Peach Cobbler Murder (26 page)

“Of course we will, Mother.” Andrea jerked the wheel to the right and took the turnoff for Lake Eden at the last possible second. “We’ll be there in less than ten minutes. Just sit down and relax until we get there.”

“We’re going to Granny’s Attic?” Hannah guessed when Andrea ended the call.

“No, to Mother’s house,” Andrea corrected. “She went home at noon today.”

“Is she sick?” Hannah felt her heart start to pound in alarm. Delores never took a day off unless she was seriously ill.

“I don’t think so. But there’s something wrong with her.”

“Did she say that?”

“Not exactly. She just asked both of us to come over because she needed some advice.”

“She needs advice from us?”

“That’s what she said.”

“Then Mother must really be in trouble. She’s never asked us for advice before.”

CHOCOLATE ALMOND TOAST

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

1 ½ cups melted butter (3 sticks) 1 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened) 2 ½ cups brown sugar 5 large eggs beaten (just whip them up in a glass with a fork) 4 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons vanilla 1 cup slivered almonds 6 cup flour (not sifted)

Melt the butter and mix in the cocoa. Add the brown sugar. Let it cool slightly and then stir in the beaten eggs. Add the soda, salt, vanilla, and slivered almonds. Stir until well blended. Add the flour in half-cup increments, mixing after each addition.

Spray two cookie sheets with nonstick cooking spray. Divide the dough into five parts, forming each part into a free-form load, 1 inch high, 7 to 8 inches long, and 3 to 4 inches wide. Place 2 loaves on one cookie sheet and 3 loaves on the other. Bake the loaves at 350 degrees F. for 35 minutes.

Cool the loaves on the cookie sheets for 10 minutes, but DON’T SHUT OFF THE OVEN. Transfer the loaves to a wire rack and cool for another 5 minutes. Slice them (just like bread) into ¾-inch-thick pieces with a sharp knife. (The end pieces don’t need more baking — save them to drink in your coffee while the rest are baking.)

Place the slices on their cut sides on the greased cookie sheets. Bake the slices for an additional 5 minutes, flip them over to expose the other cut side, and bake them for an additional 10 minutes. Let them cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes and then remove them to a wire rack to complete cooling.

These are great dunking cookies. If you want to make them look like biscotti, just dip the tops in melted chips. (I use milk chocolate), set them on a piece of waxed paper, and refrigerate them to set the chocolate.

Yield: Approximately 4 dozen, depending on cookie size.

When Delores answered the doorbell, Hannah had all she could do to hide her shock. Their mother looked old for the very first time. After a glance at Andrea, Hannah knew that their mother’s appearance had also disturbed her sister. Something was drastically wrong.

“Hi, Mother. What’s up?” Hannah tried for a note of levity, but it didn’t work. She sounded flip and that’s not what she meant at all. “Sorry. That came out wrong.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Delores said flatly, stepping aside so that they could enter. “Come on, girls. I have coffee set out in the living room.”

Hannah took a deep breath for courage as Delores led the way. Most family discussions were held in the kitchen around the circular oak table. That’s where Delores told Andrea how much she could spend for her prom dress, and where they all sat around and discussed which college applications Hannah should fill out. The living room was only used for matters of gravity, like when Andrea announced that she wanted to marry Bill, and when Hannah had asked to stay in college for another year to get her master’s instead of coming back to teach English at Jordan High.

“I’m worried about you, Mother,” Hannah said the second she sat down. “Are you ill?”

“I’m not ill, just heartsick. I really thought Winthrop was the man for me. He was so perfect in every way. But now I’ve discovered that he has a . . . a fondness for other women.”

Hannah glanced at Andrea, but she gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head that meant it was up to the oldest sister to handle this. “You knew that, Mother. Remember the night of the Christmas Potluck Dinner when he was flirting with Carrie, and Bertie Straub, and Florence Evans?”

“I remember. But that was harmless fun. I know that Winthrop would never have actually . . . well, you know . . . with any of them. I know he has a . . . um . . . wandering eye. But this time I think more than his eye is wandering, if you know what I mean.”

Andrea kept her eyes carefully lowered and Hannah read the signal loud and clear. Her younger sister was still out of her depth and it was up to her to counsel their mother.

“What makes you suspect that this . . . uh . . . current incident is more than a . . . an innocent flirtation?” Hannah asked, digging deeply into her store of euphemisms.

“It’s the woman involved. I wouldn’t be concerned about women like Carrie, or Florence, or Bertie. But in this case, there’s her reputation to consider. And then there’s the age factor.”

“I see,” Hannah said, surprised that she actually did. “So the woman you suspect of . . . er . . . dallying with Winthrop is younger and has a reputation for . . . um . . . dallying.”

“That’s right.”

”Well, in that case, because of the age factor and . . . “ Hannah stopped cold and stared at her mother. She’d just run out euphemisms. “Why are we talking this way?”

”Which way?”

“Beating around the bush,” Hannah said, aware that she’d just used another one. “You’re afraid Winthrop is two-timing you with a younger woman who’s got a bad reputation. Is that right?”

“Well. If you put it like that . . . “ Delores took a bracing breath. “Yes, that’s exactly right. And I don’t know what I should do about it!”

Andrea raised her eyes for the first time since the conversation had opened and locked eyes with their mother. “Kill him,” she said. “That’s what I’d do to Bill if he cheated on me.”

“But you’re married, and I’m not.”

“So how close to being married are you?” Hannah asked, taking over the questioning again. “I mean, Andrea and I don’t want to know about your personal relationship or anything like that, but has Winthrop asked you to marry him?”

“Yes. Several times. And I said yes. I think you could say that we were unofficially engaged. He sent to England for his mother’s ring several weeks ago.”

Hannah came close to groaning, but she stifled that impulse. Their mother needed their help, not censure. “What made you suspicious? Did you see Winthrop with another woman?”

“Not exactly. It’s just that Winthrop has a picture of Shawna Lee Quinn.”

That was an act ender if ever there was one, and Hannah had the unfortunate impulse to applaud. If this were a play, she’d ring down the curtain. But their mother looked miserable. The strong woman who knew her own mind and would stop at nothing to get her way appeared utterly defeated.

“Get a handle on it, Mother,” Hannah said, deciding that a dose of strong medicine was in order. “This isn’t the time to play drama queen.”

“I’ve never played drama queen in my life!” Two bright spots of color appeared in Delores’s cheeks, and her eyes began to flash fire. “What are you talking about, Hannah?”

“You’re worrying about Shawna Lee Quinn. She’s no competition for you anymore. She’s dead.”

“I know, but . . . “ Delores started to frown. “You’re right. She’s dead and I’m not. But I still want to know why Winthrop’s keeping her picture.”

“Why don’t you just ask him?” Andrea suggested, causing both women to turn and look at her.

“Good idea.” Hannah gave her sister a nod and then she turned back to Delores. “Just ask him, Mother. Maybe there’s some sort of reasonable explanation. I mean . . . men carry all sorts of pictures in their wallets and they never think to update them. Maybe Shawna Lee had snapshots printed when her bakery opened and passed them out or something.”

“It’s not a snapshot. And it’s not in his wallet.”

“Okay.” Hannah accepted that at face value. “Where is it?”

“It’s a framed picture, a big one. And . . . well . . . it’s in Winthrop’s underwear drawer.”

That was another act ender and after one look at her sister, Hannah snapped her own mouth closed. Their mother was full of surprises this afternoon. “Okay,” she said, taking a deep breath. “I’ll ask the questions we both want to ask. What were you doing in Winthrop’s underwear drawer?”

“Would you believe I was putting away Winthrop’s laundry?”

“No,” Hannah said unequivocally. “You don’t even put away your own laundry. Marjorie Hanks does it when she comes in to clean.”

“All right. I was . . . it doesn’t really matter how I found the picture, does it? What matters is, I did. And because of the circumstances, I can’t very well ask Winthrop why he had it!”

“Because then he’d know you were snooping?” Andrea guessed, starting to grin.

“Well . . . yes, if you want to put it that way. I prefer to think of it as . . . gathering more facts.”

“Nice,” Hannah said. “I may use that someday. But let’s get back to the picture. Can you describe it?”

“Of course I can! I only got a quick peek before Winthrop came out of the shower, but it made a lasting impression.”

Andrea gave Hannah a stricken look, and Hannah knew exactly what she was thinking. The shower? What was Mother doing in Winthrop’s bedroom when he was in the shower?

“He was late getting dressed for us to go out, and I was supposed to be waiting in the living room. That’s why I got only a quick peek.”

Hannah glanced at Andrea and saw her relax slightly. That was good. “Tell us everything you noticed in the photo.”

“I think it was taken at a club, the kind of place where you can have your picture taken by a photographer who goes from table to table. Do you know the kind of place I’m talking about?”

“Expensive,” Hannah said.

“That’s right. And trendy. They were sitting in a booth and he had his arm around her. They looked very happy, and very . . . intimate.”

“Are you sure it was Shawna Lee?” Andrea asked, after a glance at Hannah. “I mean . . . could it have been Vanessa? They look a lot alike.”

Delores was thoughtful for a moment and then she gave a dainty little shrug. “It could have been Vanessa. I didn’t even think of that. But she’s still alive and that means I wasn’t being a drama queen and I do have to worry! I’d better go right back over to Winthrop’s and try to get another look at that picture.”

“No,” Hannah said, holding up her hand. “It’s too much of a risk for you to do it, Mother. Winthrop might catch you snooping this time. Andrea and I will take care of it for you. We’ll find out if it’s Shawna Lee or Vanessa.”

Andrea gave her older sister a look that said, We will? But she nodded in a show of sisterly solidarity. “Don’t worry, Mother. We’ll take care of it.”

“All right,” Delores said, sighing deeply. “You two are better at that sort of thing anyway. And if Winthrop comes back tomorrow and suspects that someone’s been going through his things, I can say quite truthfully that it wasn’t me.”

“If Winthrop’s coming back tomorrow, does that mean he’s out of town now?” Hannah asked, picking up on her mother’s comment.

“That’s right. It’s some sort of investment seminar and he won’t be back until six tomorrow evening.”

“Perfect timing,” Hannah said, turning to Andrea. “We’ll break into his apartment right now and look for that picture.”

Delores gave a smug little smile. “I just knew you’d say that. I can always count on my girls to help me.” She reached down to pick up a key that was tucked next to her cup on the coffee table and handed it to Hannah. “You don’t have to break in, dears. Just use my key.”

“I don’t want to know what this mean,” Andrea said, clutching the key in her hand as she drove. “I don’t even want to think about it.”

“Me neither. I hope he’s got some rubber gloves under the sink. I don’t want to dig around in that man’s underwear drawer with bare hands.”

“Hannah!” Andrea burst into giggles so infectious, Hannah had to join in. one giggle led to a gaggle an then, because Andrea’s Volvo was beginning to wobble all over the road, they had to pull into Cyril Murphy’s used car lot until they calmed down.

“You got a problem with that fancy foreign car of yours” Cyril asked, coming over to see what was the matter.

“Yes, it needs a new driver,” Hannah answered, sending them both into gales of laughter again.

By the time they pulled themselves together, Cyril was chuckling, too. “I just called your place,” he said to Hannah. “I need to work on your truck this afternoon.”

“Why?” Hannah asked, hating to be without her vehicle even though she wasn’t driving it at the moment.

“Factory recall. It won’t cost you a cent. I’ll have one of my boys run over there and get it, and he’ll leave a loaner for you. I should have yours done by the time I close tonight.”

“That’s great.” And it was until Hannah remembered that Cyril’s garage was open until ten. “Do you want me to drive back to town and pick it up tonight?”

Cyril shook his head. “I‘ll have one of my guys deliver it to your condo. Just leave the key for the loaner under the floor mat on the driver’s side. He’ll drop your truck off and switch.”

”Sounds good to me,” Hannah said, agreeing quickly.

After a few more words with Cyril, Andrea pulled back out onto the road again. Hannah waited until they were on the highway, nearing the exit for Winthrop’s apartment complex, and then she turned to face her sister. “So what do you say we go through his whole place while we’re there?”

“You mean search it?”

“Right. I want to see if there’s any other reason why Mother should ditch Winthrop.”

“I wood have been really disappointed if you hadn’t suggested it,” Andrea said, turning off the highway and onto the access road that led to Lakeside Villas, an apartment complex frequented primarily by working singles. “Take a look at Mother’s key,” she said, handing it to Hannah. “it should be stamped with an apartment number.”

“Two twenty-three,” Hannah read the number.