Devil's Food Cake Murder (Hannah Swensen, #14)(18)

The clatter of spoons stirring coffee, the low hum of conversation, and an occasional laugh drifted under the swinging door that led to the coffee shop. The Cookie Jar was busy this morning. Hannah felt a little guilty for taking almost an hour out of their busy workday, but Lisa had agreed that setting Grandma Knudson’s mind at ease was the top priority.

“You too, Corrine,” Andrea said. “You’ve been a big help and I think I have enough background now. Thanks so much for talking to me. And that’s Corrine with two r’s and Ad-dams with two d’s?”

Hannah perked up her ears. It sounded as if the conversation with Matthew’s secretary was about to end.

“Well, thanks again. It’s been a pleasure.”

Hannah got up to dump out Andrea’s cold coffee and replace it with hot brew from a fresh pot. When she got back to the workstation, Andrea was dropping her cell phone back into her purse. “So?” she asked, setting the fresh mug of coffee in front of her sister.

“Matthew’s secretary was very helpful.”

“That’s because you bamboozled her.”

“No, I didn’t. Corrine was just talkative. She’s probably bored since her boss is gone.”

“But you had to pretend to be a reporter from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.”

“Okay, so that was a little white lie, but it was for a good cause. You told me that Grandma Knudson was really worried.”

“She is. I couldn’t tell from all the yes or no answers you gave, but does she have anything to worry about?”

Andrea shook her head. “Reverend Matthew Walters is an ordained Missouri Synod Lutheran minister. He’s one of the senior members of the faculty, and he left last week on a four-month sabbatical. Before he drove off, he told Corrine that he planned to stop by a little town in Minnesota, Lake Eden to be exact, to meet the minister, Reverend Robert Knudson, and renew his acquaintance with Grandma Knudson.”

“So that part checks out.”

“Yes, and there’s more. When I asked about Reverend Matthew’s duties at the seminary, she said that he has a minor in music, he’s written several hymns that are under consideration for inclusion in the college hymnal, and he’s the tenor soloist in the seminary choir.”

“That shoots Grandma Knudson’s theory about tone-deaf Lutheran ministers out of the water.”

“It sure does.” Andrea glanced down at the notes she’d scrawled on a paper napkin. “And I found out about the davenport.”

Hannah was amazed. She’d listened to everything Andrea had said, and she knew her sister hadn’t mentioned the davenport. “How did you do that?”

“Corrine volunteered some information that clears it all up. She said Matthew is a …” Andrea glanced at the napkin full of notes, “… protan.”

“Isn’t that a form of color blindness?”

“Yes. How did you know?”

Hannah shrugged. “I must have read it somewhere. What else did she say about it?”

“She said Reverend Matthew sees red as a shade of green. She didn’t find out about it until her first year as his secretary, and he came to the office Christmas party wearing a bright red shirt with a green tie. She told him she thought it was nice he’d gotten into the Christmas party spirit and he didn’t know what she was talking about. He saw the red shirt as a shade of green and thought the tie matched it perfectly.”

“Got it!” Hannah commented, catching on immediately. “The red davenport in Grandma Knudson’s sitting room looked green to him.”

“Exactly.”

“So…nothing’s left. Every suspicion that Grandma Knudson had can be explained away in one way or another. She’s going to be so relieved when I tell her!”

“Yes. I think we should go up there and tell her now.”

Hannah noticed the plural pronoun her sister had used. “You’re going to come with me?” she asked.

“You betcha! I’m hoping that Grandma Knudson’s got some of that Red Devil’s Food Cake left over from yesterday, the one you told me was really scrumptious. And once we give her the good news about Reverend Matthew, she’ll be so happy she’ll invite us to stay for coffee and cake.”

Hannah was smiling as she turned the big stand mixer to the lowest speed and added salt, baking soda, and baking powder to the sugar in the bowl. She was testing the Red Devil’s Food Cake recipe as promised. The mixture of water, butter, chocolate, brown sugar, and espresso powder was cooling in a saucepan, and she’d already prepared her cake pans by greasing and flouring the insides and then adding a layer of parchment paper to the bottom. Grandma Knudson had been delighted to find out that Reverend Matthew really was the teenager who’d stayed with her. And Andrea had been spot on, one of the phrases their mother used in her Regency romances that meant absolutely correct. Grandma Knudson had asked them to stay for cake and coffee, and then she’d asked Hannah to cater the bon voyage party for Claire and Bob right after church on Sunday.

Hannah thought about Grandma Knudson’s request while she added more sugar to the bowl. A tropical cookie would be perfect since Claire and Bob were going to Hawaii. Hannah had a couple of cookies that would work, but she wanted to make something new.

She thought about it as she added cocoa powder and the last of the sugar to the mixing bowl. Then she mixed in two eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla extract. The chocolate scent was lovely, and she decided that Bob and Claire’s cookies should have both chocolate and coconut, a winning combination in almost anyone’s book.