Peach Cobbler Murder by Joanne Fluke Page A

pink frosted cupcakes with hearts drawn on the top in red, Cherry Pies with crusts cut out in heart designs on the top, Strawberry Flips, the cookie that Hannah had invented for last year’s holiday, and Cherry Bombs, maraschino cherries baked in cookie dough and dipped in powdered sugar. This year Hannah and Lisa had sold their treats early and while their profits hadn’t come close to that of past years, several dozen of their regular customers had come back. Hannah wasn’t sure if this was due to her mother’s efforts, or if the locals simply wanted to come in the day before Valentine’s Day to see how Lisa, the imminent bride, was doing. It didn’t matter why they’d come in, just that they had. The Cookie Jar had almost broken even for the first time since the Magnolia Blossom Bakery had opened, and that was a step in the right direction.
    Today was Lisa’s wedding and there was no way Hannah was going to let her work on this most important of days. That was why she’d put a notice in the Lake Eden Journal to tell everyone that they’d be closed. Lisa deserved to sleep in, relax all morning, and think of nothing but the happiness that awaited her.
    â€œI know,” Hannah said to the orange and white tomcat that sat on her bed. “I never wear this unless I’m staying home, but we’re closed today.”
    â€œOwwww,” Moishe howled, staring at her for a moment and then turning his back. Since Hannah wasn’t sure whether that was a comment about the way her sweater clashed with her hair, or a reminder that his food bowl was empty, she didn’t reply.
    Fifteen minutes later, with Moishe breakfasted for the second time and Hannah the first, the industrious part-owner of The Cookie Jar got ready to leave. While it was true they were closed, Hannah still had baking to do for Lisa’s wedding and their industrial ovens would hold a lot more than the small oven she had at the condo. The wedding cakes were ready. She’d done that last night, preparing a bride’s cake and a groom’s cake. They weren’t fancy and they hadn’t required any baking at all, but she was almost positive that Herb and Lisa would love them.
    The project had taken a little research. Doing her best to be surreptitious, Hannah had asked about Lisa’s favorite cake as a child. The answer had surprised her, as had the answer Marge Beeseman, Herb’s mother, had given. Both Lisa and Herb had liked what was known in Lake Eden as “Cream Stacks,” one of the easiest cakes to make since there wasn’t a bit of baking involved.
    Cream Stacks were cookies stacked up like little skyscrapers with pudding between the layers. They were refrigerated overnight so that the cookies could soften and the pudding could set, and then they were frosted with whipped cream. Lisa had preferred graham crackers held together with chocolate pudding mortar, while Herb had favored chocolate wafers cemented with vanilla pudding. Once Hannah had learned all that, she’d started to ponder the question of how to make Cream Stacks festive enough for a wedding cake.
    Hannah was nothing if not resourceful and she’d experimented for several days with the ingredients. It was like playing with building blocks and she’d enjoyed herself almost as much as she had as a child. But even though she’d come up with some interesting shapes, including a tower that was worthy of Rapunzel, the Cream Stacks still weren’t special enough to serve at the wedding reception.
    The solution to her problem had come several nights ago. She’d been watching a cable cooking show with Moishe, and the featured dessert had been an English trifle. As Hannah watched the too-slim-to-have-tasted-any-of-her-own-cooking pastry chef dish out the trifle, the lightbulb went on over her head. There was no reason in the world why she couldn’t make Lisa and Herb’s Cream Cakes in trifle bowls,