Key Lime Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke

of it. They’d only gone through three-quarters of the sweet-bread entries, and she was firmly convinced that cinnamon was the most overused spice of them all.
    â€œMoroccan Delight,” Pam declared, cutting small wedge-shaped pieces of the sweet roll on her plate. “According to the recipe, the predominant flavors are supposed to be coconut, honey, ground walnuts, and dates.”
    Hannah gasped as she bit into the incredibly sweet concoction. “This is sugar overload.”
    â€œYou’re right.” Willa made a face. “It’s almost as sweet as the chocolate baklava I had in California.”
    Both Pam and Hannah turned to look her, but Pam was the first to speak. “I didn’t know you went to California.”
    â€œIt was a long time ago, when I thought I could get along anywhere,” Willa said. And then she gave a rueful laugh. “I was wrong. I found out I never should have left Minnesota.”
    Pam looked a bit confused. “I didn’t know you left Minnesota.”
    â€œWell, I did.” The color came up on Willa’s cheeks, and Hannah knew she was uncomfortable. “It was a big mistake. You probably noticed that I dropped out of school for a little over a year.”
    â€œI saw that in your transcripts,” Pam said.
    â€œIt took me that long to realize that I wasn’t going to get anywhere unless I finished school. But when I enrolled at Tri-County College, I found out that a lot of my credits didn’t transfer. I had to start my major all over again.” Willa stopped to smile at Pam. “And you hired me as a teacher’s aide so that I could finish and get my degree.”
    â€œHow long do you have to go?” Hannah asked, hoping that Willa would make it.
    â€œOnly one more semester. All I have to do is student teach for Pam until Christmas and I’ve got it!”
    â€œYou’ll make it,” Pam said, turning around to face the long table where the remaining entries were lined up to be judged. “Only one left. After that we’ll tally up the scores and declare a winner. And then we can all pick out a couple of our favorites and take them home.”
    Hannah was surprised at this news. “I didn’t know we got to take anything home!”
    â€œWell, we do. That’s why the contestants are required to use disposable pans. We get to take what we want, and we leave the rest for the cleaning crew. It’s one of the perks they get for cleaning this building.”
    â€œI’ll bet they never have any trouble finding people to clean up,” Hannah commented.
    â€œProbably not.” Pam picked up the last entry and set it in front of them. As with all the other entries, there was a card giving the name of the recipe, but the contestant’s name had been concealed with removable tape. A number was written on the front of the tape, and the scorecards were numbered accordingly. “This is chocolate cherry coffeecake,” Pam said, reading the card. “The contestant describes it as, Bite-sized morsels of chocolate and cherry in a tender buttery sweet dough. Drizzled with melted dark chocolate and cherry icing, it’s the perfect accompaniment to a strong cup of coffee .”
    Hannah’s mouth started to water. “Sounds yummy!”
    â€œChocolate and cherry is a traditional combination,” Willa stated the obvious. “What kind of cherries did she use?”
    Pam flipped the card to read the list of ingredients on the back. “Dark cherry pie filling. She rolled out the sweet dough and spread out the cherry pie filling. Then she sprinkled on the chocolate chips, and folded the dough over the top.”
    â€œHow about the cherry frosting?” Hannah wanted to know. “Did she use part of the cherry pie filling for that?”
    â€œNo. It says that she used cherry liqueur and a drop of red food coloring.”
    Hannah watched as Pam cut bite-sized pieces for all