Coconut Layer Cake Murder Read online

  Thoughts of Norman were pleasant and Hannah began to smile again. She’d missed him. She hadn’t really realized it before, but she was very glad that Norman was coming to pick her up at the airport. Even though she’d been gone for only five days, it would be wonderful to see him again.

  * * *

  “Over here, Hannah!” Norman called out as Hannah approached the baggage carousel.

  Hannah began to smile the moment she saw him, and her smile grew even wider as she approached.

  “Hannah! You’re home!”

  He pulled her into his arms to hug her and a joyous feeling rushed through her. She really hadn’t realized how much she’d missed Norman.

  “Come with me,” he said, grabbing her suitcases from the carousel and leading her out of the baggage area. “How tired are you?”

  “I’m not very tired at all,” she said as he loaded her suitcases in his trunk. “I slept on the plane. The stewardess had to wake me up right before we landed. Why do you ask?”

  “Because Lonnie’s waiting for you at the condo and if you’re tired, I’ll take you straight to my house and tell Michelle and Lonnie that I’ll bring you out in the morning.”

  Hannah was grateful. “That’s really considerate, but I’m okay. Besides . . . I really want to know what happened. I don’t think I could sleep a wink without finding out tonight.”

  “Didn’t Michelle tell you?”

  “Not really. She was too upset to tell me anything except that Lonnie was the prime suspect in the murder of one of his high school classmates. She said that she needed me to come home because Bill had pulled Mike and Rick off the case, and Lonnie needed me to prove that he wasn’t the killer.”

  “Okay, then.” Norman gave a little nod. “You’ve got the bare bones and that’s enough for now.”

  He started the car, drove toward the exit, and pulled up at the parking booth to pay for the parking. Once he’d done that, he exited the airport and took the on-ramp to the freeway. When he’d entered the flow of traffic and chosen the lane he wanted, he glanced over at her again. “Do you think you’ll be all right staying at the condo?”

  “I . . . I’m not sure,” Hannah admitted. “I won’t know until I get there.”

  “That makes sense. If you don’t feel comfortable there, you can go home with me. My guest room’s all ready and the cats will be really happy to see you.”

  Hannah felt a rush of gratitude. Norman always came through for her. “Thanks, Norman. It’s good of you to offer and I think I’d like to take you up on that. I really don’t want to stay at the condo. Michelle mentioned that Doc had to stay at the hospital tonight, and I don’t really want to be all alone in the penthouse.”

  “That’s understandable,” Norman said, “I’m having some work done on the house, but there’s plenty of room for you. And no strings attached, but you probably already know that.”

  “I do.”

  A mischievous grin appeared on Norman’s face. “I really like the sound of that phrase, Hannah. Maybe you should practice saying it.”

  For a moment she was puzzled, and then Hannah remembered that she’d said, I do. “And maybe I shouldn’t practice it since I said it one too many times last year.”

  Norman reached out to take Hannah’s hand and he gave it a gentle squeeze. “It wasn’t your fault, Hannah. You had no way of knowing what was going to happen.”

  “That’s true,” Hannah acknowledged, but there was a slight catch in her voice. “Thanks, Norman.”

  Norman must have sensed that their conversation was becoming too serious and he cleared his throat. “When we’re through at the condo, do you want to stop by the penthouse to pick up your cookie truck? Or would you rather ride to town with me in the morning?”

  “I’d rather ride with you,” Hannah told him, deciding immediately. “My truck hasn’t been driven since I’ve been gone, and Michelle told me that it’s been really cold here. I don’t know if it’ll start.”

  “Good point. Doc Bennett’s filling in for me at the clinic tomorrow and after I drop you off at The Cookie Jar, I can drive to the penthouse and try to start your truck. That’ll give me plenty of time to call Cyril and have one of his mechanics come out if there’s a problem.”

  “That’s perfect. Thanks, Norman.” Hannah gave him a smile. “I’m really glad you picked me up at the airport. You just erased both of my worries about coming back tonight.”

  They rode in silence for several miles, and then Hannah turned to Norman again. “Do you know what happened on the night of the murder?”

  “I know a few things about it, but I’d rather have you hear the whole story from Lonnie. He’s the one who was there, and his account of what happened is the only one that counts.”

  “That makes sense.”

  “Why don’t you lean back and get a little more rest,” Norman advised. “It’s going to be hectic when you get to the condo.”

  Hannah glanced at him in surprise. “Will everyone be there?”

  “Not everyone. Doc’s at the hospital and your mother’s still in California with Lynne. I think it’ll be just Michelle and Lonnie, but Andrea is driving out later. She’s been helping Michelle cope with all this.”

  “But Bill won’t be there, will he?”

  Norman shook his head. “He can’t be there. He’s the lead investigator on the case. It’s a position he doesn’t want, but he’s the only one left in the department who’s not directly involved. There’s a guy who just got promoted to detective, but he’s never worked a murder case before. Technically, Bill isn’t supposed to be working it, either, but he’s the only one left with any experience. There aren’t that many detectives on Mike’s squad, you know.”

  “I know.” Hannah nodded in agreement. “This is a really strange situation, Norman. This time they need us, but usually the sheriff’s department hates it if we amateurs poke our noses into their murder cases.”

  Norman gave a little laugh. “That’s true. It’s ironic, in a way. Now they’re all pulling for us to catch the real killer to clear one of their own. This whole thing is very unusual.”

  Hannah was silent for a moment, thinking about the circumstances of the case. Then she reached out to pat Norman’s arm. “Do you want to help me with this case?”

  “Yes, if you need me.”

  “Of course I need you! I always need you, Norman.”

  “Good to know. I like Lonnie and I want to see him cleared. I just can’t believe that he could have killed anyone.”

  “I can’t believe it, either,” Hannah admitted. “Somebody else did it, Norman. And it’s up to us to prove who it was!”

  * * *

  Even though she hadn’t thought she was still tired, the sound of the purring motor and the smooth ride back to Lake Eden lulled Hannah into deep sleep. She didn’t wake up until the wooden arm across the entrance road to her condo complex creaked up to let them in.

  “We’re here, Hannah,” Norman said as he drove down the winding road that led to Hannah’s building. “I’ll let you off and park in the visitors’ lot.”

  Hannah shook her head. “You don’t have to do that, Norman, just park in Clara Hollenbeck’s spot,” she told him. “Marguerite and Clara went to a two-week church retreat and they took Clara’s car.”

  “Okay.” Norman drove down the ramp that led into the underground garage that served Hannah’s condo building. “You’re sure this is okay?”

  “I’m positive. The day before I left with Mother, Marguerite dropped in at The Cookie Jar to pick up some cookies to take with them for the drive. Michelle was there and since she’d offered to stay at my condo, she promised to keep an eye on Marguerite and Clara’s place.”

  “Okay,” Norman said, pulling into Clara’s parking spot. “Are you ready, Hannah?”

  “Yes, come on, Norman. Let’s go upstairs. We have to talk to Lonnie.”

  They hurried up the stairs and Hannah rang the doorbell. Michelle opened it almost immediately and hugged H
annah tightly. “Oh, Hannah! I’m so glad you’re here!”

  “How about me?” Norman asked, smiling to let Michelle know that he was teasing.

  “Of course I’m glad to see you, too.” Michelle gave a little laugh that sounded weak to Hannah’s ears. “Come in! I’ve got soup to warm you up.”

  Michelle pulled Hannah inside and Norman followed. “Give me your parkas and sit down at the table. Lonnie will be here in about thirty minutes or so with the pizza and while we’re waiting, we can have a bowl of Minestrone.”

  “You made Minestrone?” Hannah asked, slipping out of her parka and handing it to Michelle.

  “Yes, in the crockpot. I made up the recipe when I was in college, and my roommates just loved it.”

  “Minestrone sounds good to me,” Norman said, handing his parka to Michelle and sitting down next to Hannah. “I don’t think I’ve ever had homemade Minestrone. Did it take a long time to make?”

  Michelle shook her head. “It’s a shortcut recipe, so a lot of the things in it are all ready to put in the crock. The only thing I added at the last minute are the green beans and the kidney beans. That’s because if you add them when you start the soup, they turn into mush.”

  “And that’s bad?”

  “Yes, it tastes fine, but it ruins the texture. Minestrone is supposed to be chunky.”

  Hannah smiled. She was glad that Michelle was interested in cooking and baking, unlike their sister Andrea. But perhaps that wasn’t a fair assessment on her part. It was true that when Andrea got married, her one culinary achievement had been making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Unfortunately, the one time Hannah had gone to Andrea’s house for lunch, her sister had run out of fruit jelly and she’d made her trademark sandwiches with mint jelly.

  Once Michelle had served her soup and both Hannah and Norman had complimented her shortcut recipe, Hannah decided to steer the conversation away from their current concern about Lonnie. “I know I’ve been gone less than a week, but did Andrea come up with another Whippersnapper cookie recipe?”

  “Yes, she did! She baked them for Aunt Nancy and Lisa, and she’s coming over later with another batch. I’m not supposed to tell you anything about them, but I tasted one and they’re really good. I think they’re her best so far.”

  “Which cake mix did she use this time?” Hannah asked, taking another spoonful of soup. It truly was delicious, the perfect blend of Italian spices and flavors.

  “Funfetti”

  “There’s a Funfetti cake mix?” Hannah was surprised. She’d never seen it at the Lake Eden Red Owl store, but Florence didn’t carry every single flavor of cake mix on the market. If you wanted something special, you had to ask her to order it.

  “Yes, Florence ordered it especially for her. Anyway, Andrea added white chocolate chips and coconut to the mix and the cookies are wonderful. They’re light and tender like all the Whippersnappers, but they have a tropical flavor.”

  Another question, one that had nothing to do with cookie recipes, occurred to Hannah. “You said that Andrea’s coming later?”

  “Yes, to bring her cookies. And there’s another reason, too.”

  “What’s that?” Norman asked.

  “Andrea was going to try to get Doc’s autopsy report from Bill’s briefcase when he comes home for dinner. Bill always takes a little nap before he goes back to the station, and she’s going to try to copy the report and put it back in his briefcase before he realizes that it’s gone.”

  Hannah began to smile. “That’s my middle sister!” she said in approval. “If anyone can sneak anything out of Bill’s briefcase, it’s Andrea.”

  Michelle turned to Norman. “Do you want more soup, Norman?”

  “Yes, if there’s enough. I made it in a slow cooker and there are five of us coming, counting Andrea. That’s enough for a quart of soup apiece and there’s no way we can eat that much soup.”

  “You convinced me,” Norman told her.

  “It’s one of those recipes you can put up when you leave for work and it’ll be ready when you come home for dinner. If you serve it with garlic bread, it makes a whole meal. I didn’t do that tonight because we’d be too full to eat the pizza that Lonnie is bringing.”

  Hannah raised her napkin to her mouth to hide the smile that was turning up the corners of her lips. All she’d eaten at lunch was a small salad and she’d slept through the meal on the plane. She’d gotten up this morning at seven a.m. in California. Now it was almost nine in the evening here in Minnesota, and she’d missed dinner. And all she’d had to eat all day was one slice of coffee cake, a small salad that she hadn’t even finished, and a tiny, not-so-tasty cinnamon roll on the plane. No wonder she was practically starving!

  MEATY MINESTRONE SOUP

  (A 5-Quart or 6-Quart crockpot Recipe)

  Hannah’s 1st Note: If you want to make this into a vegetarian soup, simply leave out the meat and use vegetable stock instead of beef stock.

  Ingredients:

  1 cup chopped onions (2 small or 1 large)

  1 cup chopped celery (about 5 stalks)

  3 or 4 uncooked Italian sausages (I used the mild Italian sausages—if you like things spicy, feel free to use spicy Italian sausages)

  1 medium-size yellow summer squash, chopped (no need to peel)

  1 small to medium zucchini, chopped (no need to peel)

  1 cup peeled carrot slices, chopped (I used frozen crinkle-cut slices, thawed and chopped)

  2-inch square Parmesan cheese

  1 to 2 teaspoons minced garlic (jarred garlic is fine)

  2 cans (14.5 ounces each) beef broth (I used Swanson)

  24-ounce jar of spaghetti sauce (I used Prego with beef)

  1 cup water (to swish around in the sauce jar and then add to the crock)

  2 cans (6.5 ounces each) of sliced mushrooms (stems and pieces are okay)

  1 cup dry, uncooked corkscrew pasta (or any other small dried pasta)

  Salt and pepper to taste

  Additional Ingredients:

  Hannah’s 2nd Note: These are optional depending on how full your crock is and whether you have unexpected company and need to stretch the soup.

  1 cup cut green beans (I used frozen and let them thaw before I added them)

  15-ounce can white beans, drained

  1 cup tomato juice

  1 beef bouillon cube mixed with 1 cup water

  Grated Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top when serving

  Spray the inside of a slow cooker with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray. This will make it much easier when you wash it!

  Peel and chop the onions into small pieces. Add them to the bottom of the crock. They will form part of the juice.

  Wash and chop the celery into small pieces. Add them on top of the chopped onions.

  Cut the Italian sausages into bite-size pieces. Add those to the crock on top of the celery.

  Wash the yellow summer squash, cut it in half lengthwise, and then cut it in bite-size pieces. Add it to the crock on top of the Italian sausages.

  Wash the zucchini, cut it in half lengthwise, and cut it into bite-size pieces. Add it to the crock on top of the yellow squash.

  Place the carrot slices on a paper plate. Let them thaw a bit (if frozen) and then chop them into bite-size pieces.

  Cut a 2-inch square of Parmesan cheese (or the equivalent) from a wedge of Parmesan cheese. Put it in the crock on top of the carrots.

  Measure the minced garlic and add that to the crock on top of the Parmesan cheese.

  With your impeccably clean fingers, toss the contents of the crock together, mixing it up by hand.

  Open the cans of beef bouillon and pour it over the vegetable and sausage mixture in the slow cooker.

  Open the jar of spaghetti sauce and pour that over the top. There will be spaghetti sauce clinging to the bottom and the sides of the jar, but don’t worry. We will take care of that next.

  Measure out one cup of water. Add it to the spaghetti sauce jar, put on t
he lid, and swish it around to get the clinging spaghetti sauce off the bottom and sides of the jar. Pour the contents of the jar on top of the mixture in the slow cooker.

  Open the cans of sliced mushrooms and add them, juice and all, to the contents of the slow cooker.

  Stir the contents of the crock with a spoon until everything is well mixed, put on the lid, then plug in the slow cooker and set it on LOW.

  Hannah’s 3rd Note: Be careful when setting the temperature on your slow cooker. I once failed to look and simply turned the dial one click, assuming that it was on LOW. When I came home, I discovered that the slow cooker was on WARM, not LOW. Now I check it twice to be sure I’ve selected the correct cooking temperature.

  Cook your Meaty Minestrone Soup for 6 hours, or until the vegetables are tender. Give it a stir with a spoon and then add the uncooked pasta.

  If you have room in the crock and you want to add any of the additional ingredients, do so now.

  Stir to make sure everything is incorporated, replace the lid, and cook on LOW for another hour.

  Your soup should be ready to serve in 60 minutes, but it can hold for two additional hours, or even longer if need be.

  Before you serve, check the seasonings. If your soup needs salt or pepper, add it then.