Part 2 (2/2)
Hannah frowned. Mike had just described the rock she had in her planter by the front door. ”Do criminals know about those rocks?”
”Sure they do. And just in case they're not smart enough to figure it out, all they have to do is flip the rock over and it says, Hide-A-Key on the flap that slides over the hole.” Mike stopped speaking for a moment and then he chuckled. ”Don't tell me you've got one of those!”
”Not anymore.”
”Good. Thanks for the information, Hannah. I'll check out Norman's house right away.”
”I'll be leaving for work in just a couple of minutes. Will you call me on my cell phone if there's anything wrong?”
”Sure, but you'll have to remember to turn it on.”
”I'll turn it on,” she promised, more than a little amused. She had a habit of turning off her cell phone when she didn't want to receive calls and forgetting to turn it back on again.
”Do you want to go out for a burger tonight after I finish my s.h.i.+ft?”
An outsider to their complicated relations.h.i.+p might have thought that Mike was following the old adage, Make hay while the sun s.h.i.+nes, and taking advantage of the fact that Norman was out of town. Hannah knew that simply wasn't true. If Mike felt like asking her to go out for a burger, he'd ask her whether Norman was in town, or not.
”That sounds nice,” she responded. ”What time?”
”I'll pick you up at your place at six, and we'll run out to the Corner Tavern. They've got a new burger with peanut b.u.t.ter and peppers inside. It comes with something called an onion bouquet, and I want to try it.”
Hannah said goodbye, and when she hung up the receiver, she was smiling. She was still smiling after she'd taken the Chocolate Crack out of the oven, sprinkled the top with chocolate chips, and spread them out into a frosting with a spatula. When she'd first met Mike, she'd suspected that he was a meat and potatoes man, a typical Midwesterner who hadn't strayed far from the cuisine his parents and grandparents had enjoyed. And then he'd met her and his world had changed, although the jury was still out on whether it was for the better, or the worse.
It had all started with the Jalapeno Brownies she'd baked for him and left on his desk at the sheriff's station in retaliation for saying that someone else's brownies were the best he'd ever tasted. But like many attempts to retaliate, this one had turned out to be a joke...on her! Mike had loved the brownies and Hannah credited them for opening up his eyes to the exciting possibilities of unorthodox food combinations. On the other hand, her fiery hot brownies could have permanently shocked his taste buds into complete pa.s.sivity, leaving him completely open to sampling any gastronomic innovation, worthy or not.
VANILLA CRACK.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
1 box salted soda crackers. (I used Saltines) 2 sticks salted b.u.t.ter (1 cup, 8 ounces, pound) 1 cup white (granulated) sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla extract cup salted nut pieces Line a 10-inch by 15-inch cookie sheet with heavy-duty foil. If you have a jellyroll pan, that's perfect. If you don't, turn up the edges of the foil to form sides.
Spray the foil with Pam or other nonstick cooking spray. (You want to be able to peel it off later, after the cookies harden.) Cover the pan completely with a single layer of soda crackers, salt side up. (You can break the crackers in pieces to make them fit if you have to.) Set the cracker-lined jellyroll pan or cookie sheet aside while you cook the topping.
Combine the b.u.t.ter with the white sugar and vanilla in a heavy saucepan. Bring it to a full boil over medium high heat on the stovetop, stirring constantly. (A full boil will have breaking bubbles all over the surface of the pan.) Boil it for exactly five (5) minutes, stirring it constantly. If it sputters too much, you can reduce the heat. If it starts to lose the boil, you can increase the heat. Just don't stop stirring.
Pour the mixture over the soda crackers as evenly as you can.
Hannah's Note: I start by pouring the mixture in lines from top to bottom over the length of the pan. Then I turn it and pour more lines over the width of the pan. Once the whole pan is crosshatched with the hot toffee mixture, I pour any that's left where it's needed. If it doesn't cover the soda crackers completely, don't worry-it'll spread out quite a bit in the oven.
Sprinkle the salted nut pieces over the top.
Slide the pan into the oven and bake the cookies at 350 degrees F. for ten (10) minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack.
When the cookies have thoroughly cooled, peel off the foil and break them into random-sized pieces.
CHOCOLATE CRACK.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
1 box graham crackers. (I used Nabisco Honey Maid) 2 sticks salted b.u.t.ter (1 cup, 8 ounces, pound) 1 cup brown sugar (pack it down when you measure it) 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (12-ounce package) Line a 10-inch by 15-inch cookie sheet with heavy-duty foil. If you have a jellyroll pan, that's perfect. If you don't, turn up the edges of the foil to form sides.
Spray the foil with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray. (You want to be able to peel it off later, after the candy hardens.) Line the pan completely with a single layer of graham crackers. Cover the whole bottom. (You can break the crackers in pieces to make them fit if you have to.) Set the cracker-lined jellyroll pan or cookie sheet aside while you cook the toffee mixture.
Combine the b.u.t.ter with the brown sugar in a saucepan. Bring it to a boil over medium high heat on the stovetop, stirring constantly. (A full boil will have breaking bubbles all over the surface of the pan.) Boil it for exactly five (5) minutes, stirring it constantly. If it sputters too much, you can reduce the heat. If it starts to lose the boil, you can increase the heat. Just don't stop stirring.
Pour the mixture over the graham crackers as evenly as you can.
Hannah's Note: I start by pouring the mixture in lines from top to bottom over the length of the pan. Then I turn it and pour more lines over the width of the pan. Once the whole pan is crosshatched with the hot toffee mixture, I pour any that's left where it's needed. If it doesn't cover the crackers completely, don't worry-it'll spread out quite a bit in the oven.
Slide the pan into the oven and bake the cookies at 350 degrees F. for ten (10) minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top. Give the chips a minute or two to melt and then spread them out as evenly as you can with a heat-resistant spatula, a wooden paddle, or a frosting knife.
Slip the pan in the refrigerator to chill.
When the pan has chilled, peel the foil from the cookies and break them into random-sized pieces.
Chapter Three.
”Nothing succeeds like excess,” Hannah said, looking up from her position behind the counter at The Cookie Jar as Mayor Richard Bas...o...b..and his wife, Stephanie, came in the door.
Hannah's partner, Lisa, took one look at the female half of Lake Eden's first couple and burst out laughing, a gaffe she quickly covered by pretending to cough. Stephanie Bas...o...b..was resplendent in a bright blue suit of raw silk with a stylish blue hat. Her frilly blouse matched the blooms on her hat, which Hannah identified as slightly more purple than the cornflowers growing wild in Winnie Henderson's back forty. The first lady's gloves were bright-blue leather and her chic leather pumps were of the same hue. A large sapphire surrounded with diamonds graced her right hand and she wore a matching set of necklace and earrings.
”Hannah! And Lisa!” Mrs. Bas...o...b..greeted them with the same surprised tone she might have used if she were traveling and happened to run into them at a Buddhist monastery in Sri Lanka.
Hannah exchanged puzzled glances with Lisa. Where else would they be during the hours The Cookie Jar was open for business?
”Good to see you, Mayor,” Hannah said, and then she turned to the woman who spared no expense buying herself a stunning new outfit every time she found out about one of her husband's dalliances. The mayor's last peccadillo must have been particularly flagrant to warrant a suit, hat, gloves, shoes, and a fortune in gemstones. ”You're a vision in blue, Stephanie.”
”Do you like it?” Stephanie asked, twirling around so that Hannah could see the flared skirt below the impeccably tailored jacket.
”I just love that color,” Hannah answered truthfully, neglecting to mention that it was indeed possible to get too much of a good thing. Stephanie was living proof that the concept of overkill could be applied to fas.h.i.+on.
Stephanie turned to Lisa. ”How about you, Lisa? Do you like my new outfit?”
Hannah waited breathlessly for Lisa's answer. Her partner, well known for hating to hurt anyone's feelings, would have to think fast on this one.
”It's stunning,” Lisa said, and Hannah mentally congratulated her young partner for choosing a word with several shades of meaning. ”Wherever did you get it?” Lisa continued breathlessly. ”Unless, of course, you're keeping that secret to yourself.”
”Well...” Stephanie considered it for a moment. ”It's a new, very exclusive shop at the mall. You have to know someone to get in. Everything they have is incredibly expensive...” Stephanie turned to her husband. ”But I do think it's worth it, don't you, Richard?”
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