“I’ve never seen it. I just heard Andrea talk about it.” She took a deep breath and tried to explain. “It’s been different in the past, Sally. Either I’ve found the victim or someone close to me has. This time, all I did was spot Sonny’s fishing boat circling out of control. Mike was the one who discovered that Sonny was murdered. If he tells me that he doesn’t need my help, then I’ll have to step back.”
Sally still didn’t look convinced. “You said you didn’t have a vested interest, but you do. You were here when the murder was committed. You were kind enough to help me out with the cooking and Sonny ate the food that you prepared. He even told you that he liked the Caramel Pecan Rolls. You might not have liked him that much, but he paid you a compliment by saying that.” She turned to Norman. “That’s a vested interest, isn’t it?”
“Absolutely,” Norman agreed quickly. “Not only that, Hannah was with me when we spotted Sonny’s boat, and both of us suspected that something was wrong.”
“There you go,” Sally said, smiling at Norman. “And don’t forget that Mike sent you two back here to tell Doc about the murder.”
Hannah gave a reluctant nod. “That’s all true,” she said.
Sally was obviously pleased at Hannah’s response. “Since you agree with us, you can’t just step back and do nothing. Just by sending you back here to the hotel to notify Doc, Mike was asking for your help.”
“There’s something else, too,” Norman added. “Mike asked both of us to locate Joey and keep an eye on him. We’re part of this investigation, Hannah. And don’t forget that Bill is gone and so is Rick. The new guy’s on vacation, and Mike and Lonnie are the only detectives left. Mike and Lonnie are going to need us to do some of the legwork for them.”
“Well . . . maybe,” Hannah conceded.
“Not to mention that you and Norman are friends of ours,” Sally pointed out.
“Of course we are,” Hannah said quickly.
“And this whole mess with Sonny could reflect badly on the Lake Eden Inn. You want to help us, don’t you?”
“Yes, of course I want to help.”
Sally began to smile. “Thank you, Hannah. Dick and I have a lot at stake here.”
“I know you do,” Hannah said.
“And you do want to investigate, don’t you, Hannah?” Norman asked her.
“Of course I do!”
“So then that’s a yes, you’re going to investigate?” Sally pushed for a definite commitment.
Hannah sighed. Sally and Norman were relentless. “It’s a yes,” she said. “I promise that I’ll do my best to find out who killed Sonny.”
REUBEN OMELET
DO NOT preheat the oven yet—you will only use the oven to keep finished omelets warm while others are being cooked.
This is a stovetop recipe.
Hannah’s 1st Note: This recipe is designed to serve 4 people unless you invite Mike. He ate 3 out of 4 omelets when Michelle and I invited him for breakfast.
Ingredients:
1 cup sauerkraut
4 Tablespoons Thousand Island dressing
5 gherkins (small sweet pickles)
4 Tablespoons salted butter
8 large eggs
? cup water
8 slices Swiss cheese, thinly sliced
? pound corned beef brisket, thinly sliced
Hannah’s 2nd Note: I get all these ingredients from the deli section of Florence’s Red Owl Grocery. She slices the corned beef and the Swiss cheese for me.
Hannah’s 3rd Note: Gherkins are small sweet pickles. If you can’t find them in your grocery store or deli, you can substitute 2 Tablespoons of sweet pickle relish.
Prepare your pan:
If you have an omelet pan, you’ll use that. If you don’t, you can use any frying pan that is large enough to hold 2 large eggs with room to maneuver a spatula to flip one side of the omelet over the other. You will use this frying pan for all 4 omelets. Do not spray the inside of your pan with any nonstick cooking spray or grease it in any way. You will be heating it up and then adding salted butter.
You will also need a serving platter that can hold 4 omelets and can be placed in an oven to warm.
Hannah’s 4th Note: Michelle, Andrea, and I have large crockery serving platters that Mother gave us for Christmas one year. She bought one for herself, too. I’m sure that she was hoping we’d fill them with something to serve at her house.
Directions:
Measure out one cup of sauerkraut, leaving as much juice behind in the jar as possible.
Drain the cup of sauerkraut in a strainer over a bowl, reserving the juice to pour back into the jar with the sauerkraut left in the jar.
Pat the sauerkraut dry with several layers of paper towels.
Hannah’s 5th Note: I sometimes line my strainer with a large coffee filter. It’s surprising how dry the sauerkraut gets when it’s on top of the coffee filter.
Place the 4 Tablespoons (that’s cup) Thousand Island dressing in a small bowl on the counter.
Use a sharp knife to chop the gherkins into very small pieces.
Add the minced gherkins to the bowl with the Thousand Island dressing and stir them in.
Choose a larger bowl, one that will hold all 8 eggs and a half-cup of water.
Break the eggs into the bowl and whisk them together.
Add the half-cup of water and continue to whisk until the mixture is light and fluffy.
Turn one of your stovetop burners on MEDIUM heat.
When your pan is hot, add the Tablespoon of butter and swish it around until the bottom and sides of the pan are coated with butter.
Turn the burner up to MEDIUM-HIGH heat.
Give the egg mixture a quick whisk and then pour one-quarter (?) of it into the heated frying pan.
Using a wide heat-resistant spatula, lift the edges of the eggs around the outside of the pan and tilt the pan to let the uncooked portion flow underneath.
While the top of the eggs are still moist and look creamy, add two slices of cheese to one half of your omelet and add one quarter of the corned beef brisket on top.
Hannah’s 6th Note: Don’t forget that you’re making an omelet and you will fold one half of the eggs in the pan over on the other half to finish your creation.
Once the meat is in place, top it with ? of the sauerkraut.
Use the wide spatula to flip the bare side of the omelet over to cover the side with the Swiss cheese, corned beef brisket, and sauerkraut.
Slide the wide spatula under your omelet to loosen it and immediately remove it from the frying pan.
Transfer your omelet to a serving platter and place it in your barely warm oven. Cover the platter loosely with foil so it’s ready to receive the rest of your Reuben Omelets. Repeat three more times!
To Serve:
Once all 4 of your omelets are on the serving platter, top them with the Thousand Island dressing that you mixed with the finely chopped gherkins.
Yield: 4 two-egg omelets that will serve 4 people (unless you invite Mike—Re-read Hannah’s 1st Note).
Chapter Ten
“I have to get this,” Hannah said, standing up and walking to another table to take the call. It was Mike, and she wanted him to know that they’d told Sally and Dick that Sonny was dead.
“Doc’s here.” Mike wasted no time on preliminary politeness. “He’s confirmed that Sonny’s death is definitely a homicide.”
“We managed to locate Joey,” Hannah told him, relating the conversation they’d had with Joey in the bar.
“Okay. Just make sure he stays with Dick,” Mike cautioned. “Do you happen to know if Joey is a good shot?”