Fudge Cupcake Murder

Chapter Twenty-Eight

"Hi, Hannah," Lonnie greeted her. He sounded a bit guilty and Hannah hoped it was the result of going off without telling anyone where he was going, rather than for any other reason. "Shelly says you've got something important to tell me."

Shelly? Hannah's brows headed skyward. Michelle didn't like to be called Shelly. She'd told Hannah that it made her feel like a turtle.

"Um… yes, I do have something important to tell you," Hannah said, wondering why Lonnie was permitted to use the nickname Michelle disliked. "I've got some bad news, Lonnie."

"My folks are okay, aren't they?" Lonnie asked, before Hannah could follow up her initial statement.

"They're fine," Hannah reassured him. "Your whole family's fine. Everybody in Lake Eden is fine, except for Sheriff Grant."

The minute the words were out of Hannah's mouth she wished she'd thought of another way to phrase it. She'd never been a master at tact.

"What's wrong with Sheriff Grant?" Lonnie asked, exactly as Hannah had expected he would.

"He's dead," Hannah said, deciding to spit it out now and deal with the fallout later. "Somebody murdered him last Monday night."

There was a long silence, so long that Hannah wondered if Lonnie had passed out from shock. But then she heard a sigh and Lonnie cleared his throat.

"That's really awful," he said, his voice shaking slightly. "Do Mike and Bill need me to come back home?"

"I don't know, but you can call them if you think you should. Mike's the acting sheriff now. You could say that you were out of touch and you just heard about it."

"Good idea." Lonnie sounded more in control when he spoke again. "Do they have any suspects?"

"I don't know. If they do, they're not telling me."

"I guess they wouldn't. So are you mad?"

"I'm not exactly dancing up and down the streets in delight," Hannah said with a shrug, even though she knew Lonnie couldn't see it. "Sure, I wish they'd include me in their investigation, but that's about as likely as snow in August."

"I didn't mean are you mad at Mike and Bill. I meant, are you mad at me."

"Oh." Hannah took a second to regroup. "You mean, because you're spending your vacation with Michelle?"

Lonnie gulped again. "Um… yeah. That's exactly what I mean."

"No, I'm not mad." Hannah smiled, remembering her own college days. It had been a time of testing her wings and it was fairly obvious that Michelle was doing the same. "I just hope you didn't keep her from her classes. Good grades are very important to Michelle."

"I didn't keep her from anything. I went along to every class and sat in the back. Nobody seemed to mind and I even took notes in case Shelly missed something."

Hannah gave it up. It certainly didn't sound as if Lonnie had hurt Michelle in any way. "I need to talk to you about that stolen car report you wrote right before you left on vacation. Did you know that Sheriff Grant took it home with him?"

"I didn't know that, but it doesn't surprise me. He was really interested in that car thief. He told me he was going to handle the case personally and that was when he gave me two weeks of comp time for all the extra hours I'd put in working on it, effective anytime I wanted."

"And that was unusual?" Hannah asked.

"I don't know, for sure. But Sheriff Grant isn't…" Lonnie stopped and Hannah heard him swallow. "Sheriff Grant wasn't known for being really generous about time off, and vacations, and things like that. I figured I'd better grab it before he changed his mind, so I said I'd take the comp time right away and I left."

"That was probably smart. Let's get back to the car thief. What can you tell me about him?"

"I put everything I knew into the report. The guy wouldn't give me his name and he didn't have any I.D. on him. He just clammed up and I figured he was bound to lawyer up when I got him to the station, but he didn't. Sheriff Grant told me not to worry about it. He said he'd interrogate the guy himself and find out who he was. I'm assuming that's what he did. The guy was still in the holding tank when I left the station."

Hannah asked several other questions, but when it became clear that Lonnie couldn't give her any more information, she asked to talk to her sister again. After assuring Michelle that she wasn't about to tell anyone the identity of her house-guest, Hannah hung up and flipped through her notebook.

Car parts in Sheriff Grant's home office that belonged to him, not Jamie. A car thief Lonnie had apprehended. Sheriff Grant's interest in pulling Lonnie off the case so that he could interview the suspect himself. The fact that Sheriff Grant took Lonnie's report home in his special briefcase. Hannah was beginning to see how all these things might fit together. Could they be part of the big case that Sheriff Grant had needed to win the election? And did something he discovered while he was working on this big case result in his murder?

Just when Hannah thought her head would burst with churning ideas, the phone rang. She reached out to answer it without thinking, and only then did she realize that she should have locked up the shop ten minutes ago.

"Hannah?" It was Andrea's voice and she sounded excited. "I'm so glad I caught you!"

"Why's that?" Hannah asked, pulling out the cash drawer and starting to count the money for their nightly deposit.

"I wanted to tell you that I'm almost done with the recipes."

"Almost done?" Hannah was so surprised, she almost put a five-dollar bill in her stack of twenties. "But you just started!"

Andrea laughed, obviously pleased at Hannah's shocked reaction. "I've been at it for two days. I told you before that I'm a fast typist."

"I know, but I never expected you to finish this soon. What time do you want me to pick up Tracey tonight?"

"That's the other reason I called. Can you be here at seven-thirty? Lucy Dunwright just left and she took Tracey out for hamburgers with Karen. Then they're going trick 'n treating and they'll be back here at seven-thirty."

Hannah knew Lucy's daughter, Karen. She was a classmate of Tracey's and Hannah liked her. "If it's okay with Lucy, I can take both girls down to the Haunted Basement. Then Lucy can stay and visit with you until we come back."

"That's really nice of you, Hannah." Andrea sounded grateful. "I'd love to have company tonight. But I was calling to ask you for another favor and now I feel funny about it."

"What is it? I owe you more than one favor for typing all those recipes."

"No, you don't. I was happy to have something to do. But this is really important, Hannah."

Hannah frowned as she recognized a slightly panicked tone in Andrea's voice. "What is it?"

"It's Bill. He got so excited about going back to work, he forgot to replace his taillight."

"Uh-oh," Hannah groaned guessing the rest. "And they caught him out at the checkpoint again?"

"That's exactly what happened. He got another fixit ticket this morning and the next time it'll be a real ticket. He can't let that happen, Hannah. It would look awful for someone who's running for sheriff."

"That's true," Hannah said, waiting for her sister to get to the point.

"The problem is, Bill's bound to get that ticket tonight."

"Why tonight?"

"Because the checkout at the sheriff's station is staying open late. And there's no way Bill can drive home and not get one."

"So you want me to drive out there and give him a ride home?"

"Not exactly," Andrea sighed deeply. "Bill says it's really easy to replace a taillight on his car and if he had the part, he could do it in less than ten minutes. The only thing is, he doesn't have the part and if he drives out to get it, he'll get ticketed."

"Catch twenty-two," Hannah mused.

"That's exactly what it is. I just loved that movie, didn't you? I saw it on the old movie channel last year and I thought Alan Arkin was just perfect. But then there was Buck Henry's performance. It was marvelous. And Anthony Perkins, well…"

"So you want me to get the taillight and take it out to Bill at the sheriff's station?" Hannah interrupted her sister's rave movie review.

"If you don't mind, that would be really great."

"I don't mind at all. As a matter of fact, I was planning to go out there to have Ted taste the cupcakes I made from his mother's recipe. I'll get the taillight and stop by the sheriff's station on my way home to cook Moishe's dinner."

"You're cooking for Moishe now?"

"That's right. I've got a veterinarian-approved diet sheet for him.'"

"What are you cooking?"

Hannah thought about the boiled liver and the eggshells. "I don't think you want to know."

"Okay. I'll take your word for it. But don't forget to allow time to change into your costume. Tracey can hardly wait to see it. What are you going as?"

"It's a surprise," Hannah said, bemoaning her sister's grammar with half of her mind and wondering if she'd have time to wash and dry her ghost sheet with the other half.

Fifteen minutes later, Hannah had everything under control. She'd stuck the cornflakes and the plastic knife in the back of her truck for contingencies, locked up The Cookie Jar, packed the cupcakes for transit, and she was on the road to Ted Koester's salvage yard to get the taillight for Bill.

As she drove through town, the sky began to darken and Hannah smiled as she saw little trick 'n treaters skipping along the sidewalks, holding the hands of older siblings or parents. On her way to the highway, Hannah passed two boys in Elvis costumes, one King Kong, three fairy princesses, one Superman, two skeletons with day-glo bones, a hulking monster with green fangs, and nine ghosts. Perhaps it was a good thing she'd gotten her ghost costume dirty. It seemed that Lake Eden was swarming with ghosts tonight.

The spirit of Halloween infused even the traffic on the highway. Hannah spotted two cars with fluttering ghosts in the back windows and another with a fake arm hanging out of a truck. Several drivers wore Halloween masks and one trucker had decked his eighteen-wheeler out for the occasion by wiring a battery-operated jack o' lantern to his grill. The night was festive and Hannah was starting to get into the spirit as she pulled into Ted's salvage yard. She drove past the trailer that served as an office, headed for a parking spot, and smiled as she spotted Beatrice manning the counter. This was just perfect. Now she could have both Beatrice and Ted taste the cupcakes.

Hannah parked the truck, got out, and grabbed the bag of cupcakes. The wind practically knocked her off her feet as she dashed to the office and opened the door.

"Hi, Hannah," Beatrice greeted her warmly. "What's in the bag?"

"Cupcakes. I think I got it, Beatrice."

"Really?" Beatrice's lips turned up in a delighted smile. "That's wonderful, Hannah. Ted will be so pleased."

"Go ahead. Try one." Hannah handed her the bag. "I really think that this has got to be it."

"I hope so. I'm going to gain twenty pounds if I keep on tasting your test batches." Beatrice grinned to show she was joking as she opened the bag and took out a cupcake. She peeled back the paper, took a small bite, and then she took a larger one.

Hannah didn't realize that she was holding her breath until Beatrice had eaten half the cupcake. She let it out again in a relieved sigh. "It's Alma's recipe?"

"This is it, Hannah! It's just like Alma used to bake. What's the secret ingredient?"

"Raspberry syrup. And that's what came in all those bottles you found in her basement."

"Well, I'll be!" Beatrice said, polishing off the cupcake and wiping her fingers on one of the napkins Hannah had tucked into the bag. "Just wait until Ted tastes these!"

"Speaking of Ted, where is he? I need to buy a taillight for Bill's car."

"He's out with the tow truck. That's why I'm here filling in for him. He should be back any minute, but I can probably help you if you've got the make, model, and year."

"I do," Hannah said, handing over the note she'd written with the information Andrea had given her.

Beatrice opened a thick parts book. "I'm sure Ted's got it. Once I get the part number, I'll type it into the computer inventory and it should tell us exactly where it is."

Hannah watched as Beatrice looked up the part and typed in the number. In just a moment, the answer appeared on the screen. "Here we go. Bill's taillight is in section seventeen, bin thirty-eight."

"Where's that?"

"Right here," Beatrice pointed to the section on the large map that hung on the wall in back of the counter. "Come with me. I'll take you over to the parts shed."

Hannah followed Beatrice to a large metal shed that took up almost a quarter of the salvage yard. Beatrice opened the door, flicked on the lights, and led Hannah down an aisle in the center. Each section was filled from floor to ceiling with metal shelving and Beatrice stopped when she came to section seventeen. "Bin thirty-eight should be right about… here."

"I see it," Hannah said, pointing up at the third tier of shelves. "But how do we get it? Do you have a ladder?"

Beatrice nodded and walked to the center aisle. A moment later, she came back pushing a rolling ladder, the kind Hannah had seen stock clerks use in home building stores. "Just watch. This is so easy with a ladder like this."

Before Hannah could offer to do it for her, Beatrice pulled on gloves, climbed up the ladder, reached into the bin, and came down with a taillight. "This is the one that'll fit Bill's car."

"Great," Hannah said, taking the part while Beatrice rolled back the ladder. "You don't happen to know where the cigarette lighters are, do you? I need one for my truck. It was missing when I bought it."

"They're in section twelve. But I didn't know you smoked, Hannah."

"I don't. It's just that you never know when you're going to need to light a candle."

"That's profound, Hannah. It's a metaphor, right?"

"I suppose it is, but I was just being practical. You never know when you'll have to light a candle to keep you warm when you're stranded in a snow bank. And, I really don't like that empty hole in the dash. It looks so unfinished."

Beatrice gestured for Hannah to follow her and headed toward the front of the shed. "Here they are," she said, pointing to a bin on the second tier and handing Hannah a pair of gloves. "Just reach in and get one. Almost all cigarette lighters are a standard size. Put on the gloves first, though. Ted got a nasty scratch on his arm when he forgot to wear his gloves last week. His shirt had so much blood on it, I had to throw it out."

"Jon Walker mentioned it. Ted and I are taking the same kind of antibiotics," Hannah slipped on the gloves and reached into the bin, "the really expensive ones."

Once Hannah had retrieved the cigarette lighter she wanted, Beatrice led the way back to the office. On the way, she pointed out a box-like structure about the size of a home garage. "That's our new crusher. Isn't it wonderful?"

"Yes," Hannah said, even though she didn't exactly know how a crusher could be wonderful. "How does it work?"

"It's open on top and Ted just hoists the car he wants to crush and drops it right in. The sides move in to crush the car and it ends up about the size of a breadbox."

A few moments later, they were back in the office. Beatrice was adding up Hannah's purchases when the phone rang. "Hold on just a second, Hannah. That might be Ted and I want to tell him you figured out the cupcakes."

"Ted's Salvage," Beatrice greeted her caller. "Oh, hello, honey! Are you and Krista all ready for your big performance tonight?"

Hannah smiled. It was obvious that Beatrice was talking to her granddaughter, Leah.

"Oh, dear! Is there anything I can do to help?" Beatrice listened for a moment. "Of course I can, honey. I'll be there just as soon as your grandpa comes back."

"What's the matter?" Hannah asked, as Beatrice hung up the phone.

"It's Leah. She tore the wing on her bat costume and she can't seem to sew it back on right. And her mother's not home."

"So you're going to go over and help her?"

"Just as soon as Ted gets back. I'd close up right now, but he's waiting for an important shipment of scrap cars. He needs to dismantle them to get the parts he needs for his big customer in Minneapolis. There's no way we want to disappoint him!"

"He's an important customer?"

"He accounts for over half of our business. There's no way we could turn a profit if he ordered from someone else."

"He must buy a lot of car parts."

"I'll say! He faxes every Monday morning with a long list of car parts for Ted to locate and ship to him."

"Locate?" Hannah was curious. She knew nothing about the auto salvage business.

"That's right. I'm not exactly sure how Ted does it, but he must call around to the other auto salvage places to find the things he doesn't have here. I know he always gets all the parts by the end of the week and ships them off on Saturday morning."

Something niggled at the back of Hannah's mind, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. There was something she had to ask Beatrice, or Ted. Perhaps she should offer to stay until Ted got back. She might think of it by then.

"Go and help Leah," Hannah said, acting on her impulse. "I'll stay here and wait for Ted. I want to see his face when he tastes those cupcakes."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive. Just tell me what to do when the transport comes in."

"There's nothing to it," Beatrice said, grabbing a clipboard and setting it on the counter next to the cash register. "The driver knows where to unload, so that's no problem. It'll be that area right in front of the big metal shed. That's where Ted does the dismantling."

"Got it," Hannah said.

"All you have to do is sign the receipt, give it back to the driver, and keep the bill of lading for Ted. Just put it on this clipboard on the counter."

"How about customers? Do you want me to try to find the parts they need?"

Beatrice shook her head. "That's too much trouble. I don't think you'll have any customers this late, but if you do, just tell them to wait until Ted gets back, or to come back tomorrow. "

"Will do. Anything else?"

"One thing. When Ted gets back, tell him what happened with Leah's costume. And then give him a cupcake right away, so he won't be mad at me for leaving. Do you want me to plug in the heater before I go?"

"No, I don't think I'll need it. I'll just run out to the truck to get my jacket."

Hannah glanced at the clock as Beatrice hurried to her car and drove away. It was already after six and she'd promised to pick up Tracey and Karen at seven-thirty. If Ted didn't get back soon, she wouldn't have time to run home to feed Moishe. Of course, a late dinner wouldn't exactly kill him, especially when he'd had such a nice omelet this morning. If he got hungry enough waiting for his personal gourmet chef, he might just eat some of the senior nuggets in his bowl to tide him over.

Fudge Cupcakes

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

4 squares unsweetened baking chocolate (1 ounce each)

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup raspberry syrup (for pancakes-I used Knott's red raspberry)

1 2/3 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, room temperature (one stick, 1/4 pound)

1 1/2 cups white sugar (not a misprint-you'll use 1 3/4 cups sugar in all)

3 eggs

1/3 cup milk

Line a 12-cup muffin pan with double cupcake papers. Since this recipe makes 18 cupcakes, you can use an additional 6-cup muffin pan lined with double papers, or you can butter and flour an 8-inch square cake pan or the equivalent.

Microwave the chocolate, raspberry syrup and јcup sugar in a microwave-safe bowl on high for 1 minute. Stir. Microwave again for another minute. At this point, the chocolate will be almost melted, but it will maintain its shape. Stir the mixture until smooth and let cool to lukewarm. (You can also do this in a double boiler on the stove.)

Measure flour, mix in baking soda and salt, and set aside. In an electric mixer (or with a VERY strong arm),beat the butter and 1 1/2cups sugar until light and fluffy. (About 3 minutes with a mixer-an additional 2 minutes if you're doing it by hand.)Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition to make sure they're thoroughly incorporated. Add approximately a third of the flour mixture and a third of the milk. (You don't have to be exact-adding the flour and milk in increments makes the batter smoother.)When that's all mixed in, add another third of the flour and another third of the milk. When that's incorporated, add the remainder of the flour and the remainder of the milk. Mix thoroughly.

Test your chocolate mixture to make sure it's cool enough to add. (You don't want to cook the eggs!) If it's fairly warm to the touch but not so hot you have to pull your hand away, you can add it at this point. Stir thoroughly and you're done.

Let the batter rest for five minutes. Then stir it again by hand and fill each cupcake paper three-quarters full. If you decided to use the 8-inch cake pan instead of the 6-cup muffin tin, fill it with the remaining batter.

Bake the cupcakes in a 350 degree F. oven for 20 to 25 minutes. The 8-inch cake should bake an additional 5 minutes.

Fudge Frosting

18 cupcakes, or 12 cupcakes and 1 small cake, cooled to room temperature and ready to frost.

2 cups chocolate chips (a 12-ounce package)

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

If you use a double boiler for this frosting, it's foolproof. You can also make it in a heavy saucepan over low to medium heat on the stovetop, but you'll have to stir it constantly with a spatula to keep it from scorching.

Fill the bottom part of the double boiler with water. Make sure it doesn't touch the underside of the top.

Put the chocolate chips in the top of the double boiler, set it over the bottom, and place the double boiler on the stovetop at medium heat. Stir occasionally until the chocolate chips are melted.

Stir in the can of sweetened condensed milk and cook approximately two minutes, stirring constantly, until the frosting is shiny and of spreading consistency.

Spread on cupcakes, making sure to fill in the "frosting pocket."

Give the frosting pan to your favorite person to scrape.

These cupcakes are even better if you cool them, cover them, and let them sit for several hours before frosting them.