Raspberry Danish Murder (Hannah Swensen #22)(66)

“Yes. It’s a smooth, creamy custard. Just wait until you taste it. My grandmother used to make it, and the recipe was in her recipe box. Back then, they didn’t have almond butter and she had to make her own before she could mix up the rest of the pie.”

“Did she include a recipe for the almond butter?” Hannah asked, wondering if it was the same as the one she had.

“No. It wasn’t included in the pie recipe and I was too young to remember how she made it. Since Florence carries almond butter in the peanut butter and jelly aisle, I just used that. It worked really well in the custard.”

Sally waited until the busboy placed a slice in front of each of them. Then Sally picked up the bowl of sweetened whipped cream and garnished the top of their slices with a generous dollop. “You can decorate the whipped cream with fresh raspberries if you like. It makes the pie look a little dressier.”

She picked up her fork, and the three of them quickly followed suit. When they tasted the pie, smiles spread across everyone’s face.

“Well?” Sally asked as they each went for a second bite.

“I’m just not sure, Sally,” Norman said, cutting off another, much larger bite. “I may have to try another slice to make sure.”

“I agree,” Michelle told Sally. “It wouldn’t be fair to judge it on just one slice.”

Sally laughed and turned to Hannah. “Will you give me an opinion?” she asked.

“Yes, but I want to make sure the custard is consistent so I’d better have a second piece, too. So far, it’s incredibly delicious. I love the texture, and the almond flavor reminds me of marzipan with only one difference.”

“What’s that?” Sally asked.

“Your pie is more delicious and I like it a lot better than marzipan. And the raspberry glaze complements the almond flavor perfectly. Put it on the dessert menu, Sally. It’s definitely a huge winner.”

Their waitress brought a second pie, and everyone ate another slice. The busboy arrived with a fresh carafe of coffee, and after he had left, closing the curtains behind him, Sally leaned forward so that she could lower her voice.

“Are you ready to hear what I know about the murder case?” she asked Hannah.

“The three of us are all ears,” Hannah told her, letting Sally know that it was fine to share this information with Michelle and Norman.

“P.K. and Pinkie came out here quite a bit,” Sally told them. “It was their favorite place to eat. Dot got to know them quite well since they were here so often.”

Hannah held up her hand to stop Sally. “Just a minute, Sally. This is important. Do either you or Dot know Pinkie’s real name?”

“No. I was curious and I asked Dot. She checked around for me, and she said no one here had ever heard her called anything other than Pinkie. Dick doesn’t know either. I asked him.”

“How about Pinkie’s last name?” Michelle asked. “Was it ever on a credit card she used?”

Sally shook her head. “P.K. always paid so we don’t know that, either. Let me give you a little background about their relationship.”

Hannah drew her murder book out of her purse and found a pen. “Please do,” she told Sally.

“Pinkie didn’t eat red meat, but she loved my chicken and fish entrees. P.K. always had some kind of red meat, but he always asked Pinkie if that was okay. She would tell him that it really didn’t bother her to see him eating red meat and he should order whatever he wanted.”

“Did Pinkie drink wine with dinner?” Norman asked.

“No. Neither one of them drank alcohol, at least not out here. I asked Dick about that and he said both of them ordered Virgin Cuba Libres when they came to the bar. They’d come out here after P.K. got off work, sit in the bar with their drinks for a while, and then they’d come into the dining room for dinner.”

“Did Pinkie ever eat any of Dick’s pizza dip?” Michelle asked.

Sally smiled. “Dick told me that Pinkie loved it, but she made P.K. eat off all the pepperoni slices before she’d have any. He also told me that P.K. used to kid her about how he had to save her from temptation, and then they’d both laugh about it. Dick thought they were a really cute couple and he congratulated them on their engagement. He was about to offer them a bottle of champagne on the house, but then he remembered that they didn’t drink alcohol so he brought a chilled bottle of sparkling apple juice instead.”

“Did you see Pinkie or P.K. after they broke up?” Hannah asked.

“Yes, I saw her and she was desperately unhappy. It was shortly after the breakup. I could ask Dot to look up the exact date if you want it.”

“No, that’s okay,” Hannah told her, “but please keep it handy. If I need it for any reason, I’ll let you know.”

“It’ll be right there in the monthly reservation books. I keep all of them in a file box, just in case.”

“In case of a murder?” Michelle asked.

“That could be one reason I guess, but there are others.”

“Please tell us.” Norman was clearly curious.

“I started keeping the reservation books in case my tax returns were ever audited and they wanted to know who was working on a particular day. Dot writes the names of everyone’s server right under their reservation. It could also be useful if one of my diners is involved in a court case.”