Cinnamon Roll Murder

Chapter Four

When Hannah got back to the waiting room, she found Michelle sitting between Lonnie Murphy and his cousin Devin. Devin was a tall, lanky young man with an endearing grin, the bluest eyes Hannah had ever seen, and a shock of black hair that that fell in waves over his forehead. Kevin had the chair next to Buddy Neiman, and there was a big smile on Buddy’s face. Hannah figured that Devin must be regaling the Cinnamon Roll Six’s keyboard player with compliments. Perhaps it would sweeten him up a bit.

“Hi Devin,” Hannah greeted him, and then she turned to Lonnie. “Did they call you in to help?”

“Yup. We were only a mile from here when I got the call. The dispatcher told me to go straight to the hospital, and I was turning in the driveway before she even finished telling me about the accident.”

Marlene came in just then and walked quickly to Buddy’s side. “You can come with me,” she said. “The other intern, Doctor Matson, wants to have a look at your wrist, and then someone will take you down to X-ray. There’s a little wait, but it’s not that long.”

“I’ll come with you,” Lynnette offered, but Buddy shook his head.

“Stay here and wait for the rest of the band,” he said. “You need to meet up with them when they come in. Devin here can come with me to X-ray ... right, kid?”

“Sure!” Devin jumped up immediately. Then his delighted expression faded somewhat as he turned back to Lonnie. “Is it okay? I mean, do you need me to help you with anything?”

Lonnie shook his head. “Not a thing. We’re here to help the patients. Buddy’s a patient, at least for right now, and you’re helping by keeping him company.”

“Bring the rest of your group and follow me,” Marlene instructed Hannah and Michelle. “We’ll take them all into emergency together. Once they’re cleared, the Rainbow Ladies can arrange for transportation.”

It was only a short walk to the emergency room. Everyone handed over the paperwork they’d completed, and they all took seats in the uncomfortable green plastic chairs that were set aside for patients. Hannah wasn’t sure if the chairs were an attempt to keep people from coming to the emergency room with non-emergency ailments, or an attempt to generate business by causing more complaints like backache, stiffness in the neck and shoulders, and loss of mobility from sitting on such a hard, unyielding surface.

The interior of the emergency room looked different tonight. Two sets of ugly tan curtains that could be drawn to cordon off a cubicle, had been tied back, out of the way. The resulting space was filled with medical personnel who were lined up against the back wall. She recognized three of the nurses, but the rest were strangers to her. They must be the extra nurses from nearby communities that had been called in to augment Doc Knight’s small staff.

Vonnie Blair, Doc’s secretary, was sitting at a desk in the far corner of the room. A copy machine sat next to her desk and once she made copies of a patient’s paperwork, she stapled it to a folder. The doctor in the front of the line came forward to take the folder and call a patient to be seen.

Lonnie watched for a moment or two, and then he turned to Michelle and Devin. “I’m going to make the copies for Vonnie. It’ll go quicker that way.”

When Lonnie had left their little group, Michelle turned to Hannah. “Isn’t that Norman near the back of the line?”

“I don’t see ... oh, yes. It’s Norman. They must have called him in for any dental emergencies. I think I’ll go over and ...” Hannah stopped speaking and gave a little sigh. “No, I won’t. She’s with him.”

“I wasn’t going to mention that. I know how you feel about her. But you probably should do it anyway. Lake Eden’s not that big, and you have to get along with her if you want to stay friends with Norman.” Michelle stopped and frowned. “Unless you don’t want to stay friendly with Norman.”

“Of course I want Norman to be my friend. He’s going to need to come over and see Cuddles.”

“How’s that going anyway?”

Hannah gave a little smile. She’d agreed to take Norman’s cat, Cuddles, when he’d said that he had to find a new home for her, that his fiancée, Doctor Bev, was allergic to cats and she was going to move in with him. Hannah’s cat Moishe, and Cuddles were best friends so it wasn’t an imposition at all. “Moishe’s happy to have Cuddles with him. He really likes her you know. And Cuddles is crazy about Moishe.”

“Does Cuddles miss Norman?”

“I think so. I know my place is the second-best home for Cuddles, but Norman’s house, with Norman, is the best home for her. It’s just a pity that ...” Hannah stopped speaking as tears came to her eyes. She blinked several times and managed to keep them at bay. “Never mind. We can talk about that later tonight. You’re staying with me, aren’t you?”

“Of course. I know I could stay at Mother’s, but she’s never home. She’s either at the hospital with the Rainbow Ladies, or over at Doc’s house. It wouldn’t be as much fun to stay there by myself.”

Hannah blinked, and this time it wasn’t to blink away tears. “Mother stays over at Doc’s house?!”

“Oh, no. I didn’t mean that. I just meant that Mother spends a lot of time with him at his place, at her place, at the hospital, or out doing something. That’s all.”

Hannah gave a relieved sigh. It wasn’t that she was concerned about her mother’s behavior. It was just that she didn’t want the other members of the phone tree they’d unofficially dubbed The Lake Eden Gossip Hotline to gossip about their founding member, Delores herself!

“Buddy Neiman?” a voice broke into Hannah’s thoughts. “The doctor will see you now.”

“Come on, kid.” Buddy got up from his plastic chair with an agility Hannah wished she could emulate, and motioned to Devin. “He’s probably going to send me to X-ray. Let’s go.”

Hannah got to her feet. “I’ll go with you. I want to make sure your wrist is okay.”

They walked in pairs, Buddy and the nurse in the lead, and Hannah and Devin following behind them. As they passed by Norman and Doctor Bev, Norman’s fiancée stepped behind him quickly, almost as if she didn’t want Hannah to see her.

Bev’s maneuver couldn’t have suited Hannah better. She gave a little wave as she passed them, said a quick “Hi, Norman.” And then they were on their way to see Doctor Ben Matson.

“Hello, Hannah.” Ben greeted her. “You weren’t injured, were you?”

“Not me. Your patient is Buddy Neiman. He’s with Cinnamon Roll Six.”

Ben glanced down at the chart. He took the time to read it through, and then he turned to Buddy. “So you’re the keyboard player. Let’s see what’s going on with that wrist of yours.”

As Ben began to examine Buddy’s wrist, Hannah glanced at her watch. Almost fifteen minutes had passed since she’d left her mother, and it was time to get the cinnamon rolls, meet Delores, warm the rolls, and then pass them out. “Is it okay if I leave you here, Buddy?” she asked him. “The lady who ordered the cinnamon rolls said to bring them inside and pass them out.”

“Sure, if you bring me one. No problem.”

“I’ll catch up with you,” Hannah promised, and with that said, she was off, hurrying across the floor to Michelle and the rest of their group of patients. When she got there, she saw that Bertie Straub, one of the Rainbow Ladies, was sitting in the chair that she had vacated.

“Your mother sent me to take over your group,” Bertie told her. “She wants all three of you to help her pass out the cinnamon rolls.”

“All three?” Michelle asked.

“Andrea must be here,” Hannah said, drawing the obvious conclusion.

“That’s right. She’s in the kitchen with your mother and they’re making the coffee.”

Hannah drew a sigh of relief. At least they weren’t trying to cook anything! Both Delores and Andrea were culinarily challenged in the kitchen.

“She said to tell you to drop everything else and bring her the cinnamon rolls,” Bertie added. “And she said to do it right away.”

“Right,” Hannah said, exchanging glances with Michelle. That was a command, and commands from Delores were not to be ignored. They thanked Bertie for taking over their duties, said goodbye to their charges, grabbed an unused hospital cart, and rushed outside to retrieve the pans of rolls.

Less than five minutes later, they were pushing the cart down the hospital corridor with ten dozen Special Cinnamon Rolls on the top shelf, and every bag of leftover cookies that Hannah had loaded into her truck on the bottom shelf.

“What’s in the box?” Michelle asked, eyeing the distinctive bakery box that Hannah had set on top of a pan of rolls.

“Sinco de Cocoa Cookies. They’re chocolate and avocado drop cookies.”

“Chocolate and avocado? That’s a strange combination.” Michelle opened the box and peered inside. “They smell really great. Are they good?”

“Would you like to taste one?”

Michelle gave a little laugh. “I thought you’d never ask! Do you want me to get one out for you?”

“Absolutely. We’re running late, and Mother’s probably beside herself. It’ll be easier to deal with her if we have a little chocolate. You taste first and I’ll push the cart. And then you push the cart and I’ll taste.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.” Michelle took a big bite of her cookie and an expression of total bliss crossed her face.

“Good?” Hannah asked.

“So good I could live on these for the rest of my life. Now I’ll push and you taste.” Michelle popped the rest of the cookie into her mouth, handed the second cookie to Hannah, and grabbed the cart.

Hannah took a bite and savored it for a moment. Then she chewed, swallowed, and smiled, accomplishing all three almost simultaneously.

“You like it as much as I do?”

“You bet I do! This is a great combination! I don’t know why, but the avocado seems to makes the chocolate taste more intense.”

“I think it does something to the texture, too.”

“You’re right. The texture is smooth and almost creamy.”

Michelle looked a bit puzzled. “I didn’t actually taste the avocado the same way I would in guacamole.”

“I didn’t taste it either, but it’s clear it’s influencing the other ingredients. I’m not really sure why it works that way, but it does.”

“And how!” Michelle agreed as they turned the corner and arrived at the double-wide kitchen doors. “Do you think we should give Mother one to sweeten her up?”

“Not yet. Just move the box to the bottom shelf. If she asks what it is, we’ll tell her it’s a special order.”

“But it’s not a special order ... is it?”

“Yes, it is. It’s a special order for the whole Swensen family.”

“I get it.” Michelle looked pleased. “It’s for later, when we’re through with the patients, and everything’s nice and calm, and we can relax with a cup of coffee and something yummy.”

“You got it,” Hannah said, pushing in the swinging style kitchen doors and holding them open so that Michelle could wheel in the cart.

“About time!” Delores greeted them.

“Hi, Mother. Hi Andrea.” Hannah gave them a big smile. “We’re here, and we’re all ready to cheer up some hungry patients.”

SINCO DE COCOA COOKIES (CHOCOLATE AVOCADO COOKIES)

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

Jo Fluke’s Note: Davene Mainwaring came up with the name for these delicious cookies. The “Sinco” refers to the five main ingredients: avocado, butter, flour, eggs, and sugar(s). The “Cocoa” refers to the other main ingredient, chocolate. I know that “Sinco” is really spelled “Cinco,” but I couldn’t resist a little pun since these cookies are so “Sin”fully delicious.

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

3 one-ounce squares unsweetened chocolate (I used Baker’s)

¾ cup white (granulated) sugar

1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ cup mashed avocado (that’s 2 medium or 1 very large avocado)

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

1 cup semi-sweet or 60% cocoa chocolate chips (that’s a 6-ounce bag)

Melt the butter with the squares of chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl on HIGH for 2 minutes. Stir to see if the chocolate has melted. If it isn’t, microwave it again in 30-second increments until you can stir it smooth. You can also melt the butter and chocolate in a saucepan on the stovetop at MEDIUM heat, stirring frequently. (I did this and it made my kitchen smell SO good!)

Hannah’s 1st Note: If you cut the one-ounce squares of chocolate in half, they’ll melt faster.

When everything is melted, take the mixture off the heat (or out of the microwave) and let it cool on a cold burner.

Combine the white sugar and the brown sugar in a mixing bowl. Stir, or mix with an electric mixer until they’re a uniform light brown color.

Add the eggs, one by one, mixing them in after each addition.

Mix in the vanilla extract, and beat the mixture until it’s light and fluffy.

Mix in the salt and the baking powder, and beat until they’re thoroughly combined.

Mash the avocado until it’s a smooth puree. Measure out a half cup. Add it to your work bowl and mix until it’s well blended.

Feel the outside of the bowl containing the butter and the chocolate mixture. If it’s not so hot that it might cook the eggs, add it to your mixing bowl. (If it is, have a cup of coffee and wait until it cools some more.) Beat until everything is thoroughly incorporated.

Add the flour, ½ cup at a time, mixing after each addition. Continue to mix until the dough is smooth and well-blended.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in the chocolate chips by hand. Stir until they’re evenly distributed throughout the cookie dough.

Drop the dough by rounded teaspoons onto greased cookie sheets, cookie sheets sprayed with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray, or cookie sheets covered with parchment paper.

Hannah’s 2rd Note: I covered my cookie sheets with parchment paper—it was a lot easier!

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 13 to 15 minutes, or until the cookies feel dry when LIGHTLY TOUCHED on the top. Be careful doing this. They will be very hot. If the very top of the cookie feels dry, take them out of the oven immediately. Like brownies, you don’t want to overbake them. (Mine took exactly 14 minutes.)

Cool the Sinco de Cocoa cookies on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes. This will firm up the bottom. Then remove the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. (If you use parchment paper, you can just pull it off the cookie sheet and onto a wire rack.)

Yield: 4 to 5 dozen delectable, chocolaty cookies that taste silky smooth and rich.

Hannah’s 3rd Note: I’d say that Sinco de Cocoa Cookies are so rich that nobody can eat more than one or two, but the last time I took a baker’s dozen (that’s 13 cookies) to Granny’s Attic as a special treat for Mother and Carrie, they finished them all at lunchtime and called to ask me for more!