Lemon Meringue Pie Murder (Hannah Swensen #4)(22)

Yield: 8 to 10 dozen, depending on cookie size.





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(Delores says these cookies taste like the Walnetto caramels she loved as a child. She also told me that she likes the cookies better, because they don't pull out her fillings.)





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Chapter Seven

Hannah was ready to return to the coffee shop when the back door opened and Delores poked her head in. "Are you busy, dear?"

"I've got a minute," Hannah greeted her. "Come in and have a cookie. I've got Peanut Butter Melts, Apricot Drops, or Chocolate Chip Crunches."

Delores sat down on the stool Mike had vacated at the stainless-steel workstation. "I'll take a Chocolate Chip Crunch. You're going to investigate, aren't you?"

"No," Hannah answered, pouring a mug of coffee and setting it down in front of her mother.

"But you've got to investigate!"

"Why?"

"Because Rhonda's dead and we need to find out who killed her."

Hannah gulped. She'd told no one except Mike about the lime green tennis shoe. "How do you know it was Rhonda?"

"Bill told Andrea, and Andrea told me. I just got off the phone with her."

"What else did you learn?" Despite her resolve, Hannah's curiosity was aroused.

"Rhonda was stabbed with a knife."

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"Bill told Andrea that?"

"No, Bill and Mike don't know it yet. Minnie Holtzmeier told me."

"How does Minnie know?"

"Her son was driving the ambulance that took Rhonda to the morgue and he heard the two paramedics talking in the back. One of them said that it was a single stab wound and the blade of the knife went in between two ribs to puncture Rhonda's heart. The other one said Rhonda must have died instantly and that was a blessing."

"That's interesting, but I promised Mike I wouldn't interfere." Hannah placed two cookies on a napkin and carried them over to Delores. Her mother had only asked for one, but she always ate two and it would save her a return trip. "Don't pass that information around, Mother. It might hamper the investigation and it's really none of your business."

"Of course it's my business. I have a vested interest."

Hannah was puzzled. "What vested interest?"

"I'm the one who found Rhonda! I owe it to her to do everything in my power to see that her killer is caught. Haven't you heard that when you save someone's life, you bear a responsibility to them?"

Hannah had heard that line in a score of bad movies. "But you didn't save Rhonda's life. Rhonda was already dead when you found her."

"I know, but it still amounts to the same thing."

Hannah shook her head to clear it. Her mother's logic left a lot to be desired. She thought about pointing out the dissimilarities, but she wisely kept her silence. Arguing with Delores was an exercise in futility.

"You have a vested interest, too."

"What's my vested interest?" Hannah asked, regretting the question the moment it had left her lips.

"Rhonda's last meal was a piece of your Lemon Meringue Pie. If that's not a vested interest, I don't know what is! You have to help me investigate. It's your duty."

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"But you told me you didn't want me to investigate any more murders."

"That's perfectly true. It's not the sort of thing I want my daughter involved in, but these are extenuating circumstances. I'll run the investigation and you can just help me." Delores took a bite of her cookie and chewed thoughtfully. "What do you mink we should do first?"

Hide under the bed until this blows over? Lock ourselves in a cell to save Mike and Bill the trouble of doing it later? Hannah bit her tongue hard to keep from voicing any of her thoughts.

"I think we should make a list of the people who wanted Rhonda dead. That's the logical place to start. Get out your notebook, dear."

Hannah reached for one of the blank steno pads she kept handy. There was no way she was getting involved in Rhonda's murder investigation, but Delores didn't seem capable of taking no for an answer and it couldn't hurt to write down what her mother dictated. "Okay. I'm ready."

"Write down Norman."

"Norman?!" Hannah was so startled her pen dug a little hole in the page. "Why would Norman want Rhonda dead?"

"Because he bought her house. If he thought he paid too much for it, he would have been mad enough to kill her."

"That doesn't fly, Mother. Norman told me he made Rhonda a lowball offer and he got the house at a steal."

Delores frowned slightly and it was clear she wasn't happy about Hannah's revelation. "If you say so, dear. The house wasn't the motive then, but it doesn't mean that Norman didn't kill her. It's motive, means, and opportunity ... isn't that right?"

"It's right enough for the cop shows."

"That's good enough for me. Norman had the opportunity. He knew that Rhonda was going out there over the weekend to pick up some mementos."

"That's true," Hannah said, but she set down her pen. "I