Cinnamon Roll Murder

Chapter Sixteen

“These are really good cookies!” Michelle exclaimed, biting into a warm oatmeal cookie. “I’m glad you said that about the M&M’s. Chocolate candy is perfect in oatmeal cookies. What else did Mrs. Olson use? Can you remember?”

“Once she put a slice of banana inside each cookie and sprinkled the top with cinnamon and sugar. Another time it was chopped dates. I think she did chopped dried apricots, too. That’s the beauty of this cookie. It’s one of those good, basic recipes that you can embellish almost any way you want.”

“Well, this embellishment certainly worked!” Michelle finished her cookie and stood up. “I suppose we’d better pack up the dishwasher, and ...” she stopped, as the phone rang. “Do you want me to get that?”

“Go ahead. I’ll put on a fresh pot of coffee.”

“Hannah’s place. Michelle speaking.” She listened for a minute and then she gasped loudly. “Are you sure?”

Hannah turned around to glance at Michelle. Her sister looked positively shocked. “What is it?” she asked.

“It’s Mother. Pick up in the living room, Hannah. Mother’s with Doc Knight and he says Buddy Neiman wasn’t who he said he was!”

Hannah flicked the switch to turn on the coffee pot, and rushed to the living room to pick up the remote phone. “Hello, Mother. What’s all this?”

“It’s exactly as I told Michelle.” Delores sounded a bit breathless. “I’m out here at the hospital doing some paperwork in Doc’s office, and he just popped in to tell me that Buddy Neiman couldn’t have been that keyboard player’s real name.”

“How does Doc know that?” Hannah asked.

“When Doc took a blood sample during the autopsy, it turned out to be B negative. And that didn’t match the blood type on Buddy’s hospital records. At first Doc thought Vonnie had made a mistake with the form, but he found a blood donor card in Buddy’s wallet that said he had A positive blood.”

“What was the name on the card?” Michelle asked.

“Bernard Alan Neiman. Everything in his wallet said Bernard Alan Neiman, including his Minnesota driver’s license. And the blood type on his blood donor card was A positive.”

“That’s strange,” Michelle said, clearly puzzled.

“Who tested the blood sample Doc took during the autopsy?” Hannah asked.

“Marlene. She carried it to the lab right after the autopsy. Doc did the second test himself. Both samples came up B negative.”

“So Buddy was using fake identification,” Hannah said, drawing the obvious conclusion. “Does Doc have any idea who Buddy really was?”

“Not yet. The only facts he has so far are medical. I wrote them down so I could tell you.”

“Hold on while I get a pen.” Hannah reached in her purse and pulled out her shorthand notebook. She grabbed a loose Rhodes Dental Clinic pen that was near the phone, and flipped to a fresh page. “I’m ready, Mother.”

“Buddy’s tonsils were removed, and he had an appendectomy scar. And he broke his left leg in three places when he was quite young. He had a birthmark on his left calf, and a mole on his neck. Norman noticed that Buddy still had all four of his wisdom teeth, which was unusual for his age, and he had a crown that was made of an experimental amalgamate that never made it to the commercial dentistry supply market.”

“How would a dentist get it if it wasn’t sold commercially?” Michelle asked.

“Norman told Doc that free dental clinics and dental schools sometimes hold clinical trials of experimental dental supplies. He’s going to call around to see which company made it and which schools and clinics ran trials for them.”

“Norman could tell all that by just looking?” Michelle asked, sounding impressed.

“Not exactly. He said he knew it was experimental because it had yellowed, and approved amalgamates don’t change color. So Doc gave him permission to remove the crown and take it to a dental lab for analysis.”

“Was Norman there when Doc did the autopsy?”

“No. Doc called Norman in later to see if he could spot anything distinctive about Buddy’s teeth.”

“Doctor Bev wasn’t there?” Hannah asked, surprised that Norman’s fiancée had let him out of her sight.

“Doc said he invited her to tag along, but she said she’d wait for Norman in the lobby.”

That must be because there’s no real competition for her in a morgue, Hannah thought. “Has Doc called Mike to tell him yet?”

“Not yet, dear. I’m passing it on to you first.”

“Thanks, Mother. When is Doc calling Mike?”

“Right after I hang up, but he’ll probably get Mike’s voice mail. If you see Mike before he gets the message, will you tell him to call Doc at the hospital?”

“Sure, but what makes you think I might see Mike before he gets his messages?”

“Whenever Mike has a murder case, he always drops by your place to see what you’ve learned. Not only that, he’s probably been working all day and he knows you’ll feed him. He really shouldn’t expect you to stay up and cook for him.”

“That’s no problem. Michelle always helps and she’s great at thinking up quick meals. If I sound tired, it’s probably because of all the cleaning we had to do when we got back here.”

“What do you mean? Did the cats make a mess while you were gone?”

“And how!” Michelle said, laughing.

“What happened?”

“They were playing chase, and they knocked my flour canister on the floor,” Hannah explained. “And then they knocked over their water dish, and we had kitty play dough to clean up.”

“Oh, my! Well ... that just goes to show we were right, dear. Cuddles needs to go home to Norman. She’s got more room to run there. And the only way Cuddles can go home is for you to send Doctor Bev back where she belongs!”

“Food,” Hannah said to Michelle after she’d hung up the phone and gone back to the kitchen.

“You’re hungry?”

“Not me. Mike. We’ve got cookies, but what can we fix for a main course? Since we didn’t stop at the Red Owl today, the food situation is the same as it was last night.”

“Minus the hamburger,” Michelle pointed out. “But I think you’ve got some elderly bacon in the refrigerator.”

Hannah laughed. “Elderly bacon? I like that! How elderly is it?”

“I’ll see.” Michelle rummaged in the refrigerator for the package of bacon she’d spotted. “You’re in luck. The sell-by date is today. But there’s only half a package left. That’s not going to be enough for Mike, is it?”

“Not just the bacon, no. But I’ve got something in mind that ought to work. How many eggs are left?”

Michelle opened the egg carton. “Four.”

“That’s perfect. And how much flour is left in the bag that was frozen?”

“A little more than a cup. I measured it before I dumped it back in.”

“Do I have milk?”

Michelle shook her head. “All you have is whipping cream. Will that work?”

“I don’t see why not.” Hannah took out a frying pan and plunked it on the stovetop. “If you’ll hand me that bacon, I’ll start frying it.”

“I can do that. What else do you need to make whatever you’re making?”

“Salt and vanilla. That’s it. Although ...”

“What?”

“Was there any cheese left in that package of shredded cheese we used last night?”

“No. We used it up, but I saw a package of cream cheese in the back behind the whipping cream.”

“That’ll do. Mike likes cream cheese.”

“Flour, whipping cream, eggs, bacon, salt, vanilla, and cream cheese ...” Michelle stopped and shook her head. “What are you making?”

“What Grandma Elsa used to call German pancakes.”

“But Grandma Elsa wasn’t German.”

“Neither were the pancakes. At least I don’t think they’re German. I just thought it would be easy to make them because they’re baked in the oven. I can remember her beating them with an egg beater, but I’m going to use the mixer. It’ll go a lot faster that way. Everything except the bacon and cream cheese goes into the mixer.”

“What do you want me to do with the bacon.”

“Fry it hard, and then cool it off and crumble it. It’ll take me a while to beat the batter. I need a lot of air in it.”

In a minute or two the kitchen was redolent with the smell of bacon frying. It smelled wonderful, and Hannah realized that the bacon was the new applewood smoked bacon that Florence at the Red Owl had begun to carry right after Christmas. Surprisingly, the sweet smokiness of the bacon and the scent of vanilla combined to create a breakfast perfume that made Hannah’s mouth water even though she wasn’t at all hungry.

“It sure smells good in here,” Michelle said, mirroring Hannah’s thoughts exactly.

“I know. How’s that bacon coming?”

“Almost done. I’m going to stick it in your freezer on a paper plate to cool it down fast. Do you want me to get out a pan?”

“Yes. I need an eight-inch square metal pan. I would have doubled the recipe and made it in a nine-inch by thirteen-inch if we’d had more ingredients, but we didn’t.”

“That’s okay. I’m not hungry. It just smells good, that’s all.”

Ten minutes later, Mike’s breakfast was assembled and Hannah slipped the pan in the oven. “Done,” she said. “Now we can have a cup of ...” She stopped and gave the phone an unhappy glance as it rang. “If that’s Mike and he says he’s not coming, we’ve just made something for nothing.”

Michelle plucked the phone from its wall cradle and answered it. “Hannah’s place. Michelle speaking.” She listened for a minute and then she laughed. “I don’t believe it! You never get up that early, especially two days in a row! Hold on for a second and I’ll get her for you.”

Michelle didn’t have to tell Hannah who it was. Only one person they both knew deserved the comment Michelle had made about never getting up early two days in a row. She took the phone from Michelle and said, “Hi, Andrea. What’s up?”

“Me, but I’m going to bed right after this phone call. I’m picking you up tomorrow morning at six. We’re driving to the Cities.”

“Why?”

“Because Bill says we’re going to run into traffic from all the weekday commuters and we have to leave that early if we want to get there by nine.”

“Okay. I’ll buy that. Why do we have to get there by nine?”

“Because I have a meeting with Swartznagel Realty.”

“Why?”

“Because I want to show my client a house they just listed in White Bear Lake.”

“Why do I need to go with you?”

“Because you’re the client, but don’t tell Bill. He thinks you’re just going with me to keep me company.”

“Why am I going with you? And why am I pretending to be your client? I’m not in the market for a house.”

“Because I can’t tell Bill the real reason we’re going to see the Swartznagel house.”

“Cut to the chase, Andrea. We’re going in circles. What’s the real reason you’re taking me to see this house?”

“Because it’s right next door to Doctor Bev’s mother’s house, and we need to see Diana. Then we’ll go to breakfast, and then we’ll drop in at Club Nineteen at noon.”

“Are they open that early?”

“They are tomorrow. I just called and they’re holding auditions for new jazz bands starting at noon. They do it one Saturday a month, and this is the Saturday for April. The waitress I talked to said everybody’s welcome and the audience fills out comment cards on the band. I made a reservation for us. I’m pretty sure that between the sets, we can find a way to talk to the management and ask some questions.”

“Okay. That’s worth doing, but I have to be back right after that. Lisa’s still telling her stories tomorrow, and the second day is just as popular as the first. She’s going to need lots of cookies.”

“That’s not a problem. I called Lisa, and she said that Marge, Patsy, and Jack are coming down to help her. Pasty and Marge will take turns baking, and you know what great bakers they are. Michelle will be there, too, so Lisa says you don’t have to come in at all tomorrow.”

“That’s fine, I guess, but I’m still a little confused about something. I can understand talking to the people at Club Nineteen. They might know more about the woman with the brown hair that Lynette saw with Buddy backstage. We should ask them about Buddy’s background, too. Maybe he mentioned where he came from, or anything that might help us find out ...” Hannah stopped short. Perhaps Andrea wasn’t up to speed yet. “You do know that Buddy wasn’t Buddy, don’t you?”

“Of course I do. Mother called me right after she called you.”

“Good. What I don’t understand is why we need to see Diana. I don’t think it’ll do us any good.”

“It’ll do a lot of good! We can’t very well get a DNA sample if we don’t see her ... now can we?”

“But how are we going to get a DNA sample? I think her grandma might notice if we swabbed the inside of her cheek.”

“We’ll just ... .” Andrea stopped and frowned slightly. “I’ll think of something tomorrow, don’t worry. I’m good at subterfuge. All you have to do is be convincing as my real estate client.”

“How do I do that?”

“Look interested when I ask about the neighborhood. And be kid-friendly, especially if Diana’s right there with her grandmother.”

“Okay. Anything else?”

“Not really, unless ... yes, a couple of things. Don’t wear jeans, whatever you do! Do you have any slacks?”

“One pair.”

“Pull-ons?”

“Yes, with an elastic waist.”

Andrea muttered something that sounded vaguely like, Great! Just great! to Hannah, and then she asked, “What color are they?”

“Dark grey. Claire picked them out for me.”

“Okay, then they’re fine. Wear them with a sweater under your parka. A nice sweater, not one that’s all stretched out.”

“I’ve got the sweater you gave me for Christmas last year. That’s a nice sweater, isn’t it?”

“Yes. That’ll do just fine. Do you have any dress boots?”

In Hannah’s mind the phrase dress boots translated into boots that wouldn’t keep the snow off your feet. “No,” she said.

Andrea sighed deeply. “All right, she said. “Wear those moose-hide boots of yours. If everything else is totally acceptable, you can have one fashion eccentricity.”

“Thanks,” Hannah said, chomping down on the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing.

“Be ready at six. I’ll call you from my cell phone when I pull into the garage. And don’t be late.”

“Right,” Hannah said, grinning as she hung up the phone.

“What’s so funny?” Michelle asked.

“Andrea. She’s planning out this undercover operation, and she even told me what to wear.”

Michelle just shook her head. “That’s our Andrea. We love her, but she can be a royal pain. But you got off light.”

“What do you mean?”

“She could have told you to dye your hair!”

GERMAN PANCAKES

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

Prepare an 8-inch square pan by spraying it with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray, or coating the inside with butter.

Hannah’s 1st Note: You can double this recipe if you like, so that it will serve 8 people. If you double this recipe, it will take approximately 55 minutes to bake.

Hannah’s 2nd Note: This dish works best if you use an electric mixer.

6 strips bacon (I used applewood smoked bacon)

4 large eggs

1 cup whole milk (I’ve used heavy cream and that works also)

1 cup flour (Just scoop it up and level it off with a table knife.)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon salt

4 ounces cream cheese (half of an 8-ounce package) minced parsley to sprinkle on top (optional)

Fry the bacon in a frying pan on the stovetop until it’s crispy. Let it cool to room temperature, and then crumble it into the bottom of your baking pan.

In an electric mixer, beat the eggs with half of the milk (that’s ½ cup). Continue to beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Add vanilla extract and salt. Beat until they’re well combined. Mix in the flour and beat for 40 seconds.

Add the second half of the milk (another ½ cup) and beat until everything is light and fluffy.

Pour half of the mixture over the bacon crumbles in the 8-inch square pan.

Cut the cream cheese into 1-inch-square cubes. Place them evenly over the egg mixture in the pan.

Pour the second half of the mixture over the cream cheese.

Bake at 375 degrees F. for 45 to 55 minutes, or until it’s golden brown and puffy on top.

Hannah’s 3rd Note: This breakfast entree is excellent when served with biscuits or crispy buttered toast.