Cinnamon Roll Murder

minute. Stir. If the butter isn’t melted, heat it for another 30 seconds and stir. Continue to heat in 30-second increments until the butter has melted. Then take the bowl out of the microwave and set it on the counter to cool slightly.

Hannah’s 1st Note: Michelle and I used a 4-cup Pyrex measuring cup to melt the butter with the milk. You could also do this in a saucepan on the stovetop, if you wish.

Measure out the flour and put approximately half of it in a mixing bowl. (You don’t have to be exact—nobody’s going to complain if it’s less or more than half.)

Sprinkle the baking powder and salt over the top of the flour in the bowl. Add the remainder of the flour and stir the bowl with a fork until all of the dry ingredients are thoroughly combined.

Add the butter and milk mixture to the mixing bowl, and mix until the resulting dough is well moistened.

Hannah’s 2nd Note: In case you haven’t guessed it, you’re making baking powder biscuit dough.

Spoon the dough into the bottom of the cake pan you prepared earlier. Spread it out so that the dough forms an even layer in the pan. This will be the bottom layer of your Hamburger Bake.

Spread the hamburger mixture on top of the biscuit dough. Do this as evenly as possible.

Sprinkle the shredded cheddar cheese over the top of the hamburger layer.

Bake the Hamburger Bake at 400 degrees F. for 30 minutes. Then take it out of the oven and let it cool on a cold burner on the stovetop or on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes before serving. (It’s just too hot to serve straight out of the oven—eager eaters could burn their mouths.)

Hannah’s 3rd Note: This dish is perfect to take to a potluck dinner. All you have to do is prepare a cardboard box big enough to hold your baking dish and line it with a bath towel. When you take the Hamburger Bake out of the oven, place it in the box, and cover it with the towel. It should stay warm for at least 30 minutes.

Yield: This delicious, quick, and easy main dish makes 10 servings if you pair it with a green salad.

Hannah’s 4th Note: If there’s any Hamburger Bake left after dinner, cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerator it right in the pan. You can simply reheat it in the microwave the next day for lunch.

Hannah’s 5th Note: If you invite Mike to dinner and serve Hamburger Bake, don’t plan on having any leftovers. When Michelle and I made it for him, he ate half a pan all by himself!

Chapter Seven

“That was good,” Mike said, putting down his fork. He took a sip of his coffee and a wistful expression crossed his face. “I don’t suppose you have any cookies left. I saw you passing out rolls and cookies to the accident victims.”

Hannah shook her head. “No cookies, but I do have some Kentucky butter cake.”

“Great! I’ll take a piece of that. What’s Kentucky butter cake?”

“You want it without even knowing what it is?” Michelle sounded surprised.

“Sure. Hannah’s never made anything I didn’t like.” Mike turned to Hannah. “What is it?”

“It’s a white cake with loads of butter. Mother’s friend, Cassandra, sent her the recipe. I made it in two pans, gave one to Mother, and put the other in the freezer for emergencies.”

“So I’m an emergency?” Mike asked with a devilish grin. Hannah was lost for an answer. Mike’s grin always made her heart beat faster. He was indisputably the most handsome man in Lake Eden. The only problem was, he knew it!

“Am I an emergency?” Mike asked again.

You’re an emergency, all right! I can’t decide what to do with you. Sometimes I love you, sometimes you exasperate me, and when I’m not stuck trying to decide how I feel about you, I just want to throw my arms around you, and ... but she wouldn’t think about that. At least not now.

“Well?” Mike’s grin was devilish. He knew he’d thrown her completely off balance.

Hannah’s mind jumped into overdrive, and she settled for the safest course. “I’d say the whole night was an emergency. Michelle and I almost got killed in a car crash, we were a hospital corridor away when Buddy got murdered, and then we found out that the dead bus driver could be a another murder victim. If that’s not a night of emergencies, I don’t know what is!”

Uh-oh! Hannah’s mind sounded a warning, and she clamped her mouth shut. She didn’t want Mike to know that Andrea had eavesdropped on Bill’s conversation with Doc Knight and called to tell them about it. She shot Michelle a glance, silently urging her to change the subject and hoping that sibling nonverbal messaging was working.

“Hannah didn’t tell you, but there’s a little problem with the cake,” Michelle said, causing Mike to turn and focus on her.

“What’s the problem? Isn’t it any good?”

“It’s wonderful, but the name is wrong. You know how patriotic some of the people in Lake Eden are. If Hannah wants to serve it at The Cookie Jar, we can’t call it by another state name.”

“Well ... what does it taste like?”

“Butter. And butter’s really good. Mother’s friend in Kentucky says she bakes it, glazes it with melted butter and sugar, and sprinkles it with powdered sugar.”

“But you don’t do it that way?” Mike asked Hannah.

“No. I decided to frost it with our Great-Grandma Elsa’s Brown Butter Icing.” Hannah turned to Michelle. “Mike’s dying to taste it. I can tell. Why don’t you go to the kitchen and get him a piece?”

“So what was all that about?” Mike asked, the moment that Michelle had disappeared into the kitchen.

“All what?”

“All that about the bus driver and how it could be murder? Who told you that?”

Hannah thought fast. There was no way she was going to finger Andrea. She relied on her sister to give her the scoop when Bill had information about an investigation.

“Hannah? Who told you?”

The man had a lot in common with an elephant. He’d noticed her slip and he hadn’t forgotten it.

“Everybody knows. It’s already on the Lake Eden Gossip Hotline.”

“No!”

“Yes,” Hannah said, stretching the truth a bit. After all, Delores was the founding member. And Andrea was their mother’s daughter.

“But Doc told Bill, and Bill didn’t tell anybody but me. When I called Lonnie in, I didn’t tell him why. I just said to meet me here. That means Doc, Bill, and I are the only ones who knew.”

Hannah thought fast. “Not necessarily. One of the interns could have been there when Doc did the autopsy. Or a nurse could have helped him. I know he records his findings on tape so that Vonnie can type them up, so Vonnie must have known, too. There could be several people at the hospital who knew.”

“Hmm. I didn’t think of that. I guess it doesn’t really matter, not in the long run. The news always gets out one way or the other.”

“Here you go!” Michelle came back with a large piece of cake on a plate and handed it to Mike. She refilled his coffee cup, took a seat, and waited for him to taste it.

“Wow!” Mike said, after his first bite. “This is a really good cake, and I love the frosting.”

“We like it, too,” Michelle said. “Do you have any idea what Hannah should call it?”

Mike took another bite and chewed thoughtfully. “I’m thinking. What’s in this frosting?”

“Browned butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and cream,” Hannah answered him.

“Butter in the cake, and butter in the frosting?”