Blackberry Pie Murder (19 page)

153

if the package hadn’t been opened. And this package was not only unopened, it had also been sitting untouched on her pantry shelf ever since she’d bought it at Florence’s Red Owl grocery store twenty months ago.

What could she do with the cranberries? Hannah thought for a minute. Of course she could always make a batch of Boggles. She had all the ingredients including the oatmeal right here in her pantry. But she’d baked three batches of Boggles today and she didn’t feel like baking them again.

What other dessert used sweetened dried cranberries? She could use the cranberries in Imperial Cereal, but she didn’t have enough dry cereal for that. And Imperial Cereal was more of a snack than a dessert. Her third choice was Cranberry Scones, but those weren’t a dessert either.

“Whoa!” Hannah breathed as she visualized a beautiful lacy cookie with sweetened dried cranberries and white choc -

olate chips. She could do it! She’d use her recipe for Christmas Lace Cookies as a guide and go from there. It was fun to come up with a new cookie and Hannah was smiling as she walked to the living room to print out the recipe on her home computer.

Once she’d printed the recipe for her Christmas Lace Cookies, she carried the paper back to the kitchen. If the cookies turned out as well as she thought they would, they’d add them to the menu at The Cookie Jar. And that meant she had to come up with a descriptive and catchy cookie name. She didn’t want to use the word
lace
in the name. That was unique to their Christmas Lace Cookies.

“Airy Berry Cookies?” Hannah asked herself out loud as she assembled the ingredients on the kitchen counter. Yes, that cookie name was perfect. Now all she had to do was mix up and bake the cookies to see if they were good and the name actually fit. She was about to start mixing the cookie dough when the phone on the kitchen wall rang.

Hannah made a beeline for the phone and lifted the receiver. “Hello?” she answered the call.

154

Joanne Fluke

“I’m glad I caught you, dear. You’re not going to leave to go out to eat or anything, are you?”

“No, Mother,” Hannah said, squelching the uncharitable urge to groan. It wasn’t that she didn’t like talking to her mother. She enjoyed their conversations. It was just that Delores could keep her on the phone for what seemed like hours on end and she had cookies to bake before Norman arrived.

“Good! Doc asked me to call. He needs to talk to you, Hannah. He says it’s very important and it’ll only take a minute or two.”

“Okay. Put Doc on the phone.”

“No, dear. Doc needs to talk to you in person. We’ll be leaving the hospital immediately and we’ll drive right out. I just didn’t want you to leave before we got there.”

“What does Doc want to talk to me about?” Hannah asked, feeling a bit apprehensive. The last time Doc had asked to talk to her in person was on the night Bill had come to arrest her.

“I don’t know, dear. I asked, but he won’t tell me. The only thing I know is that it’s not bad news. I asked him that because I didn’t want you to worry.”

“Thanks for asking, Mother.”

“Certainly, dear. It’s all right if we come over, then?”

Hannah did the only thing she could do. She agreed.

“Okay then,” she said, but it sounded rather curt even to her own ears, so she added, “Would you and Doc like to join us for dinner? Norman’s bringing pizza from Bertanelli’s.”

“That would be lovely, dear. Thank you. Shall we pick up anything on the way?”

“I don’t really need anything, unless . . .” Hannah stopped and began to grin. “Are you wearing silk stockings?”

Delores laughed. “Yes, and I have some fish-shaped, salmon-flavored treats for Moishe in the glove compartment of Doc’s car. I’ll carry them in with me so I can bribe Moishe.”

Hannah was still smiling as she said goodbye and hung up BLACKBERRY PIE MURDER

155

the phone. Delores knew the drill. If she wore silk stockings and arrived without Moishe’s favorite kitty treats, there could be another pair of shredded hose to add to the two dozen or so that had gone before them.

The phone rang again and Hannah picked it up. Delores must have forgotten to tell her something. “Hello again, Mother.”

But it wasn’t her mother. It was Norman. She recognized his laugh immediately. “You just got off the phone with your mother?” he asked.

“Yes. I’m glad you called, Norman. If you haven’t gone to Bertanelli’s yet, will you pick up some garden salads? Mother and Doc will be joining us for dinner.”

“Eight salads, and I’ll order a small Canadian bacon and pineapple pizza for your mother.”

“That would be great. I know she loves . . . wait a second.”

A puzzled expression crossed Hannah’s face. “We’re only five for dinner. Mother and Doc, Michelle, you, and me.”

“Five so far,” Norman said.

“What do you mean?”

“Dinner at your place always grows by the time I get there. I’ll play it safe and get eight salads. And I’d better get a couple orders of meatballs, too.”

“Do you know something I don’t know?”

“A lot of things. I know how to do a root canal, and you don’t. And I can extract a tooth painlessly, which I’m willing to bet you can’t do.”

Hannah laughed. “Not dental things. I admit I don’t know much about those. I meant, do you know anyone else who’s going to come here for dinner?”

“Not for sure, but I figure there’s a fifty-fifty chance that Lonnie and Mike will drop by.”

Hannah thought about that for a moment. “You’re probably right. Lonnie will want to see Michelle.”

“And Mike was at the courthouse this morning. He’ll probably drop by to see how you’re doing.”

156

Joanne Fluke

“You could be right. But that’s only seven people. Who’s the eighth?”

“Andrea if she’s still mad at Bill. Do you know if she is?”

“She’s still mad. I talked to her on the phone earlier.”

“Then she might drop by your place so she doesn’t have to talk to Bill.”

Hannah thought about that for a moment. “That’s possible,” she said. “I hope you don’t mind picking up more food.

When you get here, I’ll pay you back.”

“Don’t be silly. They’re my friends, too. And I need to talk to Doc, anyway.”

“About the tooth?”

“The tooth and other things. And before you ask, I didn’t find out anything definitive about the tooth except that the diamond is real.”

“
Real
as in
real
valuable?” Hannah quipped.

“Very funny. And yes, it is
real
valuable. In fact, it’s worth a small fortune. I’ll tell you all about it when I get there.

Right now, I have to call in another couple of pizzas and order the green salads, put the cats in the carry crate, and get on the road. I’ll see you in a while, Hannah. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Hannah said, hanging up the phone and heading back to the kitchen counter again. She
did
love Norman. Perhaps she didn’t love him enough to marry him, or . . .

perhaps she did. She’d have to think about that when she had more time. Right now, she had cookies to bake before Norman and everyone else came through the door.

! % { # 9 *

AIRY BERRY COOKIES

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

1 and 1⁄2 cups rolled oats
(uncooked dry oatmeal—

use the old-fashioned kind that takes 5 minutes

to cook, not the quick 1-minute variety)

1⁄2 cup salted butter
(1 stick, 4 ounces, 1⁄4 pound)

3⁄4 cup white
(granulated)
sugar 1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon flour
(that’s not a misprint—it’s only

one teaspoon!)

1⁄2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg, beaten
(just whip it up in a glass with a

fork)

1⁄2 cup sweetened dried cranberries
(I used Craisins)

1⁄2 cup white chocolate chips
(I used Ghirardelli’s)

Measure the oatmeal and place it in a medium-sized bowl.

Melt the butter and pour it over the oatmeal. Stir until it’s thoroughly mixed.

In a small bowl, combine the white sugar, baking powder, flour, and salt. Mix well.

Add the sugar mixture to the oatmeal mixture and blend them together thoroughly.

Mix in the vanilla extract.

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157

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Add the beaten egg and stir until everything is combined.

Mix in the half-cup of sweetened dried cranberries.

Then add the white chocolate chips and stir them in thoroughly.

Hannah’s 1st Note: I once used cherry-flavored Craisins
in these cookies. That means I had to rename them Airy
Cherry-Berry Cookies.

Line cookie sheets with foil, shiny side up. Spray the foil lightly with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray.

Drop the cookie dough by rounded teaspoonful onto the foil, leaving space for spreading. Don’t crowd these cookies together. Place no more than 6 or 8 cookies on each cookie sheet.

Hannah’s 2nd Note: Lisa and I use a 2-teaspoon cookie
scoop to form these cookies down at The Cookie Jar. It’s
the perfect size.

Bake your Airy Berry Cookies at 350 degrees F. for 12 minutes. Remove them from the oven and cool them on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes.

Pull the foil off the cookie sheet and onto a wire rack.

Let the cookies cool completely on the sheet of foil before you try to remove them.

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158

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When the cookies are completely cool, peel them carefully from the foil and store them in a cool, dry place.

(Your refrigerator is NOT a dry place.)

If you want to dress up these cookies for special company, wait until they’re cool and then drizzle them with melted chocolate chips mixed with juice, milk, or a berry or coffee liqueur. The recipe is below:

CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE

1⁄2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
(or milk chocolate

chips, or white chocolate chips—it’s your choice)

6 Tablespoons juice, milk, or liqueur

Before you start, lay out sheets of wax paper and place the completely cooled cookies close together on the wax paper.

Place the chips and the liquid you chose in a microwave-safe bowl and heat them on HIGH for 30 seconds.

Let the bowl sit for at least 15 seconds and then stir it smooth with a spoon or a heat-resistant spatula. If you can’t stir it smooth and the chips are still lumpy, microwave the mixture in 20-second intervals until you can stir it smooth.

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159

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Check the consistency of your mixture. If it’s too thick to drizzle, add additional liquid until it’s the proper drizzling consistency. If it’s too thin, add a few more chips and microwave again until those are melted and can be stirred into the drizzling mixture.

Place the bowl right next to the wax paper with the cookies and use a big spoon to drizzle the cookies with lines of chocolate sweetness. You can go all one way to make parallel lines or you can drizzle lines that crisscross each other. The design is up to you.

Let the chocolate drizzle harden on top of the cookies and then store them between sheets of wax paper in a cool, dry place.

Yield: One batch of Airy Berry Cookies makes about 2

and 1⁄2 dozen cookies.

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160

Chapter

!
Fourteen
#

“Oooh! Pretty!” Michelle said, coming into the kitchen just as Hannah was taking the last pan of cookies out of the oven. “What are those?”

“Airy Berry Cookies. We’re having them for dessert with ice cream.”

“Do you think there’s enough for one more?”

“Let me guess. Lonnie’s coming?”

“Yes. He just sent me a text message.”

“And you told him yes?”

“No. I said I’d find out and let him know.”

“Then text him back and tell him to come. Norman’s bringing enough pizza and salad for eight.”

“Eight? Who else is coming?”

“Mother and Doc. Mother called to ask if they could come. And Norman thinks Mike will show up, and possibly Andrea if she wants to avoid Bill when he gets home.”

Michelle laughed. “Norman’s probably right. Mike always seems to come over when we’re eating, and Andrea’s still mad at Bill.”

Hannah put the last pan of cookies on a wire rack to cool and turned to look at her sister. “You’d better text Lonnie and then grab a quick shower before he gets here. You’re all sweaty.”

162

Joanne Fluke

“That’s because I had a great workout. I tried out everything the manual said your machine could do.”

“Did it live up to its claims?”

“Yes. It’s really an amazing all-in-one gym, Hannah. Wait until Lonnie sees it. He’s going to be really envious.”

“Does Lonnie know a lot about exercise machines?”

“Not as much as Mike knows, but Lonnie knows enough to appreciate this one. I wonder what Norman will think of it.”

“We’ll find out when he gets here.”

“I think you should have Doc take a look at it, too. It’s got all sorts of medical monitors like heart rate and things like that.”

“Do you think I should ask Mother, too?”

“Why bother?” Michelle gave a little laugh. “Mother doesn’t know anything about exercise machines. She never uses them and she doesn’t need them. She just naturally has a perfect figure.”

“I know. If she weren’t my mother, I’d hate her.”

“Me, too. Don’t ask her about the machine, though. I think it would be a mistake.”

“Why?”

“Because she’s bound to have an opinion,” Michelle said with a grin. “She’ll tell you that the color on the handlebars clashes with your bedspread.”