Double Fudge Brownie Murder (9780758280428) Page 2

  “I know he is. When I said her name this morning, he gave me the most pitiful, yearning yowl I’ve ever heard.”

  “Just like I do when I think about you.” Norman reached out to hug her again. “Have a good time, Hannah. And don’t worry about a thing back here. I’ll keep an eye on your place and I’ll make sure that Moishe has a good time while you’re gone.”

  Hannah had just pulled her rolling suitcase into the living room when there was another knock on her door. She gave a quick look through the peephole, thinking that perhaps Norman was back for something he’d forgotten, and gave a little gasp when she saw who was standing there.

  “Hannah,” Mike greeted her when she opened the door. “Good for you!”

  “What?”

  “I’m glad you looked to see who was there before you opened the door. We’d have less crime if everyone would do that.”

  Hannah sent a silent thank you to Norman for reminding her and ushered Mike in. “Did you come to say goodbye?”

  “That and something else.” Mike pulled her into his arms and hugged her. “I got something for you to take with you. I know you’ve never flown before, so I brought you a good luck charm.”

  Hannah accepted the bag Mike handed her and opened the top a bit gingerly. She didn’t really think that it was a foot from a roadkill rabbit, but you could never tell with Mike.

  “Do you like it?” Mike asked, grinning widely.

  “It’s . . . beautiful,” Hannah answered quite truthfully, staring down at the pendant inside the little jewelry box.

  “It’s a four-leaf clover encased in silver, and it’s on a silver chain. They had silver rabbits’ feet and little horseshoes, and lots of stuff like that, but I thought this would be better. So did Sharon. She said it would be perfect for you.”

  “Sharon?”

  “She’s the woman who works at the jewelry shop. The minute she said it, I knew she was right. Four-leaf clovers are harder to find than rabbits’ feet or horseshoes. And Sharon personally guaranteed that there’s a real four-leaf clover under that silver.”

  “Well, I’m not about to break it apart to find out!” Hannah slipped it on over her head and touched it gently with her fingertips. “Thanks, Mike. It’s really beautiful.”

  “She said you’d say that. She told me she wanted one the minute she saw the display.”

  Hannah wasn’t about to ask if Mike had gotten one for Sharon, too. She really didn’t want to know. Mike was a flirt, pure and simple, and even though he wasn’t Irish, he had an even bigger helping of Irish blarney than Cyril Murphy did!

  “I didn’t,” Mike said.

  “You didn’t what?”

  “I didn’t buy one for Sharon.”

  Hannah frowned slightly. “I didn’t ask you if you had.”

  “I know, but you were thinking about asking. I heard you loud and clear. This is just for you, Hannah. It’s special because you’re special.”

  Hannah didn’t say anything. She just hugged him. Mike could be really sweet when he wasn’t playing his officious cop role. She was wondering if she should thank him again, she really did love the silver clover, when there was a knock at her door.

  “I’ll get it,” Mike said, pulling the door open without looking through the peephole.

  Hannah had the urge to remind him that what was good for the goose was good for the gander, but she didn’t when she saw Michelle’s excited face.

  “Hi, Mike,” Michelle said, stepping in with her suitcase. “Are you all ready, Hannah?”

  “I’m ready. Did you see Andrea on your way in?”

  Mike, who was still standing by the open door, pointed toward the visitor’s parking lot. “Bill just dropped her off and she’s wheeling her suitcase down the walkway. And your limo just pulled in. The driver’s parking out by the road.”

  “Great!” Hannah felt a hoard of nervous butterflies take flight in her stomach. She’d never been on a plane before and she wasn’t quite sure what to expect. There was something about being up in the clouds with nothing but air beneath her that was terrifying, but the thought was also exhilarating.

  “I’ll carry your suitcases down for you.”

  “But the limo driver will come to get them,” Hannah said.

  “That’s okay. I’ll do it.” Mike grabbed both suitcases and started down the stairs. “Hannah?”

  “Yes, Mike.”

  “Make sure you double lock your door.”

  “But the deadbolt doesn’t fit right.”

  “It’ll work if you lift up on the doorknob. Just do it, Hannah. It’s important.”

  Hannah sighed. “All right, Mike. I’ll do it.”

  “All cops are alike,” Michelle grumbled just as soon as Mike was out of earshot. “I’ll help you, Hannah. I’ve double locked your door before and it’s a two-person job.”

  “Thanks, Michelle.”

  Hannah inserted her key and Michelle lifted up on the doorknob so that Hannah could throw the deadbolt that wasn’t quite lined up correctly. It took three tries, but the bolt finally slid home.

  “Mike always tells me to double lock the door,” Hannah said with a sigh, dropping her keys into her purse, picking up her large carry-on by one strap, and following Michelle down the stairs. “It’s a royal pain to do and I don’t really have anything for anyone to steal.”

  “I know, but Mike’s a cop and they all say that. Lonnie told me to double lock my door when we left my place, and two of my roommates were still inside. I’ll bet you five bucks that Bill reminded Andrea to double lock their door this morning.”

  Hannah laughed. “There’s no way I’m going to take that bet, not when I’m sure you’re right. People who work in law enforcement are very safety conscious.”

  “Oh, it’s not that.” Michelle turned around at the base of the stairs to smile at her older sister.

  “It’s not?”

  “No. Lonnie explained the whole thing to me this morning and it’s not a matter of safety at all. It’s just that they have to file a report for every theft that occurs, and they don’t want to fill out all that paperwork.”

  Chapter Two

  “Wow!” Michelle’s voice was hushed as they climbed up the ramp to the plane. “It’s a private plane and I think it’s a Citation X.”

  “Is that good?” Andrea, who was in the lead, turned around to ask.

  “I think so. And I do know Doc must have paid a bundle to reserve it for us. I think he chartered the whole plane because there’s no one else on the ramp behind us.”

  “Maybe the other passengers just haven’t gotten here yet,” Hannah suggested. “This looks like a big plane for just the five of us.”

  “There’s also a pilot and a co-pilot,” Andrea pointed out. “And maybe even a steward or stewardess. That’s a total of seven or eight.”

  “You don’t count the pilot and the co-pilot,” Michelle informed them.

  Hannah gave her youngest sister a surprised look. “Why not? Somebody’s got to fly the plane.”

  “True, but they have their own cabin and they’re not counted as passengers. If this is a Citation, and I think it is, it’ll hold from seven to twelve passengers.”

  “How do you know so much about planes?” Andrea asked.

  “I worked at Hubert Humphrey Terminal over part of my summer break. It’s a private terminal and the planes were mostly medium-size jets like Falcons, Learjets, and Cessna Citations.”

  Andrea looked impressed. “That sounds exciting!”

  “Not really. I worked at the Northwoods Coffee concession and all I did was make and pour coffee into to-go cups. We were right by the main gate and all the pilots came in for coffee.”

  Hannah was well acquainted with her youngest sister’s insatiable curiosity. “So you asked them a lot of questions about their planes?”

  “That’s right. And that’s why I’m almost positive that this one is a Citation X. If it is, we’re in for a treat. It’s got a top speed of six hundred miles a
n hour.”

  “That’s ten miles every minute!” Hannah pointed out with a slight gasp.

  “That’s right. It can fly from Los Angeles to New York in four hours. That’s an hour faster than conventional business jets.”

  “So . . .” Hannah tried to maintain a deadpan expression, but it was difficult. “I’ve got a question for you, Michelle. Are we going to get to Las Vegas before we even leave here?”

  Michelle let out a whoop of laughter. “Maybe. Hurry up, Andrea. I want to see the inside. It’s supposed to be super luxurious.”

  “Let’s hope Mother thinks so.” Hannah took a deep breath as they neared the end of the ramp. “I’m a little nervous about her reaction.”

  “You’re not the only one,” Andrea said and then she turned to Michelle. “You’re not nervous about Mother’s reaction?”

  “It’s silly to borrow trouble. Whatever’s happened has already happened. It won’t do us any good to worry about it now.”

  “But what if she’s mad at all of us?” Andrea asked. “What if we have to spend the whole plane trip in uncomfortable silence?”

  Hannah, who was in the lead, turned to stare at Andrea. “Mother? Mad at us and silent?!”

  They were about to step into the plane when they heard the sound of their mother’s laughter. Doc’s deep baritone joined in the mirth and Hannah breathed a big sigh of relief. “Mother must be okay with being whisked off to Vegas for the wedding. Let’s go join them.”

  When they entered the plane, all three Swensen sisters stopped dead in their tracks at the sight that awaited them. The inside was like a posh cocktail lounge with seats arranged in conversational groupings around round tables. Delores and Doc sat near the rear of the spacious cabin, smiling broadly and holding crystal flutes of champagne.

  “We thought you’d never get here!” Delores said, but she didn’t sound in the least bit angry. “Doc and I were just dying to try this champagne, but we thought we should wait for you girls since you helped him plan such an exciting surprise for me.”

  “We’re here now,” Hannah said, smiling back at her mother as she walked over to take a glass of champagne from the silver tray on the table. “Is this Perrier Jouet?” She named her mother’s favorite champagne.

  Doc shook his head. “No, it’s Veuve Clicquot. I’m trying to convince your mother that it’s her new favorite champagne.”

  “The only reason Mother likes the Perrier Jouet so much is because she likes the little white flowers on the bottle,” Michelle informed him, reaching for a glass of champagne.

  “That’s simply not true!” Delores objected, but she laughed and everyone could tell that she was amused.

  “Oh, yes it is.” Andrea grinned as she took a glass and raised it toward their mother in a little salute. “Remember your last yard sale? I helped you set out the glassware and there were two cases of empty Perrier Jouet bottles that you wanted to sell for a dollar apiece.”

  “They make very lovely vases,” Delores defended herself, “especially for a branch of white flowers. And this bottle,”she said, gesturing toward the plain green champagne bottle with its orange label. “This bottle isn’t pretty at all.”

  Doc laughed. “That’s because it doesn’t have to be pretty. The taste will convince you that it’s the best champagne. Come on, Lori. Think of a toast and try it.”

  “To you, Doc,” Delores said, clinking her glass with his. “And to us, even if we argue about the best champagne.”

  Glasses were raised and then lowered. And a smile appeared on Delores’s face.

  “You like it, don’t you!” Doc responded to her smile.

  “It’s very good.”

  “Better than Perrier Jouet?”

  “Well . . . yes! You’re right. It’s better. But it would be even better than that if it came in a prettier bottle.”

  “I’ll write to the company tomorrow,” Doc promised, smiling down at his fractious bride-to-be. “Was that a concession I heard you make, Lori?”

  “Absolutely not. It might have been a compliment to your good taste, but I never make concessions.”

  “But I do.” Doc clinked glasses with her again. “I’m marrying you, aren’t I?”

  “Uh-oh!” Hannah warned, even though her mother was still smiling. “Hold on a second, you two. You need to have something I brought to go with your champagne.” Hannah bent down to unzip the soft-sided cooler she’d carried to the plane. She folded back the top and lifted out a platter covered with foil.

  “Chocolate?” Delores asked, sounding so pathetically eager that Hannah burst into laughter.

  “Yes, Mother. Your two favorite flavors, maple and fudge. I made Maple Fudge Sandwich Cookies just for you.”

  “You’re a good daughter, Hannah,” Delores said as Hannah whisked off the foil and passed the plate to her mother. Delores took one bite and a rapturous expression crossed her face. “Here, Doc. You can have a bite of my cookie.”

  Michelle took a cookie and sighed happily as she bit into it. “Truer love hath no other than a woman who shares one of Hannah’s cookies with her beloved.”

  “Is that a quote?” Andrea asked.

  “If it isn’t, it should be,” Doc answered her. “These cookies are incredible, Hannah.”

  “Thank you. Help yourselves, everyone. This is only the first platter. I have a second and it’s still in the cooler. Since we don’t have a wedding cake, I thought I’d bring these to the ceremony.”

  “Who needs a cake when we’ve got your cookies?” Delores asked, reaching for another. “And your cookies pair so beautifully with this wonderful champagne.” She turned to Doc. “Do we have another bottle, dear?”

  “We do. We’ll have the second bottle with our breakfast.”

  “What do we have for breakfast?” Michelle asked him.

  “We have croissants from a Minneapolis bakery, and I had Mort’s Deli deliver a smoked salmon platter and three thermoses of designer coffee to the plane.”

  “You thought of everything!” Delores complimented him. “I’m just going to let you arrange things from now on.”

  Doc turned to Hannah. “You girls heard her. That constitutes a promise and I’m going to hold her to it.”

  “Good luck!” Hannah said, laughing along with her sisters. Delores loved to manage things, but if anyone could convince her to sit back and let someone else do it, that person was Doc.

  “There are five of us,” Delores pointed out, “and two bottles of champagne only go so far with five people. Did you say you had a third bottle?”

  Doc smiled at her fondly. “Yes, but I’m saving it until after we say our vows. I know I do are only two words, but there’s no way I’m taking the chance we’ll get it wrong!”

  MAPLE FUDGE SANDWICH COOKIES

  DO NOT preheat oven quite yet—cookie dough must chill before baking.

  The Cookies

  2 cups white (granulated) sugar

  1 and ½ cups salted butter (3 sticks, 12 ounces, ¾ pound), softened to room temperature

  2 large eggs, beaten (just whip them up in a glass with a fork)

  ½ cup maple syrup (I used Log Cabin)

  ½ teaspoon maple extract or flavoring (I used McCormick Imitation Maple Flavoring)

  1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  1 teaspoon salt

  1 teaspoon baking soda

  1 teaspoon baking powder

  4 cups all-purpose flour (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)

  ½ cup white (granulated) sugar for coating the dough balls

  Hannah’s 1st Note: To measure maple syrup, first spray the inside of measuring cup with Pam so that the syrup won’t stick to your cup.

  Hannah’s 2nd Note: If you can’t find maple flavoring or maple extract, don’t worry about it. Your cookies will still taste like maple. It just won’t be as intense a flavor.

  Place the sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. (You can also mix up these cookies by hand, but it’s easier with an electric mix
er.)

  Add the softened butter and mix on LOW speed until the butter is combined. Then turn the mixer up to MEDIUM speed and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.

  Add the eggs and mix until they are well incorporated.

  Add the maple syrup, the maple extract or flavoring, and the vanilla extract. Mix them in thoroughly.

  Sprinkle in the salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Mix until they are combined.

  Mix in the flour a half-cup at a time, beating after each addition.

  Take the bowl out of the mixer and scrape down the inside with a rubber spatula. Give the bowl another stir by hand to mix everything into the dough.

  Tuck a piece of plastic wrap down around the dough in your bowl. Then stick the whole bowl in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

  When your dough has chilled for 1 hour, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

  Measure out ½ cup white (granulated) sugar and place it in a shallow bowl. You’ll use this to coat your dough balls.

  Prepare your cookie sheets by spraying them with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray, or lining them with parchment paper.

  Roll the cookie dough into walnut-sized balls with your hands. (Lisa and I use a 2-teaspoon scooper to do this down at The Cookie Jar.)

  Roll the dough balls in the bowl of white sugar and then place them on the prepared cookie sheets, 12 cookie dough balls to a standard-size sheet.

  Flatten the cookie dough balls with a metal spatula.