Chapter Eighteen
“So you knew him?” Norman asked, picking up his last French fry.
“He was an assistant professor when I was going for my masters,” Hannah said, hoping that would be enough of an explanation to satisfy Norman.
“That’s funny. He didn’t act as if he knew you on Christmas Eve.”
“It was pretty clear he didn’t remember me. And I wasn’t about to embarrass a guest by reminding him we’d known each other years ago.”
“Right.” Norman nodded. “What do you know about him?”
“I don’t know anything about his recent life, but there were rumors about him on campus. He had more than one girlfriend and it turned out that he was engaged at the time.”
“Then he’s got a wife or an ex-wife?”
“He’s got one ex-wife that Mike interviewed, and that’s not the same woman he married while I was on campus.”
“Two ex-wives then. How about now? Is he married again?”
Hannah shrugged. “I’m not sure. I don’t think we have to worry about the wives, though. Mike’s checking into those. He does seem to think it’s a crime of passion since the first stab wound was lethal and he was stabbed four more times.”
“Revenge?”
“That’s certainly possible. Revenge, jealousy, hatred … it could be any strong emotion, I guess.”
“He sounds like a guy that really played the field,” Norman said. “I wonder if any of that playing took place here in Lake Eden.”
“I’d be willing to bet it did. The only problem is identifying his playmates.”
“Delores?” Norman suggested. And at almost the same time Hannah said, “Mother?”
They looked at each other and laughed. “I’ll ask her,” Hannah promised. “It’s too bad your mother isn’t here. She’d enjoy helping.”
“I know. She loves to nose around for information. But what we really need is a spy on campus.”
“Michelle.” Both of them spoke at once again, and they even nodded in tandem.
“We did it again,” Hannah commented. “It’s like we’re twins or something. And that reminds me … You know the Connors twins, don’t you?”
“Sure. I whitened their teeth before their last big competition. I figured it was the least I could do for Lake Eden’s most famous couple.”
“Better not let Mayor Bascomb and Stephanie hear you say that!”
“You’re right. Now what about the twins?”
“They’re living on the campus now, and Sherri’s a secretary at the English department office. We could ask her if she’s heard the other secretaries talking about Bradford’s romances.”
“Good idea.” Norman waited until Hannah had jotted it down in the new steno pad she’d brought with her. “I wonder where Professor Ramsey lived.”
“Andrea could find out for us. If he lived on campus, there’ll be a vacancy and Lake Eden Realty handles all the college apartment leases. And if he lived off campus, there’ll be a house for rent and Lake Eden Realty will handle that, too.”
“We can talk to her tonight at the school. She’s going to Casino Night, isn’t she?”
“Yes. She called me this afternoon and said they’d be there. As sheriff, Bill’s expected to attend these big charity events.”
Norman glanced down at the steno pad and pointed to an entry Hannah had made earlier. “Who’s Tim Pearson?”
“Bradford’s research assistant. Tim wrote a paper for Bradford that gave him a rung up the academic ladder at Macalester. In payment, Bradford assured Tim that the assistant professor spot here at Lake Eden Community College would be his.”
“But those things are decided by committee, aren’t they?”
“Yes, they are. But Bradford knew everyone on the hiring committee, and he assured Tim that they’d take his recommendation.”
“I see. If Tim didn’t get that job, it’s a motive for murder. And that’s why you wrote down his name as a suspect?”
“Right.”
They both fell silent as Rose approached their booth with the coffee carafe. “More coffee?” she asked.
“Yes, thanks,” Hannah said, and Rose filled her cup.
“How about you, Dr. Rhodes?”
“I could use another cup,” Norman said.
“Now how about dessert?” Rose asked, once she’d cleared their table, rather efficiently Hannah thought, by moving their dirty dishes to another unoccupied booth. “I’ve got two pieces of Peachy Keen Cake left.”
Hannah sighed. There was no way she could resist Rose’s Peachy Keen Cake.
“Was that sigh a yes?” Rose asked her.
“Yes.” Hannah looked over at Norman. “Have you ever tried it?”
“No,” Norman said, looking interested.
“Well, then you’re in for a treat.” Hannah looked up at Rose with a smile. “We’ll each have a piece with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, please.”
Rose delivered their cake within a minute or two, and for almost a quarter-hour, there was no sound in Hannah and Norman’s booth any louder than the occasional soft moan of pleasure. But all good things must come to an end, and once they’d finished their cake and their dessert dishes had been cleared, Hannah turned back to her suspect list.
“Back to work,” Hannah said, staring down at the blank lines on the pad.
“How about students he flunked?” Norman suggested.
“Would that be a motive for murder?”
“It could be. Let’s say Professor Ramsey’s failing grade was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Because the student flunked his class, he flunked out of college. And because he flunked out of college, he … I don’t know. Lost his girlfriend? Got disowned by his family? Whatever. It’s got to be some dire consequence.”
“Or at least some consequence that the student thinks is dire.”
“Right.”
“It’s a great idea, Norman. But how can we get access to the community college grades?”
“I can probably find a way. Just write down failing student and leave the rest up to me.”
Hannah was more than happy to do that, and as she wrote it down, she thought of something else. “We should probably check into his finances to see if he was living above his means.”
“What will that prove?”
“College professors don’t make that much money, and he had two ex-wives. He might have had alimony and maybe even child support.”
“If he was strapped for money, he might have turned to some illegal way to get it?”
“Exactly.” Hannah gave him a smile. Norman always caught on fast. “There’s dealing drugs, blackmail, gambling, all sorts of things.”
“So we need to find out his salary. And then we need to find out what he was spending to see if he had any extra.”
Hannah glanced at her watch. “We’d better go. Casino Night starts in less than ten minutes.”
“Okay. I’m ready. I hope they have all the casino games. I feel lucky tonight.”
“So do I,” Hannah said, and it was perfectly true. Perhaps Mike had been right and Norman had been upset over Carrie’s marriage. Or perhaps he’d been exhausted from late nights with his dental school friends. It could even be that he envied their fancy new dental clinic and felt less successful practicing run-of-the-mill dentistry here in Lake Eden. It didn’t really matter what the problem had been, now that it appeared to be solved. She was just happy to have the old Norman, the comfortable sweet Norman she loved, back with her again.
ROSE’S PEACHY KEEN CAKE
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
4 egg whites (save the yolks to add to scrambled eggs in the morning)
? teaspoon cream of tartar
? cup softened butter (1 and ? sticks, 6 ounces)
1 package (8 ounces) softened cream cheese (thebrick kind, not the whipped kind)
2 cups white (granulated) sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
? teaspoon salt
2 beaten eggs (just whip them up in a glass with a fork)
? teaspoon almond extract
? teaspoon vanilla extract
1 and ? cups mashed peaches ***
2 and ?cups all-purpose flour (don’t sift—just fillthe measuring cup and level it off with a knife)
1 cup finely chopped blanched almonds
***-You can use fresh and peel and slice your own, or you can buy them already sliced and prepared in the ready-to-eat section at your produce counter, or you can use canned peaches.
Hannah’s 1st Note: This is a lot easier with an electric mixer.
Beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until they form soft peaks. Set them aside in a bowl on the counter while you mix up the rest of the cake.
In another bowl, beat the softened butter, softened cream cheese and sugar together until they’re nice and fluffy.
Add the baking powder and salt. Mix them in thoroughly.
Add the beaten eggs, the almond extract, and the vanilla extract. Mix until they’re well incorporated.
Peel and slice the peaches (or drain them and pat them dry if you’ve used prepared peaches or canned peaches.) Mash them in a food processor with the steel blade, or zoop them up in a blender, or squash them with a potato masher until they’re pureed. Measure out 1 and ?cups of mashed peaches and add them to the bowl with the butter, sugar, eggs, and flavorings. Mix everything thoroughly.
Gradually add the flour to the peach mixture, beating at low speed until everything is incorporated. If you’re doing this by hand, add the flour in half-cup increments, stirring it in after each addition.
Mix in the chopped almonds by hand.
Gently fold in the beaten egg whites, trying to keep as much air in the batter as possible. It’s okay if there are a few white spots from the egg white that hasn’t been thoroughly incorporated.
Spray the inside of 3 round layer pans, one 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan, or one Bundt pan (don’t forget to spray the middle part) with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray, and then dust it lightly with flour. You can also use “baking spray,” the type with flour added.
Pour the cake batter into the pan or pans you’ve chosen.
Bake at 350 degrees F. for approximately 15 minutes for the layers, and 40 minutes for a 9-inch by 13-inch pan. A Bundt pan will take 50 to 60 minutes. Test for doneness by using a cake tester or a long toothpick inserted one inch from the center. When it comes out dry and not sticky, your cake is done.
Let the cake cool in the pans on a wire rack. If you used a Bundt pan, cool it on a wire rack for 15 minutes and then gently pull the edges of the cake away from the sides of the pan. Do the same for the fluted column in the middle of the pan. Then invert the cake onto another wire rack, lift off the pan, and allow it to cool completely.
Yield: One deliciously peachy cake.
Hannah’s 2nd Note: Rose says that when she makes this cake in layers, she uses peach jam between the layers and frosts it with Peachy Keen Frosting.When she makes this cake in a Bundt pan, she either dusts it with powdered sugar to “pretty it up,” or drizzles the top with Peachy Kean Glaze for Bundt Cakes. Sometimes she puts a few canned peach slices in the bottom of her Bundt Pan so that they’re on top when she turns out her cake.
Hannah’s 3rd Note: If you want to make cupcakes, pour the batter into greased and floured (or cupcake papered) muffin tins and bake at 375 degrees F. for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (Mini cupcakes should bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until slightly golden on top.)
PEACHY KEEN FROSTING
?cup peach jam (I used Knott’s)
1 egg white (add the yolk to the 4 others you’ve saved to add to scrambled eggs)
Hannah’s 1st Note: If you can find peach jelly, (it’s clear with no pieces of peach in it) by all means use it. It will eliminate one step in making this frosting. I’ve never seen peach jelly in any store, so I use the jam.
Hannah’s 2nd Note: You can do this with a portable electric mixer or even an old-fashioned crank-type eggbeater. You might be able to do it with a wire whisk, but it’ll take some muscle.
Puree the peach jam in a food processor with the steel blade or in a blender. Once it has no lumps and is perfectly smooth, measure out 1/2 cup to use for the frosting. (If there’s any left over, just stir it into the jam left in your jar and put it back in the refrigerator.)
Put some tap water in the bottom of a double boiler and heat it until it simmers. (Make sure you don’t use too much water – it shouldn’t touch the bottom of thepan on top.) Off the heat, beat the egg white with the peach jam in the top of the double boiler. When it’s thoroughly blended …
Set the top of the double boiler over the simmering water and continue to beat until the jam has melted. You can tell because it will get thinner, almost like juice (3 minutes or so.)
Shut off the heat, lift the top of the double boiler off the bottom, and place it on a cold burner, or a towel on your kitchen counter. Continue to beat the frosting until it will stand up in peaks. (To test this, just turn off your beaters and lift them from the pan—if they leave peaks on the frosting, it’s ready to use.)
Yield: Enough Peachy Keen Frosting to cover a 9-inch by 13-inch loaf cake or 12 cupcakes.
Hannah’s 3rd Note: If you’ve used layer pans for this cake, Rose says to double the recipe because there’s nothing worse than trying to make frosting stretch. If you just make double in the first place, you’ll have plenty.
PEACHY KEEN GLAZE FOR BUNDT CAKES
? cup peach jam
? cup powdered sugar
Hannah’s Note: Rose says to tell you that making this glaze is almost as easy as dusting the cake with powdered sugar. You can do it in the microwave and it takes only 2 minutes.
Scoop the jam into a microwave-safe bowl with a pour spout or a 2-cup glass measuring cup.
Heat the jam on HIGH for 20 seconds. Stir. If it’s melted, you’re done. If it’s not, give it another 20 seconds.
Stir the powdered sugar into the hot melted jam by spoonfuls. Continue to add and stir smooth until your glaze is the right consistency to pour on top of your Bundt cake. You’ll want it thin enough so it’ll drip down the sides of the cake, and thick enough so it won’t all just run down in a flood and pool at the bottom of your cake plate.
Drizzle the glaze on top of your cake and let it drip artistically down the sides. Let the glaze cool and then refrigerate your cake until you’re ready to serve it.