Apple Turnover Murder

“He knows I blew the whistle?” she asked, incredulous.

“Yes, but that’s because it’s still in your hand. Give him a pat and tell him he’s a good boy.”

“Good boy, Dillon,” Hannah said, patting the top of his head and rubbing his ears. “Hold on a second and I’ll give Daddy a treat to give to you.”

A few moments later, Herb was settled on a stool at the stainless steel workstation and Dillon was stretched out on the floor next to him, chewing his dog treat.

“Now tell me what’s wrong,” Hannah said, setting a plate of the Zucchini Cookies she’d just made in front of Herb.

“I need a favor. A big one.” He delayed their dialogue by taking a bite of his cookie. “These are good,” he said. “What are they?”

“Zucchini Cookies.” Hannah realized that Herb wasn’t eager to go into details about that favor he needed. She was equally uneager to hear those details, but there was no time like the present. “What’s the favor?”

“It’s my cousin Mary Kate,” Herb said. “She’s got the flu and she can’t be more than a couple of seconds away from the…” Herb stopped and cleared his throat. “Trust me. You don’t want to hear the details.”

“You’re right. I don’t. So what does Mary Kate have to do with this favor you need?”

“Mary Kate is Amazing Herb’s assistant.”

Hannah groaned. She couldn’t help it. She’d promised herself she’d never agree to be Herb’s magic show assistant again.

“I know you don’t like helping me out with the act,” Herb said, sighing deeply. “I can’t blame you for that. It’s not much fun getting into the Cabinet of Death. But Lisa can’t do it. She’s just too claustrophobic. And nobody else except Mary Kate knows the act. Could you be my assistant just once more, Hannah? I’m begging you. Otherwise I’ll have to drop out of the talent show tonight.”

Hannah took a deep breath and told herself to hold firm. And then she glanced at Herb. He looked unbelievably plaintive, so she switched her gaze to Dillon. Dear heavens! There were two of them! Two sets of begging puppy-dog eyes! Herb’s entreating orbs reminded her of a basset hound pleading for a pat on the head. And Dillon’s eyes were as sad as a grieving widow’s, so desolate that Hannah could swear she saw tears glistening in their depths.

“Okay,” she said, bowing to the inevitable.

“You mean…you’ll do it?”

“Yes. If I don’t help you out, your dog’s going to cry. And if there’s one thing I can’t stand in this world, it’s a crying puppy dog.”

SAUSAGE AND CHEESE PANCAKES

Preheat oven to the lowest possible setting, rack in the middle position.

1 large egg

1 cup unflavored yogurt

? cup cream

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

2 teaspoons baking powder

? teaspoon baking soda

? teaspoon salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

(pack it down in the cup when you measure it)

? cup ground

fried

breakfast sausage, broken up into small pieces

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

(approximately 4 ounces)

Beat the egg with a wire whisk in a medium-sized bowl until it’s fluffy.

Whisk in the yogurt, cream, and the vegetable oil.

In a small bowl, combine the baking powder, baking soda, and salt with the flour. Stir it around with a fork until it’s evenly distributed.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir well.

Michelle’s Note: At this point you can stop and refrigerate your pancake batter overnight. Then all you have to do is give it a good stir in the morning, add your sausage and your cheese, and fry your pancakes. If you decide to do this, don’t preheat your oven until you’re ready to fry in the morning.

Add the fried sausage and shredded cheese to your batter, and stir in thoroughly.

If you’re using an electric griddle, spray it with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray and preheat it to the pancake setting. If you’re using a griddle on the stovetop or a large frying pan, spray it with Pam and heat it over medium-high heat. It’s the perfect temperature when a few drops of water, sprinkled on the surface with your fingers, skitter around and then evaporate.

If you want to pour your pancakes onto the griddle, transfer the batter to a pitcher. If you’d prefer to dip a large spoon or a small cup into the bowl and transfer the batter to the griddle that way, that’s fine, too. (I use a quarter-cup plastic measure that has a little spout on the side–when I pour the batter onto the griddle, approximately 3 Tablespoons come out and 1 Tablespoon sticks to the sides, which is perfect!)

Fry your pancakes until they’re puffed and dry around the edges. If you look closely, little bubbles will form at the edges. If you’re not sure they’re done, lift one edge with a spatula and take a peek. It will be golden brown on the bottom when it’s ready to flip.

Turn your pancakes and wait for the other side to fry. Again, you can test your pancake by lifting it slightly with a spatula and peeking to see if it’s golden brown.

If you don’t have a horde of people sitting at your table waiting to eat those pancakes and you want to keep them warm until everyone comes to the breakfast table, put them in a 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan, separated by paper towels, and slip them into a warm oven set at the lowest temperature until your sleepyheads arrive.

Hannah’s Note: Mike likes these with maple syrup. Norman prefers them plain with a pat of butter on top. Mother likes them with a dollop of sour cream on top and Michelle and I just love to fry an egg sunny-side up with the yolk still runny and slip that on top of a stack of pancakes.

Yield: Approximately one dozen medium-sized pancakes.

Chapter Nine

The phone rang at precisely twelve-thirty, just as Hannah had made the rounds of the tables with the coffee carafe. Michelle answered and a moment later she motioned to Hannah. “It’s Marge Beeseman,” she said as Hannah took the receiver.

“Herb says you don’t have your purple dress anymore,” Marge stated, wasting no time on preliminaries.

“That’s right. After I…um…retired as Herb’s assistant, I didn’t think I’d need it again.”

“Can you get it back?” Marge got straight to the point.

“No.” Hannah didn’t bother to explain that she’d stuck it in a bag and given it to a group of Jordan High students who’d come to her door asking for used clothing and household items for their class rummage sale.

“Well, don’t worry. Patsy will take over for me at the library this afternoon so Jack and I can go look for dresses at Helping Hands. That’s where we got that lovely purple dress, you know.”

“I know,” Hannah said, and left it at that.

“We’ll do things the same as we did the last time. We’ll pick out several dresses in your size and bring them over to you around three this afternoon. You can try them on, choose the one you want, and we’ll take the others back to the thrift shop.”

“That’s fine. Thank you, Marge. I really appreciate it.”