Fudge Cupcake Murder

brown curl had escaped from her health department mandated hairnet.

    Hannah gave her bowl a final stir and reached for the plastic wrap. 'Maybe I will. But if I do, I'll come in early tomorrow and do all the baking before you get here.'

    'Deal!' Lisa held out her hand and Hannah shook it. 'Do you want me to help you with your class tonight? Herb's tied up until nine, but Marge said to call her anytime and she'll come over to sit with Dad.'

    'That's okay, Lisa. I can handle it.' Hannah knew that Lisa liked to stay at home with her father whenever she could. Jack Herman had Alzheimer's and Lisa had turned down a college scholarship to stay home and be with him. Things were a bit easier now that Lisa was engaged to Herb Beeseman, Lake Eden's security and parking enforcement officer. Herb's widowed mother, Marge, had dated Lisa's father in high school and she seemed to enjoy spending time with Jack so that 'the children' could go out.

    Hannah had just finished stashing her bowl in the walk-in cooler when there was a knock on the back door. She walked over to answer it and found Beatrice Koester standing there, shivering in the cold. 'Hi, Beatrice. Come in.'

    'Hi, Hannah. Lisa.' Beatrice stepped into the warm kitchen and smiled. 'I can only stay a minute. Ted's waiting for me in his truck.'

    Hannah took a moment to wave to Ted, owner and operator of Lake Eden's salvage yard. Ted waved back, but he looked disgruntled. He probably wanted to get back to work. Hannah shut the door and turned back to Beatrice. 'Technically we're closed, but if you want some cookies we can get them for you.'

    'Thanks anyway, Hannah. I just came to bring you a recipe. I know it's late, but I was going through some of Ted's mother's things and I just found it.'

    'For the Lake Eden cookbook?' Lisa asked.

    'Yes. It's for her Fudge Cupcakes. Ted just loves them and they're really good. I asked Mother Koester for the recipe more times than I can count, but she kept forgetting to give it to me.'

    'I'm glad you finally got it.' Hannah said with a sympathetic smile. 'Some people really hate to share recipes and I'll bet Ted's mother was one of them.'

    'That's what I thought, but Ted said I was wrong, that his mother really forgot to bring it all those times she came to visit. Of course, Ted's mother could do no wrong.'

    Hannah bit back a smile. She hadn't known Ted's mother, but it sounded as if she could have been the inspiration for quite a few bad mother-in-law jokes.

    'Is it too late to put in the cookbook? Now that Ted's mother is gone, he thinks it would be a fitting memorial to her.'

    Hannah reached out and took the recipe. There was no way she could refuse Beatrice when she looked so worried. 'It's not too late. I'll see it goes in.'

    'Oh, thank you, Hannah! But there might be a little problem.'

    'With the recipe?' Hannah glanced down at the handwritten card.

    'Yes. Just look at the list of ingredients.'

    Hannah read the list of ingredients aloud. 'Unsweetened chocolate, sugar, butter, flour, milk, and… uh- oh.'

    'What is it? 'Lisa asked.

    'It says, Add one-half cup secret ingredient.'

    'I love recipes like that!' Lisa clapped her hands. 'It's always something nobody can guess. What is it this time?'

    Hannah shrugged and so did Beatrice. Lisa glanced from one to the other and then she caught on. 'It doesn't say?'

    'You got it.' Hannah turned to Beatrice. 'Did you ever taste the cupcakes?'

    'Yes, and they were wonderful! Alma made them for Ted every year on his birthday, but she wouldn't let me watch her.'

    'What did they taste like? Describe them to us.'

    'Well…' Beatrice drew a deep breath and closed her eyes. 'They were really good dark chocolate, and they were heavy, not like one of those light cake mixes. They didn't rise much like those pretty rounded cupcakes you see in magazines, but that was okay because Alma mounded up the fudge frosting on top and you got even more that way. She said they were supposed to have dimples for the frosting.'

    Hannah laughed. She couldn't help it. That was a great way to explain a cake that hadn't risen as far as you'd expected, and most people, Hannah included, wouldn't mind a bit as long as the frosting was good. 'Can you describe the frosting?'

    'Yes, I can. It was fudgy and just a little chewy and it melted in your mouth. I always thought that if you heated it, it would make a perfect fudge sauce for ice cream.'

    'Sounds good. Think back to the cupcakes. Was there any kind of hidden or subtle flavor that you can remember?'

    'Not really, but…' Beatrice stopped speaking and frowned slightly.

    'But what?' Lisa urged her.

    'They had a… a sort of German flavor.'

    'A German flavor?' Hannah thought about all the chocolate cakes she'd eaten. 'Was it like German Chocolate Cake?'

    Beatrice shook her head. 'No, nothing like that.'

    'Do you think it had sauerkraut in it?' Lisa asked. 'My mother used to make a chocolate cake with sauerkraut.'

    'I know it wasn't sauerkraut. I make that cake myself.' Beatrice gave a little sigh. 'It was sweet and tangy at the same time, like one of those good German tortes. You know the kind I'm talking about. They're really rich and even if you're full to bursting, you just want to keep on eating until they're gone.'

    'No wonder you wanted the recipe!' Hannah smiled to set Beatrice at ease. 'What do you think, Lisa? Can we figure out Alma's secret ingredient?'

    'We can try. They sound different than the fudge cupcakes that my mother used to make, but I've got some ideas already.'

    'Great.' Hannah turned back to Beatrice. 'Was the cupcake smooth? Or did it have chunks of things inside?'

    'No chunks. It was smooth and it tasted almost like eating a chocolate bar.'

    'That helps,' Lisa said, nodding quickly. 'It eliminates most of the solid things you might add to the batter like nuts, coconut, and chopped fruit.'

    'True, but it doesn't eliminate anything that's finely ground, pureed, or melted,' Hannah argued.

    Beatrice looked very distressed. 'I'm sorry I brought this whole thing up. If Ted wasn't so all-fired set on having his mother's recipe in the cookbook, I'd tell you to just forget it.'

    'No way!' Both Hannah and Lisa spoke at once. There was a very brief moment of silence and then all three women burst into laughter.

    When they'd stopped laughing, Lisa spoke up. 'We'll figure it out, Beatrice. Hannah and I love a good mystery and at least this one doesn't involve a dead body.'

    'Only my mother-in-law,' Beatrice quipped. And then she looked slightly shocked at her own humor. 'I'm really glad Ted wasn't here to hear that!'

    Hannah gave her hair a final brush and glanced in the mirror one last time. From the neck down, she looked very 'teacherly' in her navy blue pantsuit and white blouse. From the neck up, it was another story. The humidity had been high today and her hair was a riot of unruly red curls. Hannah pulled it back, secured it all in the silver clasp her youngest sister, Michelle, had bought from one of her artist friends at Macalester College, and flicked off the light in her bedroom.

    'I won't be late,' Hannah promised, reaching down to pet Moishe as he followed her down the hall. 'I'm just going to the school to be what I was going to be before I became what I am now.'

    Moishe gave a little yowl and stared up at her. Maybe it was her imagination, but he looked simply stupefied by the explanation she'd just uttered and Hannah burst into laughter. 'Sorry. That was confusing. I'll be