Raspberry Danish Murder (Hannah Swensen #22)(26)

Drop by rounded spoonful onto your prepared cookie sheet, 12 cookies to a standard size sheet.





Moisten the palm of your hand and press the cookies down slightly. You can also do this with a metal spatula dipped in water to keep the dough from sticking to the spatula.





Bake at 350 degrees F., for 12 to 15 minutes, or until they are a nice, golden brown. (Mine took 14 minutes.)





While the first pan of cookies is baking, mix up the topping.





Heat the lemon juice just a bit in the microwave. (The sugar will dissolve more easily if the juice is warm.) Add the sugar and stir until it is dissolved. Place the topping next to your wire cooling racks, along with a pastry brush.





When the cookies come out of the oven, remove them to a wire rack with a piece of foil placed under the rack to catch the drips when you brush on the topping. If you’ve used parchment paper, just pull the paper with the cookies on it from the cookie sheet onto the wire rack. Leave the cookies on the parchment paper and there’s no need for a piece of foil under the rack.





Brush the Lemon Topping onto the hot cookies. The faster you do this, the quicker the topping will dry into a glaze.





Yield: Approximately 5 dozen sweet and tart cookies, depending on cookie size.





Chapter Nine


After Norman left, Hannah composed herself, and then she returned Cyril Murphy’s call. Mike had told her that when the crime scene investigators released Ross’s car, he would call Cyril and one of his mechanics would go to pick it up and assess the damage.

“Hi, Cyril,” Hannah said when the owner of Cyril’s Garage and Shamrock Limousine Service came on the line. “It’s Hannah. My sister Michelle told me you’d called?”

“Hello, Hannah,” Cyril responded, and Hannah began to smile. Even though Cyril had never lived in Ireland, his parents had immigrated from the Emerald Isle and there was still a slight trace of an Irish brogue in Cyril’s voice.

“It’s about the car. I had my top mechanic go over it, and there’s surprisingly little damage. Mike told me that he’d hit a deer and that usually does all sorts of damage.”

“He just sideswiped it, Cyril.”

“Oh, then that explains the dent in the fender that my guys popped out. There was a scrape on the side that we took care of with touch-up paint and that’s the extent of the body damage. Good thing there was a lot of snow in that ditch. The car had a soft landing, and it still runs just fine.”

“That’s good, I guess,” Hannah said, shuddering slightly. She knew she would never want to drive it, and she was almost certain that Michelle wouldn’t either. Neither one of them could forget the fact that P.K. had died behind the wheel.

“What do you want me to do with it, Hannah? I can have a couple of my mechanics drop it off in your extra space at the condo.”

“I . . . I don’t think that’s a good idea, Cyril. If it sits right next to my cookie truck at the condo, it’s just going to make us sad every time we see it. Since Ross isn’t here to make a decision, I’m not sure what I should do with it.”

“I understand. But it’s not Ross’s decision, Hannah. It’s yours.”

Hannah was confused. “What do you mean? It’s Ross’s car.”

“No, it’s not. The pink slip was in the glove box, and Ross signed it over to you.”

Hannah pulled out the chair by the phone and sat down hard. “He did?”

“Yes. He signed it and dated it.”

“Dated it?”

“Yes. I’ve got it right here on my desk. Do you want to know the date?”

“Yes, please.”

Cyril read the date to her and Hannah came close to gasping. It was the day that Ross had left Lake Eden. She drew a deep breath to steady herself, but that didn’t keep the deep wave of grief from washing over her. Ross had signed his car over to her and put the keys in Michelle’s dresser. Had he feared that he wasn’t coming back anytime soon? Or perhaps not at all?

“Do you want to think about it and call me back, Hannah?” Cyril asked her.

“Um . . . no. I know what I want to do with it, Cyril. Make it look as good as you can and sell it. And I’ll use the money to buy a nice used car from your lot for Michelle. Give her a couple of options and I’ll bring her out to choose what she wants tomorrow morning.”

“I’ll do that this afternoon, Hannah. I’ve got someone in Long Prairie who’s looking for that exact make and model. I can send one of my mechanics over on his break to bring you the pink slip so you can sign it.”

Hannah made another instant decision. “That’s fine, Cyril. I’ll send back some cookies for you. It’s really nice of you to do this.”

“No problem. I’ll run the price past you before I make a deal with the buyer.”

“Don’t bother,” Hannah said instantly. She knew that Cyril would never cheat her. “Just sell it and pick out some used cars you think Michelle would like. And thanks, Cyril. You’re making things easy for me.”

“My pleasure, darlin’.”