Carrot Cake Murder Part 6

Hannah watched as he reached into the picnic hamper and pulled out a covered cake pan. "Dessert?" she guessed.

"Yes, and you're going to love it. I had a piece while I was waiting for you to come out of the pavilion."

"It's chocolate!" Hannah started to smile as Norman removed the cover and she caught a whiff of the delightful aroma.

"It's Marge's Cocoa Fudge Cake."

"She mentioned it last night. And she said she was going to bake it today."

Norman dished it up on a paper plate and held it out to her. "I forgot forks. You'll have to pick it up with your hands."

"Not a problem." Hannah picked up the cake and bit into it. She gave a little moan of pleasure as she tasted it, and then she took another bite, a bigger one than the first. Once that was gone, she gave Norman a smile that came straight from her heart. "It's incredible!"

"Lisa gave it to me when she saw me packing up the picnic for you. She said you'd need chocolate."

"Oh, I do. I do!"

"She also said to tell you that Marge wrote down the recipe in case you want it."

"In case I want it? Of course I want it! Was there ever any doubt?"

"Lisa thought you'd like it. That's why she gave me both cakes. Marge made two so she could give one whole cake to Gus."

"Lisa thought we could eat two cakes?"

"No, but she thought seeing them out at the lunch buffet would make Marge sad."

"She's probably right," Hannah said, thinking about what Gus had said at the dance last night and how he was looking forward to a piece of Marge's cake.

Norman glanced at his watch and clamped the lid back on the cake pan. "Time to go, Hannah."

"Go where?"

"To meet Mike and Bill at the yellow cottage. That's where Patsy and Mac are staying. They volunteered to let Mike and Bill use it as a temporary headquarters to interview the relatives."

"Now I get it." Hannah started to smile. "Lisa probably wants me to dish up that second cake for Mike and his team."

"That's right. She figured the endorphins in the chocolate would put Mike in a good mood and he'll be more likely to answer questions."

"What questions? It's the other way around. Mike's going to interview me. He'll be the one asking the questions."

"Lisa knows that, but she also knows you. She told me she knows that you get all the information you can so that you can investigate. She spent some time with Marge and Patsy this afternoon, and they all want you to help them. They said that the sooner you catch the killer, the faster everyone can get back to normal and enjoy the family reunion again."

"Then they're going on with the reunion?"

"Absolutely. They all got together and took a vote on it. People came hundreds of miles to be here, and it would be heartbreaking if they had to turn right around and go back home again. Granny Truog's here and she's over a hundred. This could be the last chance she has to see some of her relatives."

"Everything you said makes sense. It would be a real pity to call it off."

"So are you going to help Lisa out and take the case?"

"Why not?" Hannah asked, grinning as she threw her hat, the imaginary straw hat with a ribbon around the brim that she'd worn to pose for Monet, into the ring once again.

COCOA FUDGE CAKE.

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

Hannah's 1stNote: Marge says to tell you that she got this recipe from two girls she met on the bus to Fargo, Sandy and Patricia. They used margarine, but since Marge is from a dairy state and she knows that there's no subst.i.tute for b.u.t.ter, she uses regular salted b.u.t.ter in her cake. She says she made a couple of other changes too, but it's been so long she doesn't remember what they are.

Before you start, grease and flour a 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan. (You can also spray with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray and then dust it lightly with flour.) 2 cups white (granulated) sugar 2 cups flour (don't sift-just level it off with a knife) ------ 1 cup b.u.t.ter (2 sticks, pound) 1 cup water 3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey's) ------- cup milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon baking soda 2 eggs, beaten (just whip them up in a gla.s.s with a fork) In a large bowl, stir the sugar and the flour together. Set it aside on the counter.

Put the b.u.t.ter, water, and cocoa powder into a saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium heat.

Pour the cocoa mixture over the sugar and flour, and mix it all up together. (You can do this on medium speed with an electric mixer, if you wish.) Hannah's 2ndNote: Marge says you shouldn't be a neat-nik and wash your saucepan. If you make the frosting, you'll use it again.

Whisk the milk, vanilla extract, baking soda and eggs together in a small bowl. (I used a 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup.) Add the egg mixture to the large bowl. Stir it until it's thoroughly incorporated.

Pour the batter into a 9-inch by 13-inch greased and floured cake pan.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 20 to 25 minutes. When the cake begins to shrink away from the sides of the pan, it's done.

Hannah's 3rdNote: This cake is delicious without frosting, or just lightly dusted with powdered sugar. If you want a frosting, try the one below. Start making it 5 minutes before the cake is due to come out of the oven and the frosting and the cake will be ready at the same time.

CHOCOLATE FROSTING.

cup (1 stick) b.u.t.ter 3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey's) 1/3 cup milk 1 one-pound box of powdered (confectioner's) sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Place the b.u.t.ter, cocoa powder, and milk in a medium-size saucepan (The one from before that you didn't wash.) Bring them to a boil, stirring constantly.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the vanilla. Stir in the powdered sugar, a half-cup at a time, until the frosting is thickened, but still "pourable." (If that's not a word, it should be.) Pour the frosting on the hot cake, and spread it out quickly with a spatula.

Hannah's 4thNote: Interruptions happen and it's not always possible to finish the frosting at the same time you take the hot cake from the oven. For that reason I've come up with an alternative fudge frosting, one that can be poured over a piping hot cake, a warm cake, or a stone cold cake. Here it is: NEVERFAIL FUDGE FROSTING.

cup (1 stick, pound, 4 ounces) salted b.u.t.ter 1 cup white (granulated) sugar 1/3 cup cream cup chocolate chips 1 teaspoon vanilla extract cup chopped pecans (optional) Place the b.u.t.ter, sugar, and cream into a medium-size saucepan (You can use the one from the cake that you didn't wash.) Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Turn down the heat to medium and cook for two minutes.

Add the half-cup chocolate chips, stir them in, and remove the saucepan from the heat.

Stir in the vanilla and the chopped pecans, if you decided to use them.

Pour the frosting on the cake and spread it out quickly with a spatula. If you're pouring it on a warm cake or a cold cake, just grab the pan and tip it so the frosting covers the whole top.

If you want this frosting to cool in a big hurry so that you can cut the cake, just slip it in the refrigerator, uncovered, for a half-hour or so.

Hannah's 5thNote: Marge says that this cake smells so good, you might have to keep it under lock and key until it's cool enough to cut.

Chapter Eight.

"Thanks, Hannah." Mike snapped his notebook closed to show that their interview was over, but when Hannah made a move to rise to her feet, he reached out to stop her. "Just one more thing."

"What's that?"

"You mentioned that you spent some time with the victim last night at the dance."

Through no choice of mine, Hannah wanted to say, but of course she didn't. "That's true. I told you I was sitting in a booth with Gus and his relatives."

"And they were discussing things they remembered from their childhood?"

"Right." Hannah glanced longingly at the cake that sat on the counter. She'd been closeted with Mike in the kitchen of the lake cottage for over thirty minutes. Normally, being closed up with Mike in an isolated cottage at Eden Lake might have been an opportunity for romance, but not today. Mike was all business. He was the detective, and she was the person who'd found the body. There were guidelines to follow, and Mike was following them.

"Would you like another piece of cake?" Hannah asked, hoping for the diversion of chocolate.

"No thanks. I gained half a pound yesterday and I've got to watch it. But you go ahead if you want to."

Hannah sighed. She could have used another piece of Marge's cake, but she didn't want to admit it in front of the man who curtailed his calories if he gained an ounce. "I'm fine. Did you have anything else you wanted to ask me?"

"Just a couple of things. Let's get back to the conversation you had at the dance last night. From what you told me, it sounds like it was a family discussion that didn't have much to do with you."

"That's exactly what it was, at least most of the time. Marge tried to include me, and so did Gus, but we didn't have a lot in common, especially when they started talking about the people they'd known in school."

"Did they mention anyone in particular?"

Hannah shrugged. "A couple of cla.s.smates that Mother probably remembers, and some teachers."

"And you didn't know any of the people they mentioned."

"Only the ones that still live in Lake Eden. And there weren't that many of them."

"So you weren't interested?"

"Not really."

"Then why didn't you make an excuse and leave?"

"I couldn't leave, not without asking them all to slide over and let me out. I was in the middle of a six-person round booth with Gus, Patsy, and Mac on one side, and Marge and Jack on the other."

"How long did you sit there?"

"Through two sets of music. That was probably between twenty and thirty minutes."

"Well, that's long enough."

Mike gave her one of his famous grins, the kind of smile that made her almost believe that she was the only woman in the world who mattered to him.

"Long enough for what?" Hannah gathered herself together enough to ask.

"Long enough to give me your take on the family dynamics."

Yellow caution lights began to blink in Hannah's mind, and warning bells sounded. "What are you asking?"

"I want your personal take on the victim. How did he get along with his long-lost family?"

Hannah hesitated. There was no way she wanted to mention the animosity she'd noticed between Jack and Gus. "I think he got along just fine," she said, "considering that he took money out of the family teapot and skinned out in the middle of the night to disappear for over thirty years. There were bound to be hurt feelings, especially since he didn't contact any family or friends during the time he was gone."

"I heard that the victim and Jack Herman were buddies at Jordan High. Did they appear to be friendly last night?"

Uh-oh! Hannah kept her expression carefully blank. Someone Mike had interviewed must have told him about the animosity between Jack Herman and Gus.

"Hannah?" Mike prompted.

Hannah conducted a lightning-fast inner debate and decided not to mention the fact that there had been some sort of problem between Jack and Gus. "I already told you, there were hurt feelings all around. And hurt feelings lead to resentment. The conversation I heard was polite, if that's what you're asking. But most of the time I wasn't personally involved, so I wasn't paying close attention."

"Do you think you would have noticed if there was any overt hostility?"

"n.o.body came out and threatened anybody, if that's what you mean. And there certainly weren't any punches thrown, or anything like that." Hannah told herself she wasn't really being untruthful. After all, Jack hadn't threatened Gus, and they hadn't gotten physical. "When I found Gus, there was blood on his s.h.i.+rt," she said, deliberately steering the conversation away from Jack Herman. "Was he shot?"

"No."

"Then what was the murder weapon?"

"We're not sure yet. Doc Knight said it was something long, thin, and sharp, like an ice pick or an awl. You didn't touch anything, did you?"

"I know better than that! It was clearly a murder scene. The only thing I did was feel for a pulse on the side of his neck."

"Then you didn't move him?"

"No." Hannah switched gears again. "I did notice one thing I thought might be unusual, especially now that you tell me it was a stabbing."

"What's that?"

"There wasn't very much blood, and I thought stabbing victims bled a lot."

"Not in this case. Doc Knight explained it to me. He said that if there are multiple stab wounds and the first few aren't fatal, the victim bleeds. In this case there was only the one wound, and death was almost instantaneous. Stab wounds don't bleed unless the victim is alive and his heart is still pumping. Gus died so fast, he didn't have very much time to bleed."

Hannah's stomach lurched, but she didn't want to let on that Mike's explanation had made her queasy. "I see. I really hope it wasn't my grandfather's."

"What wasn't your grandfather's?"

"The ice pick. If it was an ice pick, that is."

Mike looked a bit dazed. "You think the murder weapon belonged to your grandfather, personally?"

"No, not that. He gave them away at his hardware store for Christmas one year."