“I know.” Hannah wondered if anyone had ever done a study of which smells made sick patients sicker. She’d be willing to bet that cauliflower would be right up near the top of the list.
“I think it’s the food,” Andrea commented, as they neared a food cart and she spotted a lunch tray. “You brought Danielle some cookies, didn’t you? Nobody should have to eat food like that.”
“Of course I did.” Hannah held up the bag she was carrying, filled to the brim with Cocoa Snaps, Pecan Crisps, and Chocolate Chip Crunches.
“This food is all white.” Andrea made a face. “I knew it would be bad, but not this bad.”
Hannah stared down at the tray. Andrea was right. The food had no color. There was a glop of vanilla pudding in a little plastic cup, an entree of poached fish with some sort of white cream sauce on top, a scoop of mashed potatoes, a compartment filled with limp-looking steamed cauliflower, and a piece of white bread with a pat of butter. Hannah would have passed on lunch even if she’d been hungry. And from the look of the barely touched trays, so had most of the patients at Lake Eden Memorial.
“That must be Danielle’s room.” Andrea pointed toward the far end of the hallway. “There’s Rick.”
Hannah recognized the tall, lanky figure of Cyril Murphy’s oldest son. “How long do you think you can keep him talking?”
“As long as you need. All I have to do is ask about his new baby. It’s their first.”
Hannah stepped forward with her cookies, a smile pasted on her face. Rick reported directly to Mike, and if he suspected that this was any more than a friendly visit, he’d mention it. Hannah didn’t even want to think of what Mike would say if he realized that the Swensen sisters were on a mission to prove him wrong and catch Boyd’s real killer in the bargain.
Do not preheat oven yet. The bread pudding must settle for 30 minutes before baking.
8 slices of white bread (
1/2 cup melted butter (
1/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots (
3 beaten eggs (
2 1/4 cups top milk * (
Heavy cream, sweetened whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream for a topping.
Generously butter a 2-quart casserole. Remove the crusts from the bread and cut each slice into 4 triangles. (
Arrange approximately a third of the triangles in the bottom of the casserole. Sprinkle on a third of the sugar and half of the chopped apricots.
Put down half of the remaining bread triangles, sprinkle on half of the remaining sugar, and add ALL of the remaining apricots.
Cover with the rest of the bread triangles. Scrape the bowl to get out any butter that remains in the bottom of the bowl and put that on top. Sprinkle with the last of the sugar and set aside.
Whip up the eggs in the butter bowl and whisk in the light cream. Pour this over the top of the casserole and let it stand at room temperature for thirty minutes. (
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position. Bake the bread pudding uncovered, for 45 to 55 minutes, until the pudding is set and the top is golden brown.
Let it cool slightly (
Chapter Six
“Oh, Hannah! You came!”
“Of course I did. I said I would.” Hannah tried for a cheerful smile, but it was difficult. Danielle was sitting up in bed, there were traces of recent tears on her cheeks, and she was wearing the expression that Hannah thought of as the “whipped puppy look.”
“I didn’t think they were going to let me have any visitors.” Danielle’s voice quavered slightly.
“They weren’t, but I did some fast talking.” Danielle had “victim” written all over her, and Hannah knew she had to do something or they’d be defeated before they even started. Danielle needed a shot of courage and the belief that she controlled her own fate.
“Have a Cocoa Snap.” Hannah reached into the bag and handed her a cookie. Then she placed the bag within easy reach on Danielle’s bed stand. “The chocolate will cheer you up and give you some energy.”
Danielle bit into the cookie and the ghost of a smile crossed her lips. “Thanks, Hannah. These are good. I couldn’t eat my lunch. You should have seen…”
“I did. I wouldn’t have eaten it, either.” Hannah interrupted her. A discussion of hospital food would only waste time. “I’ve got Andrea outside, running interference with Rick Murphy. I didn’t want to give him the chance to overhear us. We need to talk, Danielle.”
Danielle brightened up considerably. “Then you’re going to help me?”
“Of course I am, but I need to ask you some questions about Boyd. Can you forget how lousy you feel for a minute and concentrate?”
“I feel a whole lot better now that you’re here.” A little color came back to Danielle’s cheeks, and she patted the side of her bed. “Sit down, Hannah, and I’ll tell you everything I know. It’s not much. Everything happened just like I said it did last night.”
“You may know something without knowing you know it.” Hannah realized that what she’d just said was confusing and she tried another tact. “I’ll ask the questions and you answer, okay?”
“Okay, but just tell me one thing first. Are they going to arrest me?”
“Not if I have anything to say about it. The last I heard, they were going to keep you in the hospital for at least five days.”
“That’s better than going to jail,” Danielle said, but she didn’t look convinced. “I didn’t kill him, Hannah. You believe me, don’t you?”
Hannah reached out and patted her hand. “I believe you. That’s why Andrea and I are going to try to catch the real killer. Now think about this carefully, Danielle. It could be very important. Did you notice any change in Boyd’s behavior lately? Say in the last week or so? Anything that made him unusually angry or upset?”
“Well….” Danielle hesitated, and Hannah knew she was thinking it over. “He was really mad about The Gulls. They missed nine free throws in their last game. But that wasn’t unusual. He’s always angry if they lose.”
“How about his classes?”
“They were all okay. He was really proud of his fourth-period history class. They took some kind of an achievement test, and they all did really well.”
“Was he having a problem with any of the faculty?”
“No.” Danielle shook her head. “Everything was fine. The only thing I could think of that really upset him was that phone call he got on Tuesday.”
Hannah felt a prickling of interest. Danielle hadn’t mentioned a phone call before. “What phone call was
