Devil's Food Cake Murder (2 page)

“That was Bob,” Grandma Knudson told her, replacing the phone in its cradle. “They’re on their way home, and they said they’re bringing a surprise for me.”

“Any idea what it could be?”

“Coffee ice cream, pickled herring, or ring bologna.” Grandma Knudson gave a little giggle that sounded as if it had come from the throat of someone one-fifth her age. “I’d better turn that coffee on. I have it all ready to go.”

In less time than it took Hannah to finish the rest of her cake, Grandma Knudson was back. “Maybe they aren’t bringing me something to eat. I was thinking that they might have picked up a tall, dark-haired stranger. I’d really love it if they brought me a tall, dark-haired stranger!”

Hannah stared at Grandma Knudson in surprise. “You’re thinking of dating again?”

“Good heavens, no! It’s just that it would be fun to tell Pam Baxter that she was right. She was the one who told me I’d meet a tall, dark-haired stranger.”

“Of course,” Hannah said, remembering that Pam was the teacher who’d dressed up in a fortune-teller costume at the last Jordan High carnival.

“Did you have your fortune told, Hannah?”

“Yes. Pam told me that I was going to come into money.”

“And you do every day at The Cookie Jar,” Grandma Knudson named Hannah’s bakery and coffee shop on Main Street. “Pam was right in your case.”

“But not in yours?”

“No. My problem seems to be that there aren’t many strangers who come to Lake Eden and wind up at the parsonage. As a matter of fact, I can’t remember the last stranger who came to town and ended up here. There were more strangers when we had the hotel, but now …”

“We’re back!” a voice called out, interrupting Grandma Knudson’s recollections.

Hannah opened her mouth to call out a hello to Claire and Bob, but she reconsidered. Had she heard Claire’s voice, or was it Jacob who’d imitated her again?

“It’s Claire,” Grandma Knudson said, responding to Hannah’s unspoken question. “Jacob’s in his cage in the bedroom, and Claire’s voice came from the other end of the house.”

“Here we are,” Bob announced, stepping into the parlor with Claire. They made a perfect couple. Bob’s dark, wavy hair and sturdy body set off Claire’s blond, sylphlike beauty. “Hi, Hannah.”

“Hello, Bob. Hi, Claire.” Hannah couldn’t help noticing that they were holding hands. Not only that, they were both smiling, and they looked supremely happy. Of course smiling and looking supremely happy wasn’t all that unusual for newlyweds. Bob and Claire had married on New Year’s Eve and this was only the first week in February.

“Where’s my surprise?” Grandma Knudson demanded of her grandson. “Hannah and I have been on pins and needles trying to guess what it is.”

“What was your guess?” Claire asked Hannah.

“I didn’t have the foggiest notion. Grandma Knudson did, though. She told me it was probably coffee ice cream, pickled herring, or ring bologna.”

“It’s not any of those,” Bob said with a laugh. “Try another guess, Grandma.”

“If it’s not those, then it must be a tall, dark-haired stranger!”

“What?” Bob looked at her in surprise.

“Don’t look so shocked. Pam Baxter told me I’d meet a tall, dark-haired stranger at the last school carnival and…Oh goodness gracious! There he is!”

“It looks like Pam Baxter was right,” the stranger said, crossing the room to give Grandson Knudson a big hug.

“I never would have recognized you in a million years!” Grandma Knudson said, reaching out to give the stranger who wasn’t a stranger a pat on the cheek.

The man laughed. “I’m not surprised. I’ve changed a lot since high school. Less hair, more body fat, and I’d like to think a bigger brain.”

“Well, it’s just wonderful that you stopped here to see me!” Grandma Knudson turned to Hannah. “This is Matthew Walters. He lived with Bob’s father and me almost thirty years ago.”

“My father and mother wanted to go to Africa as missionaries, and they asked Reverend and Mrs. Knudson if I could live with them while they were gone. My uncle and aunt went with them.”

“That’s right,” Grandma took up the story. “Matthew’s father had a younger brother, and Matthew’s mother had a younger sister. They met at the wedding, fell in love, and got married a year later. They had a son and Matthew’s cousin Paul stayed with us, too.” Grandma Knudson turned to Matthew. “How is Paul? I haven’t heard from him in years.”

“Paul is …” Matthew stopped speaking and frowned. “I’m not sure how Paul is. We haven’t kept in touch.”

Grandma Knudson looked surprised. “But why? You were so close when you were young.”

“I know we were. Since my father and Paul’s father were both ministers with churches only twenty-some miles apart, our families spent a lot of time together. But remember how Paul got into trouble while he was here by breaking into school lockers?”

“Of course I remember. But he didn’t actually take anything valuable. It was Bill Garrison’s last year as principal, and he told me that Paul was just trying to get attention from the girls by breaking into their lockers and taking little things. He thought it was because you two had spent a lot of time together when you first got here and now that you were dating, Paul felt left out.”

“That’s what everyone thought, but looking back on it now, I’m afraid it was the start of something bigger, almost like a trial run just to see if he could get away with it.”

“What makes you think that?” Claire asked.

Matthew drew a deep breath, and Hannah could see that he was uncomfortable talking about his cousin. “Well…things escalated when our parents finished their mission and Paul’s family moved to Cedar Rapids.”

“What do you mean, escalated?” Grandma Knudson asked.

“Let’s just say that Paul didn’t grow up to be an outstanding citizen, if you know what I mean.”

“Oh, dear! I was afraid of something like that. Paul didn’t seem the least bit remorseful when I talked to him about the school lockers.” Grandma Knudson gave a sigh, and then she reached out to pat Matthew’s hand. “You don’t have to sugar-coat it for me, Matthew. Did Paul commit a crime?”

Matthew hesitated briefly, and then he dipped his head. “Yes, he did. I don’t know all the details, but we heard he was serving ten to twenty in a prison in Iowa.”

“Ten to twenty is a stiff sentence,” Bob remarked. “Your cousin must have done something fairly serious.”

“It was a burglary gone bad. I had a private detective look into it, and he said Paul got out in five.”

“But that’s only half of his sentence,” Hannah pointed out.

“I know. The detective thought it was probably due to prison overcrowding and a reduction in funding. All I really know is that Paul was released and a few days later the trail went cold.”

“Maybe he learned his lesson and decided to become an honest person,” Claire suggested. “He could have moved to another state and started a new life.”

“Maybe.”

Hannah noticed that Matthew didn’t sound at all convinced. It was clear that he didn’t think his cousin was now on the straight and narrow. “What made you hire a private detective?” she asked.

“My Aunt Sarah was diagnosed with bone cancer. She’s Paul’s mother, and I thought he ought to know, that maybe he’d come home, or write a letter to her, or something. But the detective couldn’t find Paul. There was no trace of him anywhere after he left prison.”

“Is it possible he changed his name?” Claire asked.

“He could have done that. The detective told me it’s not that difficult to assume someone else’s identity. For all we know, Paul’s in Mexico, or Canada, or another foreign country living incognito. Or perhaps he’s…it could even be worse.”

Hannah gave an involuntary shiver. She knew exactly what Matthew meant when he said, it could even be worse.

“Anyway, everything will work out in the end.” Matthew smiled, but to Hannah’s eyes it looked a bit forced. “I’m just glad to be here with you, Grandma Knudson. This room looks almost the same except…this couch is new, isn’t it?” Matthew reached out to pat the piece of furniture Grandma Knudson had described as a pink monstrosity. “I seem to remember a green couch. It was slippery.”

“Green taffeta,” Grandma Knudson said, reaching out to touch the pink davenport. “This is it recovered. And after that it was cream-colored silk. That didn’t last long. Then it was forest green voile. That was the best. And now there’s this…pink!”

Hannah laughed. She couldn’t help it. Grandma Knudson spit out the word as if it were a bug that had flown in her open mouth.

“I’m so glad I ran into Bob at the hospital,” Matthew said, smiling at Grandma Knudson. “I stopped to say hello to Doc Knight, and he introduced us. And then I met Claire and learned that they were newlyweds. We’re going to have plenty of time to catch up on old times, Grandma.”

“What do you mean?” Grandma Knudson asked.

“I’ll be right here for the next two weeks. I promised I’d take over Bob’s pastoral duties for two weeks so that he can take Claire on a real honeymoon.”

A delighted smile spread over Grandma Knudson’s face. “Why, that’s just wonderful! And it’s so kind of you to offer to help out here. But can the seminary spare you for that long?”

“They’re sparing me for longer than that. I’m on a four month sabbatical.” Matthew turned to smile at them all and then he turned back to Grandma Knudson. “Now how about some of that coffee and cake? Bob’s been telling me how good your Red Devil’s Food Cake is.”

“That’s because it’s Bob’s favorite. It always has been, ever since he was a little boy. And I’ve got some Lemon Poppyseed Cake for you, Matthew.”

“That sounds good, but I’d rather have the devil’s food.” Matthew gave a little chuckle. “I’d better not let anyone at the seminary hear me saying that, though!”

Everyone except Grandma Knudson laughed. Hannah turned to look at her elderly friend and found her staring at Matthew in shock. “What’s the matter?” Hannah asked her.

“Matthew can’t have chocolate. He’s allergic. It’ll make him break out in hives.”

“Not anymore,” Matthew told her. “I outgrew my chocolate allergy. I’ve been eating chocolate for twenty years now, and it’s my favorite flavor. Corrine, my secretary at the seminary, says I eat so much chocolate because I’m making up for lost time.”

Shortly after she’d helped Claire serve coffee and cake, Hannah excused herself and hurried back to her downtown cookie shop. Once she’d parked her candy apple red Suburban in her regular parking spot in back of the bakery and had plugged in the heater that kept the fluids from freezing on this cold winter day, she dashed into the kitchen and almost upended her diminutive partner, Lisa Herman Beeseman.

“Sorry,” Hannah said, reaching out with both arms to steady Lisa, who’d been taking cool cookies from the baker’s rack.

“That’s okay. I’m just glad I didn’t spill any cookies. We’re running low today.”

“Then I’ll bake more.” Hannah grabbed her apron, tied it on, and went to the sink to wash her hands. “What’s the favorite today?”

“Butterscotch Bonanza Bars. I’ll go get out the butterscotch chips.”

“But there aren’t any butterscotch chips in Butterscotch Bonanza Bars.”

“I know there aren’t usually, but we need to add them to this batch. I made a mistake this morning when I mixed up the bars, and I put in two cups of butterscotch chips without thinking. Bertie Straub liked them so much, she wants to buy a whole batch for her clients at the Cut ‘n Curl.”

“Okay. Whatever Bertie wants, Bertie gets.”

“That’s what I figured. Do you want to go up front while I bake? Or would you rather do it the other way around?”

“The other way around. I’ll bake and you wait tables.”

“That’s fine with me. Marge and Dad are probably ready for a break anyway. Did you get the recipe from Grandma Knudson?”

“Yes. I’ll test it tomorrow afternoon. I had a slice up at the parsonage, and it was even better than I remembered from the last church supper.”

“How’s Grandma Knudson doing?”

“Really well. She’s completely recovered from the stroke, and she’s as sharp as ever. She’s especially excited about Claire and Bob’s honeymoon. They’re leaving on Sunday, right after church.”

“But I thought they couldn’t go until the church sent someone to fill in for Bob.”

“They’ve got someone. While Claire and Bob were making rounds at the hospital, they ran into another Lutheran minister, Matthew Walters. It turns out he lived with Grandma Knudson and her husband for a whole year while his parents were doing missionary work. When Reverend Matthew found out that Bob and Claire had just gotten married and they were waiting for the seminary to send a substitute minister so that they could go on their honeymoon, he offered to take over for Bob so that they could leave now.”

“How nice! Where are Bob and Claire going?”

“Hawaii. When I left the parsonage, Bob was making reservations for a fourteen-day cruise. They leave at noon, drive to the airport, fly to Los Angeles, and hop on a cruise ship that sails that night.”

“But how about Claire’s shop? Who’s going to mind it while she’s gone?”

“Mother.”

Lisa, who’d picked up the cookie jar she’d filled and was heading toward the swinging door that separated the kitchen from the coffee shop, turned back with a shocked expression. “You mean…your mother?”

“That’s right. It’s only three doors down from Granny’s Attic and Carrie and Luanne can handle that. Mother’s completely psyched about choosing the right outfits for Lake Eden women.”

“She does have good fashion sense,” Lisa said, but she didn’t sound very confident. “Do you think that asking your mother to take over for Claire is the right choice?”

“Heavens no! It’s the completely wrong choice. When Claire told me she’d already called and asked Mother, I just about had a cow!”

“You don’t think your mother can do it?”

“Mother? Are you kidding? She’s hypercritical and she has no tact. I predict that Beau Monde’s business is going to fall off drastically unless Mother wears a muzzle.”

Lisa’s eyes widened, and then she shook her head slightly. “Come on, Hannah. You know you don’t mean that. You’re just kidding around, aren’t you?”