Chapter Thirty
“Wow! What a spread!” Mike exclaimed, accepting a cup of coffee from Hannah and eyeing the cookie and dessert buffet set up at the far wall of the Lake Eden Community Library. “How many desserts are there, anyway?”
“An even dozen, including three of Grandma Knudson’s Red Devil’s Food Cakes.”
“Why so many?” Mike asked and then he reached out to pat her arm. “Not that I’m complaining, of course.”
Hannah shrugged. “Mother kept changing her mind, so Lisa and I just baked some of everything she mentioned.”
“Well, people are sure digging in. I think I’d better hurry up before everything’s gone.”
“No worries,” Hannah told him, lifting up the tablecloth that covered the beverage table so that he could see the bakery boxes that were stacked there. “We have enough desserts to feed every man, woman, and child in Lake Eden.”
“Not counting the dogs and cats?” Mike teased.
“Oh, I think there’s enough for them, too. And speaking of cats…did I tell you Michelle discovered how Moishe was getting my sock balls?”
“No. He wasn’t pulling out that heavy drawer, was he?”
Hannah shook her head. “He was pulling out the drawer above it. That’s my sweater drawer, and Michelle figured it out when I had to use tape to lift the cat hairs from my sweater the other night.”
“Okay, so Moishe was pulling out your sweater drawer and jumping inside. How did he get the socks?”
“He went fishing in the sock drawer below.”
“You mean he was snagging them with his claws?”
“That’s exactly what I mean. There was just enough room for him to bring up a sock ball, jump down from my sweater drawer, and run to the kitchen to put it on top of the refrigerator.”
Mike laughed. “The Big Guy’s a real character!”
“I’ll say.”
“So what are you going to do about it? Put your socks in a different drawer?”
“No, I’m going to let him do it. Michelle caught him in the act, and she said he was having a lot of fun doing it. I have to get out my socks every morning anyway, so I’ll just get them from the top of the refrigerator instead of getting them from my sock drawer.”
“Wait a second,” Mike started to frown. “How about that sweater drawer? Didn’t you think something was up when you saw it pulled out?”
“I never saw it pulled out. Moishe closed it after he put the socks on top of the refrigerator.”
“No.” Mike shook his head. “I don’t believe any cat could be smart enough to cover his tracks like that.”
“Well, the sock balls are still appearing on top of the refrigerator and the sweater drawer is closed when I get home from work. I don’t have any other explanation.”
Mike thought about that for a few seconds. “Neither do I,” he finally admitted. “Moishe’s smarter than most of the crooks I catch. And that reminds me…Paul talked more than Pete Nunke’s mynah bird once we got him down to the station.”
“He gave up his partner?” Hannah asked.
“That and more. He told us about three other heists they pulled. Are you going to punish him?”
“Paul?” Hannah looked at him askance.
“No, Moishe. He’s stealing your socks, after all. That’s at least a misdemeanor.”
“It’s not that bad. It’s just a little feline no-no. To tell you the truth, I thought pushing the drawer back in was so clever, I made him a Good Kitty Cake.”
“A who?”
“A Good Kitty Cake, except I probably should have called it a Smart Kitty Cake.”
“How do you make that?”
“It’s just like a three layer cake. There’s ground chicken, ground turkey, and flaked salmon in big patties. You frost it with cream cheese and decorate it with kitty treats. I used the fish-shaped, salmon-flavored kind that Moishe loves.”
“That sounds rich.”
“It is. I can only give him a little bit at a time, but he’s really enjoying it. There’s too much for one cat to eat, so I’ll probably give some to Norman for Cuddles.”
There was a clinking sound, and they looked over to see Doc Knight tapping his champagne glass with a spoon in a bid for attention. When the room was quiet, he cleared his throat.
“It’s my pleasure to introduce the best author in Lake Eden, Delores Swensen, also known as the famous Kathryn Kirkwood. How about a few words, Lori.”
There it was again. Doc had called her mother Lori. Before Hannah had time to think about what possible meaning that could have, her mother began to speak.
“Thank you, Doc. I’m just so grateful to be here on this important day with my friends. I have some wonderful news from my publisher to share with all of you. My first Regency romance, A Match For Melissa, did so well that Kensington is going to publish it as an e-book. Isn’t that wonderful?”
Everyone applauded, including Hannah. Electronic books were becoming very popular and not just with the techno-geek crowd. Grandma Knudson even had an electronic reader. Hannah had seen it on the table in her sitting room.
“My new book, A Season For Samantha, will also be released as an e-book. There’s only one problem with e-books. I can’t autograph them. But you can buy the paperback edition of my newest book from Marge today, and I’ll be happy to autograph it for you.” Delores gestured toward their librarian, Marge Beeseman, who was selling a rapidly dwindling stack of paperbacks at a table near the door.
“Nice sales pitch,” Mike said under his breath, grinning at Hannah as he patted his jacket pocket. “I’ve got mine right here. Have you seen the dedication yet?”
Hannah shook her head. “I’ve been too busy serving refreshments. What does it say?”
“It says …” Mike pulled the book from his pocket and flipped to the dedication page, “This book is dedicated to Doc Knight for so many reasons I can’t list them all.”
“Really! I wonder what that means.”
“So do I. That’s why I brought it up. I asked Michelle and Andrea, but they didn’t know, either. Maybe you should ask your mother.”
“Maybe I will.”
“We were wondering about it, too,” a voice said, and Hannah turned to see a slightly chubby blonde with short hair, round, gold-framed glasses perched on the end of her nose, and a smile that was as wide as all outdoors. She was standing next to a man with reddish-brown hair that was thinning on top and the slender but powerful build of a longdistance runner.
“Hi, Doc Aldrich,” Mike greeted the blonde, and then he turned to the man. “Doc Matson. Glad to see you here.”
“We wanted to come since we know Delores,” the blonde said.
The man nodded. “Yes. We see her almost every day at the hospital.”
“Meet Hannah Swensen. She’s Delores’s daughter,” Mike said, and then he turned to Hannah. “This is Doctor Marlene Aldrich, and Doctor Ben Matson. They’re Doc Knight’s new interns.”
“Glad to meet you,” Hannah said to both of them, and then she turned to Ben. “So you don’t know what the dedication means, either?”
Ben shook his head. “Not unless it has something to do with The Rainbow Ladies.”
“That’s probably it,” Marlene agreed. “They’re doing a great job for our patients, and I know Delores works with Doc on a daily basis to make out schedules and go over patient request lists.”
Hannah felt vaguely uneasy. Daily meetings about work were fine, but was there something else going on? She knew her mother and Doc had been friends for years, but could there be something new that she didn’t know about?
As she poured coffee for Marlene and juice for Ben, Hannah couldn’t help worrying a bit. When the two interns had left, she turned to Mike. “Do you think Mother could be sick?”
Mike gave a little shrug. “I don’t know. She doesn’t look sick, but sometimes people don’t. Look, Hannah. I’m really sorry I brought up that dedication in the first place if it’s going to make you worry.”
“That’s all right. I would have read it tonight anyway. And this way I can catch a couple of minutes with Mother right after the party and ask her to explain it to me.”
GOOD KITTY CAKE
Preheat oven to 350 F., rack in the middle position.
one pound ground chicken
one pound ground turkey
one large can (14.75 ounces) pink salmon (I used Chicken of the Sea)***
1 egg, beaten
? cup cracker crumbs (or matzo meal)
three 8-ounce packages of cream cheese (the brick kind, NOT the whipped kind in a tub)
one package of nicely shaped or colorful kitty treats to decorate the top (I used Whisker Lickin’s Crunch Lovers tuna flavor treats).
*** - If you’re giving this as a gift and you want this cake to look really colorful, use red salmon instead of less expensive pink salmon and pick off all the grey skin after you drain it. The lucky kitty recipient won’t care, but the kitty’s human caretaker might.
You will need 3 pie plates or 3 layer cake pans to make this cake. (I used disposable pie pans.)
Spray the 3 pans with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray.
Press the pound of ground chicken into the bottom of the first pan, spreading it out evenly.
Press the pound of ground turkey into the bottom of the second pan, spreading it out evenly.
Drain the can of salmon. Pick out the bones and remove the grey skin if you wish.
Pat the salmon dry with paper towels, and then flake it into a small bowl. (You can also put it in the food processor and give it a few whirls with the steel blade to chop it all up.)
Mix in the beaten egg (or put it through the tube of your food processor if you used one).
Mix in the cracker crumbs (or put them through the tube of your food processor if you used one).
Once the salmon, egg, and cracker crumbs are thoroughly mixed, press them into the last pan you prepared, and spread them out as evenly as possible.
Bake the ground meat and the salmon patty in the pans at 350 degrees F. for 25 to 30 minutes.
Use a turkey baster to suck out the grease and dispose of it. Let the meat and the salmon cool completely in the pans, cover them with plastic wrap, and refrigerate them for at least an hour.
Hannah’s 1st Note: You can do this the night before you plan to assemble the cake and refrigerate the meat and fish overnight. If you do this, the cake will be firmer and easier to frost.
To assemble the Good Kitty Cake, first you must make the frosting. Unwrap the cream cheese and place it in a medium-sized, microwave-safe bowl. Heat it on HIGH for 30 seconds.
Try to stir the cream cheese. If it’s still too firm on top to stir, flip the top brick of cheese so it’s on the bottom and heat it on HIGH for another 30 seconds.
Try to stir again. If it’s still too firm, give it another 15 seconds on HIGH. That should be enough to heat it through and soften it enough to spread on your Good Kitty Cake.
Hannah’s 2nd Note: When I make this 3-layer cake, I like to put the salmon layer in the middle. I use either the ground turkey or the ground chicken layer on the bottom.
Take one disk of ground meat out of its pan and place it on a cake plate. Spread a little of the frosting on top.
Take the salmon disk out of its pan and place that on top of the ground meat. Spread a little more frosting on top of the salmon layer.
Take the third disk of ground meat, put it on top of the second, and spread a little more frosting on top. Cover this disk completely with frosting since it’ll be the top of your cake.
Spread frosting on the sides of your cake with a spatula or frosting knife.
If you have any “frosting” left over, swirl in a bit of jam and spread it on your toast in the morning. Now don’t make a face. It’s true that cats love cream cheese, but it’s for humans, too!
Use some of the kitty treats to decorate the top of your cake. Arrange them artistically on the frosting. (Actually, the lucky kitty recipient won’t really care if they’re artistic or not.)
Keep this cake REFRIGERATED until you serve it to your favorite feline.
Hannah’s 3rd Note: This Good Kitty Cake is very rich. It’s the frosting. Dole it out to your kitty in very small pieces.
Yield: Enough for the “good kitty” and five or six feline friends.