Apple Turnover Murder

Andrea took a bite of the white part of the cookie and made a little sound of enjoyment. “I love the way your sugar cookies crunch,” she said. “And the orange is wonderful. It’s very refreshing.”

“Try the chocolate part next,” Hannah urged her.

Andrea turned the cookie around and took a bite. She chewed and gave a little groan of enjoyment that was louder than the preceding one. “The moon part is just great!” she exclaimed. “These are wonderful cookies, Hannah!”

“Thanks.” Hannah turned at the base of the hill to follow the access road that led to the highway. “Do you think we should sell these at The Cookie Jar?”

“Definitely! I think they’re one of your best cookies.”

“We’ll have to charge the same as we do for frosted cookies.”

“People won’t mind that once they taste them. I’ll think I’ll try the sunset next.”

“The sunset?”

Andrea chuckled. “That’s what I’m calling the part of the cookie that’s halfway between the moon and the sun. I’m going to take a bite right where the chocolate part meets the white part.”

“Okay…” Hannah said, hiding a grin. It was pretty clear that the chocolate had put her sister in a playful mood, or perhaps it was just relief at getting out of a potentially damaging situation. If she had to choose, Hannah would bet on the chocolate.

“Perfect!” Andrea exclaimed once she’d taken a bite and swallowed. “Sunset is very tasty.”

“How about sunrise?” Hannah asked, deciding to get into the spirit of things.

Andrea laughed. “I’ll just have to find out, won’t I?”

There was a crunch as Andrea took a huge bite on the other side of the cookie. “I’d say sunrise is equal in goodness to sunset.”

“Glad to hear it,” Hannah said, stepping on the gas as she merged onto the highway.

“Bill’s just going to love these.” Andrea glanced down at the cookies on her lap. “And so will Tracey, and Bethie, and Grandma McCann.” She reached down to open the plastic wrap again and took out another cookie. “If there’s any left by the time I get home, that is.”

SUN MOON COOKIES

DO NOT preheat oven. Dough must chill before baking.

2 cups melted butter

(4 sticks, one pound)

2 cups powdered sugar

(not sifted)

1 cup white

(granulated)

sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons orange extract

1 teaspoon orange zest

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

(critical!)

1 teaspoon salt

4? cups flour

(not sifted—just scoop it up and level it off with a knife.)

? cup white sugar in a small bowl

(for later)

Melt the butter in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave for 3 minutes on HIGH.

Add the sugars to the melted butter and mix. Let the mixture cool to room temperature on the counter.

When it’s not so hot it’ll cook the eggs, mix them in, one at a time, stirring well after each addition.

Add the orange extract, orange zest, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Mix well.

Add the flour in half-cup increments, mixing after each addition. (You don’t have to be exact about measuring—just guesstimate—it won’t come out even anyway.)

Chill the dough for at least one hour. (Overnight is fine.)

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. and place the rack in the middle of the oven.

Use your hands to roll the dough in one-inch balls. Roll the dough balls in a bowl containing the last half-cup of white sugar.

Place the dough balls on a greased cookie sheet, 12 to a standard-size sheet. Flatten the dough balls with a greased spatula (or the palm of your impeccably clean hand).

Bake at 325 degrees F. for 10 to 15 minutes. (They should have a tinge of gold on the top.) Cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes, then remove them to a rack to finish cooling.

When the cookies are completely cool, prepare them for dipping by laying out sheets of waxed paper on your counter, enough to hold all the cookies you baked.

Make the Chocolate Dip.

Chocolate Dip:

2 cups chocolate chips

(12 ounces)

1 stick butter

(? cup, ? pound)

Melt the chips and the butter in a microwave-safe bowl on HIGH for 90 seconds. Stir to make sure the chips are melted. If they’re not, heat in 20-second increments until you can stir them smooth.

Dip the cookies, one by one, so that half of the cookie is chocolate coated. (The half you hold will not be chocolate coated, naturally!) Place them back on the wax paper to dry.

Yield: Approximately 10 dozen (depending on cookie size) pretty and tasty cookies. Yum!

Chapter Twenty-One

It was almost ten by the time Hannah and Andrea got back from the college. “Back to Casino Night?” Hannah asked. “Or would you rather go home?”

Andrea glanced down at the cookies in her lap. “Home,” she said. “I’ve got four cookies left and that’s just enough for the family.”

Hannah bit back a startled burst of laughter. There had been a dozen cookies on the plate when she’d handed it to Andrea, and her sister had eaten two-thirds of them.

Andrea and Bill lived only a few blocks from the school, and after Hannah had dropped off her sister, she took a run past the school parking lot. She drove up and down the rows, but Doc Knight’s vehicle was gone. She also kept a sharp eye out for her mother’s sedan, since Delores could have met Doc Knight at the school, but that wasn’t parked in any of the spots, either.

Should she call her mother, or shouldn’t she? That was the question. Hannah debated it for all of ten seconds before she decided to drive past her mother’s house to assess the situation.

There weren’t that many variables. It had been years since she’d taken a logic class, but Hannah was fairly confident that she could come up with all the possibilities. If Doc Knight’s vehicle was parked outside on the street, it meant one of two things…either he was inside with Delores after driving her home from Casino Night, or he had parked there earlier and they had taken her mother’s sedan. One glance in the window of the garage would tell her if this was the case. And if her mother’s car was gone, Hannah would know that Delores had driven somewhere