Carrot Cake Murder (Hannah Swensen, #10)(56)

Something niggled at the back of Hannah’s mind, and she shut her eyes to concentrate. A second or two later, she had it. “I just remembered something. When I went to the cottage to look for him, his car was parked in the driveway. And I’m almost sure there was a jacket hanging up on the hook in the backseat.”

“Was it the jacket to his linen suit?” Andrea asked her.

“I don’t know. I really didn’t pay much attention. Is the Jaguar still parked in front of the cottage?”

Michelle shook her head. “Mike sealed it up and had it towed to the impound lot. It’s going to stay there until they find out if Gus had a will, or any other family members back in Atlantic City.”

“I wonder if the jacket’s still in it,” Hannah said. “I’d like to find out if it’s the one to the missing linen suit.”

“But why would Gus take it off inside the cottage and then carry it out and hang it in his car?” Andrea asked.

“Maybe he planned to take it to the cleaners, but he was killed first?” Michelle suggested.

Andrea shook her head. “Then he would have just tossed it in the backseat, or the trunk. He wouldn’t have bothered to hang it up.”

“Wait!” Hannah began to smile. “I know why he hung it in the car!”

“Why?” both sisters asked her, almost in unison.

“Because that’s how you keep linen from getting wrinkled. Mother mentioned that this morning. She always hangs up her linen jacket when she drives the car.”

“I get it,” Michelle said, looking excited. “Gus didn’t carry the jacket back out to his car to hang it up. He slipped it off when he left the brunch, and hung it up for the drive back to the lake.”

“And forgot to take it with him when he went inside the cottage.” Andrea finished the scenario.

“But where are the pants?” Michelle reminded her. “We still haven’t found them.” Then she turned to Hannah. “Do you think the missing pants are a clue?”

Hannah shrugged. “Search me. But it is interesting, and it might mean something. I’m just not sure what.”

“Nobody’s using the cottage, so you can go back and go through it again,” Andrea told her. “You might find something that the crime team missed.”

Hannah gave her a grin. It wasn’t the first time she’d found something the crime team hadn’t thought was important, but that later turned out to be an important clue. “You say it’s vacant?”

“Yes. Lisa thought maybe somebody else would move in, but none of the relatives want to use it.”

Hannah was puzzled. “Why not? It’s a nice cottage. And it’s not a crime scene or anything like that. Why doesn’t anybody want to use it?”

“Because Gus stayed there,” Andrea explained.

“But he was only there for an hour or so. He didn’t even have time to unpack!”

“That’s true, but I guess they think it’s bad luck.” Michelle did her best to explain. “A lot of people are really superstitious.”

“Maybe so,” Hannah said, turning back to her cooking duties. She was glad that no one else was using the cottage. She intended to go back there at the very first opportunity, but her primary purpose wasn’t to search for clues Mike’s crime team might have missed. It had more to do with the frog. She hoped he’d hidden out somewhere when the crime team had searched the cottage, or hopped out the door to find a new place to inhabit. Maybe it was silly of her to be concerned, but she’d try to get over there later this evening to check.

WANMANSITA CASSEROLE

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

2 pounds lean hamburger***

2 medium onions, sliced

1 cup diced celery (that’s about 3 stalks)

1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced

1 large package of crinkle noodles (I used egg noodles that were twisted in the middle.)

2 cans (14.5 ounces each) of diced tomatoes with juice

1 can (5 ounces) sliced water chestnuts**** (Sally uses chopped)

1 can (4 ounces) mushroom pieces

2 teaspoons cumin

2 teaspoons chili powder

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon pepper (freshly ground is best, of course)

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

***If you use regular hamburger instead of lean, you’d better buy 2? or 3 pounds, because there’s a lot of fat that’ll cook off. If you buy extra lean hamburger it probably won’t have enough fat and you’ll have to add some.

****Don’t worry about the ounces on the water chestnuts—anything from 4 ounces to 8 ounces will do.

Start by spraying a 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan, or a half-size disposable steam table pan with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray. If you choose to use a disposable pan, set it on a cookie sheet to support the bottom and make it easier to move it from the counter to the oven, and then out again when it’s finished.

Pour 6 quarts of water into a big pot and put it on the stove to boil. You’ll use this to cook the noodles. (If you start heating the water now, it should be boiling by the time you’re ready to cook the noodles. If it boils too early and you’re not ready, just turn down the heat a little. If it’s not ready when you are, crank up the heat and wait for the boil.)