One Dead Cookie

by Virginia Lowell

  “Jason would skip transplant surgery for a free home-cooked meal.” Olivia’s string bean of a brother could lose weight eating six meals a day. “I promised to help Maddie decorate cookies for the store tomorrow, but I could probably get there by seven. You can start dinner without me. I’d feel responsible if Jason passed out from hunger.”

  “I’ll feed Jason while I’m cooking dinner, and he can eat a second meal with the rest of us. That should hold him till breakfast. Allan is consumed by yet another new Internet business he’s developing, so he won’t linger at the table. Honestly, I think that man is happy only when he’s starting up a business. Once it’s humming along nicely, he gets bored and sells it.”

  “He seems to be good at it,” Olivia said.

  “That he is.” Ellie finished her second cookie, and said, “Gotta tap-dance away. See you sevenish.” But she didn’t move. She stared at the sales counter with a thoughtful expression.

  Olivia followed her gaze and saw their new clerk, Jennifer, pushing a large box across the counter toward the young couple to whom she’d been demonstrating the wonders of the fancy red mixer. Olivia had come to think of that mixer as her worst-ever business decision. She checked the shelf the mixer had dominated for so long. It wasn’t there.

  “I don’t believe it,” Olivia said. “Did Jennifer actually sell that red mixer?”

  “I watched her box it up and run the credit card,” Ellie said. “But I keep wondering…”

  Olivia felt a flicker of anxiety. “What? What are you wondering? Because if that credit card is bogus, I’m out a lot of—”

  “Take a deep breath, Livie.”

  “But—”

  “I was only wondering about Jennifer. Does she have family around here? She reminds me of someone, but I can’t think who.”

  “Maddie hired her,” Olivia said. “All I know is she recently moved here from DC, and she has a great deal of knowledge about cookie cutters and baking. And she sold the red mixer, which makes her a goddess in my eyes.”

  “Understandable, dear. Anyway, I’m now officially late, no matter how we interpret the Hansel and Gretel clock.” Munching on a cookie, Ellie tap-danced toward the front door. She wove flawlessly around display tables and two of the customers. When she reached the front of the store, she tapped around to face Olivia, blew her a kiss, and danced backward out the door.

  The customers followed Ellie’s performance in startled silence. As the door closed behind her mother, all five faces turned toward Olivia. Their reactions ranged from puzzlement to outright amusement. One customer giggled.

  Olivia shrugged. “I’ve never seen that woman before in my life.”

  Chapter Four

  Promptly at seven p.m., Olivia arrived at the front door of her childhood home. Spunky wiggled in her arms, eager to be back on his own four paws. He recognized the Greyson-Meyers house and yapped with excitement. Olivia had recently begun taking her little Yorkie with her when she visited her family and friends. He didn’t do well with long periods of apartment arrest, and he was a popular guest. In fact, Olivia had received more invitations than usual lately. The reason, she suspected, was Spunky’s adorable nature, not hers. It was no accident that Spunky had survived so long on the streets of Baltimore after escaping from the puppy mill. The little con artist could really turn on the charm.

  Jason, Olivia’s brother, opened the door holding a half-eaten ham sandwich. “Hey Olive Oyl, you’re on time. And you brought my buddy. Hey, Spunks.” Jason tore a piece of ham from his sandwich and fed it to Spunky.

  “He isn’t starving, you know,” Olivia said. “You don’t have to share your dinner with him.”

  “Mom already fixed me some ham and potatoes, but she didn’t think you’d be here on time, so she made me a sandwich to help tide me over. Come on in. Mom’s in the kitchen. We ran out of ham, so she’s cooking some chicken thing.” Jason usually teased and taunted Olivia, but maybe his recent breakup with his troubled girlfriend had forced him to grow up a bit.

  “Hey, I hear Del finally dumped you for a younger woman.”

  Or maybe not. “I’m going to ignore that,” Olivia said.

  Jason chortled as he stuffed the remainder of his sandwich into his mouth.

  Olivia sniffed the air as she entered the kitchen. “Yum! You’re making lemon chicken.” She scrunched next to her mother to smell the aroma as the oven door opened. “I love lemon chicken. I’m so glad Jason ate all the ham.”

  “I knew you would be, Livie.” Ellie basted the chicken breasts and reset the timer for ten minutes. “I used fresh Greek oregano from the garden, too. Such a satisfying fragrance.”

  “Speaking of which…” Olivia set her package of herbs on the kitchen counter.

  “Something from Bon Vivant? Are you implying that my cooking isn’t good enough for you?” Ellie opened the bag and removed two small packets.

  “Lavender buds and lemon verbena leaves,” Olivia said. “Both organic, dried from last season. I didn’t know if you’d dried either one. I was in the Bon Vivant garden this morning, so I asked if I could buy some of their supply. Only don’t tell anyone. The manager said they barely have enough for their own use until the new crops are ready. Especially the lemon verbena, which they use a lot.”

  Ellie handed four plates to Olivia, a silent order to set the table. “I hope they explained that lemon verbena really should be dried and crushed before it’s used in cooking. The fresh leaves are tough. If they are cut into pieces, I imagine they could do some damage to the esophagus. Something you might want to remember in relation to your investigative work.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  Ellie lifted a large bowl of tabbouleh from the refrigerator and placed it on the table.

  “I suppose the parsley and mint came from your garden, too?” Olivia might have sounded a bit irritable, but really, her mother could make her feel inadequate with no more than a gentle smile…which was precisely what Ellie offered her, along with a handful of silverware.

  “We’ll give the chicken a few more minutes before calling the boys to dinner,” Ellie said. “That gives you just enough time to tell me why you’ve brought lavender and lemon verbena with you. Such interesting ingredients. I’m assuming they have something to do with our cookie-baking session this evening?”

  Olivia explained her ideas for the special cookies she wanted to create for Maddie’s engagement party. “Don’t tell Allan and Jason,” Olivia said. “I want it to be a secret, if that’s possible anywhere within the town limits.”

  “I’m very good at secrets,” Ellie said. “Besides, even if we explained our cookie experimentation to Allan and Jason, they wouldn’t retain the information. Nor would it occur to either of them to mention the idea to anyone else. Trust me.”

  As if he’d heard his name, Jason appeared at the kitchen entrance. “Is dinner ready yet? I’m starving. So is Allan.”

  “You can’t be starving,” Olivia said. “You just ate a whole ham and a sack of potatoes.”

  “Did not. Anyway, that was, like, half an hour ago. I don’t have excess fat to keep me going, like you do.” Jason retreated before his sister could whack him with a potholder, the only weapon at hand.

  As Ellie brought butter, salt, and pepper to the table, Jason returned to the kitchen with his stepfather, Allan Meyers, who rubbed his hands together when he saw the lemon chicken. Jason snatched a warm roll and downed it in two bites. Ellie watched her son with a tolerant smile. Olivia rolled her eyes.

  Allan curled a strong arm around his wife’s waist and pulled her to him. “Ellie, you are the best cook ever to breathe air.” As he planted a kiss on Ellie’s lips, a pink flush spread across her cheeks. In so many ways, Allan Meyers was the polar opposite of Olivia’s gentle, introverted father, who had died of pancreatic cancer when she was a teenager. A well-known ornithologist, he had fit the stereotype of the distracted academic. In contrast, Allan, a businessman, exuded outgoing friendliness and energy. The two
men were physical opposites, as well. Olivia’s father had been tall and thin, while Allan was beefy and only a couple inches taller than Olivia.

  Jason commandeered the chicken, took the two biggest pieces, and stationed the platter near his own plate.

  “Jason, I think your mother and sister might be hungry, too,” Allan said.

  “Hm?” Jason had stuffed a second roll in his mouth as he reached for the bowl of tabbouleh. “Oh sorry,” he mumbled as he passed the chicken to Ellie.

  Olivia gave up the notion that her brother had matured. She’d seen his caring side when his girlfriend had been suspected of murder, but apparently that wouldn’t be surfacing on a regular basis.

  “So, Livie,” Allan said, “what’s this I hear about a rift between you and Del?”

  Ellie gave her husband a stern look. “Allan, you know that isn’t true. Binnie Sloan made it up, as she always does. Really, you need to spend less time starting all those Internet businesses and more time observing your surroundings.”

  Allan grinned at her. “I was teasing,” he said. “Just trying to liven up the conversation.”

  “Jerk,” Ellie said. It was the strongest insult she ever used.

  “Sorry, honey, couldn’t help myself. You are right, observing my surroundings is important, and it’s also good business practice. But really, Livie, why is Binnie going after you right now, with Maddie and Lucas’s nuptials coming up? She won’t win new readers that way. A little gossip is fine, but Binnie needs to focus more on events that bring people together, make them feel part of the community.”

  “Who knows?” Olivia said as she helped herself to a heaping serving of tabbouleh. She rarely feasted on such wonderful home-cooked food. “Binnie isn’t what you’d call a savvy businesswoman.”

  Jason had already cleaned his plate and begun to reload with seconds of everything. “Binnie is weird,” he said. “Even Struts got upset about that last post, the one about your cookies. I was in her office when she called Binnie and balled her out. Struts can really swear. She’s the best boss ever.” Jason’s chicken-filled fork was halfway to his mouth when he added, “But don’t worry. Binnie told Struts that post was already gone, that it was only up for a few minutes. So you’ve got friends, Livie. For some reason.”

  “Wait, what post? What are you talking about?” Olivia noticed her mother was pushing her food around her plate. “Mom?” Ellie’s expression reminded Olivia of the time in seventh grade when a jealous classmate’s mother had spread a rumor about Olivia. She’d insisted Olivia got good grades only because her scholarly father did her homework for her. Ellie had intervened, though Olivia had never found out how. The classmate ceased hostilities, and her mother publicly disavowed the rumor.

  Allan turned his laser gaze on his wife. “Ellie, did you…? That’s my girl!”

  Ellie straightened her spine and lifted her chin. “No one messes with my family,” she said. “I’m normally dispassionate and nonjudgmental about the unfortunate behavior of others, even Binnie Sloan, but I’m afraid I’d missed three yoga classes in a row. Two is clearly my limit. I must remember that in future.”

  “Mom, if you managed to silence Binnie for even a few minutes, I salute you,” Olivia said. “Only please tell me what her blog was about, okay? I’m dissolving here.”

  “Just a moment,” Ellie said. She opened a cupboard and took out an unopened bottle of cabernet sauvignon and four glasses. It was unusual for her to offer wine for dinner at home. She wasn’t a teetotaler; it simply didn’t occur to her.

  “I’m not angry, Mom,” Olivia watched her mother pop the cork. “Is it that bad?”

  “A glass of red wine with dinner is good for one’s health.” Ellie half filled each wine glass. “Besides,” she said with her signature serene smile, “I’m rather proud of myself. I do so hate to give up on anyone, but I’d given up on Binnie. I’d begun to think her beyond the reach even of the universe and its—”

  “Sweetheart,” Allan said, “you are torturing your daughter.”

  “Oh.” Ellie took a sip of wine. “Well, if I must…. Binnie wrote on her unfortunate blog that some unnamed customer found dog fur in one of the cookies you and Maddie put out this morning. Which is ridiculous, of course. You would have heard about it right away. Besides, everyone knows that terriers have hair, rather than fur. Although I suppose hair can look like fur….”

  “I’ll sue her,” Olivia said. “She could ruin my business with lies like that. If the health department heard—”

  “I know, dear, which is precisely why I warned Binnie that she would find herself on the losing end of a very expensive lawsuit if she did not instantly remove her accusation. And she did. Quickly, I might add. I watched it disappear, and I checked several times to be certain she didn’t post it again.

  “You see, I was sure Binnie had made up the entire story by herself. Not that I’m naive enough to believe no one else in Chatterley Heights would say such a thing, small towns being what they are and, well, people being who they are, but…Don’t glare, Livie, it will give you a headache. I’m convinced Binnie made that story up because it’s what she has done so many, many times before, and, sadly, people rarely change.” Ellie took a substantial gulp of her wine. “More tabbouleh, anyone?”

  No one spoke. Allan beamed at his wife, and Jason’s mouth hung open…in amazement, for once, rather than hunger. “Great job, Mom,” Jason said. “I can’t wait to tell Struts and the guys at the garage. Can we have dessert now?”

  “I’m impressed,” Olivia said. “It’s rare for Binnie to back down. Threats usually energize her. Would you really have filed a lawsuit if she hadn’t removed that post?”

  “You bet I would.” Ellie nodded so hard that a long lock of wavy hair flipped forward over her shoulder. “I had Mr. Willard’s number in front of me, in case Binnie didn’t cooperate. Mr. Willard seems so gentle and civil, for a lawyer, and his advanced age does rather lull folks into a false sense of ease when he questions them.”

  Mr. Willard was also Olivia’s attorney, and she had observed him in action. Binnie would never have known what hit her.

  Jason picked up his fork and used it to salute his mother. “Now, about that dessert?”

  “You take after your father,” Ellie said as she opened the refrigerator. “He could eat all day and never gain an ounce. It’s a trait I particularly dislike in a person.” She centered a key lime pie on the table and handed Olivia the pie server. “I ran out of time, so this pie came from the Chatterley Café.” Ellie began to clear the empty plates. “Their key lime is better than mine, and anyway, I think cookies are more fun to make than pie. Don’t tell anyone I said that.”

  Olivia cut a small wedge for her tiny mother and a slightly larger one for herself. She passed the pie pan to Allan, who took an average slice. Jason began to eat the remaining pie right out of the pan. Olivia paused after her first delectable bite, and asked, “Mom, when you tap-danced your way through the store today, you said my new sales clerk reminded you of someone. Did you ever figure out who?”

  Ellie put down her fork and frowned. “No, Livie, and it’s been driving me crazy. I’ve lived in Chatterley Heights my whole life. I know everyone’s name, the names of their children, their grandchildren, their ex-spouses…but I don’t have any recollection of your new clerk. What was her name again?”

  “Jennifer Elsworth.”

  “Jennie? I recognized her,” Jason said with his mouth full of key lime pie. His family members stared at him, which didn’t appear to faze him. As his fork aimed toward the pie, Olivia slid the pan away. “Hey!” Jason’s long arm shot toward the pan, but Olivia whisked it beyond his reach.

  Allan pushed back his chair. “Great dinner, Ellie. I’ve got work to do, so I’ll leave all of you to chat about, um, whatever.” Spunky perked up his ears and watched Allan with huge, hopeful eyes. “Want to come along, little guy?” Allan asked. Spunky flapped his tail against the floor.

  “Sorry, Livie,” Allan
said. “I started stocking one of my desk drawers with doggie treats for when you’re out of town and Spunky stays with us. I guess he remembers.”

  “Trust me, he will never forget. Go ahead, Spunks. Maybe I’ll let the nice man keep you forever.” Olivia was only slightly hurt when Spunky reacted to her threat by leaping to all fours and bounding over to Allan.

  Allan gave his wife a peck on the cheek and headed down the hallway to his home office with Spunky trotting close behind.

  “You’re excused,” Ellie said to his retreating back. “Poor Allan, he gets so bored talking about anything but business.”

  “Okay, Jason, we need details,” Olivia said. “No more pie until you tell us how you recognized Jennifer.”

  “Geez. All right, but don’t blame me if I pass out from hunger.” Jason pushed back his chair and stretched out his legs. “I don’t remember her last name, but Elsworth doesn’t sound familiar.”

  “But how come you know her and we don’t?”

  “I didn’t meet her in Chatterley Heights,” Jason said. “I’m pretty sure she grew up in Twiterton. I only met her once, but I do remember it was at a football game, an away game at Twiterton High. That was the year I played on the football team, my junior year, remember?”

  “I wasn’t here,” Olivia said.

  Ellie reached across the table and patted her son’s hand. “I was very proud of you, dear.”

  “Thanks, Mom, but I sucked at football. I was okay at basketball, but football is for guys who get fed enough.”

  “You can have the pie back when you tell us everything you know about Jennifer,” Olivia said.

  Jason groaned. “I hardly know anything except she was cute and kind of shy. She was dating my friend, Kevin, the Chatterley Heights quarterback. He never said how they met. I was with my girlfriend that night. She had her license, plus her parents’ car, so we hung out after the game. Jennie didn’t say much.”