Cinnamon Roll Murder

Chapter Twenty

“So what now?” Andrea asked as they drove away from Club Nineteen. “We didn’t get anything important from the owner or his assistant.”

“I know. All we got was a repeat that Buddy was talented on keyboards, and a real ladies’ man.”

“So? What do we do next?”

“I guess we go back home,” Hannah said, holding her head in her hands. She felt adrift in a choppy sea without a lifeboat or any other means of support. “But first could we stop off for chocolate?”

“I thought you’d never ask,” Andrea said, taking a sharp left off the highway and heading for the nearest ice cream place. “Let’s get a gigantic mud slide. My mouth’s still on fire from the Texas Jalapeno Pimento Cheese.”

“What’s a mud slide?”

“It’s a hot fudge sundae with caramel sauce and chopped pecans over mounds of coffee ice cream.”

“Sounds good to me,” Hannah said, unbuckling her seatbelt as they pulled into a parking spot in front of Dreamery Creamery, a chain of ice cream parlors that dotted the highway.

“Hi,” a cheery voice greeted them as they pushed open the door, and Hannah turned to see a pretty girl in a pink and white apron behind the cash register. “Would you like something to go, or would you like to be seated?”

“We’d like to be seated,” Andrea said.

“Where is everybody?” Hannah asked, as the girl led them to a pink vinyl-covered booth. “Every time I’ve been in one of your shops, it’s been packed with customers.”

“It’s the weather. People think it’s still too cold to go out for ice cream. Just as soon as the weather warms up a little, they’ll be back. Right now our business is mostly for hot chocolate and coffee to go.”

“But you still make mud slides, don’t you?” Andrea asked.

“Yes. Is that what you two want? A mud slide with two spoons?”

“She’ll have a mud slide with coffee ice cream and one spoon,” Hannah said, pointing to Andrea. “And I’ll have a mud slide with chocolate ice cream and one spoon. We’ve had a rough day. We need lots of chocolate.”

“How about drinks? Coffee?” she turned to Andrea.

“Yes, please.”

“And you?” She turned to Hannah.

“Hot chocolate. And make it a double with whipped cream and shaved chocolate on top. And when we’re ready to leave?”

“Yes?” The girl waited, pencil poised.

“I’ll have a double hot chocolate to go. And one for her, too.” Hannah pointed to Andrea. “That way we won’t have to stop again to get chocolate.”

“Wow!” The girl looked very sympathetic. “I’ll give you some chocolate cookie wafers, too. You must have had a really rough day!”

“We’re here,” Andrea said, quite unnecessarily, as they pulled into a parking spot in back of The Cookie Jar. She drained the last little bit of hot chocolate in the bottom of her to-go cup, and smiled. “The chocolate held out.”

“And it’s a really good thing,” Hannah said, releasing her seatbelt and opening the car door. “Coming in?”

“You bet. I want to make sure you call Norman and get him to come down here. We need him to look at that photo and see if he can do anything with it.”

Hannah glanced at her watch. “It’s four o’clock. He’s probably got patients.”

“Then he can give them to her. This is more important than his dental practice. What we’re doing for him could affect the rest of his life!”

“You’re not going to tell him you got the DNA samples, are you?” Hannah turned to her sister in shock.

“Of course not. Come on, Hannah. Let’s go in. I need a fresh cup of coffee.”

When they entered the kitchen, The Cookie Jar smelled the way it always did. There was only one word to describe it, and that word was mouthwatering.

“Cinnamon,” Andrea breathed.

“And apple,” Hannah added. “Lisa or Marge must have made your Apple Cinnamon Whippersnappers.”

Andrea looked pleased. “I still can’t believe you’re using my cookie recipe.”

“Why wouldn’t we use it? It’s a great recipe. And it’s something we can bake really fast if we’re running low on cookies. All we have to do is make sure we keep some spice cake mix on hand.” Hannah gave Andrea a little push toward the swinging door that separated the coffee shop from the kitchen. “Let’s go say hello to Lisa and everybody and get that fresh coffee. All that chocolate made me think that everything is going to turn out just fine, and I need some caffeine to jolt me back to reality.”

“Hannah!” Lisa greeted her with a big smile as they came into the coffee shop. “I didn’t think you’d be back before we left.”

“Quick trip,” Hannah said.

“Mission accomplished,” Andrea added.

And then the sole occupants of the coffee shop, Delores, Carrie, Earl, and even Lisa broke into applause.

“Good heavens!” Andrea said, preening a little at the unexpected tribute. “Thank you.” And then she turned to Hannah. “You’d better go make that call before Norman goes somewhere with Doctor Bev, or she won’t let him out of her sight.”

It took a moment for Andrea to react. Then Hannah watched her sister’s face turn red. Andrea hadn’t really registered the fact that Norman’s mother was sitting next to Delores, and Carrie might not appreciate the tone Andrea had used when she’d practically spit out the word she.

“I’m sorry, Carrie,” Andrea said. “I didn’t really mean to ...” and then she stopped, and Hannah knew that her sister couldn’t think of any way to smooth the feathers she might have ruffled.

That was when Carrie laughed, surprising everyone except Delores and Earl, who were also smiling. “It’s all right, Andrea,” Carrie told her. “We’re all on the same page. Earl and I think Norman is making a big mistake, and both of us will be very grateful if you girls can do something to break them up before the wedding.”

“Did you get the DNA samples?” Delores asked.

“Mother! Maybe now isn’t the time to ...”

“You can talk in front of Carrie and Earl,” Delores interrupted her. “They know exactly what we’re doing. And they’re going to help by getting Norman’s DNA sample tonight.”

“How?” Hannah asked, turning to Carrie.

“Earl and I are taking Norman out to dinner since he’s going to be all alone. She’s going to be gone most of the weekend visiting her mother and her daughter.”

“I see,” Hannah said, shooting Andrea a warning look. They knew that Doctor Bev was going to a party and wouldn’t be seeing her mother and daughter at all. It might have been gratifying to share this information, but this wasn’t the time to tell Carrie and Earl that their future daughter-in-law was a liar.

“Doc and I are going out to the Inn, too,” Delores informed them. “And we’re going to join Carrie, Earl, and Norman for dessert. That way Doc will have Norman’s sample and he can take everything to his friend at the lab tomorrow.”

“How long will it take to get an answer?” Lisa asked the question they all wanted to know.

“Doc’s not sure. It all depends on how busy they are, but his friend knows how important this is and he’s promised to speed things up any way he can.”

“That’s good!” Andrea looked relieved. “I just hope we can get an answer before the wedding.”

“So do I!” Carrie said. “And thank you so much for what you did today. Delores told me all about it.”

“Why don’t you girls join us for dinner tonight?” Delores suggested. “It’ll be my treat. And then all of us can join Carrie and Earl’s table for dessert.”

“Wonderful!” Carrie turned to Hannah. “Andrea said that you needed to talk to Norman anyway.”

“That’s right. It’s about the murder. One of the waitresses at Club Nineteen took a photo of Buddy and a woman arguing in the parking lot the night before Buddy told the band’s manager that he wanted to leave Cinnamon Roll Six.”

“And you think this woman might have something to do with his murder?”

“It’s possible. We’re just following every lead we can get. The photo’s really dark and it’s taken from a distance. We know how good Norman is with photography, and we thought maybe he could do something to the photo to make her more recognizable.”

Carrie nodded. “If anyone can, Norman can. He’s switched over to digital and he’s getting really good at it. It’s a pity she doesn’t appreciate his talents.”

“Carrie.” Earl reached out and put his hand on her shoulder.

“You’re right, dear,” Carrie said, sighing deeply. “That’s their business and I shouldn’t be talking about it.”

There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment and then Delores stepped in. “Girls? Are you joining us for dinner at the Inn?”

“Thanks, Mother. I will,” Hannah said quickly. “You’ll come with me, won’t you, Michelle?”

“Sure. Thanks for asking us, Mother.”

“Andrea?” Delores turned to her.

“I’ll be happy to come. Bill won’t be home until late anyway. Thank you for inviting me, Mother.”

Delores turned to Lisa. “How about you, Lisa? You’re part of the family, too. Will you join us?”

“I can’t, but thanks for asking. Herb gets off work early tonight, and he’s bringing home a pizza. We’re going to cuddle up with Dillon and Sammy and watch a movie.”

Hannah felt a stab of envy over Lisa’s plan for the evening. She wished she could go back in time to only a few months ago when she’d cuddled up on the couch with Norman, Moishe and Cuddles to watch a movie. But that was impossible now. Norman was embroiled in a lose-lose relationship with Doctor Bev, and she wouldn’t let him come over to watch a movie with Hannah. Cuddles and Moishe would cuddle up on the couch with her, but then Cuddles would entice Moishe into a game of chase all over the condo, and Hannah would miss the end of the movie because she’d have to clean up whatever they spilled or broke.

“Oh, by the way, Hannah,” Lisa said. “I found your coat.”

“You ... did?” Hannah felt as if reality was slipping away from her. She’d gone through every inch of The Cookie Jar looking for her parka yesterday, and she was ninety-nine point nine percent positive it hadn’t been anywhere in the building. “Where did you find it?”

“In the shower, hanging on a hanger. I was going to rinse out some towels and I figured the shower was the quickest way to do it. And there it was, as big as you please.”

Hannah covered her eyes with her hands. It was a pose of abject embarrassment, and it was precisely how she was feeling. She hadn’t thought of it at the time, but now she remembered hanging it there herself after someone had come in the back door and tossed a very wet, snow-covered parka over hers on the rack.

“I did that,” she admitted. “And then I forgot all about it.” She turned to Delores. “I apologize, Mother. I thought maybe you ... but I was wrong.”

“You thought I stole your parka so that I could buy you one that I liked better?” Delores asked, but she looked much more amused than angry.

“Well ... yes. That’s what I thought. But it was just a fleeting thought. Really it was.”

“I know how much you love your old parka,” Delores said. “Do you want me to try to return the new one?”

“No! Don’t do that!” Hannah stopped and gave a sheepish grin. “I love my new parka. It’s perfect for me. It makes me feel special, and loved, and ... I’ve never had a parka that made me feel that way before.”

“That’s wonderful, dear.” Delores gave a little smile. “Now the only question is, what are you going to do with your old parka?”

“I’m going to ask you to take it back to Helping Hands, Mother. It’s not in any worse shape than it was when I bought it. Maybe someone else can use it.”

“Nice idea,” Delores said, giving her daughter an approving nod. “And don’t forget to take the charity write-off when Stan does your income tax. I’m sure Helping Hands will value it at least a nickel, maybe even as much as a dime.”

APPLE CINNAMON WHIPPERSNAPPERS

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

For the Cookies:

1 large egg

2 cups Cool Whip (measure this – Andrea said her tub of Cool Whip contained a little over 3 cups.)

cup apple pie filling (Andrea uses Comstock)

1 package (approximately 18 ounces) spice cake mix (Andrea used Betty Crocker)

For Rolling Cookie Balls:

½ cup powdered (confectioners) sugar

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

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

First of all, chill 2 teaspoons from your silverware drawer by sticking them in the freezer. You want them really icy cold. This will make it lot easier to form the cookies after the dough is mixed.

Whisk the egg in a large mixing bowl.

Measure out 2 cups of Cool Whip and stir them into the egg.

Place the cup of apple pie filling in a small bowl. Cut the apples with a sharp knife until they’re in quarter-inch pieces. (The object here is to make small enough pieces so that you’ll get some apple in every cookie.)

Add the apples to the mixing bowl and stir them in by hand. Mix very gently and don’t over-stir. You don’t want to stir all the air out of the Cool Whip.

Sprinkle the cake mix over the top of your mixing bowl. Fold it in very gently, mixing only until everything is combined. The object here is to keep as much air in the cookie batter as possible.

Place the ½ cup of powdered sugar in a separate small bowl (you don’t have to sift it unless it’s got big lumps).

Add the cinnamon to the bowl and stir it all up with a fork. Mix until the cinnamon is thoroughly combined with the sugar.

Drop the cookie dough by chilled and rounded teaspoonfuls into the bowl of powdered sugar and cinnamon. Roll the cookie dough ball around in the bowl with your fingers to coat it on all sides.

Hannah’s 1st Note: Roll only one cookie dough ball at a time. If you roll too many, they’ll stick together and you’ll have a real mess. This dough is very sticky, so you must keep your fingers coated with the sugar-cinnamon mixture.

Hannah’s 2nd Note: If you’re really having trouble with the sticky dough, refrigerate your mixing bowl and dough for one hour. Then take it out and try it again. If you do this, don’t forget to turn off your oven. You can preheat it again a few minutes before you take the cookie dough out of the refrigerator.

Place each coated cookie dough ball on the cookie sheets you’ve prepared, 12 cookies to each standard-size sheet.

Bake the cookies at 350 degrees F. for 12 to 15 minutes, or until they are firm to the touch when tapped very lightly on the top with a fingertip.

When the cookies have baked, take them out of the oven and let them cool on the cookie sheets for 2 minutes. Then move them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Hannah’s 3rd Note: If you used parchment paper, all you have to do is wait 2 minutes and then pull the whole sheet onto a wire cooling rack. Just leave the Apple Cinnamon Whippersnappers on the parchment paper until they’re cool, and then simply peel them off.

Yield: 3 to 4 dozen delicious cookies, depending on cookie size.

Hannah’s 4th Note: Andrea says these are Bill’s favorite cookies. He likes to have two with a cup of hot chocolate when he’s watching the Vikings play.