Coconut Layer Cake Murder

Book 25: Hannah Swensen Mystery

by Joanne Fluke

Genres: Cozy Mystery; Mystery

Synopsis

Bakery owner Hannah Swensen is leaving Lake Eden to help a friend in sunny California. But an unexpected phone call swiftly brings her back to a cold Minnesota winter . . . and murder . . . When

Hannah learns that her sister Michelle's boyfriend, Detective Lonnie Murphy, is the prime suspect in a murder case, she goes straight from a movie studio sound stage to the Los Angeles airport.

Back in frigid Minnesota, she discovers that proving Lonnie's innocence will be harder than figuring out what went wrong with a recipe. Lonnie remembers only parts of the night he went out to a local bar and ended up driving a very impaired woman home. He knows he helped her to her bedroom, but he doesn't recall anything else until he woke up on her couch the following morning.

When he went to the bedroom to check on her, he was shocked to discover she was dead. Hannah doesn't know what to believe—only that exonerating a suspect who can't remember is almost impossible, especially since Lonnie's brother, Detective Rick Murphy, and Lonnie's partner, Chief Detective Mike Kingston, have been taken off the case. Before everything comes crashing down on Lonnie like a heaping slice of coconut layer cake, it'll be up to Hannah to rack up enough clues to toast a flaky killer . . .

Release date: February 25, 2020

Publisher: Kensington Books

Print pages: 304

Sample

Hannah Swensen was just taking the last pan of Cocoa Crisp Cookies out of her industrial oven when her partner, Lisa Beeseman, pushed open the swinging door that separated The Cookie Jar coffee shop from the kitchen. “There’s a phone call for you, Hannah. It’s Doc Knight, and he says he needs to talk to you.”

“Thanks, Lisa.” Hannah shoved the pan of cookies on a shelf in the bakers rack and hurried across the kitchen to grab the phone. Her heart was pounding hard, and it wasn’t from her dash across the floor. She’d been waiting for Doc’s call for two days now, and he was finally ready to give her the results of her test.

“Hello?” she said breathlessly.

“Hi, honey.” Doc’s voice was warm and Hannah wondered what that meant. “Can you come out to the hospital now? I need to see you.”

“I . . . yes, of course I can. But . . .”

“I just got the results of your tests,” Doc interrupted what was bound to be a question from his stepdaughter. “I’ll see you in a few minutes, then. When you get to the hospital, come straight to my office. I’ll be waiting for you.”

There was a click as Doc ended the call. It was clear he wouldn’t answer any of her questions over the phone. Hannah was frowning as she replaced the receiver in the cradle. Couldn’t Doc just tell her what she wanted to know? All she needed was a simple yes or no answer . . . unless there was something else wrong that he’d discovered from her lab test results.

You don’t need any new worries, her rational mind told her.

Of course you don’t, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing else wrong, her suspicious mind insisted. It could be anything. Hepatitis, a blood infection, an incurable disease that you picked up from traveling on your honeymoon . . .

The only way she’d find out was to see Doc in person and Hannah knew it. She hurried across the kitchen and grabbed her parka from the rack by the back door. She didn’t want to speculate about any more dire possibilities. They were endless. She’d just tell Lisa that she was leaving, get in her cookie truck, and drive to the hospital to hear what Doc had to tell her.

During her uneventful drive to Doc’s Lake Eden Hospital, Hannah did her best to think positive thoughts. She pulled into the parking lot, parked in the visitors’ section, and rushed in without taking advantage of the electric sockets on the posts in front of each parking spot to plug in the block heater in her truck.

“Hi, Hannah,” the volunteer at the receptionist’s desk greeted her as she came in. “Doc’s waiting for you in his office.”

“Thank you.” Hannah signed the visitors book and hoped she didn’t look as anxious as she felt as she walked down the hall. When she reached Doc’s office, she took a deep breath for courage and opened the door.

“Hello, Hannah. He’s in the inner office,” Doc’s secretary, Vonnie, told her. “Go right in.”

Hannah thanked her and opened the door. She found Doc sitting at his desk, riffling through a stack of medical journals.

“Sit down, Hannah,” Doc said, gesturing toward the chair in front of his desk. “No, you’re not pregnant.”

The news hit her like a blow between the eyes. “I’m not?” she managed a response.

“No, the sample we took was conclusive.”

Hannah leaned back in the chair and grasped the arms tightly. “I . . . I don’t know if I’m supposed to be devastated or relieved.”

“Of course you don’t. If I had to guess, I think you’re a little bit of both.”

“Yes,” Hannah said past the lump that was forming in her throat. “But, Doc . . . something’s wrong.”

“Yes, it is. It’s stress.”

“Stress?” Hannah stared at him in shock.

“Yes, stress can take a toll on the human body, and you’ve been under extreme stress ever since Ross left Lake Eden. Stress throws off your body clock, plays havoc with your nervous system, and mimics symptoms of diseases you never believed you could contract. Every day someone comes in here believing that they’re having a coronary event and it turns out to be a panic attack.”

“But, Doc . . . I don’t feel that stressed.”

“Perhaps you don’t think so, but believe me, you’re stressed. And eventually, extreme stress will manifest itself in actual disease. That’s why your mother and I have decided that you’re going to take a little vacation.”

“Vacation?” Hannah repeated the word. Her mind was spinning and she couldn’t seem to think of anything else to say.

“That’s right. Your mother got a call from Lynne Larchmont yesterday. Lynne made an offer on Tori Bascomb’s condo, and the mayor and Stephanie accepted it.”

Hannah blinked several times, trying to process this new, surprising information. “That’s . . . great.”

“Exactly what your mother said. And once she told me about it, I urged her to call Lynne back and tell her that you two will fly out to Los Angeles to help Lynne get things packed up for the movers.”

“You mean . . . Mother and me?”

Doc nodded. “Precisely. I made the plane reservations for both of you last night. You’ll be at Lynne’s house by the end of the week.”

“But . . .” Hannah stopped talking when Doc held up his hand.

“I know that Friday is Valentine’s Day, but I’ve already talked to Marge and Nancy, and they’d promised to fill in for you at The Cookie Jar. Lisa assures me that they can handle anything that might come up, Michelle has agreed to stay at your condo with Moishe to oversee the work that’s being done there, and Cyril will drive you to the airport in one of his limos.”

Hannah just stared at him blankly. It seemed that Doc had thought of everything.

“Here,” Doc said, handing her a prescription blank. “I’ve prescribed a vacation and you will go. I won’t listen to any objections. You’re my patient and you’ll follow my recommendation. And besides, I love you, Hannah.”

Tears sprang to Hannah’s eyes. There was no doubt in her mind that Doc loved her. She gave a little nod, and then she managed a smile.

“Good!” Doc got up and walked around his desk to give her a hug. “There’s another factor, too.”

Hannah stared at him with some trepidation. “What’s that?”

“You’re not the only one who needs a vacation.”

Hannah took a moment to digest that comment. “You mean . . . you’re going to Los Angeles with us?”

“No, but your mother’s going. And that means I get a vacation. You’re doing me a big favor, Hannah.”

Hannah couldn’t help it. She burst into laughter. This wasn’t the first time she’d been delighted that her mother had married Doc.

Doc smiled, and then his expression sobered. “You have no idea how worried your mother has been about you. It’ll do her a world of good to spend some time in California with you and Lynne. And, to be perfectly honest, it’s going to be a lot less stressful around here with both of you gone.”

“Mother’s been that worried?”

“Yes. You’ll go, won’t you, Hannah?”

“I . . .” Hannah dipped her head in a nod. “Yes, if you really think I should.”

“I do. Helping Lynne pack will give you something else to think about, not to mention that your mother will be fascinated with the lifestyle in California. Lynne told her that she lives in a place called Brentwood and quite a few celebrities live there. Your mother doesn’t think I know, but she has several subscriptions to those celebrity, tell-all magazines. And that’s our secret, okay?”

“Okay,” Hannah agreed. Perhaps it would be best to get away and gain a new perspective.

“Lynne’s very excited about moving here to Lake Eden, Hannah. She said she’s looking forward to being around real friends.”

Hannah began to smile. “Well . . . in that case . . . What time do we leave?”

“On Friday morning. Get things settled with your crew at The Cookie Jar and then meet with Michelle. She can bring you whatever you need from the condo.”

Quite unexpectedly, Hannah felt a surge of excitement. The world suddenly seemed less dreary, even though the skies were gray and overcast and snow was predicted. “Thank you, Doc,” she said. “I’m going to drive over to Mother’s and ask her advice on what I should pack.”

“Wake up, Hannah.”

Hannah awoke with a jolt as she heard her mother’s voice. “I’m too tired to go to school,” she protested.

Delores laughed and so did someone else. And then a voice that Hannah didn’t recognize said, “Your mother ordered coffee for you. Better wake up and drink it before it gets cold.”

Hannah’s eyes flew open and she focused on a tray table with a cup of coffee. She picked it up, took a sip, and saw the stewardess standing in the aisle of the plane. “Sorry,” she apologized. “For a minute there, I didn’t know where I was.”

“Drink this and I’ll bring you another cup before I close down the kitchen,” the stewardess told her. “We’ll be landing in less than half an hour.”

“Landing in Los Angeles?” Hannah turned to address her mother, who was sitting in the window seat.

“That’s right. You slept the entire way, Hannah. You must have been really tired.”

“I must have been,” Hannah agreed, finishing her coffee and handing the cup to the stewardess.

“I’ll bring you two more cups,” the stewardess decided, noticing that Hannah was having some difficulty keeping her eyes open.

Two more cups of coffee later, Hannah felt almost awake. She leaned forward to look out the window and smiled as she spotted what looked like miniature cars on the freeway below. The freeway disappeared a few moments later and there was nothing but blue below them. They must be circling over the Pacific Ocean, waiting for their turn to land.

There was a grinding noise and a jarring bump as the pilot lowered the landing gear. They were over land again now and the city streets were laid out in a grid below. As Hannah watched, the buildings grew larger and she knew that they were descending. And then the buildings disappeared and asphalt runways appeared. They flew over one of the runways, the ground came up toward the belly of the plane, and there was a jolt as the wheels touched down. They bounced up and then settled back down again, this time meeting the runway smoothly and taxiing toward the airport buildings.

Hannah reached for her seat belt, but her mother shook her head. “Wait until the sign goes off, dear. We have to stay seated until we reach the gate with the jetway in place.”

“Yes, of course we do,” Hannah chided herself for not remembering the protocol she’d learned on previous flights. “Until we reach a full and complete stop. Right, Mother?”

“That’s right.” Delores glanced at her watch. “We seem to be here right on time, dear. I hope Lynne got the schedule I sent her.”

“I’m sure she did. Lynne’s always been the type to be on time. I wonder if she’s coming to meet us herself, or whether we should take a taxi?”

“When I talked to her last night, she said she’d be here. And if something unexpected happened, she’d send a car service for us.”

It seemed to take forever to taxi up to the gate, and they had to wait for another few minutes for the jetway to be locked into position. At last the seat belt sign went off and Hannah stood up to open the shell above their heads to pull down their carry-on luggage. They joined the line in the aisle and soon they were walking down the jetway to the terminal.

“The stewardess said our luggage would be on carousel seven,” Delores said, pointing to the sign that indicated the way to the baggage claim area.

As they walked inside the cavernous area filled with carousels that delivered luggage to the passengers waiting below, Delores stopped and gestured to a uniformed man standing next to carousel seven. “Lynne sent a car service. He has two signs, one with your name and one with mine.”

“Ladies,” the man greeted them. “I’m Robby, Mrs. Larchmont’s driver. Did you have a pleasant flight?” When they assured him they had, he got a luggage cart, asked them to identify their luggage, and escorted them out of the building. He then led them across the street and into the limousine parking area. Once he had seated them in the car, he loaded their suitcases in the back, started the car, and drove out of the airport.

“This is nice,” Hannah said, reaching for one of the bottles of water that had been placed in the console in front of them.

“Is water all right, or would you care for another beverage?” the driver asked her.

“Water is perfect,” Hannah told him. And it was, but she couldn’t help wondering what other beverages he might have offered.

“And for you, Ma’am?” the driver asked Delores.

“What other choices do I have?” Delores responded.

“I have several kinds of juice in the mini fridge between the seats in the back. And I also have a small bottle of Perrier Jouët. Mrs. Larchmont mentioned that it was your favorite champagne.”

“How very sweet of her! Of course I’ll have that.”

“Very good, Ma’am. If you open the small refrigerator in front of you, you’ll find champagne glasses and several individual bottles.”

Once they had driven out of the parking garage, they turned onto a city street lined with shops and office buildings. They drove for several minutes in silence, and then Robby spoke again.

“Normally, I’d take the freeway to Mrs. Larchmont’s home in Brentwood, but she asked me to give you a mini tour. Is that acceptable to you?”

Delores looked at Hannah, who nodded. “Yes, it is. We’d enjoy that.”

“Good. We’re about a mile from the airport now and if you look up, through the passenger compartment moon roof, you might see a jet flying overhead on approach to the airport. It will be low and it’s startling when you see how big it looks when you’re down here on the ground. I’ll stop and park, and you’ll see what I mean.”

There was a parking spot in the block ahead and their driver parked at the curb. “We won’t have to wait long,” the driver told them. “Jets fly over here every five minutes or so.”

Less than a minute later, Hannah heard a plane coming closer. The noise grew louder and louder, and both Hannah and Delores stared up at the glass in the moon roof. When the roar was almost loud enough to cause Hannah to cover her ears, she spotted a shadow and then a humongous plane passed directly over their limo.

“Good heavens!” Delores gasped, turning to Hannah. “Did you see that?”

“I saw it. I thought it was going to crash right into us!”

Their driver chuckled. “It was actually several hundred feet above us, but it does seem that way when you’re down here on the street. It’s always a thrill the first time you see it.”

“Thank you for showing it to us,” Hannah said as the driver put the car in gear and pulled away from the curb.

“There’s more in store,” the driver told her. “Mrs. Larchmont asked me to take you past the studio where she’ll be working next week. She called ahead and got a pass for us so we can drive around the lot.”

Hannah stared out the window. Los Angeles appeared to be a huge, sprawling city with more cars and traffic than she had ever seen before. It seemed as if everyone was in a hurry, and horns blared when there was the slightest delay.

“It’s so green!” Delores commented as they drove down a street lined with palm trees.

“Actually, it’s greener in the summer,” Robby told her. “Right now it’s winter green, and that’s a pale imitation of the darker, more brilliant green we get in the spring.”

“Maybe we’re just used to winter in Minnesota,” Hannah told him. “We live with a black and white landscape for four or five months every year. The only color we get is the blue of the sky, as long as it’s not an overcast day.”

“Quite a few people leave for a couple of months in the winter,” Delores said, entering the conversation. “We call them snowbirds and when the snow starts to fly, they migrate to Florida or California. Winter can be very depressing because it’s the same scene outside your window every morning. Snow, snow, and more snow.”

“That sounds boring,” Robby commented. “It must be a real treat for you to come here. Change is good.”

“Yes, it is,” Hannah agreed, and then she gasped as the driver pulled up in front of a pair of ornate gates. “Where are we?”

“Paramount Studios. It’s one of the older studios in this area. Most of the others have changed names, but this one is still Paramount.”

“And this is where all the movies are made?” Delores asked him.

“Not so much anymore. A lot of production companies have moved to other states, and some film in Canada. Toronto is a thriving film city now.”

“Why did the companies move there?” Hannah asked.

“Taxes. California taxes are among the highest in the nation. There are lots of regulations, too. If you want to film a scene on a city street, you have to apply for a permit and pay to use it for a location. It’s one of the reasons we’re losing so much of our film and television industry.”

“You seem to know a lot about it,” Delores commented.

“I do. I haven’t been a limo driver all my life, you know.”

Hannah and Delores exchanged glances. Should they recognize Robby as an actor in a film or television program they’d seen? Would it be an insult if they asked him what he’d meant by his cryptic statement?

Hannah shook her head slightly, and Delores nodded agreement. Discretion was the better part of valor in this case. It might be insulting if they admitted that they didn’t recognize him, especially if he’d been someone well-known. They could always ask Lynne about him later.

Once Robby had given their names to the guard at the studio gate and they were allowed to pass, the driver drove down a narrow street.

“Oh, look!” Hannah said, pointing to the empty parking lot. “Why is the parking lot painted blue?”

“That’s the Pacific Ocean,” Roby told them, “or at least it was the Pacific Ocean in several movies about the Second World War.”

“But how could it be?” Delores asked him. “War movies have ships and submarines. That parking lot isn’t big enough to hold ships and submarines!”

“It is if the ship or submarine is a miniature model,” Robby explained. “And the cement is painted blue because they flood it when they want to film a water scene. It’s been the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, even the China Sea. And let me tell you, the people who park there aren’t any too happy about giving up their parking spot for a week or two every couple of months.”

After a quick tour of the lot, Robby took them through Hollywood and down Rodeo Drive, where he pointed . . .