Dead Men Don't Eat Cookies

by Virginia Lowell

“By which you mean woman, right?” Dolly’s voice had grown a sharp edge.

  “Uh, right,” Jason said. “Slip of the tongue. No offense intended.”

  Olivia was impressed. Her brother might be salvageable after all. Barely. “Does anyone know what Kurt actually did that got Alicia fired?” Olivia asked. “I’m having a hard time believing Pete would blame her for her boyfriend’s behavior.”

  “For once, I know the answer to that, or at least part of it,” Allan said as he lowered to his knees in front of the fireplace. “As it happens, I stopped in at the diner at about six a.m. for a cup of coffee, so I witnessed the whole episode. Pete unofficially opens up early, you know, for folks who need to be at work by seven.” Allan paused to light the fire. “There, that ought to do the trick. Nothing like a fire when the wind starts whistling. Now where was I?”

  “Allan, we all know about Pete’s concern for early risers,” Olivia said. “The question is, why were you even out of bed at six a.m., let alone having breakfast at the diner? Has a ‘morning person’ taken over your body?”

  Allan’s laugh filled the room. As he lumbered to his feet, Olivia couldn’t help thinking of her own tall, thin dad, who’d been Allan’s physical opposite. Prone to absentmindedness, her ornithologist father had understood the language of birds. He’d perceived their personalities, much the way Olivia saw cookie cutters almost as little people. Allan, on the other hand, was a shrewd businessman and only slightly taller than Olivia’s five foot seven, with a hefty build and a booming voice. Like her father, however, Allan was kind.

  “Your mother thinks I should exercise more,” Allan said. “Something about my chakras being out of whack.” He ran a beefy hand through his thinning hair. “Haven’t a clue what that means, but it’s usually a good idea to do what Ellie tells me to. Besides, I do spend most of my day hunched in front of my computer. Creating Internet businesses is fun, but it can be intense. So now I get up early in the morning and run around the park a couple times. I figure I deserve a cup of coffee after that. And a nap, if Ellie doesn’t catch me at it.”

  “You were going to tell us how Alicia’s boyfriend got her fired?” Olivia reminded him. In his own way, Allan could be absentminded, too.

  “I sure was,” Allan said. “Quite a scene. Pete had just opened the diner, and there were a few customers. Alicia was the only waitress on duty. She was about to take my order for coffee . . . okay, plus a cinnamon roll, which I needed for energy, but keep it under your hats. Anyway, this Kurt fellow barged in and yelled for Alicia. Gave me a chill, I have to admit.”

  “Was he armed?” Maddie asked.

  Allan chuckled. “Armed with attitude, maybe. I didn’t see any sign of a weapon, and he looked to me like there wasn’t much muscle to him. When Alicia came out of the kitchen, the kid huffed and puffed at her about how she didn’t have any right to break up with him. By then, he sounded more whiney than dangerous. Pete heard the commotion and barged out of the kitchen looking like a prizefighter, which, of course, he used to be.”

  “Wish I’d been there,” Jason said.

  “I wish I hadn’t been there,” Allan said. “Kurt came on strong. He accused Pete of taking Alicia away from him, which was dumb. He said to Alicia, ‘Come on, baby, let’s get out of here.’ Alicia told him not to be an idiot, and that’s when it got really wild. Kurt gave Alicia a look, sort of disdainful and calculating. Then he said to her, ‘So this is the guy you’ve been sneaking around with behind my back. A cook! And you said I was too old for you. You must really be desperate for a sugar daddy.’ I’ll never forget those words.” Allan shook his head.

  “I’m surprised Kurt is still alive,” Maddie said.

  “I have to admit, I expected bloodshed and broken bones.” Allan pushed to his feet and stretched. “I’ve never seen Pete so angry. He grabbed the little pip-squeak by his upper arm, dragged him to the door, tossed him out of the diner, and yelled after him that he’d better never come back. Then Pete turned around and told Alicia that Kurt had to stay away for good or he’d have to let her go. He said he couldn’t afford an employee with a dangerous boyfriend.”

  “That doesn’t seem fair,” Dolly said. “It wasn’t Alicia’s fault he came to the diner. She did break up with him, after all.”

  “I can see both sides,” Olivia said. “Maddie and I couldn’t afford to have someone dangerously volatile show up at The Gingerbread House. It’s bad for business. What if he hurt a customer?”

  “But Pete blamed Alicia, too,” Dolly said. “She didn’t deserve that.”

  “I suspect that was more for show.” Olivia hoped that was true. Pete was known for his soft heart. “Customers witnessed the whole scene. Pete had to make it clear he was serious about keeping Kurt away from the diner. Otherwise, word would spread all through town that Pete’s Diner wasn’t a safe place to be.”

  “Hey, wait a minute, I’m confused.” Maddie ran a hand through her red curls, which expanded like sprung coils. “I just found out this evening that Kurt was arrested for taking a swing at Pete, but Alicia was fired this morning.”

  Dolly folded her long, lean legs into a pretzel and leaned her elbows on her knees. “I might be able to help clear up the confusion,” she said. “Polly stopped by Struts & Bolts this afternoon. I’m amazed by how much gossip she manages to pick up, given how busy she is with the homeless shelter.”

  “Polly has her sources,” Olivia said. “Plus those powerful binoculars.”

  Dolly snickered. “No kidding. Anyway, Polly was looking for a used beater to cart folks around to job interviews, so Struts assigned me to take her out on a couple test drives. Polly talked up a storm. Ida had called and told her about Kurt getting thrown out early that morning, so Polly kept an eye on Pete’s with her binoculars. She saw Kurt hanging around the diner off and on. He stayed out of sight and never went inside, at least not through the front door.”

  “Wait a minute,” Olivia said. “If Kurt never went inside, how and when did he try to slug Pete?”

  Dolly shrugged one strong, shapely shoulder. “Polly said she couldn’t actually see the back door, but she did watch Kurt enter the alley behind the diner.”

  Jason stretched his arms toward the ceiling and yawned, as if he were bored. As he lowered his arms, the left one landed gently around Dolly’s shoulders. “You womenfolk make everything so complicated,” he said. “There’s a simple explanation.”

  “Oh really,” Dolly muttered as she slid out from under Jason’s arm.

  Jason took the rejection in stride. “Well, think about it. The diner kitchen opens into the alley, right? Maybe Pete noticed Kurt hanging around and finally figured he had to fire Alicia to get rid of Kurt for good. Kurt, being a hothead, probably fumed for hours and finally confronted Pete and took a swing at him. Which was dumb, of course, because Pete could have killed him with one blow.” Jason’s grin hinted that he relished the thought. “Pete isn’t like that, though. He just called the police.” Jason gave Olivia a look of brotherly disdain. “It’s simple logic, Olive Oyl. I’m surprised you didn’t ask Del to explain this to you.”

  When Dolly’s fingers curled into a fist, Olivia felt intervention might be a timely idea. “Del is pretty busy right now,” she said, lowering her voice. “As you may remember, we did discover what might be the remains of Alicia’s father. A deputy from Twiterton is pinch-hitting for Del at the moment, so he’s probably the one who arrested Kurt.”

  Jason shrugged. “Oh. Okay. Sorry.” Dolly’s fingers relaxed.

  “I suppose Pete might change his mind and rehire Alicia once he calms down,” Allan said. “He does have a soft spot for feisty ladies.” Allan paused a moment, as if he were listening for footsteps. “I wonder why those two are taking so long in the kitchen. Probably talking nonstop. At any rate, I’ve told you everything I can remember. What struck me most about this Kurt kid was his entitled attitude. Alicia reacted like
an exasperated ex-girlfriend. Funny thing is, Kurt looked a lot older than her.”

  “Yeah,” Jason said. “Alicia is only like nineteen, right? Kurt is twenty-six. I know that because he filled out an application form for the job at Struts & Bolts, plus he had to show Struts his driver’s license. He wrote stuff about his experience, too, and he sounded pretty knowledgeable. Now I’m thinking he just looked it all up on the Internet to make himself look good on the application.”

  “That’s an interesting observation,” Allan said. “From what I saw of him, Kurt reminded me of one of those kids who hide out in their basements and spend all their time online. He’s got that pasty look and hunched shoulders.” With a sheepish grin, he added, “I guess you could say I hang out with my computer for endless hours, too, but I’ve got Ellie to kick my butt out of my office and into the world.”

  “And you’re a successful businessman with many professional contacts and friends,” Olivia said. “Although your shoulders could use some straightening.”

  Allan gave her a good-natured grin as he put a finger to his lips. “Approaching footsteps,” he whispered.

  “Dessert has arrived,” Ellie announced as she entered the living room carrying a large tray piled with decorated cookies. Alicia followed with a large carafe of coffee. “The cookies are from Maddie and Livie, of course,” Ellie said. “Sorry we took so long. Alicia and I filled the dishwasher while we had a lovely talk.” Alicia placed the heavy carafe on the coffee table just as Ellie said, “Alicia, dear, would you mind going back to the kitchen? I forgot to prepare a tray with coffee cups, cream, and sugar. Perhaps you could add some spoons, as well. Thank you so much, dear.”

  Once Alicia had left, Maddie asked, “So? What did you two talk about in the kitchen?”

  “Nothing earth-shattering,” Ellie said, “though I am happy to report that Alicia and I plan to chat with Pete about rehiring her. We’ll wait a bit, I think.” Ellie smiled fondly at her daughter and Maddie. “I would feel more comfortable if that former boyfriend of hers weren’t around. He might be more bark than bite, but I’d rather not encourage Pete to let her work at the diner again if she or anyone else might be in danger.”

  As Allan stared into the fire, his normally affable expression darkened.

  Ellie reached toward her husband and lightly touched his forearm. “Is something worrying you, dear?”

  Allan patted her hand. “I was wondering . . . Does anyone know what Kurt does for a living? Because if he turns out to be a computer geek, he might be able to discover if someone is tracking him. He might even be a hacker.” He shrugged, and said, “It’s a long shot, but . . . well, I’d stay alert. And don’t discuss Kurt on social networks. Just a precaution, that’s all I’m—” Allan stopped abruptly at the sound of clattering crockery. Alicia entered the living room slowly, frowning in concentration as she delivered a tray loaded with cups, saucers, spoons, cream, sugar, and napkins. Allan leaped up to help her.

  “Whew,” Alicia said, once the tray had landed safely on the coffee table. She began to fill cups to the brim and pass them along. Olivia noted that there was no room left in her own cup for the heaps of cream and sugar she preferred, but she kept her disappointment to herself. It wouldn’t hurt to cut down. Besides, she had more important issues on her mind. Olivia took a sip of her unadulterated coffee and left it on the end table to fend for itself. “Alicia,” she said, “you’ve mentioned how much you love to bake cookies. Are you interested in cookie cutters, too?”

  Alicia’s eyes lit up. “Oh yes. I love cookie cutters. I wish my mom had given her cutter collection to me instead of selling it online.”

  Interesting . . . As Olivia remembered their conversation in the park, Crystal had claimed, disdainfully, that she’d given her cutters away. Had she needed money?

  “Some of them were lovely antiques,” Alicia said. “Mom once told me they’d been in the family for generations. If only she had kept them for me, like her mother did for her. I would have loved them and kept them safe.” Tears doused the sparks in Alicia’s eyes. She dabbed her eyelids with her napkin. “I’m sorry. I’m acting like a little kid. Mom always says I’ll never grow up.”

  Ellie reached over and patted Alicia’s hand. “You are already quite grown-up, dear.” Alicia gave her a shy smile, and Olivia began to wonder if she’d acquired a new little sister. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

  “Hey, let’s check some online sites like eBay this evening,” Maddie said. “Maybe we’ll find some of those cutters for sale again. Would you recognize them, do you think?”

  Alicia practically bounced off her seat with excitement. “I should have thought of that. If there are good photos, then yes, maybe. Each of those cutters had little marks and dents that I’d recognize instantly. I used to play with them when I was a little girl. I caused quite a few of those dents, but mom never said anything. We got along a lot better when I was little.”

  Olivia surrendered to her need for caffeine and took another sip of her naked coffee. Nope, she’d never get used to it. Now that there was some room in the cup, she stirred in cream and sugar. The next sip tasted much better. Olivia wanted to bring Kenny Vayle into the conversation, but that might trigger a crying jag. Maybe Crystal would be a safer topic for now. “Perhaps your mom wasn’t as interested in cookie cutters as you were,” Olivia suggested.

  Alicia’s shoulders drooped. Her voice quivered as she said, “Mom really wasn’t . . . It was my dad who truly loved to bake. He taught me how to make cutout cookies using those old cookie cutters. We’d give each cutter a name and talk to them while we baked. I really, really miss him, you know?”

  “I do know,” Olivia said. “And so does my brother, don’t you, Jason?” She made the question into a statement as a signal to Jason to show a little empathy. “He was only in high school when our dad died,” Olivia said, “and it hit him hard. Didn’t it, Jason?” At the time, the loss of his father and the shock of it had knocked Jason off his rapidly growing feet. He’d lost interest in school, hung out with borderline delinquents, gotten into trouble . . . Once Jason had straightened himself out, he became tight-lipped about those days.

  With everyone staring at him, Jason stretched out his legs, jiggled his feet, and stared into the fire. Olivia was about to change the subject when Dolly gently poked Jason in the ribs with her elbow. He gave her a startled look, and said, “Uh, well, yeah. It was . . . you know, hard.”

  Alicia grabbed a small pillow from the sofa and held it tightly against her stomach. “My dad disappeared years ago, but it feels like it only just happened, you know? Do you ever get over it?”

  Jason’s gaze darted toward Dolly’s elbow. “Well, yeah, but . . . It takes a while. The thing is, you’ve been hoping your dad might still come back, but I . . . well, I knew my dad was gone.” Dolly touched Jason’s forearm with her fingertips, and his shoulders relaxed.

  “I guess you’re right,” Alicia said. “It’s tough to let go when you think someone might only be away for a while, but not . . . not dead.”

  Olivia decided this wasn’t the time to mention that the bones they’d found in the old Chatterley Boarding House had yet to be positively identified . . . or that Kenny Vayle, if he was still alive, might be a murderer.

  Chapter Eleven

  After dinner at the Greyson-Meyers home, Olivia, Maddie, and Alicia returned to the Gingerbread House kitchen, eager to get to work. Maddie reached into the refrigerator and removed a disk of cookie dough wrapped in plastic. She plopped it on the worktable, where Alicia squirmed impatiently in her chair. “Would you like to do the cutting?” Maddie asked Alicia, who nodded eagerly. “I’ll roll out the dough,” Maddie said. “While you are cutting, I’ll search some Internet sites that sell vintage and antique cutters. There isn’t time for much else. Ellie set your curfew at eleven p.m., which I think of as late afternoon, but who am I to question? Everyone knows that Liv
ie’s mom was Mary Poppins in a previous life—practically perfect in every way. Livie, do you plan to join us?”

  “I’d better finish reconciling today’s receipts. It’s a boring job, but somebody has to do it.” Olivia settled at her little desk in a cozy corner where she could watch, listen, and even get some work done.

  “And I’m so grateful you are that someone, not me.” Maddie picked up the rolling pin and applied it to the center of the dough. “Alicia, why don’t you pick out the cookie cutters you want to use. The ones we use most often are over there.” Maddie aimed her elbow at a narrow cupboard. “We try to keep them arranged by category, but when things get hectic around here, organization wanders off for a nap.”

  Alicia opened the cupboard door and gasped. “Golly, there must be hundreds of cutters in here.” She peeked inside the nearest box. “Oh, these are some old-fashioned shapes. Let’s use them.”

  “You can’t beat the classics.” Maddie exchanged a quick glance with Olivia. They kept a cutter in that box, similar to the one Dolly had noticed when Struts first brought her to The Gingerbread House—the heart pierced by an arrow. With any luck, that cutter might induce Alicia to talk about her father, thereby providing some possible leads. They planned to dig into Kenny’s disappearance without involving Alicia in an investigation that might cause her pain . . . or harm.

  “Why don’t you spread those cutters on the kitchen counter,” Maddie said. “While I finish rolling out the dough, you can select four or five cutters that are about the same size. Then I’ll turn the table over to you. I find it really meditative to cut out shapes. Maybe the process will jog your memory, so you can describe some of your mom’s cutters for my online search.”

  When Alicia didn’t answer, Olivia glanced up from her receipts to see the young woman staring down at a cookie cutter in her hand. Maddie’s eyes met Olivia’s over Alicia’s bowed head. “How’s it going, Alicia?” Maddie asked. “I’m almost finished rolling out the dough.”