Joanne Fluke
“Fickle,” Hannah teased him.
“If I am, it’s understandable. My favorite cookie is the cookie I’m eating at the moment.” Norman stepped on the gas as the driver ahead of them finally pulled into her parking spot and ceased being a roadblock. “I feel lucky. Let’s try that first row again.”
Norman’s lucky feeling turned out to be a premonition of good things to come. As they turned down the first row, a van parked right next to the entrance backed out. Norman quickly nabbed the spot and before you could say Jolly Old Saint Nicholas, Hannah and Norman were stepping through the double entrance doors and into the mall.
“Whoa,” Hannah said, stopping in her tracks.
“This way, Hannah.” Norman pulled her out of the mainstream of traffic and over to the side. “What’s wrong?”
It was a rare occasion for Hannah. She was completely at a loss for words. Strains of loud Christmas carols were assaulting her ears, the combined scents of popcorn and potpourri were overpowering, and the voices of hundreds of holiday shoppers created a roaring buzz in her head.
“Are you okay?” Noman asked her.
“I will be. It’s just too much to take in all at once.” Hannah eyed the milling crowds of people, the flashing colored lights, and the Christmas decorations. Combined as a class that she called holiday madness, they seemed to be occupying every available foot of wall and floor space. “All these people.
All these flashing lights and decorations. All this noise. Christmas is breaking out all over!”
Norman laughed. “You don’t do much Christmas shopping at the mall, do you?” he said, and it was more a statement than a question.
“Not if I can avoid it. If Claire doesn’t have what I need at her dress shop, and I can’t get it from the drugstore, I pick up the phone and order it from a catalogue. Maybe we should just forget it, Norman. I’m not sure if Cory’s here today anyway. I can always call him at home tonight.”
CANDY CANE MURDER
85
“No way. We drove all the way out here and at least we can check to see if he’s there.” Norman reached out to take her arm. “Just hang on to me and I’ll get you to Bergstrom’s.”
“But really, Norman … maybe we should just …” Hannah’s protests died a quick death as Norman pulled her forward and out into the Christmas mêlée.
It was exactly as advertised; shopping was better in Bergstrom’s. It had nothing to do with the quality of the merchandise or the availability of helpful, well-informed salesclerks.
The interior of the posh department store was quiet, almost hushed compared to the hubbub outside in the mall. There were considerably less people in Bergstrom’s and Hannah thought she knew why. The exclusive department store was expensive and the words “clearance,” “blowout sale,” and “rock bottom price” had never passed the lips of the staff.
Bergstrom’s was not the place to shop if you were looking for a Christmas bargain. Everyone including Hannah knew that.
“Better?” Norman asked, leading Hannah toward the escalator in the central part of the store.
“Much better. We’d better find a clerk and ask where the wedding department is.”
“I know where it is. It’s on the third floor, right across from the travel agency.”
“You’ve been there?” Hannah was so surprised she almost stumbled as she stepped onto the escalator.
“No, but I’ve used the travel agency. They booked my flight to the dental convention in Seattle last year. There was a wall with a sign on it that said, MORE PROGRESS AT BERG— STROM’S. PLEASE EXCUSE OUR DUST. When I asked one of the workers what they were building, he said they were putting in a wedding department.”
Hannah felt vaguely disappointed as they rode up to the third floor. She wasn’t sure why. She was glad that Norman 86
Joanne Fluke
hadn’t made plans for a wedding when he’d asked her to marry him, plans that he would have had to cancel when she’d decided not to marry anyone quite yet. At the same time, it would have shown his commitment and proven to her that his proposal hadn’t been just a gut reaction to the fact that Mike had proposed first. Telling herself she had no right to want such a commitment when she was unwilling to reciprocate, she stepped off the escalator, turned toward the wedding department, and came face to face with a pair of giant gold wedding bells tied together with a giant gold ribbon that said, WONDERFUL WEDDINGS.
“This is it,” Norman said, quite unnecessarily.
Hannah eyed the huge bells that adorned the tall gold archway leading into the department. “Pretty fancy!”
“Shall we?” Norman held out his arm.
Oh boy! Hannah muttered under her breath as she took it.
If anyone they knew saw them walking into the wedding department arm in arm, tongues would wag all over Lake Eden.
“Hannah!”
Hannah turned to see Cory Reynolds coming toward them. “Hi, Cory. I’m so sorry about your brother-in-law.”
“So am I,” Cory said. “Wayne was a wonderful man. Melinda can’t seem to stop crying. She tried to come in today, to say a few words to the staff, but I made her stay home.”
“Very wise,” Norman said.
“Thank you. But please let’s not mar this happy occasion with sad tidings. How may I help you two today?”
Hannah was stunned for a moment, but then she recovered her voice. “Actually … it’s not quite like that. Norman and I aren’t here for a wedding. We came because we really need to ask you some questions about Wayne. Is there somewhere we can talk in private?”
“Yes. Of course.” Cory turned and led the way down a hallway to several rooms. He chose one, opened the door, and motioned them inside. “Will this do?”
CANDY CANE MURDER
87
“It’s perfect,” Hannah said, admiring the comfortable look the decorator had achieved. The room resembled a living room with comfortable furniture, some tasteful flower prints on the walls, and a tray containing bottled water and an ice bucket.
“Water?” Cory asked them.
“No thanks,” Hannah answered for both of them.
“I hear you’re looking into Wayne’s death,” Cory opened the conversation as he took a bottle of water for himself.
“Yes, unofficially,” Hannah made that clear. “It’s just that I saw Wayne only minutes before he died and then I found him like that.”
Cory shivered slightly. “I know. All night I kept thinking that if I’d walked out to the parking lot with him, I might have prevented it.”
“Or you might have been killed right along with your brother-in-law,” Norman pointed out.
Cory was silent for moment. He was clearly thinking it over. “You’re right. What ifs don’t do any good. I didn’t go out to the parking lot with Wayne, so I’ll never know what would have happened if I had.”
“We need to ask you about Cyril Murphy,” Hannah said, taking charge. “Did you know that Wayne promised Cyril he’d use Shamrock Limo Service for weddings booked through your department, and he reneged on his promise?”
“Wayne said it was all a giant misunderstanding, and I know he talked to Larry about it.”
“Larry?” Hannah asked.
“Larry Helms. He’s been Wayne’s lawyer for years.”
Hannah filed the name of the lawyer away for future reference. “It sounds like more than a misunderstanding to me. I heard they were yelling at each other.”
“I know they were yelling at each other.”
Hannah stared at him in surprise. “How do you know that?”
“I gave Wayne a ride to the garage and I was sitting in the 88
Joanne Fluke
car waiting for him. I saw the whole thing. They were yelling at each other and waving their fists. I thought I was going to have to break up a fight, but then Wayne stalked away and came back to the car.”
“Do you think there was bad blood between Cyril and Wayne?” Hannah asked.
“You mean … do I think Cyril Murphy might have killed Wayne over that limo thing?”
“Yes. That’s exactly what I mean.”
Cory propped his elbows on the table and covered his eyes with his hands. It was a contemplative pose and he thought about it for a long moment. Then he lowered his hands. “It could have happened that way.”
“Okay. That’s exactly what I wanted to know.” Hannah stood up and Norman followed suit.
“So … no wedding?” Cory asked, giving a small smile.
“Not yet,” Norman answered. “But we’ll let you know when. And where.”
Hannah shot him a quick look and decided to let it go.
This wasn’t the time to discuss the risk of assuming too much.
“These are for you,” she said, producing the bag of cookies she’d earmarked for Cory. “I thought you might be able to use a little chocolate. The endorphins will make you feel better.”
Cory gave her a smile that wavered slightly. “Thanks, Hannah. That was really sweet of you. I’ll give some to Melinda.”
“That’s okay. We’ve got some for her, too.” Norman spoke up quickly. “Do you think we could drop them off?
We wouldn’t stay, of course. We know how devastating this whole thing must be for her.”
Hannah shot a quick glance at Norman. He didn’t take the lead in an interrogation often, but when he did, he was usually right.
“Yes,” she said, quickly adopting Norman’s vernacular.
CANDY CANE MURDER
89
“We thought Melinda might appreciate a tangible expression of friendship and comfort.”
Cory hesitated for a long moment. “Well … I think that would be very kind of you, provided you didn’t stay too long.
She’s exhausted, you know. Poor Melinda is still suffering from the shock of losing her husband.”
“Of course, the poor dear!” Hannah said, pouring it on with both pitchers. The flowery language was difficult to master and she wished she’d taken lessons from Digger Gibson, Lake Eden’s mortician and funeral director. “Not to worry. We’ll just drop the cookies off and leave.”
“That’s fine. Thank you for being so understanding. I’ll give Melinda a call and tell her to expect you.”
! % { # 9
CHOCOLATE CANDY CANE COOKIES
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
Cookie Dough:
4 squares unsweetened baking chocolate (4 ounces) 11?4 cups ( 21?2 sticks, 10-ounces) chilled butter 2 cups white (granulated) sugar
2 beaten eggs (just whip them up in a glass with a fork)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1?2 teaspoon salt
1?3 cup corn syrup (I used white Karo syrup) 2 Tablespoons water
1 Tablespoon (3 teaspoons) vanilla 4 cups flour (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)
Topping:
1?4 cup white (granulated) sugar
1?4 cup finely crushed mint candy canes (about 12
mini candy canes)
Melt the butter and the chocolate squares together, mix them thoroughly, and set them on the counter to cool. You can do this in a microwave-safe bowl for 3 minutes on HIGH, or in a pan over low heat on the stovetop. (I do it by microwave in a Pyrex one-quart measuring cup.) ! % { # 9
90
! % { # 9
Hannah’s 1st Note: If you like a strong peppermint flavor, use 2 teaspoons of vanilla and one teaspoon of peppermint extract instead of the Tablespoon (3 teaspoons) of vanilla extract that’s called for in the recipe.
In a large bowl, combine the white sugar and the eggs.
Beat the mixture until it’s a uniform pale yellow color.
Add the baking soda and salt. Mix them in well.
Mix in the corn syrup, water, and the vanilla.
Hannah’s 2nd Note: Whenever I measure something sticky like corn syrup, maple syrup, or honey, I spray my measuring cup with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray first. Then the sticky stuff slides right out and it’s easy to wash the cup.
Add half of the flour to your bowl. (That’s 2 cups.) Mix it in. Then add the remaining flour (that’s 2 cups) and mix thoroughly.
Give the bowl a final stir by hand, cover it with plastic wrap, and let it rest on the counter while you spray your cookie sheets with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray and crush your candy canes.
Hannah’s 3rd Note: I unwrap my candy canes, stick them in a heavy plastic bag, and hit them with a little rubber mallet I got from Dad’s hardware store before we sold it. Lisa says she does hers almost the same way, except she ! % { # 9