One Dead Cookie (34 page)

“Thanks for stepping in,” Olivia said. “I’ll see if I can find her.” Olivia remembered
she’d seen Jennifer wearing brown slacks and a beige sweater. She was average height
but pretty enough to stand out, even in a well-dressed crowd. Olivia walked through
the kitchen and restaurant, looked over the crush of guests on the patio, and examined
the open gardens in back. There was no sign of Jennifer. Was this another of her disappearing
acts? Olivia was about to give up when she spotted movement through a break in the
trees behind the gardens. She remembered her early morning visit to that very spot—was
it only last Tuesday?

Olivia decided not to investigate. An amorous couple had probably escaped to the woods
to “get to know each other better,” and she cringed at the thought of interrupting
them. Olivia was about to give up on finding Jennifer when a figure emerged from the
woods. The slight figure wore a
long sweater coat, large sunglasses, and a brown scarf covering her hair. She looked
similar in size and build to Jennifer Elsworth. When the woman paused to slip something
into her pocket, Olivia immediately thought of a cell phone.

Olivia spun around and quickly scanned the guests for cell-phone users. She saw one
man gesticulating and pacing while he talked on his cell. No one appeared to have
just hung up. Howie Upton was chatting with a young woman in a short, tight skirt,
who wobbled on her stilettos. Olivia couldn’t find Dougie Adair in the crowd. Maybe
he had left already.

Olivia lectured herself about jumping to conclusions. The young woman might be a loner
by nature, someone who needs to escape from people on a regular basis. But Olivia’s
gut told her she was right, that the figure approaching the restaurant was Jennifer,
and she seemed to be trying to hide her identity.

With exquisite timing, a familiar voice spoke from behind Olivia. “I should get engaged
more often,” Maddie said. “Isn’t this fun?”

“Maddie, am I glad to see you. Come on, we have to talk.” Olivia led her around the
patio and toward Bon Vivant’s packed front parking lot. Luckily, the PT Cruiser was
easy to spot.

“Are we running away?” Maddie asked.

“Conferring.” Olivia unlocked the car, and they slid into the front seat. “In private.”
For the next few minutes, Olivia sped through a summary of what she’d learned from
her stepfather and what she’d observed on her own. “Mom suggested we step back from
the details to determine what’s really important. I know you’ve been too busy to—”

“In fact,” Maddie said, “I had a chance to chat with
Dougie. Although it was more chatter than chat. I wanted to disarm him…you know, make
him think he’s getting information from me when I’m actually watching his reactions.
That sort of thing.”

“Does that actually work?”

“It does for me,” Maddie said. “You’d never be able to pull it off. You’re too mature.”

“Thank you…I think.”

“So here’s the scoop: I mentioned Jennifer, and I let it slip that I wondered why
he and Trevor had really come to Chatterley Heights.”

Feeling squeamish, Olivia said, “I hope you didn’t give him a reason to skip town.”

“Livie, you have no faith in me. But I’ll let that go because it underscores how good
I am at babbling. I told him that, though we all love Lenora, I couldn’t understand
why he and Trevor would want to keep in touch with her, let alone visit. Anyway, then
I told him something Ellie told me—she wanted me to pass this information along to
you, by the way, so this is a ‘two birds with one stone’ thing. I told Dougie that
Lenora had chattered all over town that he and Trevor were coming to visit her. Dougie
didn’t look surprised by that, but I guess it’s important.”

“I don’t get why this is significant,” Olivia said.

“Okay,” Maddie said, “I’ll back up. Ellie told me to tell you that Lenora visited
every business on Town Square to spread the news that Trevor Lane and his buddy, Dougie
Adair, were coming to Chatterley Heights expressly to visit her.” Maddie paused a
moment, looking confused. “Ellie said you’d understand. She didn’t want to elaborate
because there were so many people around.”

“Didn’t she say anything else at all?” Olivia asked.

Maddie frowned in concentration. “I think she said something about looking for the
threads. Does that mean anything to you?”

Olivia relaxed against the back seat of her PT Cruiser. “I think she’s referring to
what I relayed to you earlier…you know, about stepping away from the details. The
threads…” Olivia massaged her forehead. “This case is so complex, and we haven’t time
to figure out which details are important.” She closed her eyes and released her mind
to follow its own path.

When Olivia had been silent for more than three minutes, Maddie asked, “Livie? Are
you having a catatonic seizure or something?”

Olivia’s eyes popped open. “I think I understand what Mom meant,” she said. “Several
unexplained events have taken place in or near Chatterley Heights, all in the last
week.” Olivia began counting on her fingers. “First, Jennifer showed up at the store
and wanted a job. Second, there were break-ins at Lady Chatterley’s and the bank.
Third, I overheard a mysterious, angry phone call in the woods here at Bon Vivant.
Fourth, Trevor Lane and Dougie Adair showed up in Chatterley Heights. And fifth, Trevor
Lane was murdered. Have I missed anything?”

“What about those rumors in Binnie Sloan’s hateful blog?” Maddie asked.

“The rumors…I think you’re right, Maddie. Those rumors have escalated to the point
where it’s hard to imagine Binnie creating them. They started the same time as the
break-ins.”

“And right after Jennifer began working for us,” Maddie said. “So where does this
get us?”

“I’m not sure,” Olivia said, “but let’s assume these
events are all related, which would mean they are all related to Trevor Lane’s murder.”

“Yes!” Maddie bounced on the car seat. “So I repeat, where does that get us?”

Olivia felt herself wilt. “Not a clue. However, I know what Mom would tell us.”

“To have a cookie?”

“To keep the threads in mind and see where they join together,” Olivia said. “Or words
to that effect.”

“Your mom is very wise,” Maddie said. “Although she doesn’t always make sense.”

*   *   *

B
y late afternoon, the crowds began to thin. Toasts had been offered and wine had been
drunk, at times to excess. The rose-petal cookie cake rested on a wheeled cart draped
with a linen tablecloth. Olivia had assumed guests would break off pieces throughout
the party, but every organic rose petal remained intact. The Bon Vivant staff had
given it a place of honor at the edge of the patio, with the gardens and hills for
a backdrop. The guests had admired the lovely creation but thought it too gorgeous
to consume.

As the late afternoon sun drifted behind a ridge of fluffy white clouds, cameras appeared
among the remaining guests. Maddie and Lucas had decided against hiring professional
photographers, due to the expense. They’d counted on friends and family to fill the
void. Olivia’s stepfather, among many others, welcomed the challenge with enthusiasm.
Olivia relaxed at a patio table, her sore feet resting on a chair, to watch the photo
session.

When Maddie and Lucas posed beside the rose-petal
cookie cake, the clicking of cameras commenced. After a time, Maddie wheeled the cake
aside and led Lucas into the early rose garden for another round of photos. Maddie’s
wild hair had cooperated for once. The curls jumbled together as if a stylist had
spent hours arranging them just so. Lucas looked relaxed and happy with his arm around
his soon-to-be-bride. Within minutes, the sun reemerged, and the cameras disappeared.
A group of muscular, and perhaps less then sober, male employees from Heights Hardware
called to Lucas to join them. Maddie waved him away. Lucas kissed her and followed
his coworkers. A few women stayed to chat with Maddie amid the roses.

Olivia began to feel impatient. She glanced toward the restaurant, where she saw Jennifer
conferring with Bertha and a Bon Vivant staff member. Olivia made a mental note to
corner Jennifer when she was alone and ask point blank if she’d slipped away to the
woods earlier.

Olivia’s cell phone vibrated in her pocket. Her caller ID told her Del had sent a
text. Olivia thought about leaving it, making him wait. He had now missed nearly the
entire party without explanation. Yeah, Del was sheriff, investigating an unsolved
murder, but jeez…He could at least tell her if he was hot on someone’s trail. In case
he was doing just that, Olivia opened the text. It read, “Got a lead. Hope to be there
soon.” Olivia snapped her cell shut with unnecessary force.

No dramatic breakthrough in the case had come to Olivia, and she was close to giving
up. She’d find some other way to help Stacey and her kids. Or maybe Del was on the
verge of arresting the killer, and all would be well.

Olivia looked around for her mother and saw her chatting with Lenora and Herbie Tucker.
To Olivia’s surprise, neither Dougie nor Howie had left yet. Howie checked his
watch. With a tight expression, he glanced toward a patio table where Jennifer was
clearing empty plates. Olivia had the impression he knew her and was perhaps waiting
to take her home. Yet he hadn’t spoken to Jennifer during the party, at least not
to Olivia’s knowledge. In fact, she had never seen Howie speak to Jennifer.

Dougie Adair joined Lenora, Herbie, and Ellie, though he didn’t participate in their
conversation. His attention shifted from the gardens to Howie and then, suddenly,
toward Olivia. When she held his gaze, Dougie broke away from his group and strolled
toward her table.

“I’ll be flying out tomorrow morning,” Dougie said as he dropped into a chair next
to Olivia. “The sheriff knows how to find me.” When Olivia didn’t respond, Dougie
gazed out at the rose garden. “Maddie looks lovely and happy,” he said. “Lucas is
a lucky man.”

Dougie, Trevor, Howie, Jennifer…all connected to one place, Twiterton, and to one
person, Melissa Nortenson.
“Who do you think killed Melissa Nortenson?” Olivia hadn’t meant to ask the question
so bluntly, but she was glad she’d done so. Her peripheral vision told her Dougie’s
body had tightened. Moments passed in silence. Olivia fully expected him to bolt,
but he didn’t.

“Not me,” Dougie said finally.

“Trevor?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t think so.”

“But you gave him an alibi, didn’t you?”

Dougie shrugged. “We were buddies, of a sort, remember?”

“And he repaid you by having an affair with your wife and driving her to suicide,”
Olivia said.

Dougie jerked in his chair as if he’d been poked with a sharp knife. “Trevor also
destroyed Wade Harald’s football
career and possibly his life, and he relentlessly tortured Howie Upton.”

“Why did you and Trevor come to Chatterley Heights?” Olivia asked. “And don’t say
it was to visit Lenora.”

“No comment.”

“Do you know who our clerk, Jennifer Elsworth, really is?”

Dougie laughed. “Well, that was obvious, at least to us. She grew up and dyed her
hair, but those eyes are unmistakable. Her sister Melissa had the same green eyes.”

“How well did you know Melissa?” Olivia asked.

“Not as well as Trevor did. I’m not proud of our treatment of Melissa. Her mind might
have been slow, but when it came to boys, we’d never known a faster girl. It was just
too tempting.” Dougie shifted in his chair. “I should point out that Jennie was the
one who went in search of her after she disappeared. That had become her job, searching
for her sister when she’d run off.” Olivia felt a sudden surge of sadness. She wasn’t
convinced of Dougie’s innocence, but she was tired of asking such awful questions.
She spotted Maddie in the garden and waved. Maddie waved back and pushed the wheeled
cart, which held the cookie cake, out of the rose garden and onto the patio nearer
to Olivia’s table. Maddie ran back to the garden to pick a rose. Olivia began to feel
more relaxed.

The sound of raised voices drew Olivia’s attention. She was surprised to see Jennifer
and Howie walking down a path between two gardens, engaged in a heated discussion.
Jennifer pulled away from Howie and headed toward Bon Vivant’s kitchen, leaving him
alone on the path. As he watched her leave, Olivia came into his field of vision.
She turned away, but not soon enough.

Transcend the details, Olivia thought. All the suspects are connected to a past crime:
the death of Melissa
Nortenson. They all converged on Chatterley Heights at about the same time, give or
take a few days. One of them, Trevor, was subsequently murdered. Olivia jerked upright
with a sudden realization. Trevor’s accused killer, Wade Harald, had gone to Chatterley
Heights high school. It was likely he’d never even met Melissa Nortenson.

Olivia’s cell phone vibrated, and she flipped it open. A text message from Del read,
“I’ll be there in a couple minutes. Hang tight.” Olivia snapped her phone shut.
Hang tight? What’s that supposed to mean?

When Jennifer appeared in the doorway to the kitchen, Olivia thought it might be a
good time to confront her about why she’d left her post at the refreshment tables.
Jennifer glanced in her direction and saw Dougie. Olivia waved to her, but Jennifer
spun around and went back inside the building as if she didn’t want Dougie to see
her. It struck Olivia that Jennifer had never been around when Dougie and Trevor showed
up. Had Jennifer lured them to Chatterley Heights in order to…what? To kill whichever
one she assumed had murdered her sister?

“Dougie?”

Dougie started. He eyed Olivia warily.

“I am just going to keep asking you until you tell me the truth. Why did you and Trevor
really come to Chatterley Heights? Was it because someone was blackmailing you?”

Dougie’s jaw dropped, but he didn’t move.

“Please, Dougie, just tell me. I don’t think you killed Trevor.”