Raspberry Danish Murder (Hannah Swensen #22)(46)

Place the bowl in the microwave and heat the strawberry filling for 1 minute at HIGH power. Let the bowl sit in the microwave for an additional minute and then try to stir the mixture smooth with a heat resistant spatula or a wooden spoon. If you cannot stir it smooth, heat it for an additional 20 seconds at HIGH power, let it sit in the microwave for an equal length of time, and then try again. Repeat as often as necessary, alternating heating and standing times until the chips are melted.





Once your strawberry filling is ready, add the half-teaspoon of vanilla extract and stir it in. DO NOT ADD THE SALT YET.





Pour the strawberry filling over the baked crust in the pan as evenly as you can. Smooth it out with the rubber spatula.





Here comes the salt! Sprinkle the sea salt or Kosher salt over the strawberry filling in the pan.





Take the remaining sweet dough out of the refrigerator and unwrap it. It has been refrigerated for 35 minutes or more and it should be thoroughly chilled.





With your impeccably clean fingers, crumble the dough over the strawberry filling as evenly as you can, letting some of the strawberry filling peek through.





Return the pan to the oven and bake at 325 degrees F. for 25 to 30 additional minutes, or until the strawberry filling is bubbly and the crumble crust is light golden brown.





Take your pan of bar cookies out of the oven, shut off the oven, and place the pan on a wire rack to cool completely.





Hannah’s 3rd Note: Do not be tempted to cut your Sweet & Salty Strawberry Bar Cookies until they are completely cool. That strawberry filling will stay hot and molten for at least 20 to 30 minutes.





When your bar cookies are completely cool, cut them into brownie-size pieces, place them on a pretty plate, and serve them to your guests. If you want to make them even prettier, add a few fresh strawberries around the edge of the plate.





Chapter Fifteen


Hannah and Mike sat in front of Doug Greerson’s desk. She was sipping a cup of peppermint tea, something she usually didn’t drink, but the butterflies in her stomach had been startled into flight by her fear that Ross might have done something illegal to have accumulated so much money.

Mike put down his cup of espresso and locked eyes with Doug. Hannah could tell that he was frustrated.

“Why didn’t you call to tell me this when Ross didn’t come back to town?”

Doug made a helpless gesture. “Number one, you didn’t ask me. And number two, there’s an issue of confidentiality here and federal regulations apply. I have to file a report if anyone deposits over ten thousand dollars in currency, but not if they withdraw large sums. If I called you every time one of our customers made a large deposit or took out a large sum of money, I wouldn’t be a banker in this town for long!”

Mike didn’t look happy, but he nodded. “Okay. You’re right.”

Doug turned to look at Hannah. “Besides, I thought Hannah would tell you when she reconciled her bank statement. That deposit was listed on her statement.”

Hannah couldn’t help feeling horribly guilty. “I’m sorry, Doug. I didn’t even look at it when it came. I just put it on my desk to take care of when I had the time.”

Doug sighed. “I know you keep a running balance, Hannah, but you should at least look at your statement every month. If you think there’s a discrepancy, we want to know immediately.”

“You’re right, Doug,” Hannah admitted. “I promise I’ll do that when I get next month’s statement.”

“Statements,” Doug corrected her with the plural. “You’ll get a statement for your personal checking, your corporate account, and the three accounts you share with Ross. There are some large sums involved and it would be best if you showed more fiscal responsibility. If you need any help handling things, I’ll be glad to be of assistance.”

“I promise I’ll take care of it, but thank you, Doug.” Hannah was embarrassed, and she turned to Mike to change the subject. “Did you find anything helpful in the printouts Doug gave you?”

“Yes,” Mike said, giving her hand a squeeze before he switched his attention to Doug. “I need to know if Ross made his last withdrawals in cash.”

“Just a moment, Mike.” Doug addressed Hannah. “Do I have your permission to discuss this, Hannah?”

“Yes,” Hannah answered quickly.

“All right then. Ross wanted the cash in bills no larger than twenties and fifties. Normally, we don’t keep that much cash on hand. There’s no call for it. But we always start ordering more cash at the end of May and the end of November.”

Hannah was puzzled. “Why then?”

“People want new, crisp bills for graduation presents and Christmas gifts. You’d be surprised at how many bills are requested over the holidays, especially after Jon Walker started to carry graduation and Christmas cards that have slots to hold cash at his drugstore.”

“I remember getting a card from my aunt with little slots on a Christmas tree,” Mike said with a smile. “It held dimes and it was so heavy, she had to put three stamps on the envelope.”