Double Fudge Brownie Murder (Hannah Swensen series Book 18) Read online

  Books by Joanne Fluke

  Hannah Swensen Mysteries

  CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE MURDER

  STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE MURDER

  BLUEBERRY MUFFIN MURDER

  LEMON MERINGUE PIE MURDER

  FUDGE CUPCAKE MURDER

  SUGAR COOKIE MURDER

  PEACH COBBLER MURDER

  CHERRY CHEESECAKE MURDER

  KEY LIME PIE MURDER

  CANDY CANE MURDER

  CARROT CAKE MURDER

  CREAM PUFF MURDER

  PLUM PUDDING MURDER

  APPLE TURNOVER MURDER

  DEVIL’S FOOD CAKE MURDER

  GINGERBREAD COOKIE MURDER

  CINNAMON ROLL MURDER

  RED VELVET CUPCAKE MURDER

  BLACKBERRY PIE MURDER

  DOUBLE FUDGE BROWNIE MURDER

  JOANNE FLUKE’S LAKE EDEN COOKBOOK

  Suspense Novels

  VIDEO KILL

  WINTER CHILL

  DEAD GIVEAWAY

  THE OTHER CHILD

  COLD JUDGMENT

  FATAL IDENTITY

  Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation

  DOUBLE FUDGE BROWNIE MURDER

  JOANNE FLUKE

  KENSINGTON BOOKS

  www.kensingtonbooks.com

  All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.

  Table of Contents

  Books by Joanne Fluke

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-one

  DOUBLE FUDGE BROWNIE MURDER RECIPE INDEX

  Baking Conversion Chart

  Copyright Page

  This book is for the newest addition to the family,

  the beautiful and charming Ellie Blue.

  Acknowledgments

  Big hugs to the kids and the grandkids.

  Thank you to my friends and neighbors: Mel & Kurt, Lyn

  & Bill, Lu, Gina, Adrienne, Jay, Bob, Richard, Laura Levine

  (who writes the Jaine Austen series), Dee Appleton, Dr. Bob

  & Sue, both Dannys, Mark B., Angelique, Anne Elizabeth,

  Mark & Mandy at Faux Library, Daryl and her staff at

  Groves Accountancy, Gene and Ron at SDSA, and everyone

  at Boston Private Bank. And a special thank you to Beth at

  Up in Stitches.

  Thank you to my friends who still live in Minnesota: Lois

  & Neal, Bev & Jim, Lois & Jack, Val, Ruthann & Romy,

  Lowell, Dorothy & Sister Sue, Mary & Jim, Pat and Gary

  from Once Upon a Crime, and Tim Hedges.

  Special thanks to my supremely patient and multitalented

  friend and Editor-in-Chief, John Scognamiglio.

  Thanks to Meg Ruley at the Jane Rotrosen Agency for her

  constant support and sage advice. And thanks to Don,

  Rebecca, and the Christinas.

  Hugs all around to all the wonderful folks at Kensington

  Publishing who keep Hannah baking, sleuthing, and having

  adventures.

  Thanks to Hiro Kimura, my superb cover artist. I know I’ll

  get a mouthful of paper, but I still want to eat that yummy-

  looking brownie on the cover!

  Thank you to Lou Malcangi at Kensington for designing all

  of Hannah’s delicious and stunning covers.

  Thank you to my publicist, Vida Engstrand at Kensington

  who works tirelessly to promote the Hannah Swensen series.

  Thanks to John at Placed4Success.com for Hannah’s movie

  and TV spots, administering Hannah’s social media, and for

  his voice-over on the Blackberry Pie Murder television

  commercial.

  Thanks to Rudy at Z’Kana Studios for editing, filming, and

  compiling clips, for maintaining my website at

  www.JoanneFluke.com, and for administering Hannah’s

  social media.

  Thank you to Mary Avilla King at AvoyaTravel.com for giving

  ing me the scoop on Delores and Doc’s wedding cruise to

  Alaska.

  Now that winter’s coming to Lake Eden, MN, I think Doc

  and Delores might want to go on a cruise to somewhere

  warm! Any ideas, Mary?

  Big thanks to Kathy Allen for the final testing of the recipes

  in Double Fudge Brownie Murder.

  Hugs to Judy Q for researching everything under the sun

  and helping with Hannah’s e-mail at

  [email protected]

  Many thanks to my friend Trudi Nash for going on book

  tours with me and finding all of our recipe talk just as exciting

  as I do. And thanks to her husband, David, for batching

  it while Trudi is gone.

  Thanks to Holli Moncrief and her feline friend for being

  Moishe’s inspiration.

  Thank you to caterer JoAnn Hecht for making Hannah’s

  recipes both photogenic and delicious.

  Thank you to Nancy and Heiti for all sorts of wonderful

  recipes and plot ideas for Hannah.

  Hugs to Fern, Leah, and Alicia for their work on the Joanne

  Fluke Author Facebook page and the I Love Joanne Fluke

  Facebook page. And thank you to the Double D’s and the

  other members of Team Swensen who so willingly answer

  baking and other questions about Hannah online.

  Thank you to Dr. Rahhal, Dr. and Cathy Line, Dr. Wallen,

  Dr. Koslowski, and Dr. Niemeyer for putting up with my

  Hannah-book-related medical and dental questions. What

  would Norman and Doc Knight do without you?

  Huge hugs to all the Hannah fans who have shared their

  favorite family recipes with me. (They can’t guess my weight

  at the Winnetka Country Fair anymore!)

  I’m going to suggest that we add an eighth day to the week

  called “Bakeday.”

  All in favor say, “Yum!”

  Chapter One

  It was a brisk September morning and to say that Hannah Swensen was excited would be the understatement of the year. Not even the specter of her upcoming trial for vehicular homicide, which had been postponed again last week, could dampen her spirits.

  “Don’t worry, Moishe,” Hannah told the orange and white cat who was staring at her from the top of her dresser. “I’m only going to be gone for three days and Norman should be here to pick you up any minute now. You’re going to stay with Norman and Cuddles while I’m gone.”

  “Rrrrow!”

 
Hannah smiled as she slipped off her robe and dressed in her stylish, new, forest green pantsuit. Some people claimed that cats didn’t understand when you spoke to them, but Moishe always reacted with an excited yowl whenever she said Cuddles. Norman’s cat was Moishe’s favorite friend. Hannah admitted that she might be anthropomorphizing, but she was convinced that Moishe loved Cuddles every bit as much as her mother loved Doc Knight.

  Hannah slipped on her shoes and walked to the foot of the bed. Her suitcase was open on top of the bedspread and she checked the contents again. Claire Rodgers Knudson, the owner of Beau Monde Fashions, the upscale dress shop right next to The Cookie Jar on Main Street, had chosen what she called a mini trousseau for each of the three Swensen sisters. It was a gift from Doc Knight, their mother’s groom-to-be. Of course, Delores had her own, much larger bridal trousseau, which was currently stashed in the trunk of one of Cyril Murphy’s Shamrock Limousines, waiting for the wedding surprise that Doc and Delores’s daughters had planned for her.

  At first, all three Swensen sisters had been reluctant to accept Doc’s lovely and expensive gifts. Such largesse was highly unusual in Lake Eden, Minnesota. There were a couple of rich families in town, but most people worked hard for their money and didn’t have any excess to spend on luxuries. Hannah, Andrea, and Michelle fell into that latter group.

  It had taken Doc a week, but he had convinced them to accept his generous gifts. He’d reminded them that presents for members of the wedding party were traditional, and with the exception of Doc’s best man, Hannah, Andrea, and Michelle comprised the whole wedding party. He’d also stated that the lovely mini trousseaus were doubling as thank you gifts for helping him implement his wedding surprise for their mother. With that said, Doc had led them into Claire’s shop and turned them over to her.

  The Swensen sisters didn’t shop in Claire’s designer boutique very often. All three were on a budget. Hannah’s bakery and coffee shop made enough money for her to live a comfortable life, but designer clothing was low on her list of priorities. Andrea, the middle Swensen sister, loved to wear designer things, but most of her commissions as a part-time real estate agent went into a college fund for her two daughters. Andrea’s husband also worked. Bill was the Winnetka County sheriff, but most of his salary went toward the family’s living expenses. Michelle, the youngest Swensen sister, was in college at Macalester and everything she earned from working part-time was spent on tuition, books, and living expenses.

  Hannah reached out to touch the gorgeous sapphire blue dress that she would wear to her mother’s wedding. Andrea and Michelle had identically styled dresses, but they were in gradiated shades of blue. Hannah’s was the most vivid and the sapphire blue looked wonderful with her red hair. Michelle’s dress was a lighter shade that brought out the red and gold highlights in her brown hair. Andrea’s dress was the palest, an ice blue that was worthy of a winter princess. With her light blond hair worn up in a twist and secured with a rhinestone-studded comb, she looked positively regal.

  Tonight, Delores would marry Doc Knight in the Little Chapel of the Orchids in Las Vegas with only Doc’s best man and Delores’s three daughters in attendance. The bride-to-be had no idea that Doc had planned a surprise elopement when he’d invited her to a special board member breakfast at the hospital. The breakfast had been Andrea’s idea to make certain that Delores wouldn’t wear her Rainbow Lady volunteer jacket and slacks.

  When Delores arrived at the hospital, Doc would whisk her away in a waiting limousine that would take them to the airport. Doc had hired a second limousine to take Michelle, Andrea, and Hannah to the airport, and once they’d arrived, they would be escorted to the plane where Doc had somehow arranged for all five of them to be served a champagne breakfast.

  Delores had no idea that any of this was going to happen. Hannah knew that Doc had surprised Delores several times in the past with impromptu dinner parties and gifts she hadn’t expected. So far, Delores had loved his surprises. But this surprise was the biggest one of all!

  Hannah readily admitted that she was a bit nervous about the whole scenario that would play out today. When her mother discovered that Doc and all three of her daughters were co-conspirators in this elopement, one of two things would happen. Either Delores would be so angry at all of them that she’d refuse to marry Doc or she’d be delighted with Doc’s romantic spontaneity and grateful that they’d all helped him with her surprise.

  Hannah was betting on the latter for several reasons. The most important was that Delores loved Doc totally and irrevocably. If he wanted to sweep her off her feet and elope with her, she would not hesitate. The odds in Hannah’s mind tallied at ninety to ten, perhaps even steeper than that. But there was the slim chance that Hannah’s mother would balk at the way that Doc had chosen to take the planning of their wedding away from her.

  “That’s not going to happen!” Hannah said aloud, as if by voicing that opinion, she could assure its validity. She was almost positive that Delores would go with Doc to the ends of the earth. Seeing the two of them together made Hannah long for the same kind of total consuming love. In retrospect, she knew it was the reason she hadn’t accepted either Norman’s or Mike’s proposal. She loved both of them, but it wasn’t the heart-pounding, can’t-live-without-you kind of love she craved. Just once in her life she wanted to be swept off her feet by the perfect man on the perfect night with perfect love.

  Did she want too much? Was there such a thing as perfect love? By refusing to settle for something less was she depriving herself of a fulfilling life?

  A knock on her door pulled Hannah from her contemplative mood. She shut her suitcase, hurried from the bedroom with Moishe at her heels, and arrived at the door slightly breathless. “Hi, Norman,” she said, pulling open the door.

  “You didn’t look through the peephole, Hannah,” Norman chided her gently as he came in.

  Hannah laughed. “At eight-thirty in the morning? Besides, you said you were coming at eight-thirty and you’re never late.”

  “Okay.” Norman looked a little sheepish. “I might have overreacted, but I wish you’d remember to use the peephole. I could have been someone you didn’t want to see.”

  “Never!” Hannah reached out to give him a hug. “You couldn’t possibly be someone I didn’t want to see. Not as long as you’re you, Norman. I always want to see you!”

  Norman hugged her back and Hannah knew she’d said the right thing. And he did have a point. She really ought to get into the habit of looking through the peephole before she opened the door.

  “Rrrrow!”

  “Hello, Big Guy.” Norman bent down to pet Moishe. “Cuddles is at my house waiting for you. I hope you’re ready to play all day and sleep all night.”

  Moishe looked up at him for a second and then he walked over to his Kitty Kastle. He jumped up to the perch and jumped down again with a toy mouse in his mouth.

  “You want to take that with you?” Norman threw it down the hallway once and let Moishe retrieve it. “Okay,” Norman picked up the mouse. “I’m putting it in my pocket for you. I’ll give it to you the minute we get to my house . . . okay?”

  “Rrrrow!”

  Hannah watched the interaction between cat and man with some amusement. Norman really did get along wonderfully with Moishe. Of course Mike did, too. Both of the men in her life liked her cat. And he liked both of them. Moishe hadn’t helped her at all in any permanent decision making. He liked everyone . . . except Delores. And since falling in love with Doc Knight had mellowed Delores, Moishe had become much more tolerant of her.

  “Do you want me to carry out your suitcase?” Norman asked her.

  “Thanks, but no. Doc said the limo driver would come up to get the luggage and load it. Wheeling it out right now might upset Moishe.”

  “You’re probably right. I just didn’t want you to have to do it yourself.” Norman took Moishe’s harness and leash from the hook by the door and held it out. “Come on, Moishe. It’s time to go and see
Cuddles.”

  Hannah watched while Norman harnessed her pet. Moishe had always objected to getting into a cat carrier, but he loved to wear his harness. That was probably because he didn’t like to be confined and preferred to roam around in the back seat of Norman’s car or in the back of her cookie truck.

  Norman hooked the leash to Moishe’s harness and stood up. “Have a great time, Hannah. And don’t let wedding fever get the best of you . . . at least not until you get back here.”

  “Don’t worry. I won’t.” Hannah smiled at him. “And I won’t let gambling fever get the best of me, either. I’m only taking along the money that I can afford to lose. And that’s not much!”

  “Do you need to borrow some from me?”

  “No thanks. This way I’m not tempted. And to tell the truth, I’m really not tempted, anyway. It’s just something to do while I’m there.”

  “I’ve got something else for you to do while you’re there.” Norman pulled an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to her. “These are for you.”

  Hannah opened the envelope and pulled out a sheaf of papers. “These are . . . show tickets!”