Fudge Cupcake Murder

    Delores laughed. 'You're right, dear. But Granny's Attic is doing very well and I can afford to indulge my only granddaughter a bit. Did Claire tell you what Nettie bought?'

    'Yes, a child's chair shaped like a seated plush bear and she had it delivered in time for Christmas.'

    'I'm sure I can…' There was a crash outside the door and Delores stopped in mid-sentence. 'What was that?'

    'I don't know. It sounded like someone dropped something heavy that rolled…'

    'Sorry.' Luanne Hanks, Delores and Carrie's assistant, stuck her head in the doorway. 'I was carrying a brass umbrella stand and I tripped. Don't worry. It's not damaged. I checked.'

    Delores walked over to put her arm around Luanne's shoulders. 'I don't care about the umbrella stand. I'm much more concerned about you. You're shaking, Luanne. And you're as pale as a ghost. Are you hurt?'

    'No, I'm fine. I was just worried that I'd damaged the umbrella stand.'

    'Nonsense! You know it's not worth more than twenty dollars. And that's on a good day.'

    Hannah glanced down at the floor. She didn't see anything that Luanne could have tripped over.

    'Oh, there's nothing there,' Luanne said, correctly interpreting the direction of Hannah's gaze. 'I just tripped over my own feet, that's all.'

    'Well, I'm glad you're all right,' Hannah said, waving goodbye to her mother and Luanne, and heading down the stairs. If she remembered correctly, Luanne had been on the girls' gymnastic team before she'd dropped out of high school. She was normally as surefooted as a mountain goat and it was doubtful that she'd trip over her own feet. Something was wrong. Luanne had looked absolutely terrified when she'd poked her head in the doorway and Hannah was sure it had nothing to do with worrying about whether she'd damaged the umbrella stand. Why was Luanne so frightened? And did her fright have anything to do with Sheriff Grant's murder?

    Hannah's Bananas

    Do not preheat oven-this dough must chill before baking

    1 l/2 cups melted butter (3 sticks)

    2 cups white granulated sugar

    3/4 cup mashed very ripe banana (2 medium or 3 small)

    4 teaspoons baking soda

    1 teaspoon salt

    2 beaten eggs (just whip them up with a fork)

    4 cups flour (no need to sift)

    2 cups finely chopped walnuts or pecans (measure AFTER chopping)

    1/2 cup white granulated sugar for later

    Melt butter in a large microwavable bowl. Stir in the sugar, beaten eggs, baking soda, and salt. Choose bananas that have black freckles on the skin so they're almost overripe. Mash them until they're smooth (you can do this in a food processor or by hand). Add the banana puree and mix thoroughly. Mix in the flour and then the nuts. Cover your bowl and refrigerate it for 4 hours (overnight is fine, too).

    When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

    Roll the chilled dough into walnut-sized balls with your hands. (This dough is quite sticky-you can wear plastic gloves if you like, or wet your hands slightly so the dough won't stick to them.) Put 1/2 cup white sugar in a small bowl and roll the balls in it. Place the dough balls on a greased cookie sheet, 12 to a sheet. Press them down just a little so they won't roll off on the floor when you put them in the oven. Then return your bowl to the refrigerator and let it chill until it's time to roll more.

    Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees F., or until they're lightly golden in color. They'll flatten out, all by themselves. Let them cool for 2 minutes on the cookie sheet and then move them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

    These cookies freeze well. Roll them up in foil, place the rolls in a freezer bag, and they'll be fine for 3 months or so, if they last that long.

    Yield: Approximately 10 dozen, depending on cookie size.

    Lisa's cousin Beth says these are great when they're dunked in hot chocolate.

    Carrie Rhodes also loves these cookies. She says that middle-aged women should eat bananas every day because they need extra potassium. (I bit my tongue when she said 'middle-aged'-Carrie's at least fifty-five and people don't usually live to be a hundred and ten!)

Chapter Ten

    Hannah was still thinking about Moishe when she pulled into her parking spot at The Cookie Jar on Thursday morning. When she picked up a replacement tip sheet this morning, Sue assured her that one of the ten suggestions was bound to work and that Moishe couldn't hold out forever. But Hannah knew Moishe much better than that. If her cat decided that he didn't want to eat his senior food, he could be even more stubborn than the other Lake Eden male who had once been part of her life, Mike Kingston.

    'Hi, Lisa,' Hannah called out as she came in the back door. 'Sorry I'm late.'

    'That's okay. I thought you'd be even later.' Lisa's voice floated out of the coffee shop and a moment later she pushed through the door, carrying a steaming mug of coffee. 'Did you get your problem solved with Moishe?'

    'No. I got a tip sheet for switching him to the new food, but whoever wrote it doesn't know Moishe.'

    'True. How about sprinkling a little fresh catnip on his new food?'

    'That's tip number seven.' Hannah held out the sheet. 'And number eight is drizzling some tuna juice over the top of his bowl. I don't have high hopes for any of them.'

    Lisa looked thoughtful. 'Maybe Moishe's just too smart to be fooled by tricks. Have you had a heart-to- heart with him and told him why his new food is good for him?'

    'Of course. I felt a little stupid getting down on the floor with him, but I did it anyway. I think he understood me, Lisa. He really paid attention to everything I said. But after I finished and I was getting up off the floor, he stomped over to his food bowl and tipped it over with his paw.'

    'Uh-oh. You've got a real problem on your…' Lisa stopped talking as the back door opened and Andrea stood there. 'Hi, Andrea. Come in.'

    'Thanks. It's nice and warm in here.' Andrea walked over to one of the stools at the workstation and sat down.

    'How about some coffee?' Hannah asked.

    'Yes! I've been saving up my coffee allotment, Hannah. Yours is a lot better than my instant.'

    Hannah headed for the coffee pot. Everyone knew that instant couldn't hold a candle to real coffee brewed from scratch.

    'Here you go.' Hannah set the mug in front of her sister. 'What brings you out so early?'