Chocolate Cream Pie Murder Page 12

  “It’s Lois Brown’s Pink Grapefruit Cake,” Hannah told him. “Lisa mixed it up, Michelle baked it, and I brought it in for Sally to taste.”

  “I love pink grapefruit, but I don’t think I’ve ever had grapefruit in a cake before,” Lynne said.

  “Neither have I,” Norman agreed. “But if Lisa mixed it up and Michelle baked it, it’s bound to be good.”

  “It’s made from a recipe that Aunt Nancy got from her friend Lois Brown,” Hannah said, picking up her fork and preparing to taste it.

  “Lois Brown gave you the recipe for the lemon cookies that you serve in The Cookie Jar, didn’t she?” Norman asked Hannah.

  “Yes, and they’re a favorite with the morning crowd. We bake them every Tuesday.”

  Once everyone tasted Lisa’s cake and agreed that it was wonderfully delicious, Hannah realized that her cell phone was ringing. She pulled it out of her purse and said, “This must be important. Not that many people have my cell phone number. Will you all excuse me while I answer it?”

  Everyone nodded and Hannah slid out of the booth to step outside the privacy curtain. “Hello?” she said, grateful that she could get reception outside the booth.

  “Hannah!”

  The voice on the other end of the line was icy cold and Hannah gave a little shiver when she recognized who was calling. “Ross,” she said, keeping her voice deliberately low so that no one else could hear.

  “Just what are you trying to do to me!?”

  Hannah felt herself tense. Ross must have found out that the bank was closed, and it was clear by his tone that he was furious with her.

  “What do you mean?” she asked, hoping that he wasn’t anywhere near the Lake Eden Inn.

  “You knew the bank was closed, but you tried to send me there anyway! Are you trying to set me up?”

  “I . . . no, of course not,” Hannah said quickly. “I had no idea that the bank was closed. This was the first day I got back to work after the blizzard and I didn’t drive past it on my way to The Cookie Jar.”

  Ross gave a derisive laugh. “That’s a lie! You’re trying to get even with me, aren’t you, Hannah!”

  It was a comment, not a question, and Hannah gulped involuntarily. Ross sounded livid with anger. “No! Really, Ross! I had no idea the bank wasn’t open.”

  Hannah stopped speaking and took a deep breath as she realized that Ross had put her on the defensive. It would be useless to try to convince him that she hadn’t lied. And there was no way she owed him an apology for not knowing that the bank was closed. “So what are you going to do?” she asked him.

  “Wouldn’t you and your boyfriend cop like to know!?” Ross retorted. And then he called her a word that Hannah hoped her nieces would never hear.

  You owe him nothing, the rational part of her mind reminded her. Don’t react. He’s trying to get you off guard. Don’t let him do that to you! Just try to get as much information about his whereabouts as you can so that you can tell Mike.

  “Where are you?” Hannah asked, keeping her tone deliberately neutral in a manner that she hoped Ross would interpret as nonthreatening.

  “I’m very close. I know where you are and who’s with you. I told you this morning, I would hurt you, Hannah.”

  Even though she tried her best to be calm, Hannah felt her knees begin to shake. This was not the man she had thought she’d married. This was a stranger, a cold, calculating stranger.

  “You don’t scare me, Ross,” she said, even though she was beginning to feel terribly frightened. “Why are you calling? What do you want from me?”

  “My money. I told you this morning, I need it. Look, Hannah . . .”

  Hannah’s eyes widened as she heard the change in his voice. Instead of a threatening thug, Ross was now sounding like a reasonable person.

  “I’m sorry if I scared you, Cookie. I didn’t really mean to. It’s just that this is so important to me. I love you. You know that. I’ve loved you for years and all you have to do is get that money for me and we can be together again. Just do it, Cookie. Do it for me. Remember how good it was when we were together. It was great for me and I love you with all my heart. It was good for you too, wasn’t it, honey?”

  She had to say yes. She knew she had to. For the first time in her life, Hannah wished that she’d taken acting lessons. Somehow, through sheer force of will, she managed to choke out her assent.

  Ross seemed to buy her assurances of love because he said, “That’s my girl! You’ve always been my girl, and you know Doug really well. If you ask him, he’ll open the bank for you and give you the cash. And then, once I pay my wife off, we can be happy together. You love me. You know you do. Just think about our honeymoon and how much fun we had. We’ll do that again and it’ll be even better this time.”

  Hannah felt slightly sick to her stomach. Ross was obviously crazy if he thought that he could win her over again by claiming he loved her. This wasn’t the Ross she’d known in college. This wasn’t the Ross she’d married. This was a dangerous stranger, and Hannah wasn’t sure what she should do.

  You’re right, Hannah, her rational mind said. Ross is crazy, but not about you! The only person he’s crazy about is himself and the power he thinks he has over you. Don’t be a fool! Pretend to go along with him and find out where he is so that you can tell Mike.

  Hannah gave a little nod, even though there was no one to see it. Mike had called Ross a loose cannon and he was right. Ross was definitely dangerous and he’d do anything, break any law, and even kill to get his money. The wisest course she could take was to think of a way to trick him into telling her where he was so that Mike and his deputies could take him into custody before he hurt her or anyone else in Lake Eden who got in the way of his plans.

  “I remember how it was when we were together,” she said, forcing out the words and hoping that she sounded sincere. “But do you really love me, Ross?”

  “Of course I do!”

  The answer came immediately and Hannah took heart. Ross really believed that she had fallen for his assurances of love.

  “Where are you, Ross?” she asked again, trying to put honey in her voice instead of vinegar. “It’s been a long time. I want to see you.”

  There was a pause and Hannah knew he wasn’t entirely convinced by the sweetness in her tone. Had she laid it on too thick?

  “I want to see you, too, Cookie, but it’s too dangerous for me to come to Lake Eden. Mike warned me that he couldn’t guarantee my safety.”

  “I know, but . . .” Hannah paused, thinking fast. “Maybe you could come to our condo. No one would expect you to come there.”

  There was silence on the other end of the line and Hannah’s hopes rose. Would Ross take her bait?

  “No,” he said at last. “I want to see you too, but I can’t take that chance. Just get me the money, Hannah. Call Doug and meet him at the bank tomorrow. He’s a friend of yours. He’ll give it to you. Tell him you need it for something important. Convince him that it’s a matter of life and death. You can convince him and even if you don’t, it doesn’t matter. You’re entitled to take a withdrawal of any amount you wish and he’s got to give it to you. I don’t care what you say, Hannah. Just get me that money!”

  “But what if Doug doesn’t want to give me the money?”

  “Make him do it. If you really want to be with me again, you’ll get it. It’s just too bad you opened your big mouth and told everyone that we weren’t really married. You have to make up for that by getting me the money.”

  There was a click and the line went dead. A moment later, Hannah heard a dial tone. Ross had hung up on her. She took a deep breath, did her best to calm down, and pulled back the curtain to re-enter the booth.

  Norman took one look at her, jumped to his feet, and pushed her down to sit in the booth. Then he pushed aside the dessert plates.

  “Put your head down, Hannah,” he told her. “You look like you’re about to faint.”

  “I’m . . . okay,” Ha
nnah said, but she knew she wasn’t. There was a high-pitched ringing in her ears, and her peripheral vision was fading into shimmering dots of light. She lowered her head, swallowed again, and did her best to breathe normally. Her heart was pounding so loudly, she could hear it in her ears and it took long moments before she relaxed enough to bring it back to a normal rate.

  Everyone in the booth was quiet, and Hannah knew that they were waiting for an explanation. When she felt calm enough to speak, she raised her head and faced them. “It was Ross,” she said.

  ULTIMATE CHOCOLATE BUTTERSCOTCH BUNDT CAKE

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

  4 large eggs

  ½ cup vegetable oil

  ½ cup chocolate liqueur (I used Ghirardelli Chocolate Liqueur)

  8-ounce (by weight) tub of sour cream (I used Knudson)

  box of chocolate cake mix, the kind that makes a 9-inch by 13-inch cake or a 2-layer cake (I used Betty Crocker Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix)

  5.9-ounce package of DRY instant chocolate pudding and pie filling (I used Jell-O)

  12-ounce (by weight) bag of butterscotch baking chips (11-ounce package will do, too—I used Nestlé)

  Prepare your cake pan. You’ll need a Bundt pan that has been sprayed with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray and then floured. To flour a pan, put some flour in the bottom, hold it over your kitchen wastebasket, and tap the pan to move the flour all over the inside of the pan. Continue this until all the inside surfaces of the pan, including the sides of the crater in the center, have been covered with a light coating of flour. Alternatively, you can coat the inside of the Bundt pan with Pam Baking Spray, which is a nonstick cooking spray with flour already in it.

  Crack the eggs into the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix them up on LOW speed until they’re a uniform color.

  Pour in the half-cup of vegetable oil and mix it in with the eggs on LOW speed.

  Add the half-cup of chocolate liqueur. Mix it in at LOW speed.

  Scoop out the container of sour cream and add it to your mixer bowl. Mix it in on LOW speed.

  When everything is well combined, open the box of dry cake mix and sprinkle it on top of the liquid ingredients in the bowl of the mixer. Mix that in on LOW speed.

  Open the package of instant chocolate pudding and sprinkle in the contents. Mix it in on LOW speed.

  Shut off the mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl, remove it from the mixer, and set it on the counter.

  If you have a food processor, put in the steel blade and pour in the butterscotch baking chips. Process in an on-and-off motion to chop them in smaller pieces. (You can also do this with a knife on a cutting board if you don’t have a food processor.)

  Sprinkle the butterscotch baking chips in your bowl and stir them in by hand with a rubber spatula.

  Hannah’s 1st Note: If you don’t want to use chocolate liqueur in this recipe, use whole milk or water with a little chocolate sauce mixed in for flavoring.

  Hannah’s 2nd Note: The reason the butterscotch chips in this recipe are chopped in smaller pieces is that regular-size chips are larger and heavier, and they tend to sink down to the bottom of your Bundt pan.

  Use the rubber spatula to transfer the cake batter to the prepared Bundt pan.

  Smooth the top of your cake with the spatula and put it into the center of your preheated oven.

  Bake your Ultimate Chocolate Butterscotch Bundt Cake at 350 degrees F. for 55 minutes.

  Before you take your cake out of the oven, test it for doneness by inserting a cake tester, thin wooden skewer, or long toothpick. Insert it midway between outside edges of the pan and the metal protrusion that makes the crater in the center of the pan.

  If the tester comes out clean, your cake is done. If there is still unbaked batter clinging to the tester, shut the oven door and bake your cake for 5 minutes longer.

  When your cake tests done, take it out of the oven and set it on a cold stove burner or a wire rack. Let it cool in the pan for 20 minutes and then pull the sides of the cake away from the pan with the tips of your impeccably clean fingers. Don’t forget to do the same for the sides of the crater in the middle.

  Tip the Bundt pan upside down on a platter and drop it gently on a folded towel on the kitchen counter. Do this until the cake falls out of the pan and rests on the platter.

  Cover your Ultimate Chocolate Butterscotch Bundt Cake loosely with foil and refrigerate it for at least 1 hour. Overnight is even better.

  Frost your cake with Cool Whip Butterscotch Frosting. (Recipe and instructions follow.)

  Yield: At least 10 pieces of fudgy butterscotch cake. Serve with tall glasses of ice cold milk or cups of strong coffee.

  COOL WHIP BUTTERSCOTCH FROSTING

  This recipe is made in the microwave.

  1 heaping cup (6 to 7 ounces by weight) of butter-scotch baking chips (I used Nestlé)

  8-ounce (by weight) tub of FROZEN Cool Whip (Do not thaw! Leave in the freezer.)

  Hannah’s 1st Note: Make sure you use the original Cool Whip, not the sugar free or the real whipped cream.

  Start by chopping your butterscotch chips into smaller pieces or placing the chips in a food processor with the steel blade and processing in an on-and-off motion to chop the chips into smaller pieces.

  Get the Cool Whip out of your freezer and measure out 1 cup. Place it in a microwave-safe bowl. (I used a quart Pyrex measuring cup.)

  Add the butterscotch baking chips to the bowl.

  Microwave the bowl on HIGH for 1 minute and then let it sit in the microwave for an additional minute.

  Take the bowl out of the microwave, then stir to see if the chips are melted. If they’re not, heat them in 30-second intervals with 30-second standing times on HIGH in the microwave until you succeed in melting the chips and stirring the mixture smooth.

  Put the microwave-safe bowl on a towel on your kitchen counter.

  Let the bowl sit on the countertop for 15 minutes to thicken the icing.

  When the time is up, give the bowl a stir and remove your cake from the refrigerator. Frost your Ultimate Chocolate Butterscotch Bundt Cake with the frosting and don’t forget the sides of the crater in the middle. You don’t need to frost all the way down to the bottom of the crater. That’s almost impossible. Just frost an inch or so down the sides of the crater.

  Hannah’s 2nd Note: You can decorate the top of your cake with chocolate drizzle. The recipe follows.

  Return your cake to the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before cutting it and serving it to your guests.

  CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE

  1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (half of a 12-ounce bag)

  1 Tablespoon salted butter (1/8 stick, half of an ounce)

  1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  Hannah’s Note: The easy way to measure a half-ounce of salted butter is to divide a stick of butter into 8 pieces and use only one piece. Put the rest back in your refrigerator.

  Place the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl. (I used a 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup with a pour spout.)

  Add the half-ounce of salted butter on top of the chocolate chips.

  Add the vanilla extract on top of the butter.

  Heat the contents for 1 minute on HIGH in the microwave.

  Let the bowl or cup sit in the microwave for an additional minute.

  Remove the bowl from the microwave and attempt to stir the contents smooth with a heat-resistant spatula.

  If you cannot stir the contents smooth, heat the mixture for an additional minute on HIGH in the microwave.

  Let the bowl sit in the microwave for another minute.

  Take out the bowl and again, try to stir the contents smooth.

  Repeat the above steps as many times as it takes to achieve a smooth mixture of chocolate chips, salted butter, and vanilla extract.

  When the mixture is smooth, take the Ultimate Chocolate Butterscotch Bundt Cake out of the refrigerator and drizzle the liquid chocolate mixture over th
e top and down the sides of the cake.

  Don’t forget to drizzle a bit of the chocolate mixture down the sides of the crater in the center of your cake.

  Return the cake to the refrigerator for an additional 30 minutes and then serve it to your guests.

  PINK GRAPEFRUIT CAKE (This recipe is from Lois Brown.)

  Preheat oven to 325 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

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

  2 cups white (granulated) sugar

  8 ounces light cream cheese (Neufchâtel) softened to room temperature

  3 large eggs