Cinnamon Roll Murder

Chapter Three

“Is everybody okay back there?” Hannah asked as she turned onto the highway.

“We’re fine,” one of the wives responded. Hannah wasn’t sure which wife it was since there were two married couples riding in the back of her cookie truck. They were part of the group that Doc Knight’s interns had asked her to take to the hospital, since there were only a few vehicles available and the ambulances were transporting the more seriously injured.

Luckily, the two couples had escaped with minor scrapes and bruises. One of the husbands had a cut on his leg that might require a couple of stitches, and the other husband had suffered a blow to his head and would be watched for several hours for signs of a concussion. The wives had scrapes and bruises, but their injuries were minor. They had been on their way to the Tri-County Mall to see a movie when they’d come upon the accident and been unable to avoid becoming part of the massive pileup.

“How about you, Buddy?” Hannah asked. The keyboard player had the most serious injury in her little group of what Ben Matson, one of Doc’s interns, had called the “walking wounded”.

“I’m okay, except those cinnamon rolls are driving me crazy. Usually we stop somewhere on the road, but we were supposed to have dinner out at the Lake Eden Inn before our practice.”

“All he had was some of my vegetable chips,” Lynnette, the final member of Hannah’s group reported. She was completely uninjured, but she was riding along so that she could rejoin the rest of the band at the hospital.

“We were going to have dinner at the food court out at the mall,” one of the husbands told Hannah, “so we’re pretty hungry, too. How long until we get there?”

“No more than fifteen minutes. I have to make a quick stop to drop off the puppy, and then we’ll go straight to the hospital. We’ll get you all something to eat from the vending machines just as soon as we get there.”

“Forget the dog, just get us some food,” Buddy said, sounding more than a little petulant. “I want one of those cinnamon rolls right now.”

Hannah shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. The cinnamon rolls are part of an order that’s been bought and paid for. But I do have some cookies in the back. How about a couple of Triplet Chiplets?”

“What are those?” one of the wives asked.

“Cookies with three kinds of chips. These have white chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, and milk chocolate chips.”

“Too bad that white chocolate’s not peanut butter chips,” Buddy complained.

Well it’s not, and there’s not a lot I can do about it at this late date, Hannah thought, but she snapped her mouth tightly shut and reminded herself that Buddy had been in an traumatic accident. It was true that his injury wasn’t life threatening, but he was probably afraid that his wrist was broken, and that might end his musical career.

“Try one. You’ll like them,” Michelle said, just as Hannah pulled into Lisa and Herb’s driveway. “Hannah’s going in with the puppy, but I’ll stay here and find all the extra cookies she has in the back. Then you can choose the ones you want to try.”

“Hannah! What are you doing... oh! How precious!” Lisa held out her arms to take the puppy.

It was precisely the reaction Hannah had been hoping for. She stepped into her business partner’s warm kitchen and put the puppy into Lisa’s waiting arms. “This poor little guy was on the band bus when it went into the ditch. He was part of that accident on the highway. Someone was holding him and he’s not hurt.”

“Thank goodness for that! I know all about the accident. Herb got a call about twenty minutes ago, and he left to go out there to help transport people to the hospital.” She looked down at the puppy with a concerned expression. “Are you sure he’s not hurt?”

“I’m sure. One of the paramedics checked him out. I think he’s really hungry though. The driver of the band bus found him shivering in the cold and stopped to pick him up. The wife of the bass player wrapped him in a blanket and held him. They were going to take him to a shelter.”

“Were?” Lisa asked, carrying the puppy to Dillon’s dog bed, tucking the blanket more securely around him. She opened a can of dog food, put some into a bowl, stirred in some chicken broth to thin it, and heated it in the microwave. “So does he belong to anybody?”

“No. That’s why they were going to take him to the shelter. And when they told me that, I said I’d take him. I don’t know why I did that. I have no idea if he’ll get along with Moishe. And even if he does, he’ll be alone all day in the condo while I’m at work. And since I’m on the second floor, I can’t even have a doggy door.”

“I have a doggy door,” Lisa said, stirring the bowl of warm food and picking up the puppy again. She nestled the little guy in her lap, dipped her finger in the bowl of food, and let him lick it.

“I know you have a doggy door, but I didn’t come here to ask you to take me off the hook. I can try it and see how it goes. I just need you to babysit while I take some of the accident victims to the hospital to get checked out.”

“Okay, I can do that. But I’m serious, Hannah. I can take him. We only have one dog and we’ve been talking about getting another one. When you have two, they’re company for each other.”

“But will a dog this little get along with Dillon?”

“Of course he will. Dillon loves other dogs and he’s crazy about puppies. He’ll adopt this little one in no time flat.”

“Well ... I don’t want you to feel you have to take him.”

“I don’t feel I have to. I want to take him. Dillon’s always with Herb. He rides in the squad car with him and he goes on rounds. They’re practically inseparable. Dillon loves me. I know he does. But Herb trained him and spent more time with him than I did. Dillon’s really Herb’s dog, and I’d like a dog of my own. This little guy could be my dog.”

“Well ...”

“Come on, Hannah. The only reason you said you’d take him is you felt sorry for him. And now you’re having second thoughts and ...” Lisa stopped talking and narrowed her eyes. “You figured I’d take him right from the start, didn’t you!”

“Who, me?” Hannah put on her most innocent expression.

“Yes, you. You knew I’d take him, and that’s why you said that you would. And you brought him over here so I’d fall in love with him and keep him. Don’t deny it, Hannah. We’ve been partners for almost three years and I know you.”

“Okay. Maybe I had you in mind. You did say you wanted a dog that was all your own. And this little guy is so small, we could keep him down at The Cookie Jar during the daytime.”

“How about the health regulations?”

“Your husband is in law enforcement. Police dogs are in the same category as service dogs. You know the rules. Service dogs can go into places that normally don’t allow dogs.”

“But Sammy isn’t a police dog or a service dog.”

She’d named him already! Hannah felt almost giddy with success. “Sammy could be a service dog in training. Why did you name him Sammy anyway?”

“It’s his markings. He looks like he’s wearing a little Sam Browne belt. Are you sure I can bring him to work?”

“I’m sure. All we need is a crate for when we’re super busy, a bed and some toys, and a leash and harness for when he wants to visit in the coffee shop.”

“You had this all planned out, didn’t you?”

“No, at least not everything. I was just hoping, that’s all. So do you think it’ll work?”

Lisa glanced down at little Sammy. He’d finished most of the food and fallen asleep snuggled in her arms. “Oh, yes,” she said, giving a happy smile. “It’ll work just fine.”

When Hannah pulled up by the emergency entrance to Lake Eden Memorial Hospital, she was met by Freddy Sawyer, who had been pressed into service as an orderly, and Marlene Aldrich, one of Doc Knight’s interns.

“Ben’s inside running triage,” Marlene said, motioning for Freddy to help the two couples out of the back of Hannah’s cookie truck. “Any serious injuries, Hannah?”

“A possible concussion, a cut that may need stitches, and bumps, scrapes, and bruises. Nothing life threatening. The most serious is Buddy Neiman.” Hannah watched as Freddy carefully helped Buddy down from the cookie truck. “He plays keyboards with the Cinnamon Roll Six, the jazz band. Their band bus went into the ditch. Buddy hurt his wrist and we’re hoping it’s not broken.”

Marlene inspected Buddy’s splint and gave a quick nod. “It’s fine for now. Get your whole group settled in the waiting room, and I’ll come to take Buddy to X-ray myself.”

“I’ll get everyone settled,” Michelle said, and led the little group away. As soon as they were out of earshot, Marlene turned to Hannah. “I heard them play at Club Nineteen in the Cities, and Buddy was terrific. The whole band was terrific. Are any of the rest of them injured?”

“Just Buddy. Someone else is bringing the rest of them in. Is there anything I can do to help out, Marlene?”

“Just get your group coffee, or something to eat if they’re hungry. The kitchen’s closed, but the vending machines in the lobby have sandwiches and fruit, and things like that. We’ll be by to check out your people just as soon as we can.”

“How’s Freddy doing?” Hannah asked as they entered the emergency room doors. Ever since the mildly retarded young man had started to work for Doc Knight and his staff at the hospital, he’d seemed more relaxed and cheerful.

“Freddy’s great. He really loves to work, and once he learns how to do something, he never forgets. This place couldn’t run without him. I tell him that every day, and he always gives me that big smile of his and says his mother used to tell him that.” Marlene stopped and gave a little sigh. “And speaking of mothers, I almost forgot to tell you. Yours is here, and she said she wanted to see you right away if you came in. I think she’s in Doc Knight’s office making phone calls to bring in the Rainbow Ladies.”

“Okay. I’ll find her.”

Hannah helped Michelle get beverages and snacks from the vending machines for the two couples, Lynnette, and Buddy. Once she’d made sure they were comfortably settled, she went off in search of her mother.

Delores Swensen had taken over as leader of the group of women now called the Rainbow Ladies, a hospital auxiliary that helped patients fill out paperwork, acted as companions to those who didn’t have family present for their treatments and procedures, visited anyone who didn’t have visitors, read books to patients who were bored with watching television, and generally served as a liaison between patients, family members, and the hospital staff.

The new responsibility their mother had taken on had come as a surprise to all three of her daughters. Hannah, Michelle, and Andrea all knew that their mother was not known for her charity work. Andrea thought that their mother might have become more sympathetic to those less fortunate now that she was older, but Hannah and Michelle still thought there must be another motive. Delores wasn’t a joiner and she certainly wasn’t a do-gooder. There had to be a reason for this sudden change, and they had yet to discover what it was.

Before Delores had taken over this charitable group, it had been known as the Gray Ladies. The gray smocks the women wore were definitely not to their mother’s liking. Delores preferred bright colors, and she immediately indulged her preference. The Gray Ladies, now known as the Rainbow Ladies, wore blazers in their favorite bright color. As the leader of the group, Delores had her choice of colors, and she’d ordered three blazers for herself. Tonight she was wearing one in a bright cherry color, and Hannah spotted her coming out of Doc Knight’s office.

“Hannah!” Delores exclaimed, giving a relieved sigh. “I knew you were driving out to Sally’s tonight and I hoped you and Michelle weren’t involved in that big accident.”

“We weren’t. I managed to turn off at the rest stop just in time.”

“Well! That’s the last time I complain about that rest stop and all the money the state wasted.” Delores gave her eldest daughter a sharp look. “You should have called me immediately. I was worried about you and Michelle.”

“Sorry, Mother. We were busy trying to get to a bus that was overturned in a ditch, and we didn’t even think of it. We didn’t mean to make you worry and we apologize.”

“All right then. I’m just glad you two girls are all right. Tell me about the bus.”

“It was the band bus carrying the Cinnamon Roll Six. The rest of the cars in the accident were blocking the road, and it took the paramedics a while to get to the bus. Michelle and I took the access road and walked across through the ditch. We were the first ones there.”

“Oh, my!”

“The driver’s dead, but everyone else seems to be okay except the keyboard player. He may have a broken wrist, but they won’t know for sure until he has X-rays.”

“Oh, dear! Have you called Sally?”

“No, Mother. Why would I call Sally?”

“To tell her the band bus was in an accident. She’s probably worried because they haven’t shown up.”

Hannah reached for her cell phone, hoping she’d remembered to charge it. “I can call her right now.”

“I’ll do it. You can call her the minute you find out if that keyboard player’s wrist is all right. If the Cinnamon Roll Six can’t play, she’ll have to hire another jazz band.”

“All right, Mother. I’ll do that.”

“Is the rest of the band here at the hospital?”

“I think so.”

“Good. Where are those cinnamon rolls Sally ordered?”

“They’re in my truck.”

“How many do you have?”

“Ten dozen. That’s what she ordered.”

“Come with me,” Delores said and headed back into Doc Knight’s office. She sat down behind his desk, picked up the phone, and punched in a number. “Sally?” she asked when her call was answered. “This is Delores Swensen from the hospital. Your jazz band has been in an accident, a big pileup out on the highway, and they’re here at the hospital. The bus is overturned in a ditch and the driver is dead, but the only other serious injury is that the keyboard player may have a broken wrist. We’ll find out when he has X-rays and Hannah will call to tell you. In the meantime, she has your cinnamon rolls here. Do you want her to pass them out to the band and the other people who were in the accident?”

Delores listened for a moment, and then she gave a little nod. “Of course we’ll heat them, Sally. And I’ll have Hannah tell the rest of the band members that Dick is coming right out to pick them up and bring them to the Inn.”

Hannah listened as Delores ended the conversation and said goodbye. It was the shortest and most succinct phone call she’d ever heard her mother make. Perhaps acting as the head of the Rainbow Ladies was very good for Delores. It appeared that the extra responsibility had taught her to be less conversational and more efficient. If this call was any indication, it had reduced her tendency to gossip.

“All right, dear,” Delores said when she’d hung up the phone. “Sit down and spill it.”

“What?”

“Sit down and spill it. If you and Michelle were the first ones at the scene, you’re bound to have some inside information and juicy details about the Cinnamon Roll Six.”

“But I really don’t know that much ...”

“You probably know more than you think you do. Carrie got a call from a friend in Uppsala this afternoon. This lady said that the bus driver, Roger somebody-or-other, had a girl traveling with him, and she was a twelve-year-old-runaway!”

“That’s not true, Mother. There were girls on the bus, but none of them were that young. Besides, the driver’s name was Clayton, not Roger.”

Delores gave an exasperated sigh. “See? That’s how gossip gets started! The wrong information gets spread around by people who don’t really know anything.”

“You’re right.”

“I know I’m right. And the worst of it is ...” Delores stopped speaking and stared hard at Hannah. “You said was. You said the driver’s name was Clayton.”

It was Hannah’s turn to sigh. She’d spoken without thinking, and now she was stuck. There was nothing for it but to tell Delores what she already suspected. “The driver’s dead, Mother.”

Delores gave a sigh so deep, it seemed to come up from her toes. “You found another body!”

“Not exactly. Someone else found him first.”

“But you saw him?”

“Yes, I saw him.” Hannah knew what was coming next. It always did.

“Then tell me all about it. I want to know all the details so I can pass them on to the other Rainbow Ladies. I want you to meet me in the kitchen in fifteen minutes. And do hurry, dear. We have to get started passing out those cinnamon rolls.”

SPECIAL CINNAMON ROLLS

DO NOT preheat oven. This dough needs to rise before baking.

Hannah’s 1st Note: From start to finish, these cinnamon rolls will take about 3 and ½ to 4 hours before they’re ready to eat. Your work time is only about 30 minutes, but there’s a lot of down time while you wait for the dough to rise and to bake.

Ingredients for the Dough:

½ cup hot coffee

½ cup whole milk

1 Tablespoon white (granulated) sugar

1 packet (¼ ounce) dry active yeast (I used

Fleischmann’s Active Dry yeast)

¼ cup salted butter (½ stick, 2 ounces)

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

1 large egg

1 teaspoon salt

¼ cup white (granulated) sugar (yes, that’s in addi- tion to the sugar above)

3 to 3 and ½ cups all-purpose flour (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)

Ingredients for the Filling:

½ cup (1 stick, 4 ounces, ¼ pound) salted butter,

softened to room temperature

1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

¾ cup white (granulated) sugar

1 cup semisweet (regular) chocolate chips

Ingredients for the Pan:

2 Tablespoons softened butter

2 Tablespoons white (granulated) sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Ingredients for the Icing:

1 cup powdered (confectioner’s) sugar

1 Tablespoon salted butter, melted

1 Tablespoon milk

½ teaspoon vanilla

In a small microwave-safe container, combine the hot coffee with the half-cup milk. Microwave it on HIGH for 30 seconds.

Stir in the Tablespoon of white sugar. Then pour a half-cup of the mixture into another container.

Add the packet of yeast to the microwave-safe container and gently stir it in. Let it sit on the counter to proof (that’s what they call it when yeast starts working and bubbling) while you ...

Melt the butter in another small microwave container. It should only take about 30 seconds on HIGH. Add the Tablespoon of vegetable oil and let it sit on the counter to cool.

In a medium-size bowl, use a wooden spoon or a fork to beat the egg with the salt, the white sugar, and the coffee and milk mixture that does NOT contain the yeast.

Feel the small bowl with the butter and oil mixture. If it’s not so hot it could cook the egg, stir it into your work bowl.

Add 1 and ½ cups of the flour. Stir it in and continue to stir until the mixture is smooth.

Now add the yeast mixture. (See how puffy it is? Your yeast is working.) Stir it in gently.

Add 1 and ½ more cups of flour in half-cup increments, stirring after each addition. (Remember to pack it down in the cup!) If the dough seems sticky, add that last half-cup of flour and stir that in.

Now comes the fun. Clear a space on your counter for the bread board. If you don’t have a bread board, just clear a nice clean space on your counter.

Dust your work space with flour, spreading it out in a circle with your impeccably clean palms. Then upend your work bowl and plop the dough down on your floured circle. Sprinkle more flour over the top of your dough. Then grab it and flip it over so the bottom is now the top.

Think about that old boyfriend who broke up with you in high school, or anyone else in your past you’d really like to slap or punch. Visualize that person’s face in the center of your mound of dough, pick up one edge and punch it down hard in the center of the dough. Fun, wasn’t it?

Turn your dough clockwise and do it all over again. Keep turning and punching and pummeling that dough for the whole 5 minutes, flipping it over every minute or so to make sure you’re also kneading the bottom.

When 5 minutes are up, gather the dough into a ball on the board or counter.

Wash and dry your hands.

If you haven’t already done so, take ½ cup of salted butter out of the refrigerator so that it will be softened by the time you need to make the filling for your rolls.

Spray the inside of a much larger bowl with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray. Pick up the dough and nestle it right down in the bowl you prepared.

Wash and dry your bread board (or your counter if you didn’t use a bread board). Tear off a sheet of plastic wrap that’s larger than the surface of your dough, and stretch it out on the space you washed. Spray it with nonstick cooking spray, lift it up, and cover the dough in your bowl, sprayed side down, so it’s touching the surface of the dough. Tuck it in around the dough so that the dough will stay nice and warm.

Set the bowl in a warm, draft-free place and let it rise for 1 to 1 and ½ hours or until it’s doubled in size.

Sprinkle your bread board or counter again with a light coating of flour.

Turn the work bowl upside down on the floured board so that the dough will come out. (If it sticks, just scoop it out with your hands.)

Sprinkle the mound of dough lightly with flour, punch it down with your palms, and roll it out with a rolling pin into a 9-inch by 13-inch rectangle. (That’s the size of the cake pan you’ll be using to bake your Special Cinnamon Rolls.)

Spread the surface of the rectangle with the softened butter. (If you forgot to soften it, give it 30 second in the microwave on HIGH to half-melt it and then spread it out on your dough.) Let your dough sit there in all its buttery goodness while you make the rest of the topping.

Mix ¾ cup white (granulated) sugar with the Tablespoon of cinnamon. (I do this with a fork.) Sprinkle this sugar and cinnamon mixture over the top of the rectangle of dough.

Sprinkle the cup of chocolate chips on top of the sugar and cinnamon mixture as evenly as you can.

Starting from one of the long sides of the rectangle, roll it up tightly like a jelly roll. Since you don’t have 8 hands, you’ll have to work from side to side, rolling a little bit up at a time in order to get it nice and even. Pinch the edge to the surface of the roll so that it will stay closed.

Spread the bottom of a 9-inch by 13-inch rectangular cake pan with the 2 Tablespoons of softened butter. Sprinkle in the 2 Tablespoons of sugar and tip the pan so it’s evenly distributed. Sprinkle in the teaspoon of cinnamon as evenly as possible.

Use your sharpest knife to cut the roll of dough into 12 slices. Arrange the slices in the cake pan 3 rows across and 4 rows down.

Spray another sheet of plastic wrap with nonstick cooking spray and use that, sprayed side down, touching the surface of the rolls. Tuck it in and set your Special Cinnamon Rolls in a warm, draft-free place for 45 minutes or until they’re doubled in bulk.

When your rolls are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position. Leave the plastic wrap on your rolls until your oven comes up to temperature.

Remove the plastic wrap and bake your rolls at 350 degrees F., for 30 minutes or until nicely browned. Then take them out of the oven and place them on a cold stove burner or a wire rack to cool while you make the icing. You’ll want to frost your rolls while they’re still warm so that the icing can run down into the crevices.

Put the cup of powdered sugar into a small mixing bowl. Using a fork, mix in the melted butter, milk, and vanilla. Whisk it with your fork until it’s smooth and creamy, and has the consistency of icing.

If the resulting mixture is too thick, whisk in a little more milk. If the resulting mixture is too thin, whisk in a bit more powdered sugar.

Hannah’s 2nd Note: Mother thinks I should frost these with Neverfail Fudge Frosting. I’m convinced that Mother would eat a dill pickle and insist that it was delicious if I frosted it with fudge frosting.