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"It works," Lisa said, smiling broadly. "Most of them want me to save one for them and a couple have standing orders. Mrs. Jessup told me to put her down for two pies every time you bake apple."
"And you have a record from last Friday?"
"It's at home, but I'll call you tonight and read off the names. It'll probably be after ten. I'm going out to dinner with Herb."
"That's fine. I really want to know who bought a whole pie and only ate one piece. It's practically an insult"
"I know, especially when it's your Lemon Meringue." Lisa looked up to see a customer holding his coffee mug aloft. "Mayor Bascomb wants a refill. Do you want to get it while I mix up a batch of Walnuttoes for tomorrow? Donna Lempke called and ordered six dozen for her cousin's birthday party."
"I'll do the Walnuttoes. You do the coffee."
"But are you sure? They're chocolate and you're on a diet."
Hannah gave an ironic grin. "That's okay. Seeing that body took my appetite away."
"The Dead Body Diet?" Lisa started to grin as she picked up the carafe. "I'm surprised someone hasn't thought of it before. What do you want me to say if anyone asks me about what you saw in the basement?"
"Nobody will. Bill and Mike won't release any information until they confirm the identity, and Norman won't say anything because they asked him not to."
"But how about your mother?"
"Oh-oh," Hannah groaned. It was a sure bet that Delores had told someone by now. Actually, the odds were good that she'd told hundreds of someones. "Just say that Mike and Bill are handling it and I'm not involved."
Lisa snorted. "They'll never swallow that."
"Maybe not, but it's true. Wild horses couldn't drag me into this one. As of right now, I'm officially retired from the murder business."
"Then you think it was murder?" Lisa's eyes grew round.
"All I know is someone's dead. It's up to Doc Knight to determine who, when, and how."
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Hannah turned and headed back to the kitchen before Lisa could ask more questions. She was convinced that the body they'd found was Rhonda Scharf, and as she got out her recipe book, Hannah swallowed past the lump in her throat. Rhonda had never been one of her close friends, but she hadn't disliked her. And no one should have to die in a gloomy, moldy basement only hours before leaving on the best vacation of her life. Of course Rhonda had been murdered. The fact that someone had tried to bury her confirmed that. If Rhonda had died accidentally, the person who'd found her would have called the sheriff's department to report it.
It didn't take long to mix up the dough for the Walnuttoes. Hannah had baked them twice a week for the past two years, but she still took the precaution of checking off the ingredients on the laminated surface of her recipe. She was preoccupied with Rhonda's death and preoccupation led to mistakes.
Once she'd finished, Hannah covered the bowl with plastic wrap and carried it to a shelf in her walk-in cooler. She was just emerging from the chilly interior when the back door opened and Mike stepped in.
"Hi, Hannah. We took your mother's statement and I need to check a few facts with you."
"Sure." Hannah motioned to a stool at the stainless-steel workstation. "Coffee?"
"That'd be great." Mike waited until Hannah had brought him a mug of coffee before he opened his notebook. "Did your mother go down to the basement alone?"
"Yes. Norman and I didn't know anything was wrong until she told us what she'd seen."
"Where were you while she was in the basement?"
"We were sitting at the kitchen table. We told her to call out if she needed us and the basement door was wide open."
Mike began to frown as he referred to his notes. "You didn't run down there when you heard her screams?"
"Mother didn't scream. There wasn't a peep out of her. That's why we got worried and went to the stairwell to check
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on her. We called out to her and when she didn't answer, we started to go down the stairs. But then we saw Mother coming up."
Mike made a note in his book. "Was the house still creaking when you went down there?"
"Creaking? No."
"Then the wind had stopped?"
"There wasn't any wind."
"Interesting," Mike said, referring to his notes again. "How about the rats? Were they as large as your mother said?"
"What rats? We didn't see any rats."
Mike began to grin. "I think your mother must have embellished her story just a bit. How about the gruesome trail of glistening blood?"
"No blood," Hannah said, shaking her head.
"Okay. We'll just file your mother's statement under *f for 'fiction' and go with the ones that you and Norman gave us. At least they match what we found at the crime scene." Mike took another sip of his coffee and stood up. "Thanks, Hannah. I've got to run. The fingerprint team should be finished by now."
Hannah reached out to grab his arm. "Not so fast. Was I right?"
"About what?"
"About the shoe. Was it Rhonda's?"
Mike looked as if he didn't want to say, but then he nodded. "Yes. Doc Knight made a positive identification."
"Poor Rhonda." Hannah sighed deeply. "How did she die?"
"It's too early to tell"
"But was she murdered?"
"The autopsy report isn't in yet."
"I'm asking for your personal opinion." Hannah gave an exasperated sigh. "Do you think that Rhonda was murdered? Or did it look like an accident?"
Mike thought it over for a moment and then he relented. "This is unofficial. If you quote me I'll deny it, but it didn't
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look like an accident to me. Now don't ask me any more questions, Hannah. That's all I'm saying."
"Just one more thing. Why didn't Rhonda's killer finish burying her? She told everyone that she was going on vacation and no one would have missed her for two weeks. Her killer could have bought himself a lot more time if he'd finished burying her."
"I know that."
"Then you think he was scared off before he could finish filling in her grave?"
"That's possible."
"What I can't figure out is why anyone wanted to kill Rhonda. She could be exasperating at times, but everyone I know seemed to like her well enough. How about the crime scene? Did you find any clues?"
Mike's eyes narrowed. "You're not going to interfere with our investigation, are you? You don't have any reason to get involved this time around."
"You're right," Hannah said, meeting his eyes squarely. "I've got enough to do without solving murder cases. Of course I'll tell you if I hear anything important, but that's as far as it'll go."
"Good." Mike gave her one of his melt-your-heart smiles and pulled her into his arms for a hug. "Bill and I are perfectly capable of running a murder investigation without you."
"Of course you are," Hannah said, hiding her grin against the maroon lapel of his sheriff's uniform. She'd already helped them solve several murder cases, but Mike was clearly asserting his professional independence.
"I won't deny that you helped us a lot in the past, but I don't want people to think we can't do our job without you."
"I understand," Hannah breathed, snuggling a little closer. Mike's hugs were wonderful. He was tall and rugged, and being in his arms made her feel fragile and feminine.
Mike's cell phone rang, disrupting the moment, and he answered it. He listened for a moment. "Okay. I'll be out there in ten minutes."
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"You have to go?" Hannah asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yes, but I'll call you later. The forensic guys are finished and Bill's waiting for me out at the crime scene."
"Take some cookies with you," Hannah said, heading for the counter to put some in a bag.
"Thanks. We probably won't get a break until late and they'll tide us over." Mike took the cookies and gave her a lopsided grin. "Remember what I said, Hannah. Bill and I can handle it."
Walnuttoes
Do not preheat oven— dough must chill before baking.
2 cups chocolate chips (a 12-ounce bag)
1 !12 cups brown sugar 3/4 cup butter (1 7/? sticks) 4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour (not sifted)
2 cups finely chopped walnuts approx. 1/2 cup additional white sugar in a small bowl
Melt chocolate chips with butter. (Microwave on high for 2 minutes, then stir until smooth.) Mix in sugar and let cool. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in vanilla, baking powder and salt. Add flour and mix well, then add nuts and mix in.
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Chill dough for at least 4 hours, overnight is even better.
When you're ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees E, rack in the middle position.
Roll walnut-sized dough balls with your hands. (This is messy—wear thin plastic gloves if you wish. If dough becomes too warm between rollings, return it to the refrigerator.)
Drop dough balls into a small bowl with white sugar and roll around to coat. Then place them on a greased cookie sheet, 12 to a standard sheet. Smush them down with a greased spatula.
Bake at 350 degrees E for 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute, then remove to wire rack. (If you leave them on the cookie sheet too long, they 'II stick.)
Yield: 8 to 10 dozen, depending on cookie size.
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(Delores says these cookies taste like the Walnetto caramels she loved as a child. She also told me that she likes the cookies better, because they don't pull out her fillings.)