Chapter Twenty-five
Hannah was melting semi-sweet chocolate chips in a saucepan on the stove when Aunt Nancy came in from the coffee shop. “What are you making, Hannah?” she asked.
“Chocolate-Covered Peanut Butter Candy. I thought we could offer it for sale on Valentine’s Day.”
“Good idea! If it’s okay with you, Hannah, Lisa and I are going to leave soon. We already locked the front door and we’re almost done with the cleanup in the coffee shop.”
Hannah glanced up at the clock and was surprised to see that it was after five-thirty. “Go ahead. I’m just waiting for Norman to come back and then I’ll leave, too.”
After Aunt Nancy went back in the coffee shop, Hannah realized that the chocolate she’d been stirring was bubbling. She pulled it off the heat, set it on a pot holder on the stainless-steel work station, and waited for it to cool a bit. If she dipped the refrigerated peanut butter balls in the hot melted chocolate now, they could slide off the food picks before she could take them out of the chocolate and transfer them to the cookie sheet she’d covered with wax paper.
Hannah went to the coffeepot, poured herself one last cup, and sat down on a stool at the work station. She took one sip of coffee, realized that she didn’t really want it and her stomach was upset again, and got up to empty her cup at the sink. She was just wondering if she should eat a soda cracker to try to settle her stomach when Lisa and Aunt Nancy came into the kitchen.
“Unless you have something else you want us to do, we’re leaving now,” Lisa told her. “Would you like to leave a note for Norman on the door and come with us? I can drop you off at your mother’s condo.”
“No, Norman will be here in fifteen minutes or so and . . .” Hannah stopped speaking and listened. “Is that someone at the front door?”
“I’ll go see,” Lisa said, heading back into the coffee shop. Hannah heard her say something to whoever was out there and a moment later, Lisa came back into the kitchen. “Tom Larchmont is out there. He says the heater went out on his rental car and he’s freezing. He wants to know if we still have the coffee on.”
Hannah glanced over at the kitchen coffeepot. “Let him in and bring him back here, Lisa. I’ve got half a pot left.”
A moment later, Tom came through the swinging door with Lisa. “Hi, Hannah,” he greeted her. “Did Lisa tell you that I’m freezing?”
“She did.” Hannah gestured toward one of the stools at the work station. “Sit down, Tom. I’ll get you a cup of hot coffee from the kitchen pot. I’m glad you came in before I left.”
“Oh?” Tom looked curious. “Why’s that?”
“Because I want you to take some candy out to the Lake Eden Inn for Lynne and now I can give it to you.”
“I should get my coat and hat. I left them on the rack by the front door.”
“That’s okay. You can get them right before you leave. If you’re parked in front, I’ll let you out that way.”
“That’s where I’m parked. Thanks, Hannah.” Tom cupped his hands around the hot mug of coffee that she’d set in front of him. “I’m chilled to the bone.”
“Do you want us to help you with the candy?” Aunt Nancy asked Hannah.
Hannah shook her head. “You two go ahead. I can do it once Tom warms up and is ready to leave. Go home and I’ll see you both in the morning.”
“How about the front door?” Lisa asked Hannah. “Do you want me to lock it?”
Hannah shook her head. “You can leave it open. I’ll lock it when Tom leaves.”
Once Lisa and Aunt Nancy had left, Hannah sat down across from Tom. “Lynne called to tell me that you were coming back late tonight or early tomorrow.”
“Yes, and I decided I’d come back tonight. I’ve been away too much lately. And I feel really guilty because I promised Lynne that we’d come to Lake Eden early and it would be like a mini-vacation. And then I had to leave on the second day we were here.”
“I know she missed you,” Hannah said truthfully. “She said you two hadn’t been able to spend much time together lately.”
“It’s true. And that’s why I didn’t take the time to switch to a rental car with a better heater. I wanted to get back here to Lynne.”
Hannah smiled. This boded well for their marriage. “I hope everything works out, Tom.”
“So do I. I know we should spend more time together. It’s just that Lynne’s been busy doing commercials for a cosmetic company and I’ve been swamped with work. It seems like we’re never home at the same time anymore. And that’s why I called this morning and booked a twenty-day cruise. I know Lynne doesn’t have any assignments until the middle of next month, and I’ve told all my clients that I won’t be available by phone or e-mail during that time.”
“That’s wonderful, Tom,” Hannah said. “Does Lynne enjoy being on the ocean?”
“She loves it. And I booked the owner’s suite on her favorite cruise line.”
“Which one is that?”
“Gala. Lynne really enjoys their specialty restaurants and the Jacuzzi on the top deck. She likes to sit in the Jacuzzi with me and watch the sun set over the water.”
“That sounds lovely,” Hannah commented, but her mind was racing. The beach towel that Norman had found in the clubhouse had been taken from a ship in the Gala fleet. “Does Lynne have a favorite ship?”
“Yes, the Expedition. We were on it for our honeymoon.”
Find out more, Hannah’s suspicious mind prodded her. But before she could open her mouth, her rational mind reminded her, Lots of people go on cruises. This may not mean anything at all.
But it could mean something, her suspicious mind argued. Think of a way to find out more.
Okay. Think of a way, but be very careful, her rational mind cautioned. If Tom is the person who pushed Clara down and stole her phone, you don’t want to ask anything that’ll let him know that you suspect him.
Hannah thought fast, remembering what she’d noticed in her condo clubhouse. Ask Tom if he lost a pair of binoculars, her suspicious mind prodded.
No, don’t do that! her rational mind argued. That question is way out of left field.
What do you mean? Hannah’s suspicious mind asked.
It’s simple. If Tom is the person who pushed Clara down in the snow, stole her phone, took her door key, and gained access to the clubhouse, you’ll tip him off that you know. Besides, why would he go in the condo clubhouse and use his binoculars? It just doesn’t make sense.
Oh, yes it does! I thought you were the rational one here! Just let me explain it to you. Clara took a photo of Tom and Tom knew it. He didn’t want to be seen right outside the condo complex so he pushed Clara down, stole her phone and her door key, got in the clubhouse, and probably stayed there for several nights.
That tells us what you think he might have done, but why would Tom stay in the clubhouse instead of going to Minneapolis? And why did he need those binoculars?
Hannah thought about the table where she’d found the binoculars. It faced her building and it would enable Tom to watch for anyone entering her condo.
Very good! both sides of her mind exclaimed at once. And then her suspicious mind carried it even further. Tom was watching to see if Ross would come out to her condo.
But how will you discover if that’s true? the rational part of her mind asked.
The Buffalo Plaid hat! the suspicious part of Hannah’s mind answered the question. Tom left his coat and hat on the rack by the front door in the coffee shop. All I have to do is figure out some way to look at that coatrack.
“Let me put on another pot of coffee,” Hannah said, smiling at Tom. “You’re still shaking from the cold and you’re going to need more than one cup. I’m going up front to grab your coat from the rack. You have to get warm for the drive out to the Lake Eden Inn.”
“Thanks, Hannah,” Tom said, still cupping his hands around his coffee mug and lifting it to take a sip. “But am I keeping you here when you want to lock up and leave?”
“Not at all,” Hannah said quickly, gesturing toward the chocolate cooling on the work station. “I still have to dip some peanut butter candy balls in this chocolate and put them in the cooler for the night. Don’t worry, Tom. I was going to work for another half hour or so anyway. Just let me put on that pot of coffee and I’ll get your coat.”
Hannah refilled Tom’s mug, put on another pot, and then she made her escape to the coffee shop. She hurried to the coatrack by the front door, lifted Tom’s parka from the hook, and gave a little gasp as she spotted his hat. It was black-and-green Buffalo Plaid exactly like the one in the photo that Norman had enhanced! She had to tell Mike right away!
If you call him on the phone, Tom will hear you, her rational mind cautioned.
That was true and Hannah knew it. Instead of using the wall phone, she drew her cell phone from the pocket of her apron and took a photo of the cap. Then she typed in a short message that read, TOM LARCHMONT’S HAT. COME TO FRONT DOOR QUICK! HERE AT TCJ!
Leaving the hat on the hook, Hannah hurried back to the kitchen, clutching Tom’s coat. “Here,” she said, slipping the parka over Tom’s shoulders. “This should help.”
“Thanks, Hannah.” Tom slipped his arms in the sleeves and pulled the parka closely around him. “It’s helping. I’m feeling warmer already.”
“Good. Just let me get the peanut butter balls and start dipping them in chocolate. Then, as soon as they cool, you can have one.”
Hannah made a quick trip to the freezer to retrieve her frozen peanut butter balls and brought them back to the work station. Then she picked up one of the frozen balls by the end of the food pick and dipped it into the melted chocolate. After she’d coated it, she set it on the cookie sheet that was lined with wax paper. “I’m thinking about buying a pair of binoculars,” she said in a way she hoped would sound casual. “Have you ever used binoculars, Tom?”
“Yes, when I go out to a job site, I sometimes use them to survey the work in progress before I actually talk to the contractor.”
“You survey construction sites?” Hannah was puzzled. “But I thought you were an investment counselor for large, corporations.”
“That’s right and I sometimes recommend investing in real-estate projects like sports arenas, shopping malls, and apartment and condo complexes. I always check out past projects and those in progress to make sure the work being done matches the blueprints the builders provide.”
“Oh. That sounds like interesting work. Do you have a background in construction?”
“Yes, my father owned a construction company.”
“So you know what to look for then.” Hannah knew she had to get the conversation back to binoculars. “I can see where binoculars would come in handy for you. What type of binoculars would you recommend for someone like me?”
“That all depends on how you want to use them. If you’re talking about bird-watching, I’d recommend binoculars with high magnification, true color, and an excellent focal range. Tell me why you need binoculars.”
Hannah thought fast. “I’m planning a river boat cruise and I want to get a cabin with a balcony. I’d like to be able to watch the shoreline for scenic places to visit, and I want to watch for indigenous wildlife along the shores.”
“Then you should look into Bausch and Lomb.” Tom gave a little smile. “For a moment there, I thought you wanted to spy on your neighbors.”
Hannah shook her head. “My neighbors aren’t that interesting, but I might use binoculars on my landing. There’s a pine grove behind us and I might be able to spot a porcupine or a deer.”
“You could probably see things like that with the naked eye. You must have a good view from the second floor.”
He knows where you live, the suspicious part of Hannah’s mind pointed out.
Don’t freak! You may have mentioned it to Lynne, and Lynne may have mentioned it to Tom, the rational part of Hannah’s mind made that connection. You don’t keep where you live a secret. Everyone in Lake Eden knows, and Tom was here for the filming of the movie.
“Are you warmer now?” Hannah asked as she refilled Tom’s coffee cup again.
“Yes. I’m finally warming up,” Tom told her. “The coffee and the parka really helped.”
“I can always run back in the coffee shop and get your hat,” Hannah offered. “Mother always says that most of your body heat escapes from the extremities and if your feet and your head are warm in the winter, you’ll stay warm all over.”
“It’s okay, Hannah. I don’t need my hat. It’s warm here in the kitchen.”
“I noticed your hat and it’s really nice,” Hannah opened the subject of Tom’s hat. “I haven’t seen Buffalo Plaid on a hat before.”
Careful! the rational part of Hannah’s mind warned. He’s beginning to look suspicious.
Go ahead, Hannah, the suspicious part of her mind egged her on. You have to find out if Tom pushed Clara down in the snow because he didn’t want anyone to know that he was hiding out in the clubhouse and watching our staircase for Ross.
But where’s the motive? the rational part of her mind asked. If Tom killed Ross, he had to have a reason.
Hannah ignored the ongoing debate in her mind and asked another question. “Do you know anyone who lives in my condo complex, Tom?”
Tom looked puzzled by her question. “I don’t think so. Why do you ask?”
“Because I was in the clubhouse yesterday and there was a towel from the Gala Expedition hanging in the men’s shower room. I thought that it might be yours.”
Now you’ve stepped in it! the suspicious part of Hannah’s mind chided her. Just look at his face. He’s on to you!
You’re right, the rational part of Hannah’s mind agreed. The fat’s in the fire now. But if Tom watched for Ross and killed him, what’s the motive?
Hannah dipped another frozen peanut butter ball in the chocolate. She had to work quickly because it wasn’t quite cool enough.
“I should never have stopped here,” Tom said, reaching inside his pocket and pulling out a gun. “I should have known you’d figure it out. Sorry, Hannah. I liked you. And I liked Ross, too, until he double-crossed me with the movie.”
Hannah froze with her hand on the handle of the pan with the chocolate. Do something! both sides of her mind shouted. Keep him talking!
It was good advice and Hannah took it. She had to keep Tom talking until Mike arrived! “I don’t understand. Ross double-crossed me, but how did he double-cross you?”
The pistol pointed at Hannah’s head didn’t waver, but a slight smile crossed Tom’s face. “It won’t do you any good, you know. I have to kill you whether I tell you or not.”
“I understand that. What I don’t understand is how Ross double-crossed you.”
“It was an investment. I invested other people’s money in Ross’s movie.”
“Are you talking about Crisis in Cherrywood?”
“Yes, and I convinced several of my biggest investment clients to join me. We completely financed the movie.”
“But Crisis in Cherrywood made money, didn’t it?”
Tom gave a humorless laugh. “Yes, it did. And that’s the problem.”
Hannah could tell that Tom was watching her face and not paying much attention to her hands. Her right hand was on the handle of the chocolate pan and her left hand was holding the food pick that contained the peanut butter candy ball. Slowly, Hannah released her hold on the food pick and let the peanut butter ball slip down into the melted chocolate. This meant she had both hands free. She wasn’t quite sure how much good this did, but she told herself to concentrate on asking questions. Somehow, she had to keep Tom talking until Mike got here.
“I knew that Crisis in Cherrywood made money. A few weeks before we got married . . .” Hannah stopped speaking and sighed. “I guess I should rephrase that. A few weeks before I thought we got married, Ross sold his independent films to WCCO-TV and he told me he made a lot of money. Didn’t he pay you and your clients back for your investment?”
“That wasn’t the problem, Hannah. You see . . . we’d invested in Ross’s films before and all of them had lost money. My clients and I thought that Crisis in Cherrywood would lose money, too.”
“You wanted it to lose money?”
“That’s right. You can buy insurance against bad investments. Backers of Broadway plays do it all the time. The insurance pays off if the play fails to make money in a certain time frame. I found an insurance company that did this for indie films, and my clients and I bought the insurance.”
Hannah knew exactly what Tom was talking about, but she decided to play dumb. If he had to explain it to her, it would buy her a few more minutes.
“That seems . . . wrong somehow. You and your clients paid to finance Crisis in Cherrywood, but you wanted it to fail?”
“That’s right. It all has to do with the insurance, Hannah. We were all ready to collect on the insurance when Ross sold Crisis in Cherrywood as a television movie. If he’d waited a month, we would have collected on the insurance company.”
“But . . . how was that double-crossing you?”
“Ross knew about the insurance and he agreed to hold off on the sale. But what they offered him was a lot more than we’d invested, and he decided to go for the bigger bucks.”
“And he didn’t pay back your original investment?”
“Oh, he paid that back. But we weren’t looking for our money back. We were looking for the insurance payoff. And that was a lot more money.”
“And Ross knew that?”
“He knew, but he didn’t care. Fame was more important to Ross than fortune. He loved going to film festivals and being touted as the new auteur in the indie circuit. And remember. . . we also lost money because we couldn’t write off the losing investment on this year’s taxes. Instead, every one of my clients simply broke even and they were counting on taking advantage of the loss.”
“I think I’m beginning to understand,” Hannah said, sending up a silent prayer for Mike to hurry.
“And now, Hannah . . . hand me one of those candies you just made and I’ll tell you if I like them right before I pull the trigger.”
Hannah reached for a piece of candy with her left hand and carefully lifted the melted chocolate with her right hand. “Here you go,” she said, holding out the candy so that Tom would have to reach out with his hand to pull the candy off the food pick.
Things happened very fast from that point on, although Hannah saw them in slow motion.
Tom reached out for the candy. Hannah lifted the pan with the hot, melted chocolate. Tom grasped the candy, preparing to pull it off the food pick. Hannah threw the chocolate. Tom screamed as the heated chocolate drenched his face. A shot rang out. There was another scream and Hannah knew that it came from her as Tom crumpled to the floor.
It took long moments for the realization to hit her. She was still alive. Tom was stretched out on the floor, but she was still alive.
Hannah sat down hard as her legs gave out beneath her. She was still alive. She could feel her toes and her legs, and her arms, and there was chocolate everywhere. Then strong arms wrapped around her and Hannah burrowed into them.
“Easy, Hannah. It’s over now,” Mike said. “And if you ever do this again, I’m going to take away your license to heat chocolate.”
Hannah couldn’t help it. She started to laugh. And as she laughed, the room stopped whirling around her and she drew a deep breath of air.
“Thank you, Mike,” she said. “But next time, please get here faster.”
CHOCOLATE-COVERED PEANUT BUTTER CANDY
No need to preheat oven—this is a NO-BAKE recipe.
½ cup peanut butter (I used Jif)
¼ cup salted butter (½ stick, 2 ounces), softened
¼ cup finely chopped salted peanuts (measure AFTER chopping)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups powdered (confectioners) sugar (do not sift)
1 small box food picks or long toothpicks
2 cups (12-ounce by weight package) semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used Nestlé)
1 rounded Tablespoon salted butter, softened
Hannah’s 1st Note: If you can’t find food picks in your grocery store, you can buy them at a party store or a restaurant supply store. Most food picks look like toothpicks, but they have a colored cellophane decoration on one end and you’ve probably seen them used on cheese platters or on platters of little appetizers.
Prepare your pan by lining a cookie sheet with wax paper.
Use a wooden spoon or fork to mix the peanut butter with the ¼ cup softened butter in a medium-sized bowl.
Sprinkle the ¼ cup finely chopped salted peanuts on top and mix them in thoroughly.
Add the vanilla extract and mix that in.
Add the powdered sugar in half-cup increments, mixing well after each addition.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for at least one hour so that the mixture will firm up. (Longer than one hour is fine, too.)
Using impeccably clean hands, roll pop-in-your-mouth-size balls from the peanut butter mixture.
Stick a food pick into each ball and place the completed balls on your prepared cookie sheet lined with wax paper.
Hannah’s 2nd Note: The food picks will make it easier for you to dip the balls in melted chocolate chips once they’ve firmed up in the refrigerator again.
Place the cookie sheet with your Chocolate-Covered Peanut Butter Candy in the freezer for at least 1 hour. (Overnight is even better.)
When your candy balls are frozen, prepare to melt your chocolate coating. Leave your candy balls in the freezer until your chocolate coating has melted and you are ready to dip them.
Place your 2 cups of chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl. Add the rounded Tablespoon of butter on top. (I used a 1-quart Pyrex measuring cup to do this.)
Heat the chocolate chips and butter on HIGH for 1 minute. Let them sit in the microwave for an additional minute and then stir to see if the chocolate chips are melted. If they’re not, continue to heat in 30-second increments followed by 30 seconds of standing time until you can stir them smooth.
Take the cookie sheet with the candy balls out of the freezer and set it on the counter. Using the food picks as handles, dip the balls, one by one, in the melted chocolate and then return them to the cookie sheet. Work quickly so that the balls do not soften.
Place the cookie sheet with the Chocolate-Covered Peanut Butter Candy in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving.
When you’re ready to serve, remove the candy from the refrigerator, arrange the balls on a pretty plate or platter, and leave the food picks in place so that your guests can use them as a handle when they eat the candy.
Hannah’s 3rd Note: If you plan to serve these at a party, you can either leave the food picks in place or pull them out and use cake decorator frosting with a star tip to cover the hole with a pretty frosting rosette. Then, if you like, you can place the candy, rosette up, in fluted paper candy cups.
Yield: Approximately 3 dozen Chocolate-Covered Peanut Butter Candies. The quantity depends on the size of the candy balls.
