Devil's Food Cake Murder (Hannah Swensen, #14)(57)

“Right.” Hannah got out of the car and retrieved the platter of Chocolate Euphoria Cookie Bars she’d placed on Norman’s back seat. Grandma Knudson would need chocolate. There was no doubt about that. She was obviously upset when she’d called Hannah at The Cookie Jar and the endorphins in the chocolate would make her feel better. There were plenty of endorphins in Chocolate Euphoria Cookie Bars with their six layers of chocolate.

Hannah motioned to Norman to follow her and climbed the back steps to the porch. They entered through the door that was never locked and walked past the table filled with several wire racks that Grandma used to cool pies and cakes in a jiffy in the cold winter weather. The kitchen door was also unlocked. Grandma Knudson opened it first thing in the morning and didn’t secure it until nightfall. Hannah stepped into the warm kitchen with Norman following at her heels, and called out to Grandma Knudson.

“Hi, Grandma Knudson! It’s Hannah, and Norman came with me. Are you here?”

“We’re in the sitting room,” Grandma Knudson answered in what Hannah thought was a surprisingly strong voice. “Help yourself to a cup of coffee and come on back.”

“We’re in the sitting room?” Norman repeated, frowning slightly.

“That’s what she said. I heard it, too. Maybe somebody from the church is here.”

Norman nodded, but he didn’t look convinced. “I’ll get the coffee. You carry the chocolate cookie bars in.”

It didn’t take long for Norman to pour two cups of coffee. Since both of them drank it black, there was no need to look around for cream and sugar. Norman, a cup in each hand, followed Hannah as she led the way to Grandma Knudson’s sitting room.

“We’re here!” Hannah said cheerily, stepping into the room. “I brought you some chocolate …”

“Whoa!” Norman exclaimed, almost spilling their coffee as Hannah stopped abruptly in her tracks. “What in the world is…oh!”

For a long moment, no one spoke. Hannah and Norman stood there in shock, staring at the man seated on Grandma Knudson’s pink davenport.

“Hello, Hannah and Norman.” Grandma Knudson turned in her chair to greet them. “Meet the real Reverend Matthew Walters. He came to see me the second that he heard he was dead.”

“You look exactly like him!” Hannah said, once explanations had been given.

“I know,” the real Reverend Matthew said. “We always looked alike. I still don’t know why Paul came here pretending to be me, but I certainly intend to find out. My poor secretary was beside herself when she heard that I was dead.”

“Colleen?” Hannah asked, unable to resist a little test of her own.

“Corrine,” Reverend Matthew corrected her. “I was visiting some friends in Wisconsin, and I called in to see if I had any messages. I thought Corrine was going to faint when she heard my voice.”

“You gave me a nasty shock, too,” Grandma Knudson said, “even though you tried not to startle me.”

“I know I did,” Reverend Matthew said, getting up to stand behind Grandma Knudson’s chair and pat her shoulder. “I’m so sorry about that. There just wasn’t any easy way to tell you.”

Grandma Knudson reached up to put her hand over his. “Well, I’m happy now. You have no idea how horrible I felt when I …”

“It’s not good to dwell on it,” Reverend Matthew interrupted her. “Have one of Hannah’s cookie bars. The sugar will do you good.”

“Not to mention the chocolate,” Hannah couldn’t help but add. And then she turned to Reverend Matthew. “What happens now? Will you go down to the hospital to …” she stopped speaking, not wanting to upset Grandma Knudson again by mentioning that Paul’s body would need to be positively identified.

“Of course I will. It’s one of the reasons I asked Grandma Knudson to call someone to come and stay with her. Her friends are out getting groceries and doing some things for the church. Grandma’s not sure how long that’ll take, and I don’t want to leave her alone. Will you stay with her?”

“Stop!” Grandma Knudson said, turning around to frown at Reverend Matthew. “It’s not like I’m feeble, you know! I’m perfectly capable of staying here by myself.”

“I can tell you are. You’re just as feisty as you were when I was a teenager,” Reverend Matthew said with a laugh. “But I don’t like the thought of leaving you here by yourself. Won’t you please humor me on this?”

“Well…since you put it that way…all right,” Grandma Knudson conceded, and then she turned back to Hannah and Norman. “Matthew always could talk anybody into anything.”

“Would you like to take a couple of these cookie bars with you for the road?” Hannah asked Reverend Matthew. Her offer had two purposes. One was exactly as she stated, to give him something to enjoy while he drove to the hospital. The other purpose was more devious. She wanted to see how he’d react to the offer of chocolate.

“Thanks, Hannah. That’s really nice of you, but I’d better not. I try to be careful around chocolate. It hasn’t really bothered me in years, but I talked to a doctor about it and he advised me not to overdo it. He said the allergens could build up in my system again, and I could have a bad reaction.”