"Yes. Is it Alma's secret ingredient?"
"No, but it's close. Alma's cupcakes were sweeter, but they had a fruity taste under the chocolate. I told you that before, didn't I?"
"Yes. You also said that you couldn't tell which fruit Alma used."
"That's right. The flavor just blended in. It was there, but I couldn't tell what it was. It made the chocolate taste… I don't know how to describe it."
"Darker? Richer?"
"That's it. The chocolate tasted darker and richer. And there's one more thing I remember. When raspberries were in season, Alma used to put a nice plump one on top of each cupcake."
"Do you think the fruit Alma used was mashed raspberries?" Hannah asked the logical question.
"I know it wasn't either raspberries or strawberries. Those kinds of seeds always stick between my teeth and that never happened when I ate Alma's cupcakes."
When Beatrice left, taking the rest of the cupcake with her, Hannah refilled her customers' coffee cups. Then she sat down on the stool behind the counter to think. Mashed raspberries would have seeds. There was no way around it. Alma could have juiced them, but that couldn't be right. Edna Ferguson was certain that the secret ingredient was thicker than juice and Hannah had come to the same conclusion.
"Hi, Hannah." Lisa breezed in the door, wearing her cat costume. She had the long, stuffed tail taped in place on her shoulder and it looked very strange. "Don't ever try to drive with a tail."
Hannah laughed. "I'll keep that in mind. What happened?"
"It wrapped itself around the gearshift lever and I had to untangle it every time I backed up. It was a real nuisance."
"So you taped it to your shoulder?"
"Reverend Knudson did it when I delivered the cookies for his meeting. If it didn't look so bad, I'd leave it taped for the rest of the day."
"Leave it for now," Hannah said as an idea popped into her head. "I've got a plan that'll fix it for good. All I have to do is take a quick run to the drugstore."
"Go ahead. I'll take care of everything here. Do you think you could stop off at the Red Owl on the way back? We're running low on pancake syrup and Reverend Knudson ordered a whole batch of Short Stack Cookies for social hour after church services on Sunday."
"No problem," Hannah said, heading off to the drugstore to stock up on the things she needed to fix her partner's problematic tail.
Hannah came out of Lake Eden Neighborhood Pharmacy smiling. Jon Walker's clerks had done a marvelous job of decorating the drugstore with cutouts of black cats and swooping bats suspended from wires attached to the ceiling. Jon had done his mad chemist act just for her and it had been every bit as good as last year. To make things even better, he gave her a Halloween discount on the items she'd bought for Lisa.
"Hi, Hannah," Florence Evans, the owner of the Red Owl, greeted her as she stepped through the door. One of the checkers must have called in sick, because Florence only worked at the checkout stand when they were shorthanded. "Where's your costume?"
"Back at the shop," Hannah said, not wanting to get into a discussion about costumes or the lack of them with Florence, who held the current record for the lengthiest conversation in Lake Eden.
"So what's new, Hannah?" Florence asked.
"Nothing," Hannah said, knowing that it was wise to give Florence a one-word answer quickly followed by a grocery question. "The pancake syrup's still in aisle three, isn't it, Florence?"
"Yes, and I just got in some wonderful new flavored…”
"Thanks, Florence, but all I need is maple," Hannah interrupted what was surely going to be a lengthy description of the new items the Red Owl was stocking. "Lisa's waiting for it back at the shop."
Hannah turned on her heel and headed for aisle three, but Florence had other ideas. Before Hannah could blink, she'd flicked off the light above her register, and stepped out from behind the counter.
"You really should take a look. Those new flavors are really special." Florence linked arms with Hannah and headed toward the rear of the store. "Come along with me and I'll show you."
"There you are!" Lisa looked relieved when Hannah came back into The Cookie Jar. "It's been an hour and I was getting worried."
"Remember the television ad for the Roach Motel?" Hannah asked, setting her bags on the counter.
"I think so. Isn't that the one that said, Roaches check in… but they don't check out?"
"That's the one. Well, Florence was working the check stand at the Red Owl."
It took Lisa a moment, but then she burst of laughing. "She wouldn't let you check out?"
"That's right. She followed me back to aisle three to show me the new pancake syrups, but what I thought was going to be a real delay turned out to be a lucky break."
"Florence told you something about the murder?" Lisa guessed.
"It wasn't that lucky, but she did teach me something about Alma's cupcakes." Hannah opened the grocery bag and pulled out a bottle. She held her hand over the label and asked, "Does this look familiar?"
"That bottle looks just like the ones Beatrice brought in when she was testing salad dressings."
"And where did Beatrice say she got the bottles?"
"From her mother-in-law's basement. And she also said that Alma had lots of them and Ted thought she was crazy for bringing them home."
"Turns out that Beatrice was brilliant for bringing them home. I never would have guessed Alma's secret ingredient if I hadn't seen those bottles."
"You mean you know what it is?" Lisa looked excited when Hannah nodded.
"If I'm right, this is it."
Lisa took the bottle and looked at the label. "Raspberry syrup? That's got to be it, Hannah! And it explains why Alma put a raspberry on top of the cupcakes. You and Edna both thought that it would be a thick liquid and syrup is thick. And Beatrice said they tasted fruity."
"She also said that they tasted German and they're very big on chocolate and raspberry in Europe."
"You've got it, Hannah. I don't think I ever would have figured it out."
"You would have if Florence had gotten a hold of you," Hannah said, smiling at her partner. "But let's not crow too much until we test it. Do you want to do it, or shall I?"
"You do it. I'll stay out here since I'm in costume."
"And that reminds me…" Hannah grinned as she handed Lisa the white bag from the drugstore. "This ought to fix that tail of yours."
"A sling?" Lisa asked, looking dumbfounded as she drew it out of the bag.
"A sling and a bandage. You know how Moishe's tail is bent at the tip?" Hannah waited until Lisa nodded. "Doctor Bob said it's common for street cats to break the tips of their tails."
"So you want me to break my tail?"
"Yes. Just bend it at the tip and bandage it. Then you can put it in a sling that hangs around your neck and it won't get in your way."
"Those cupcakes smell wonderful!" Lisa sighed in longing as she opened the swinging door between the kitchen and the coffee shop. "You frosted them, too?"
"I thought I should. This has to be a complete test."
"Of course it does. And I really love that fudge frosting. You want me to taste a cupcake, don't you?"
"Help yourself. I'm so sure this is it, I baked a double batch."
Lisa made a beeline for the bakers' rack and grabbed a cupcake. Her mouth headed for the frosting like a child bobbing for an apple and, in keeping with her costume, she practically purred as she tasted it. "This frosting is so good, Hannah."