When the Cookie Crumbles

by Virginia Lowell

  “After Quill took the blame for the cheating, did Paine continue to find dates for him?” Olivia asked.

  “Yes, he did. You see, that’s why I think this information might actually help Quill—because he benefited from the arrangement. I’m sure Quill wasn’t happy about the situation, but…” Rosemarie shrugged.

  “That might help,” Olivia said, more to comfort Rosemarie than because she believed it. Quill struck her as bitter and prone to brooding. He’d suffered in the long run, unable to achieve the education and career prominence he’d desired. Even the dating experience Paine provided him didn’t seem to have helped Quill, since he hadn’t married. In fact, Olivia had always thought he despised women. But maybe she’d been wrong.

  “Rosemarie, do you…I mean, it surprises me to hear that Quill was eager to date girls. I’ve never heard that he was involved with anyone.”

  “He never married.” Rosemarie scanned the dwindling crowd in the park.

  “Are you sure he liked girls?”

  “Positive.” Rosemarie lowered her head, hiding her expression, but not before Olivia saw her features tighten. “All right, Livie, I get what you’re implying. If Quill didn’t like girls, then Paine wasn’t doing him any favors by getting dates for him.” Rosemarie raised sad eyes to Olivia’s face. “But Quill was desperate to be admired. He wasn’t an attractive boy, and girls ignored him. Or worse, they teased him, embarrassed him. Except…” Rosemarie shivered and tightened her light jacket across her chest. “Well, I tried to protect him, you see. I went to a lot of trouble to show that Paine had done the cheating. So I guess it was understandable.…”

  “Quill fell in love with you?” Olivia heard the surprise in her voice and added, “Not that it’s so startling.”

  Rosemarie’s smile softened her features and drew attention to her striking dark hazel eyes. “I wasn’t always fifty-eight and short on sleep, you know. And I truly believed that Quill had been wronged. I felt sad for him. I really wasn’t aware of his feelings for me until he suddenly blurted out a proposal. I had to tell him I was already dating someone. He took it hard. I told myself he was young, he’d get over it.”

  “Did Quill feel you’d led him on?” Olivia asked. “Is that why he turned away from women completely?”

  With a heavy sigh, Rosemarie said, “No, not at all. Quill never quite let go of me. Oh, he didn’t follow me around or anything, but he has always been, I regret to say, kinder to me than to women in general. It makes me sad.”

  “Does Quill know you’re the one who revealed that he took the blame for Paine’s cheating?”

  “As soon as the sheriff questioned him, he knew it had to be me. He stopped by the community center that evening. I tried to explain, but he stopped me. He understood that I had to protect Matthew. He didn’t even sound angry.” Rosemarie asked, with a hint of hope, “Quill’s calmness, does that imply he doesn’t have a guilty conscience?”

  “I hope so,” Olivia said.

  “Nine cookies left,” Maddie said. “I’m getting hungry.” She plucked one cookie off the tray, one of her “jailbird series” of prison-striped running gingerbread men. “This guy is doomed for two reasons,” Maddie said. “First, his stripes are fuchsia and lemon yellow, so he’s bound to get caught. And second…” She bit off his legs up to the knees.

  “I never knew you had such a cruel streak,” Olivia said.

  “Yes, you did.” Maddie’s enunciation suffered from an excess of cookie in her mouth, but she got her point across.

  “You two kids having fun?” Del appeared around the corner of the booth. He spotted the striped upper torso and fuchsia-capped head in Maddie’s hand. “I’ve been looking for that guy.”

  “Has Karen released you from duty?” Olivia asked.

  “Not a chance.” Del took a dollar bill from his wallet. “I heard there were serving wenches, so I decided to take a cookie break. You look fantastic, by the way.” He skipped over the last running gingerbread convict and selected a tangerine pumpkin. “It’s the biggest,” he said.

  “Any word on Hermione?” Olivia asked.

  “Still in intensive care. She was moved to Johns Hopkins by ambulance. It’ll be some time before I can talk to her, and even then I can guarantee that I won’t be allowed to ask upsetting questions.”

  “So I guess I won’t be able to help with her,” Olivia said.

  “You’ve helped quite enough, Livie.”

  “Are you still mad at us?”

  Del took a bite of his cookie and chewed in appreciative silence.

  “Admit it, Del,” Maddie said. “We found some interesting stuff at the mansion.”

  “Nothing that cracks the case, though. On the other hand, I will say this: no one got hurt, and I can forgive a lot for a good cookie and the presence of serving wenches.”

  “I’ll have you know that I’m a tavern wench,” Olivia said, flicking a crumb at Del.

  “Even better.” Del’s pager buzzed, and he checked the message. “Gotta go. Her highness requires my attendance. Livie, I actually came over to see if you’d like a late dinner after the fireworks.”

  “Wish I could, but I can’t. Her highness has called yet another meeting of the celebration committee. We’re going to critique or deconstruct or something. I’m counting the minutes.”

  “You’ll need to decompress after that, and the store is closed tomorrow,” Del said. “Where are you meeting, at the store? I could drop by to rescue you.”

  “In the community center, the room with the gingerbread display. And yes, do please rescue me from the irritating boredom of yet another committee meeting.” Olivia leaned toward him, across the display shelf, and gave him a quick kiss.

  Del’s pager buzzed again. He backed away from the booth, smiling. “Later,” he said. “And thanks for the view!”

  As Del sprinted off through the park, Olivia heard a familiar, husky laugh, and turning to its owner, said, “Struts! Wow, you look great. I was hoping you’d stop by. You deserve a free cookie for promising to hire Jason back. I was afraid he’d mope around, driving Mom and Allan crazy.”

  Struts Marinsky, gifted mechanic and owner of Chatterley Heights’s lone garage, did not look the part. She’d forsaken her usual oil-stained jeans and T-shirt for an elegant pair of chocolate brown tailored pants, fine wool, and a matching sweater. The outfit showcased her long, lean figure. Her dark blond hair, usually captured in a ponytail to keep it out of moving engine parts, hung loose to her shoulders. “Yeah, I hired Jason back to save Ellie from aggravation, not because he’s the best mechanic in Maryland. You didn’t hear that from me. And I’ll take that cookie. I’m starving. In fact, I’ll buy the whole tray. That’s enough for dinner.” She handed Olivia seven dollars. “Hey, either of you seen Karen Evanson around? I wanted to tell her I won’t go running tomorrow morning. Gotta late date.”

  “I’ll be seeing Karen later,” Olivia said. “I could give her the message.”

  “Great, thanks.”

  “I didn’t know you two were friends.” Olivia brushed some crumbs off the empty cookie tray and slid it into a canvas bag. Maddie began to clean up the booth, staying within listening distance.

  “Yeah, we go back a ways,” Struts said. “We were best buds in kindergarten, in fact. We had a lot in common. We both grew up on farms and have jobs that usually go to men.”

  “So you’re still close?”

  “Close, hm…I’m not sure Karen lets anyone get close. I suspect she’s comfortable with me because I don’t pester her to talk about her feelings. Come to think of it, that’s probably why I’m comfortable with her, too. Although even I think she ought to loosen up a bit. Everything is too important to her, you know?”

  “Mom says the same thing about her,” Olivia said. “Karen seems secretive about herself.”

  “No kidding,” Struts said. “I mean it’s great that she doesn’t get all sappy about feelings, but I literally know nothing about her life except for the early years, when
I used to hang out at her farmhouse. Her mom and dad were just the opposite of Karen, laid-back and content with their lives. They really loved her, even though she was kind of a surprise. Her dad used to talk a lot about when he served in the army. He was stationed in Germany in the 1960s. Karen’s mom moved there for a while to be with her dad, and that’s when Karen happened.”

  “Karen was born in Germany? I didn’t know that.”

  “I wouldn’t either if her mom hadn’t told me. Her mom was thrilled.” Struts peeked into her bag of cookies and took a deep breath. “Ah…I’m going to find a nice private spot and inhale these beauties. Thanks for passing along my message to Karen.”

  “One question, Struts. This is sheer curiosity on my part, so I’ll understand if you don’t want to answer.”

  “I’m good with curiosity. Shoot.”

  “It’s about Karen, or actually something Binnie said. She said Karen needed to learn some self-control. Any idea what she meant by that?”

  To Olivia’s surprise, Struts laughed. “I know exactly what that was about,” she said. “I was there. I told Karen, ‘Don’t let Binnie get the upper hand. She makes stuff up just to see if she can get a reaction.’ But Karen couldn’t stop herself; she lost it.”

  Olivia didn’t want to sound too eager, so she forced herself to stay quiet while Struts selected a cookie from her bag and bit into it. She was relieved when Struts stopped at one bite.

  “It’s odd, too,” Struts said. “What Binnie said to Karen, it was really a wild card. Binnie took out that little notebook she carries around and made like she was reading some notes. Then she asked Karen to swear she’d never known Paine Chatterley before he arrived back in town last Tuesday. Binnie emphasized the word ‘known’ in that sly way she has. When Karen got angry, Binnie started writing in her notebook. Karen grabbed the notebook and tore out all the pages. She ripped them up and tossed the pieces into the air. I have to admit, even though Karen lost her cool, I was silently cheering her on. I think it’ll come back to haunt her, though. Binnie Sloan is the kind to take revenge.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Olivia’s head felt like a preschool full of hyperactive children. She’d absorbed too much information way too fast, and she felt a strong need to sort it all out with Maddie. If only they were back in the store kitchen, whipping up a batch of decorated cookies.… Well, why not? If there wasn’t time to make cookies, at least they’d have privacy. The fete was still winding down, but The Gingerbread House booth was down to crumbs. They would only disappoint customers if they kept the booth open.

  “Maddie, have you seen Karen lately?”

  “Haven’t seen her since you were out back of the booth, talking to Rosemarie. She snagged poor Del. Tell me you don’t actually want to talk to Karen.”

  “Nope, I just wanted to confirm she isn’t around. I’d rather talk with you. Preferably in private and with food. We need to compare notes, and the park is too public.”

  “Oh goodie,” Maddie said. “Do you have a suspect for Paine’s murder?”

  “I have a brain crammed with bits of information that don’t fit together yet, and I want to sort them out. Let’s close up fast and head back to the store. We can hide out in my apartment and keep Spunky company while we brainstorm.”

  “Excellent,” Maddie said. “I’ll take care of the food issue. Ida dropped by and said Pete overestimated the public’s craving for meatball sandwiches. I’ll zip over to the diner’s booth and pick up a couple sandwiches plus extras for you, so you can freeze the leftovers. It’ll be a nice change from pizza.”

  “I like pizza.”

  “Yes, we all get that, Livie. I’ll be right back.”

  While Maddie procured dinner, Olivia packed up empty cake pans, plates, and cookie-cutter garlands. They’d taken in a tidy sum, mostly in cash, which Olivia counted quickly. By the time she had recorded the amount and stuffed it into a zipped cash pouch, Maddie returned with two grocery-size take-out bags with “Pete’s Diner” stenciled across them. “We won’t starve,” Maddie said, grinning. “Let’s blow this cookie stand before Karen makes another appearance.”

  Heavily laden with bags, Olivia and Maddie skirted through the thinning crowd toward The Gingerbread House. Olivia felt a familiar lightening of her spirits as they neared the bright yellow Queen Anne. The house had wrapped its sticky fingers around her heart, and she could no longer imagine living anywhere else.

  Olivia unlocked the store, and they headed to the kitchen, where they left their bags on the worktable. “We can clean up tomorrow morning, while the store is closed,” Olivia said. “I want to take Spunky for a quick outing, then we can eat. We won’t go far; too many strangers wandering around.”

  “Do you really have to go to that meeting at the community center this evening?”

  “Yeah, I’ll go,” Olivia said, “but never again.” She opened her apartment door and caught Spunky as he burst through. Holding the squirming dog in a firm grip, she said, “You’re getting good at that, kiddo. Ouch.” A red stripe appeared on Olivia’s bare shoulder where Spunky’s flailing claw had scratched it. “I desperately want to change out of this getup. Costume, I mean.”

  “Not allowed,” Maddie said. “I’ll show you why when you get back. I’ll be in the kitchen, working down the mess.”

  After a short walk around the yard, Spunky was ready to go indoors. He wasn’t happy with the noise level in the park. Olivia held on to him as they joined Maddie in the store kitchen.

  “Now there’s a sight for Binnie’s blog,” Olivia said when she caught sight of Maddie. “Serving wench loads dishwasher in The Gingerbread House kitchen. Inquiring minds want to know: does she do windows?”

  “She does not,” Maddie said. “She does, however, bring gifts from Aunt Sadie.” Maddie reached into one of the bags she’d used to transport their costumes. She pulled out a folded white cloth, which she glanced at before tossing it back in the bag, shaking her head with impatience.

  Olivia finished loading the dishwasher and added soap. As she pushed the start button, Maddie said, “And now, for your wearing pleasure…” She held an armful of fine white wool.

  “What’s that?”

  “This is why we can’t change out of our costumes yet,” Maddie said. “Aunt Sadie sent along a couple of embroidered shawls for us. She used to embroider shawls before she turned to aprons. These have been packed away for decades, but she hand washed them to get out the mothball smell. She wants us to keep them. I took the liberty of choosing mine first.” Maddie wrapped one shawl around Olivia’s shoulders and the other around her own.

  “Nice and soft.” Handing Spunky over to Maddie, Olivia slipped off the shawl to get a look at the embroidered decoration on the back. “It looks like a bouquet of passion flowers in pinks and purples. It’s gorgeous. What’s yours?”

  “Aunt Sadie picked out romantic themes for us.” Maddie turned her back to reveal two cardinals, a male and a female, touching beaks. “It’s called courtship feeding. The male hops over to his chosen female and places a seed in her beak. When I was about eleven, Aunt Sadie called me to the kitchen window so I could see the real thing. It looked just like a people kiss, which melted my little prepubescent heart. Aunt Sadie embroidered this for me and put it away until I got engaged. I guess she figures that promising to think about being engaged is close enough.”

  Wearing their new shawls, they climbed the stairs to Olivia’s apartment. While Maddie warmed the meatball sandwiches and set the little kitchen table, Olivia fixed Spunky’s dinner. She was planning to head off her skittish Yorkie’s reaction to a second round of fireworks, coming up after the fete. She’d made a quick call to Chatterley Paws, the animal shelter and vet clinic run by Gwen and Herbie Tucker. Gwen was skipping the celebration to stay home with their baby boy, but Herbie had stopped by the store early that morning to drop off a small dose of doggie sedative for Spunky. Olivia mixed the liquid into Spunky’s favorite canned food, hoping he wouldn’t notice.
He licked the bowl clean, as usual.

  Having feasted on meatball sandwiches and one glass of merlot each, Maddie and Olivia settled on the living room sofa to continue their discussion of murder suspects. Olivia said, “Okay, our suspects for Paine’s murder are Karen Evanson—”

  “My personal favorite,” Maddie said.

  “Duly noted.” Olivia consulted her handwritten list. “Along with Matthew Fabrizio, Rosemarie York, Quill Latimer, and Hermione Chatterley, even though Johns Hopkins insisted she couldn’t have moved Paine’s body into the bathtub.”

  “Given Hermione’s serious heart attack,” Maddie said, “I guess we have to take Johns Hopkins seriously.”

  “But Hermione might have had help.” Olivia ran her finger down the list. “Any of the other suspects could have dragged Paine and managed to maneuver him into the tub, even Rosemarie or Karen.”

  “Especially Karen,” Maddie said, “since she works out and runs with your mom. I’m just saying.”

  “Each of the suspects had a key to the mansion—or access to one, in Rosemarie’s case—and the murder happened overnight. Only Quill has an alibi for Thursday night. His friends confirmed he was inebriated at midnight, but he could have been faking.”

  “So we’ll assume no alibis,” Maddie said. “They all have motives. Matthew’s motive is obvious. Paine tricked him into finishing the Victorian trim on the mansion in exchange for helping him prove he was a tried-and-true Chatterley descendant. Matthew finished the work—and you have to admit, Matthew’s work is extraordinary—but Paine broke his promise.”

  “Matthew is a hothead and drinks too much,” Olivia said. “Even Rosemarie and Heather admitted Matthew was enraged.”

  Maddie took a sip of coffee and added more cream. “According to Hermione,” she said, “Matthew threatened her with a gun, which caused her to have a heart attack.”

  “Allegedly,” Olivia said. “No one witnessed the encounter. Two spent bullets were found, but no gun. Although Matthew admits to getting drunk and going to the mansion to talk to Hermione. Which makes me wonder…this is pure speculation, but it strikes me that if Hermione has a partner in crime, it might be someone she doesn’t quite trust. Hermione might think it wise to throw suspicion onto someone else, someone like Matthew. He makes such a good suspect. No one would believe him if he tried to implicate Hermione.”