Raspberry Danish Murder (Hannah Swensen #22)(86)

Hannah shook her head. “Not on a bet! They’re too good warm. I’ll let my second one cool . . . if I can wait that long.”

Just then, the phone rang, and since Michelle was closer, she reached up to the wall phone and grabbed the receiver. “Hello?” she answered.

There was a moment of silence while Michelle listened to the caller, and then she stretched out the cord and handed the receiver to Hannah. “It’s Sue from Doctor Bob’s office.”

“Hi, Sue,” Hannah greeted her. “Are you calling with the results of Moishe’s tests?”

“Yes, I am.”

“But it’s more than an hour before you open. Are you at the office already?”

“No, we’re having our first cup of coffee, but I knew you’d be up and Bob wanted me to call. He says that Moishe is a very healthy kitty. All his levels are perfect and there’s no sign of any infection or disease. Moishe’s even lost a little weight, and Bob says to tell you that you must be doing something right with his diet.”

“But why is Moishe so tired all the time?” Hannah asked her.

“Bob wants me to remind you that Moishe is getting older and he’ll be sleeping more now. There’s another thing, too. Cats tend to nap when they’re bored. There’s also another possibility.”

“What’s that?”

“Moishe is staying awake because something has engaged his interest during the day while you’re gone and that makes him tired and want a nap.”

“Like what?”

“Perhaps a mouse somewhere in your condo, or a bug he wants to catch, or even something he sees outside the window. Bob suggests that you leave the television or radio on for him to keep him company while you’re at work.”

“I already do that, Sue.”

“Then don’t worry about it. Cats go through phases, just like people do. Their sleep habits aren’t always the same. Moishe may be prowling around at night because he hears something moving in the walls, or a noise in the attic, or something happening in another unit. Bob ran every test in the book on him. If there were anything wrong with Moishe, he would have found it.”

“Thanks, Sue. That’s a big relief. See you soon.” Hannah handed the receiver to Michelle to hang up. “Moishe’s fine,” she reported. “Sue said there’s nothing wrong with him.”

Hannah had no sooner picked up her muffin again when there was a knock on the door. The two sisters exchanged glances, and then both of them laughed.

“Mike?” Michelle guessed.

“Probably. It sounded like his knock. I guess his food-dar is working early this morning.”

Michelle got to her feet and hurried to the door. “Hi, Mike,” she said, pulling it open.

“You didn’t look through the peephole,” Mike said, frowning slightly. “Always look through the peephole to make sure you know who’s knocking.”

“I knew,” Michelle told him. “Both of us knew. Come in and have a muffin, Mike. Hannah’s in the kitchen.”

Mike looked as if he wanted to give her a short lecture about taking precautions before opening the outside door, but the lure of muffins was too great. He just said, “Well, please be more careful in the future,” and went to join Hannah at the table.

“What are those?” he asked, watching as Hannah put the last bite of muffin in her mouth.

“Orange Marmalade Filled Oatmeal Muffins.”

“I don’t know if I like orange marmalade, or not.”

“You’ll like it in these muffins,” Hannah promised, getting up to pour him a mug of coffee. She took two more muffins out of the pan, wrapped them in a napkin, and delivered the coffee and the muffins to Mike. “Try them,” she advised. “You’ll like them.”

“They smell great, but I tried one of those little packets of orange marmalade on some toast when I went out for breakfast at the Corner Tavern, and I didn’t like it.”

“This is different.”

“How is it different?”

“It’s different because you’re going to love it. All you have to do is take a bite and you’ll see.”

“Okay, if you say so.” Mike bit into the muffins, and a surprised expression crossed his face. “It’s good!”

Michelle came into the kitchen just in time to hear Mike’s comment. “Of course it’s good. I made them. Where’s Lonnie? I thought you two were working together today.”

“We are. He’s going to meet . . .” Mike stopped speaking as there was another knock at the door. “. . . me here,” he finished the sentence. “That’s probably him now.” As Michelle turned to go to the door, he called after her, “Look through the peephole or Lonnie will give you an even longer lecture than the one that I gave Hannah.”





ORANGE MARMALADE FILLED OATMEAL MUFFINS


Preheat oven to 400 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

(That’s four hundred degrees F., not a misprint.)



1 and ? cups all-purpose flour (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)

? cup rolled oats (not instant – I used Quaker’s Quick 1-Minute)

? cup white (granulated) sugar

? teaspoon salt