannah sighed. There wasn’t much she could do about it at this late date. Delores was due to arrive in less than ten minutes. “All right. Go ahead. But you have to promise me one thing.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Remember the Karaoke contest Mother and Carrie entered at The Moosehead in Anoka?”

  “Of course I remember. They sang Bye Bye Love and they were awful.”

  “Exactly. I want you to promise me that you won’t let Mother sing.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  “Ready?” Andrea said as Hannah pulled into the parking lot at the Eagle and parked in the back row between a blue pickup truck and a black Ford with one door bashed in.

  “I’m ready.” Hannah got out and found her sister just standing there staring at the red neon sign that hung on the outside of the building, buzzing and blinking irregularly. The last time they’d come out here, they’d noticed that the manufacturer of the sign had left out the “A” in “eagle.” The sign had read EGLE the last time Hannah had been here, but weather and age had taken their toll, and the sign had since gone through another transformation. The “L” in “eagle” had burned out and only the first “E,” the “G,” and the final “E” remained. It now read EGE with a strange gap between the letters.