Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (3 page)

“Max isn’t there. Ron told me that he was leaving for the Tri-State Buttermakers’ Convention this morning. It’s in Wisconsin and I think it lasts for a week. If I were you, I’d talk to Betty Jackson. She’s Max’s secretary and she’ll know how to reach him.”

“Good idea.” Bill drained his coffee mug and set it down. “This case is really important to me, Hannah. I passed the detective’s test last week and Sheriff Grant put me in charge.”

“Then you’ve been promoted?” Hannah started to smile.

“Not yet. Sheriff Grant has to sign off on it, but I’m pretty sure he will, if I do a good job. This promotion would be good for us. I’d be making more money and Andrea wouldn’t have to work.”

“That’s wonderful, Bill.” Hannah was genuinely pleased for him.

“You don’t think it’s wrong to use Ron’s murder as a springboard to my promotion?”

“Absolutely not.” Hannah shook her head. “Somebody’s got to catch Ron’s killer. If you do it and if you get a promotion, it’s only what you deserve.”

“You’re not just saying that to make me feel better?”

“Me? I never say what I don’t mean, not when it’s important. You should know that by now!”

Bill grinned, relaxing a bit. “You’re right. It’s like Andrea says: Tact isn’t really one of your long suits.”

“True.” Hannah conceded the point with a smile, but it still stung a little. She thought she’d been very tactful with Andrea over the years. There had been countless occasions when she could have cheerfully strangled her sister, and she hadn’t.

“There’s one other thing, Hannah.” Bill cleared his throat. “I hate to ask, but people tend to talk to you and you know almost everyone in town. Will you call me if you hear anything you think I should know?”

“Of course I will.”

“Thanks. Just keep your eyes and your ears open. If Ron’s killer is local, he’s bound to say or do something to give himself away. We just have to be smart enough to pick up on it.”

Hannah nodded. Then she noticed that Bill was eyeing the trays of Oatmeal Raisin Crisps with longing and she got up to fill a bag for him. “Don’t eat all these cookies in one sitting, Bill. You’re getting a roll around your waist.”

After Bill left, Hannah thought about what she’d said. Andrea was right. She had no tact. A tactful person wouldn’t have mentioned the roll around Bill’s waist. It wasn’t her place to criticize Andrea’s husband.

As she walked back through the swinging door and took her place behind the counter, Hannah realized that she’d committed an even more serious sisterly infraction. She’d just promised to help Bill solve a murder case that might end up putting Andrea right out of a job.

Preheat oven to 375° F, rack in the middle position.

“T
hat’s it, Lisa. I’m ready to roll.” Hannah shut the back of her Suburban and walked around to climb into the driver’s seat. “I should be back by four at the latest.”

Lisa nodded, handing Hannah a container of lemons that had been washed until any germs courageous enough to light on their surface had fled in terror. “Do you want to take some extra sugar in case there’s a run on the lemonade?”

“I’ll just borrow some from the school kitchen if I need it. Edna doesn’t leave until three-thirty.”

When Lisa had gone back inside, Hannah backed into the alley and drove off toward Jordan High. It had been named after the first mayor of Lake Eden, Ezekiel Jordan, but she suspected that most of the students believed that their school’s namesake had played pro basketball.

Jordan High and Washington Elementary were two separate buildings that were connected by a carpeted corridor with double-paned windows that overlooked the school grounds. The two schools shared a common auditorium and cafeteria to cut down on costs, and there was only one principal. The maintenance crew consisted of four people; two took care of the janitorial work and the other two were responsible for the playground, as well as the high school athletic fields.

The Lake Eden school complex worked well. Since the grade school and the high school were connected, older brothers and sisters were always available to drive a younger sibling home in the event of illness, or to calm a frightened kindergartner who missed Mom and Dad. This arrangement also provided a bonus for Jordan High students. The seniors who planned to become teachers were encouraged to volunteer as classroom aides during their free period. The early on-the-job training had produced several college graduates who’d returned to Lake Eden to accept teaching positions at the school.

As she turned on Third Street and drove past the city block that had been set aside for family recreation, Hannah realized that there were no preschoolers playing in Lake Eden Park. The chains on the swings were perfectly motionless, the merry-go-round was still laden with the colorful leaves that had fallen during the morning, and though the temperature had topped the predicted high of forty-eight degrees, there were no children on tricycles pedaling along the circular sidewalk around the playground.

For a moment this struck Hannah as odd. It was the type of weather that a mother of a preschooler prayed for. But then she remembered what had happened this morning and she understood why the park was empty. There was a killer loose in Lake Eden. Concerned parents were keeping their children inside, out of harm’s way.

There was a long line of cars idling at curbside on Gull Avenue. It stretched for three blocks leading to and from the school complex, blocking access to driveways and fire hydrants in blatant disregard for the city parking statutes. Hannah inched her way past worried-looking parents waiting for the dismissal bell to ring, and as she neared the school, she saw that Herb Beeseman, his patrol car freshly washed and waxed, was parked diagonally in front of the entrance. He wasn’t handing out any tickets for the infractions that were occurring right under his nose, and Hannah assumed that he’d placed the safety of Lake Eden’s children at a higher priority than filling the city’s coffers.

Hannah reached back between the seats and snagged a bag of Molasses Crackles. She always carried several bags of cookies with her for times like these. Then she pulled up beside Herb’s patrol car and rolled down her window. “Hi, Herb. I’m going in to cater the Boy Scout Awards Banquet. Is it okay if I pull into the lot?”

“Sure, Hannah,” Herb responded, his eyes on the bag of cookies in her hand. “Just make sure you park legally. Are those for me?”

Hannah handed him the bag. “You’re doing a great job protecting the kids. I’m sure the parents appreciate it.”

“Thanks.” Herb looked pleased at her compliment. “Does your mother still hate me for that ticket I gave her?”

“She doesn’t exactly
hate
you, Herb.” Hannah decided that this wasn’t the time to tell Herb precisely what her mother had called him. “But she’s still a little put out.”

“I’m sorry I had to do it, Hannah. I like your mother, but I can’t have people speeding through town.”

“I understand and I think Mother does, too. She’s just not quite willing to admit it yet.” Hannah began to grin. “At least one good thing came out of that ticket.”

“What’s that?”

“She stopped trying to fix me up with you.”

Hannah was chuckling as she drove off. Judging from the surprised expression on Herb’s face, he hadn’t guessed that her mother had previously considered him for the position of son-in-law.

The wide gate that separated the teachers’ parking lot from the school grounds was open and Hannah drove through. As she traveled down the lane between the rows of parked cars, she noticed a conspicuous absence of new or expensive vehicles. Teaching didn’t pay well enough for any luxuries, and Hannah thought that was a shame. There was something really wrong with the system when a teacher could make more money flipping burgers at a fast-food chain.

The strip of blacktop by the back door of the cafeteria was peppered with warning signs. Hannah pulled up by one that read: “NO PARKING AT ANY TIME BY ORDER OF THE LAKE EDEN PARKING AUTHORITY.” In smaller letters, it warned that violators would be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, but Herb was the sole employee of the Lake Eden Parking Authority and he was out watching the front entrance. Hannah didn’t feel guilty about violating a city parking statute. She was running late and she had to unload her supplies. In less than ten minutes a horde of hungry Boy Scouts would be clamoring for her cookies and lemonade.

The minute that Hannah pulled up, Edna Ferguson opened the kitchen door. She was a bird-thin woman in her fifties and she wore a welcoming smile. “Hi, Hannah. I was wondering when you’d get here. Do you want some help unloading?”

“Thanks, Edna.” Hannah handed her a box of supplies to carry. “The Scouts aren’t here yet, are they?”

Edna shook her hair-netted head. “Mr. Purvis called an all-school assembly and they’re still in the auditorium. If their parents aren’t here to pick them up, he wants them to walk home in groups.”

Hannah nodded, hefting the large box of cookies that Lisa had packed, and followed Edna into the school kitchen. As she entered the large room with its wall-long counters and massive appliances, Hannah wondered what it would be like to be the last child in the group. You’d start off together, feeling safe by virtue of sheer numbers, but one by one your friends would peel off to go into their own homes. When the last one had left, you’d have to go the rest of the way by yourself, hoping and praying that the killer wasn’t lurking in the bushes.

“There was no suffering, was there, Hannah?”

Hannah set the box down and turned to Edna. “What?”

“With Ron. I’ve been thinking about it all day. He was such a nice boy. If it was his time to die, I hope it was quick and painless.”

Hannah didn’t believe that everyone had a prearranged time to die. Thinking like that was too much like buying a lottery ticket and figuring that it was your turn to win the jackpot. “Bill told me he thought it was instantaneous.”

“I guess we should be grateful for that. And to think that he was right here, only minutes before he was murdered! It’s enough to give a body chills!”

Hannah placed her lemons on one of Edna’s chopping blocks and began to cut them into paper-thin slices. “Then Ron made his delivery this morning?”

“Of course. That boy never missed a day. He was real conscientious and he took pride in his work.”

Hannah added this tidbit to the small stockpile of facts she’d gathered. Ron had stocked Jordan High’s cooler this morning, for whatever that was worth. “Did you see him this morning?”

“No. I never do. I don’t come in until eight and he was long gone by then. But the cooler had been stocked.”

Hannah unpacked her heavy-duty plastic punchbowl and handed it to Edna. She only used the glass one for formal functions like weddings and the senior prom. Then she picked up the huge thermos of lemonade and the bowl of lemon slices she’d cut, and led the way into the main part of the cafeteria. A table had already been set up for refreshments, covered with a blue paper tablecloth, and there was a cardboard file box at the head of another similarly covered table.

“Gil came down on his free period to set up,” Edna told her. “He said to tell you that he’s bringing a balloon centerpiece.”

“Okay, I’ll leave room for it.” Hannah motioned for Edna to put the punchbowl down. Then she opened the thermos and started to pour the lemonade into the bowl. “You didn’t notice anything unusual about the way Ron left the kitchen?”

“Can’t say as I did. What’s in those ice cubes, Hannah? They look cloudy.”

“They’re made out of lemonade so they won’t dilute it when they melt. I do the same thing with any punch I make.” Hannah finished transferring the lemonade and floated the slices of lemon on the top. As she stepped back to admire the effect, she noticed that Edna was frowning. “Do you think it needs more lemon slices?”

“No. It looks real professional. I was just thinking about Ron.”

“You and everybody else. Come on, Edna. I’ve got to unpack the cookies.”

Edna followed her back to the kitchen and she gasped when Hannah lifted the lid on the box. “Just look at that! Those are real pretty, Hannah.”

“I think so, too.” Hannah smiled as she arranged the cookies on a tray. Lisa had piped on yellow and blue frosting in the shape of the Boy Scout logo. “Lisa Herman did the decorations. She’s getting to be an expert with the pastry bag.”

“Lisa’s real talented. I swear that girl could do anything she put her mind to. It’s just a pity she had to give up college to take care of her father.”

“I know. Her older brothers and sisters wanted to put him in a nursing home, but Lisa didn’t think that was right.” Hannah handed Edna a box with small blue paper plates, gold napkins, and blue plastic cups. “You take this. I’ll bring the cookies.”

It didn’t take long to arrange the plates, cups, and napkins on the table. Once everything was done, they went back into the kitchen for a cup of coffee. They were sitting at the square wooden table in the corner of the kitchen, waiting for the Scouts to arrive, when Edna gave another long sigh. “It’s just such a pity, that’s all.”

“You mean about Ron?”

“Yes. That poor boy was running himself ragged with those routes of his. He was putting in a sixty-hour week and Max doesn’t pay overtime. It was getting to him.”

“Did Ron tell you that?”

Edna shook her head. “Betty Jackson did. She was there when Ron asked Max for an assistant. That was over six months ago, but Max was too cheap to put anyone else on the payroll.”

Hannah knew. Max Turner had the reputation for pinching a penny until it screamed in pain. For someone who was rumored to have money to burn, he certainly didn’t live the part. Max drove a new car, but that was his only luxury. He still lived in his parents’ old house in back of the Cozy Cow Dairy. He’d fixed it up some, but that had been necessary. It would have fallen down around his ears if he hadn’t.

“I just think it’s a shame that Ron had to die on the day that he finally got his assistant.”

“Ron had an assistant?” Hannah turned to look at Edna in surprise. “How do you know that?”

“I keep out a jar of instant coffee for Ron. He always liked something to warm him up after he came out of the cooler. There were
two
coffee cups on the counter when I came in this morning so I figured he finally got his assistant. But I never thought that Max would hire a woman!”

Hannah felt her adrenaline start to pump. Ron’s new assistant might have witnessed his murder. “You’re sure that Ron’s assistant was a woman?”

“There was lipstick on the cup. She must have been young because it was bright pink and that color looks terrible on someone our age.”

Hannah bristled at being lumped in a category with a woman who was at least twenty years older than she was. She had half a notion to remind Edna of that, but it might be counterproductive. “Did you wash the cups, Edna?”

“Nope. I threw them in the trash.”

“You threw them in the
trash
?”

Edna laughed at Hannah’s astonished expression. “They were the disposable kind.”

“They could be evidence,” Hannah informed her, and Edna’s laugh died a quick death. “Bill’s in charge of the investigation and he’ll need to see them.”

Hannah turned and headed for the wastebasket by the sink, but before she could start to rummage inside, Edna stopped her. “Mr. Hodges emptied my trash right after lunch. I’m really sorry, Hannah. I never would have thrown them away if I’d known that they were important.”

Hannah realized she’d been abrupt. “That’s okay. Just tell me what Mr. Hodges does with the trash.”

“He throws it all in that big orange Dumpster in the parking lot. Somebody’s going to have to dig through it before it gets hauled away.”

“What time does that happen?”

“Around five.”

Hannah muttered a curse under her breath. She couldn’t stand by and let the trash truck haul away important evidence. She’d try to reach Bill, but if he wasn’t here by the time the awards banquet was over, she’d have to go through the trash bags herself.

“Great job, Hannah!” Gil Surma, the Lake Eden scoutmaster and Jordan High counselor, gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder. “It’s a good thing you brought extra cookies. I never thought that eighteen boys could eat seven dozen.”

“That’s less than five apiece and they’re growing boys. I just figured that since I was catering a Boy Scout banquet, I’d better live up to the Boy Scout motto.”

It took Gil a minute. As Hannah watched, the corners of Gil’s eyes began to crinkle and he chuckled. “You mean, ‘Be Prepared’? That’s very clever.”

Hannah smiled and carried the punchbowl out to the kitchen. When she came back, Gil was still there. “You don’t have to stay, Gil. I can clean up.”

“No, I’ll help you.” Gil began to gather up the plastic cups and plates and toss them into the trash. “Hannah?”