Apple Turnover Murder

? cup shredded cheddar, Swiss, or jack cheese

(I used sharp cheddar)

Hannah’s 1^stNote: Before you start these muffins, you must decide which type you want to make. You can use a regular 12-cup muffin pan, or a jumbo pan that makes 6 muffins.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Stir them all up together with a fork until they’re evenly combined.

Break the 3 large eggs into a medium-sized bowl and whip them up with a wire whisk.

Add the milk and whisk it in.

Add the melted butter and mix well.

Make a well in the bowl with the flour mixture. Dump the liquid mixture into the well and mix it all up with a spoon until everything is well moistened. (This batter is supposed to be lumpy—don’t stir it smooth.)

Michelle’s Note: I forgot once and mixed the shredded cheese into the batter. The muffins didn’t look as nice, but they tasted every bit as good.

Grease (or spray with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray) a pan with 12 muffin cups, or a jumbo muffin pan with 6 cups.

Give the batter a final stir, and then put a spoonful of batter in the bottom of the cups, enough to cover the bottom.

Form one strip of cooked bacon into a circle that’ll fit inside your muffin cup. Press it down in the batter like a little circular fence. Do the same for the other muffin cups.

Crack and separate a medium-size egg. Put the white into a bowl so that you can make Angel Kiss Cookies, Angel Pillow Cookies, or an egg white omelet later. Slide the yolk inside the little bacon corral you just made. (If the yolk breaks, don’t despair—it’ll still taste good.) Do the same for the other muffin cups.

Hannah’s 2^ndNote: If you’re making jumbo muffins, use 2 strips of bacon and two egg yolks for each muffin.

Divide the remaining batter among the partially-filled muffin cups, just spooning it in on top. These muffins don’t rise a lot, so they can be filled almost up to the top.

Sprinkle the grated cheese on the tops.

Place your muffin tin on a drip pan (just in case) and put it into the oven.

Bake the regular muffins at 400 degrees F. for 25 minutes. Bake the jumbo muffins at 375 degrees F. for the same amount of time, 25 minutes.

Yield: 12 regular or 6 jumbo muffins that look very pretty when you slice them in half.

Hannah’s 3^rdNote: These muffins can be reheated in the microwave and they’re almost as good as they are right out of the oven.

Chapter Seventeen

Marge pushed through the swinging door to the coffee shop, and Hannah heard part of Lisa’s rendition. Her partner was telling their customers the tale of how Hannah had found the professor’s body.

“Professor Ramsey?” Hannah asked softly, but the only sounds she heard were the rustling of people fanning themselves with their programs, a low murmuring as they speculated on why intermission was lasting so long, and an occasional cough from the victim of a summer cold.

Lisa paused, and Hannah couldn’t help but smile. Her young partner was a great storyteller.

“Wake up, Professor Ramsey” Lisa went on. “It’s time for the second act!” Hannah’s voice was a little louder, cutting through the noise behind the velvet curtain so that he could hear her. But again, he did not answer. She walked forward, right up to the chair where he was sitting and took hold of his shoulder with her fingers.

Hannah heard several gasps from the audience. They knew what was coming.

His shoulder was cold, but Hannah decided that was due to the powerful air-conditioning system they used on the stage to combat the heat from the white hot lights. She gave a little shake with her hand and leaned close to his ear. “Wake up! Everybody’s waiting for you!”

He did not wake, and Hannah shook his shoulder again, a bit harder. And then harder still until… to her horror…he toppled from the chair like a rag doll, arms and legs flopping helplessly to land on the stage in a tangled heap.

“Poor Hannah!” someone exclaimed. Hannah was almost positive it was Bertie Straub.

“Shhh!” someone else warned. “Go on, Lisa.”

Hannah’s hands flew to her mouth to muffle her startled gasp. What was wrong with Professor Ramsey? Could he possibly be drunk? But there was no smell of strong spirits emanating from his open mouth as he lay there perfectly still, perfectly unmoving, perfectly silent. Hannah glanced down at him, horrified. And then she knew…

The door swung closed behind Marge and Lisa’s recital was cut short. Hannah chuckled so hard, she had to sit down at a stool at the workstation. Between the murder mysteries Lisa had been reading on the nights Herb worked late, and her natural flair for the dramatic, they really ought to sell tickets instead of cookies.

She’d just taken the last sheet of cookies from the oven when there was a knock on the back door. Hannah slid the cookies onto the baker’s rack, wiped her hands on a towel, and went to the back door to open it.

“Hannah.” It was Mike and he looked a bit contrite. “I know you’re working, but I really need to talk to you for a minute.”

Hannah smiled and ushered him to a seat at the workstation. “Coffee?” she asked.

“Only if you have time.”

“I’ve got plenty of time. Lisa’s out there performing a solo play called, Hannah Finds the Professor’s Body, Marge is dishing up cookies by the dozen, Jack is going around with the coffee carafe, and Patsy’s running the cash register.”

Mike laughed and shook his head, but he sobered when Hannah brought him a mug of coffee and two cookies. “What are these?” he asked, indicating the cookies. “They’ve got little holes all over them.”

“They’re Sesame Seed Tea Cookies. I got the recipe from Sally when she packed those lunches for the film crew.”

Mike took a bite. “They’re good, and they’re different. I like that. And they go really well with coffee.”

Hannah took a stool across from Mike and waited until he’d finished one cookie. Then she asked, “What can I do for you?”

“I just finished interviewing the victim’s ex-wife. Did you know her?”

“I met her at an English department party, and I saw her around campus, but I really didn’t know her. We said hello when we saw each other and that was about it.”

“Would you say they had a good marriage?”

“I have absolutely no idea.” Hannah looked up at Mike and sighed. “I told you all about it, how he said we’d always be together, and all the time he was engaged to her. It was painful for me when I saw them together. I avoided them the best I could, but the campus still wasn’t big enough for the three of us.”

“Do you think he told her about you?”

“I’m almost sure he didn’t. I’m basing that assumption on the fact that he didn’t tell me about her. She certainly didn’t act as if she knew. Stacey was always quite friendly when we met.”

“Stacey?”

“Yes. Her name was Stacey.”

“You’re absolutely sure?”

“Of course I’m sure. As far as I was concerned, she was the other woman!”

“When did they get married?”

“Let me see…” Hannah thought back to that unhappy time in her life. “It was a little over four years ago, I