Raspberry Danish Murder (Hannah Swensen #22)(41)

*

Hannah slipped the last pan of cookies onto a shelf in her industrial oven and closed the door. After she’d set the timer, she walked to the kitchen coffeepot and poured herself a cup. A moment later, she was sitting on her usual stool at the work station.

Her saddlebag purse seemed to loom large on the stool next to her. It drew her like a magnet, and her curious mind demanded satisfaction. Go ahead and look, it urged her. You’re alone and you’ve put it off long enough. Everyone else is in the coffee shop, and no one will notice if it upsets you. You want to know, don’t you?

She did want to know, and Hannah reached over to open her purse. She drew out the folded sheet of paper that Doug had given her and held it in her hand. Ross had spent the weeks preceding their marriage telling her not to worry, that they could afford it whenever he spent large sums of money, but was it true? Or would there be some huge credit card bills coming in the mail for her husband?

Hannah sent up a silent prayer that Ross had enough money to pay any bills that would arrive, and then she unfolded the paper.

She was afraid to look at the paper. She eyed the swinging restaurant-style door instead, half hoping that someone would push through and she would have to stuff it back in her purse, but it was perfectly motionless.

Coward! Hannah’s mind chided her. You’ll have to look, sooner or later. Do it right now while you have some privacy. Take a deep breath and just do it!

She took a deep breath and looked down at the printout. The balance of the first account was a little over thirty thousand dollars, and it showed an interbank transfer of sixty thousand dollars. The transfer must be for the money that Ross had deposited in her personal checking account.

The second account was next, and Hannah noticed that it was a money market account. The balance on that account was close to a hundred thousand dollars!

Hannah was so shocked, she dropped the paper. She knew that KCOW paid Ross a good salary, but that couldn’t account for this much money. No wonder he’d told her not to worry, that they could afford to pay for their honeymoon cruise!

She blinked to make sure her eyes wouldn’t add any extra zeros to the balance of the third account. This one was an interest-bearing savings account, and it contained two hundred and twenty-six thousand dollars. Ross had over four hundred thousand dollars in the Lake Eden First Mercantile Bank!

Hannah stared down at the paper in awe. Maybe Ross wasn’t in the same category as Bill Gates or Warren Buffett, but he had more money in the bank than she could ever hope to accrue in her lifetime.

She raised her coffee cup and took a sip. Then she looked down at the paper again. The totals were still the same. She hadn’t imagined it. She pinched herself, just to make sure that this wasn’t a very real dream, and looked again. Still the same. It was really true.

Hannah propped her head up with her hands. She felt slightly light-headed and just a bit dizzy with everything that had happened. Things were moving too fast, moving away from her and out of her control. She reminded herself to breathe deeply, and when she felt more in control, she examined the paper again. The totals were there, clearly printed in black ink.

The timer rang, and Hannah found she was grateful for the interruption. She needed to think about something besides wondering how Ross had accumulated all that money. She grabbed her oven mitts, moved the bakers rack closer to the oven, and took the trays from the shelves, one by one. The Maple Crunch Cookies would have to cool on the pans for a minute or two to crisp up before she placed the cookies on the bakers rack.

Several minutes later, the cookies and their parchment paper lining were on the racks. They smelled wonderful, and Hannah was glad she’d thought to make them. Now all that remained was to taste-test them. If they were good, she would bake more to take to the convention hall to sell as breakfast cookies.

Hannah was about to sit down at the work station again when there was a knock on the back door. It was a knock she recognized, and she hurried to let Norman in.

“Hi, Hannah,” he greeted her, as he hung his parka on a hook by the back kitchen door. “Do I smell fresh cookies? Or are they . . . pancakes?!”

Hannah laughed. “They’re not pancakes, but they do smell like that. They’re Maple Crunch Cookies. Sit down, Norman. I’ll get you a cup of coffee, and then I’ll see if the cookies are cool enough to put on a plate.”

While Norman sipped his coffee, Hannah walked over to the bakers rack to test the cookies. Since they were still warm but not hot, she filled a plate and carried it back to the work station.

“Try one, Norman,” she urged as she set the plate down in front of him. “I’ve never baked these before and I want to know what you think of them.”

Norman reached for a cookie and took a bite. Then he began to smile. “They’re good,” he told her. “I’d like to eat these for breakfast at least twice a week, maybe more. They’re crunchy and sweet, and they taste like maple syrup. They’re even better than pancakes. There’s something else, too. It’s something I like, but I can’t quite figure out what it is.”

“Corn flakes.”

“That’s it!” Norman nodded and reached for another cookie. “So it’s cereal and pancakes, two of my favorites for breakfast. Are you going to try them out on your customers today?”

“Yes. They love it when we try out new cookies.”

“Because they enjoy giving you their opinion?”