Chapter Eleven
Lisa’s initial expression of shock turned to one of worry after Hannah finished telling her about finding Ronni’s body. “How awful for you!”
“Actually, it was more awful for Ronni.”
“I guess that’s true, but I don’t really care about Ronni. I care about you.” Lisa reached out to touch her arm. “You need some chocolate, Hannah. There’s a pan of Brownies Plus cooling on the kitchen counter. Go have one.”
Hannah was sorely tempted. She loved Brownies Plus, and chocolate would certainly make her feel better. But better sense prevailed and she shook her head. “I’d love to have one, but I won’t. There’s no way Ronni Ward’s going to spoil my diet…dead or alive.”
“Okay, but at least go back and have a cup of coffee. I’ll open up the coffee shop. The news hasn’t broken on KCOW yet, but when it does we’ll be crowded.”
Hannah sighed as she headed to the kitchen. Lisa was right. They would be chock full of customers when the news broke. And every one of them would want to know all about how Hannah had found Ronni’s body. At least this time she wouldn’t be asked, or even allowed, to investigate. Mike would be so upset, he’d want to catch Ronni’s killer himself. And if what she’d heard about Ronni’s flirtations was true, she had no doubt that at least sixty percent of the Winnetka County sheriff’s deputies would feel the same way.
Hannah was grating carrots for the Carrot Cake Cookies she’d decided to bake. Baking always made her feel better, and finding Ronni’s body in the Jacuzzi hadn’t exactly started her day on a high note.
Since she couldn’t use her food processor to grate carrots as finely as she needed them, Hannah was doing it by hand. Her tool was a standard, four-sided box grater, and it took a while to grate enough. She was only halfway through when there was a knock on the back door.
“Mother,” Hannah muttered, coming close to grating her knuckle right along with her favorite root vegetable. Delores had probably heard about Ronni’s death, but that wouldn’t be her main concern. Delores would be much more upset about Hannah’s finding another body.
“Might as well face her now,” Hannah said, even though there was no one to hear her. She put down her grater and the half-done carrot, wiped her hands on a towel, and hurried to open the back door.
“Hi, Hannah.”
Hannah blinked, and then she smiled. “Hi, Norman. Why didn’t you come in the front way?”
“Because I didn’t want anyone to see me. Let me in. I’m on a mission.”
Hannah stepped aside, and Norman came in. They parted ways three steps inside. He headed for the work island and sat down on a stool, while she headed for the kitchen coffee pot to pour him a mug.
“What’s all this about a mission?” she asked, delivering the java along with two Brownies Plus on a napkin.
“In a minute.” Norman took a bite of his brownie and a sip of coffee. “These are the best brownies I ever had!”
“Thanks. They’re Diana Dickerson’s recipe.” Even though she was brimming with curiosity, Hannah waited until Norman had eaten both brownies and reduced the coffee in his mug by half. “The mission?” she reminded him.
“Somebody told me your slay-dar is working overtime.”
“My what?”
“Slay-dar. It’s like radar, except that you find murder victims.”
“Cute,” Hannah said, being entirely truthful. It was a cute thing to say. “So you heard the news on KCOW?”
“Not exactly. Mike just left my dental clinic, and he told me all about it. He wants me to tell you that Bill’s put him on leave until Ronni’s murder is solved.”
Hannah just stared at Norman for a moment. Then she shook her head. “I don’t understand. Mike’s the head detective. Bill needs him to solve the case…doesn’t he?”
“He does, but Mike can’t work it. It’s in the rulebook. You can’t be assigned a case where you have…uh…a personal relationship with the victim.”
“Personal relationship,” Hannah repeated. “Does that mean what I think it means?”
Norman took a sip of his coffee. When he answered, he looked down at the mug, not at her. “I don’t know. Mike didn’t volunteer that information, and I didn’t ask.”
Right. Sure, Hannah’s mind said, and that’s why you won’t meet my eyes. Norman was a terrible liar. His mother, Carrie, had mentioned it numerous times. She said that even as a little boy, he looked guilty when he wasn’t telling the truth. And here he was, trying to lie to her to spare her the steamy details.
“You know more than you’re telling me,” Hannah said, facing him squarely. “But don’t you know that if you tell me about Ronni and Mike’s relationship, I’ll probably think less of Mike?”
“I know that,” Norman said quickly, and then he looked a bit chagrined. “If there’s anything in the details to warrant it, that is.”
Hannah grinned. Norman had almost fallen into a trap, but he’d caught himself in time. “Okay. But if I think less of Mike, I’ll probably gravitate your way.” She stopped and frowned as a most unwelcome thought occurred to her. “You two are still in a kind of competition for me…aren’t you?”
“I can’t speak for Mike, but I am. It’s just that…” his voice trailed off.
“What?” Hannah prodded him.
“Mike and I are friends. And friends don’t divulge each other’s confidences. At least I don’t.” Norman stopped speaking and looked worried. “Am I being a real chump?”
“No, you’re being Norman. And the fact you won’t take advantage of Mike’s situation makes me like you even more.”
A slow smile broke out over Norman’s face. “Well!” he said, as pleased as Hannah had ever seen him. “That’s good. Now can we get down to business? Mike gave me a list of things he wanted to tell you.”
“Hold on. Why isn’t Mike here, telling me all this himself?”
“Bill made him swear he wouldn’t have anything to do with the official investigation. He can’t even call his detectives to see how they’re doing. And right after Mike agreed to that, Bill made him promise that he wouldn’t speak to you about anything concerning the case. Mike’s getting around that by talking to me and having me tell you what he said.”
“Like a reverse Cyrano?” Hannah couldn’t help asking, since they’d watched the old black-and-white movie just last week.
“I guess it’s a bit like that, but it’s not about love. It’s about murder. You are going to try to find out who killed her, aren’t you?”
“Of course I am. The killer ruined at least a dozen of my mini cream puffs.”
“Good. I’ll tell Mike you’re in, then. He’s going to tell me what to do to work the case, and I’ll tell you what he says.”
“Solving murder by proxy?” Hannah began to frown. “I don’t think I can do that. Mike and I solve murders in different ways. He has a lot more resources than I do.”
“Not this time.”
Hannah thought about that for a minute. “I guess that’s true if he can’t contact anyone at the department. But I don’t want Mike to tell me what to do. I need to do things my own way.”
“He said you’d say that. And he said to tell you that you could still do things your own way if you do them his way, too. That way you’ll have two different procedures, and you should solve the case twice as fast.”
Hannah gave a little laugh. “His logic is faulty, but it would be interesting to see how Mike would manage the case. He didn’t mention that running parallel investigations would be double the work for me, did he?”
“Not to me. But I can help you, Hannah.”
“How about your dental patients?”
“That’s not a problem. Doc Bennett’s been asking if I need him to fill in. I think he’s trying to earn a little extra for Christmas. I’m pretty sure he wants to go on a cruise to the Caribbean.”
“Really?”
“A whole stack of travel brochures can’t be wrong. He left them on my desk the last time he filled in for me.”
“Cruises are expensive.”
“I know, and I’d like to provide a little of the financing. I’ll call him the minute I get back to the clinic and ask him to come in. Then I can take time off to help you.”
“That would be fun,” Hannah said, but she quickly sobered. “I guess fun is a strange word to use when we’re talking about murder. But I do like working with you, Norman.”
“And I like working with you.” Norman got up and carried his empty coffee mug to the counter by the sink. “If Doc Bennett can come in, I’ll see you later today, Hannah.”
“Wait!” Hannah hurried to the counter and packed up six Brownies Plus bars for Doc Bennett. “Doc Bennett loves Brownies Plus. Tell him I gave you a half-dozen for him and he’ll run all the way down to your clinic.”
BROWNIES PLUS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
6 one-ounce squares semi-sweet chocolate (or three-quarters cup chocolate chips)
1 cup butter (two sticks, 1/2 pound)
2 cups white (granulated) sugar
4 beaten eggs (just whip them up in a glass with a fork)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1? cups flour (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)
5 to 7 three-ounce chocolate candy bars (I’ve used Nestle’s Treasures Cappuccino Truffle Bars, Hershey’s Symphony Bars, and Nestle’s Crunch Bars—the number of bars depends on how many inches of your pan they cover.)
A SHORT CUT: Lisa got this recipe from Diana Dickerson. Diana says that if you don’t feel like making your brownies from scratch, use two packages of brownie mix, the kind that makes an 8-inch by 8-inch square. Use two bowls, one for each package, and prepare the brownie batter by following the directions on the box. Once the batter is mixed, use the contents of one bowl for the bottom layer and the contents of the other bowl for the top. Diana’s favorite candy bars to use are Hershey’s Symphony Bars.
Prepare a 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan by lining it with a piece of foil large enough to flap over the sides. Spray the foil-lined pan with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray.
Microwave the chocolate squares (or chocolate chips) and butter in a microwave-safe mixing bowl for one minute. Stir. (Since chocolate frequently maintains its shape even when melted, you have to stir to make sure.) If it’s not melted, microwave for an additional 20 seconds and stir again. Repeat if necessary.
Stir the sugar into the chocolate mixture. Feel the bowl. If it’s not so hot it’ll cook the eggs, add them now, stirring thoroughly. Mix in the vanilla extract.
Mix in the flour and stir just until it’s moistened.
Spoon half of the batter into your prepared pan. Smooth it out with a rubber spatula.
Unwrap the candy bars and place them on top of the batter. Make a single layer, and try to cover as much of the batter as you can. You may have to break a couple of the bars to fill in the gaps.
Spoon the remaining batter on top of the candy bars, and use the rubber spatula to smooth it out.
Bake at 350 degrees F. for 30 minutes.
Cool the Brownies Plus in the pan on a metal rack. When they’re thoroughly cool, grasp the edges of the foil and lift the brownies out of the pan. Put them facedown on a cutting board, peel the foil off the back, and cut them into brownie-sized pieces.
Place the squares on a plate and dust lightly with powdered sugar if you wish.
Hannah’s Note: These brownies freeze well if you leave them in one large piece. When they’re cool, just lift them out of the pan, fold the foil over the top, and slip them into a freezer bag. When you want to serve them, let them thaw on the counter, cut them into pieces, and dust with powdered sugar.