Devil's Food Cake Murder (Hannah Swensen, #14)(67)

“I…yes. I can.” As they watched, Alice took a deep breath and visibly pulled herself together. “What’s the first question, Hannah?”

“When you left the church on Sunday night, did you see anyone else, anyone who could have been waiting to get in, parking in the lot or on the street, or even walking?”

Alice shook her head. “There was no one around. I looked. I didn’t exactly want to be seen. It’s just that Matthew and I used to date and everybody thinks I’m still carrying a torch for him. No, Hannah. There was no one within a block of the church, no one but me.”

“That helps, Alice. Thanks. The second question is about Paul, so you’re going to have to switch gears. Did Paul have any friends when he was here at Jordan High?”

“Only one that I can think of. Of course Matthew was his best friend. When they first got here, they palled around together. But then Matthew started dating me and Paul hooked up with Lenny Peske.”

“The bartender at the Eagle?” Michelle asked her.

“Yes. They were partners in crime, if you want to call it that. Paul and Lenny did all sorts of bad things, like breaking into school lockers, and playing nasty tricks on the teachers they didn’t like.”

“Thanks, Alice,” Hannah said quickly. She could tell that Alice was shaken and really needed to be left alone. “Call me if you need me for anything. You have my cell phone number, don’t you?”

“Yes. You gave it to me this afternoon.”

“Here’s mine, too,” Michelle took a card from her purse and handed it to Alice. “Sometimes Hannah forgets to charge hers.”

“So do I,” Alice said, giving Hannah a wan smile. And then she asked a question of her own. “Does Mike know that Paul was the one who was murdered?”

“He does now. The real Reverend Matthew went into the sheriff’s station to report it this afternoon.”

“Then they’ll probably be back tonight to ask me more questions. Maybe I’ll just ask one of the bowlers to run the tournament for me and lock up when it’s over. Digger’s here and he’s reliable. He took over for me Sunday night until I got back here at twenty to twelve. You can check with him on the time.”

“Thanks,” Hannah said.

“I hate to skip out again tonight, but I need some time to sort this out before the police ask me any more questions.”

“Don’t forget you’ve got an alibi,” Hannah reminded her.

“Yes, but does Mike know that?”

“Not yet,” Hannah admitted. “I’ll tell him the next time I see him, but I don’t think that’ll be until tomorrow. Of course he doesn’t know that you were at the church office, either. We just learned about it a few hours ago.”

“Okay. I’m going to go home, put on my favorite old robe, and watch a movie on television with my dogs. I’m going to eat every single one of your cookies, and maybe I’ll even have a couple of beers to wash them down. I’m not going to answer the door or the phone for anybody! Not even you, Hannah.”

“That’s fine with me. I’m not going to call you. You answered all the questions I can think of for now. Just go home and get some rest. You’ve been on an emotional roller coaster.”

Alice thought about that for a moment. “You’re right. It has been a roller coaster, and I always get sick on roller coasters. But I think I’m doing all right this time.” She reached down to grab the bag of cookies that Hannah had brought her, and held them aloft. “This time, I didn’t even lose my cookies.”

Hannah laughed, and so did Michelle. It wasn’t really that funny, but they were glad that Alice had recovered enough to make an attempt at humor.

“Come with me and you can talk to Digger,” Alice invited. “Ask him what time I got back here Sunday night, and he’ll tell you. And then I’ll ask him to fill in for me again tonight.”

Alice led the way to a team of bowlers in the seats behind the foul line at lane number three. Hannah noticed that Digger was there, and he was wearing a bright purple sweatshirt emblazoned with his team name, Lucky Stiffs.

“That’s a bad pun,” Michelle commented, “especially for an undertaker.”

“I know. Digger’s got more humor in him than you might think.” Alice stopped just short of approaching Digger and his team, and turned to Hannah. “Please don’t find any more bodies, Hannah. If I get implicated in any more murders, I’m going to have to put Digger on the payroll.”





NUTMEG SNAPS

Do not preheat the oven yet—this cookie dough must chill before baking.

1 cup salted butter, softened (2 sticks, 8 ounces, ? pound)





2 and ? cups dark brown sugar (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)***





2 large eggs





1 and ? teaspoons baking soda ? teaspoon salt





2 teaspoons ground nutmeg (or 1 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg)****





3 and ? cups all purpose flour (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)





2/3 cup dried apricots, chopped (measure AFTER chopping)