Cinnamon Roll Murder

“But Grandma Elsa wasn’t German.”

“Neither were the pancakes. At least I don’t think they’re German. I just thought it would be easy to make them because they’re baked in the oven. I can remember her beating them with an egg beater, but I’m going to use the mixer. It’ll go a lot faster that way. Everything except the bacon and cream cheese goes into the mixer.”

“What do you want me to do with the bacon.”

“Fry it hard, and then cool it off and crumble it. It’ll take me a while to beat the batter. I need a lot of air in it.”

In a minute or two the kitchen was redolent with the smell of bacon frying. It smelled wonderful, and Hannah realized that the bacon was the new applewood smoked bacon that Florence at the Red Owl had begun to carry right after Christmas. Surprisingly, the sweet smokiness of the bacon and the scent of vanilla combined to create a breakfast perfume that made Hannah’s mouth water even though she wasn’t at all hungry.

“It sure smells good in here,” Michelle said, mirroring Hannah’s thoughts exactly.

“I know. How’s that bacon coming?”

“Almost done. I’m going to stick it in your freezer on a paper plate to cool it down fast. Do you want me to get out a pan?”

“Yes. I need an eight-inch square metal pan. I would have doubled the recipe and made it in a nine-inch by thirteen-inch if we’d had more ingredients, but we didn’t.”

“That’s okay. I’m not hungry. It just smells good, that’s all.”

Ten minutes later, Mike’s breakfast was assembled and Hannah slipped the pan in the oven. “Done,” she said. “Now we can have a cup of ...” She stopped and gave the phone an unhappy glance as it rang. “If that’s Mike and he says he’s not coming, we’ve just made something for nothing.”

Michelle plucked the phone from its wall cradle and answered it. “Hannah’s place. Michelle speaking.” She listened for a minute and then she laughed. “I don’t believe it! You never get up that early, especially two days in a row! Hold on for a second and I’ll get her for you.”

Michelle didn’t have to tell Hannah who it was. Only one person they both knew deserved the comment Michelle had made about never getting up early two days in a row. She took the phone from Michelle and said, “Hi, Andrea. What’s up?”

“Me, but I’m going to bed right after this phone call. I’m picking you up tomorrow morning at six. We’re driving to the Cities.”

“Why?”

“Because Bill says we’re going to run into traffic from all the weekday commuters and we have to leave that early if we want to get there by nine.”

“Okay. I’ll buy that. Why do we have to get there by nine?”

“Because I have a meeting with Swartznagel Realty.”

“Why?”

“Because I want to show my client a house they just listed in White Bear Lake.”

“Why do I need to go with you?”

“Because you’re the client, but don’t tell Bill. He thinks you’re just going with me to keep me company.”

“Why am I going with you? And why am I pretending to be your client? I’m not in the market for a house.”

“Because I can’t tell Bill the real reason we’re going to see the Swartznagel house.”

“Cut to the chase, Andrea. We’re going in circles. What’s the real reason you’re taking me to see this house?”

“Because it’s right next door to Doctor Bev’s mother’s house, and we need to see Diana. Then we’ll go to breakfast, and then we’ll drop in at Club Nineteen at noon.”

“Are they open that early?”

“They are tomorrow. I just called and they’re holding auditions for new jazz bands starting at noon. They do it one Saturday a month, and this is the Saturday for April. The waitress I talked to said everybody’s welcome and the audience fills out comment cards on the band. I made a reservation for us. I’m pretty sure that between the sets, we can find a way to talk to the management and ask some questions.”

“Okay. That’s worth doing, but I have to be back right after that. Lisa’s still telling her stories tomorrow, and the second day is just as popular as the first. She’s going to need lots of cookies.”

“That’s not a problem. I called Lisa, and she said that Marge, Patsy, and Jack are coming down to help her. Pasty and Marge will take turns baking, and you know what great bakers they are. Michelle will be there, too, so Lisa says you don’t have to come in at all tomorrow.”

“That’s fine, I guess, but I’m still a little confused about something. I can understand talking to the people at Club Nineteen. They might know more about the woman with the brown hair that Lynette saw with Buddy backstage. We should ask them about Buddy’s background, too. Maybe he mentioned where he came from, or anything that might help us find out ...” Hannah stopped short. Perhaps Andrea wasn’t up to speed yet. “You do know that Buddy wasn’t Buddy, don’t you?”

“Of course I do. Mother called me right after she called you.”

“Good. What I don’t understand is why we need to see Diana. I don’t think it’ll do us any good.”

“It’ll do a lot of good! We can’t very well get a DNA sample if we don’t see her ... now can we?”

“But how are we going to get a DNA sample? I think her grandma might notice if we swabbed the inside of her cheek.”

“We’ll just ... .” Andrea stopped and frowned slightly. “I’ll think of something tomorrow, don’t worry. I’m good at subterfuge. All you have to do is be convincing as my real estate client.”

“How do I do that?”

“Look interested when I ask about the neighborhood. And be kid-friendly, especially if Diana’s right there with her grandmother.”

“Okay. Anything else?”

“Not really, unless ... yes, a couple of things. Don’t wear jeans, whatever you do! Do you have any slacks?”

“One pair.”

“Pull-ons?”

“Yes, with an elastic waist.”

Andrea muttered something that sounded vaguely like, Great! Just great! to Hannah, and then she asked, “What color are they?”

“Dark grey. Claire picked them out for me.”

“Okay, then they’re fine. Wear them with a sweater under your parka. A nice sweater, not one that’s all stretched out.”

“I’ve got the sweater you gave me for Christmas last year. That’s a nice sweater, isn’t it?”

“Yes. That’ll do just fine. Do you have any dress boots?”

In Hannah’s mind the phrase dress boots translated into boots that wouldn’t keep the snow off your feet. “No,” she said.

Andrea sighed deeply. “All right, she said. “Wear those moose-hide boots of yours. If everything else is totally acceptable, you can have one fashion eccentricity.”

“Thanks,” Hannah said, chomping down on the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing.

“Be ready at six. I’ll call you from my cell phone when I pull into the garage. And don’t be late.”

“Right,” Hannah said, grinning as she hung up the phone.

“What’s so funny?” Michelle asked.

“Andrea. She’s planning out this undercover operation, and she even told me what to wear.”

Michelle just shook her head. “That’s our Andrea. We love her, but she can be a royal pain. But you got off light.”

“What do you mean?”

“She could have told you to dye your hair!”