Devil's Food Cake Murder (Hannah Swensen, #14)(59)

“You’re forgetting something important,” Hannah told them. “You’re assuming that Reverend Matthew is going to tell us that the murder victim is Paul. It could be someone else entirely, maybe even another minister.”

“That’s true,” Norman said, “but the yearbook photos I printed out last night show that Paul and Matthew looked very much alike. And today you even commented that the real Reverend Matthew looks exactly like Paul. I think it’s a slam dunk.”

“Slam dunk?” Hannah repeated. “Don’t tell me you’re watching basketball on television!”

“It’s true. I am. It’s all Bev’s doing. She likes to watch the Minnesota Wild on my big screen. She says it’s the patriotic thing to do when you make your home in Minnesota.”

“And you enjoy watching basketball?” Hannah still couldn’t believe that Norman was getting into basketball. He’d never been a big sports fan.

“It’s not bad. After two or three games, you know the players and you get into it, you know?”

Hannah felt a gentle kick under the stainless steel surface of the workstation, and she glanced over to see that Michelle was shaking her head slightly. Her baby sister was right. This was not the right time to quiz Norman on why he’d agreed to let Doctor Bev watch basketball on his big screen when he’d balked at inviting her over to watch Vikings football.

“The phone at the parsonage is going to be ringing off the hook when the news hits,” Lisa said with a sigh. “There were a lot of weddings last week. Sarah’s not the only bride who’s going to want to know if her marriage is legal.”

“The relatives of the people who got buried won’t be too happy, either,” Hannah reminded her. “Or the parents of babies who were baptized.”

“And anyone who took communion on Sunday when the fake Reverend Matthew officiated,” Norman added. “Not to mention the visits to the hospital to give communion to patients.”

“Is Grandma Knudson there all alone?” Michelle asked Hannah.

“No. Marguerite and Clara Hollenbeck came back. They said they’d wait to make the church bank deposit until Reverend Matthew got back from the hospital.”

“When Hannah and I left, they were all eating Chocolate Euphoria Cookie Bars,” Norman added.

“I’m glad you made more than one pan,” Lisa told Hannah.

“She’s right,” Michelle said. “You should have heard the groan when Lisa announced that they were all gone. Are they hard to make? I could do some tonight in your oven at home. And that reminds me, I can stay with you, can’t I?”

“You can always stay with me. You know that. I gave you a copy of my key. And the hardest thing about making the Chocolate Euphoria Cookie Bars is lining the cake pan with heavy duty foil.”

“Okay. I’ll do a half-dozen pans for tomorrow. Do you have any other recipes?”

“I’m sure I do. I’ll just flip through the book and jot them down. They’re all on my computer at home.”

“When do you think I should incorporate the new information into my story?” Lisa asked Hannah.

“You’d better wait until tomorrow. We don’t know any real facts quite yet.”

“Okay, but I’m going to give them a little teaser, something like, If you notice that I look a little rattled, it’s because I just learned something shocking about Reverend Matthew that’ll turn this murder case topsy-turvy. Hannah’s waiting to have her information confirmed, and she promised me that I’ll be able to tell you all about it tomorrow.”

“That’s good!” Michelle complimented her.

“Thanks. I want to get everyone to come back tomorrow. Today’s only Tuesday and we already made more money this week than we did all last week.”

“Murder’s good for business,” Hannah said. “I don’t like it, but it’s true.”

“Intrigue and deception are also good for business,” Lisa pointed out, “and that’s what I’m going to talk about tomorrow. Everyone’s going to want to hear how you and Andrea called the seminary and found out that every one of Grandma Knudson’s suspicions could be explained away. And they’ll love it even more when I tell them how she was right for all the wrong reasons. I don’t think there’s a single person who comes in here who doesn’t love Grandma Knudson.”

“You’re probably right,” Hannah said, reaching in her pocket for the recipe Grandma Knudson had given her as they were leaving the parsonage. “She sent this for you because she remembered that pineapple is Herb’s favorite fruit. It’s from her daughter-in-law Janelle.”

Lisa glanced down at the recipe. “Pineapple Casserole? That’s something I’ve never heard of before.”

“Is it like a pineapple and meat hotdish?” Michelle asked her.

“No. I’m not sure what it is. It’s got chunk pineapple, sugar, flour, salt, baking soda, and grated cheddar cheese!”

“Cheddar cheese with pineapple?” Michelle sounded dubious. “Would that be good?”

“It’s delicious,” Norman told them. “Grandma Knudson insisted that we have fried ham and biscuits for lunch. And she made a pineapple casserole while we sat talking to her in the kitchen. It’s easy. It took her less than five minutes to make and it bakes for only a half hour or so. And the crushed cornflakes and butter on the top are really good.”