One Dead Cookie (36 page)

“Slow down,” Olivia said. “How did Jennifer know about Howie’s skills?”

Del chuckled. “Because Howie’s ego is approximately the size of the universe. Jennifer
found him online, where he was constantly trolling for female companionship. He bragged
incessantly about his online prowess. Jennifer contacted him and pretended to be impressed.
She initiated an online romance before offering to move to Chatterley Heights to be
near him.”

“Back up a bit,” Maddie said. “Getting Trevor and Dougie to come to Chatterley Heights
must have taken some time and effort. How did that happen?”

While Allan topped off champagne glasses, Del said, “Jennifer was single-minded in
her pursuit of the truth about her sister’s death. It took many months. Once she’d
convinced Howie that she was in love with him, she told him she couldn’t fully commit
herself to a relationship until she let go of losing her beloved sister. She believed
Melissa had been pushed off the cliff, and she wanted to know who was responsible.
When she broached the idea of using the Internet to lure her two suspects, Trevor
and Dougie, to Chatterley Heights, Howie jumped in feet first. Jennifer had
hooked him by his ego…and his need to protect himself. He saw the situation as a chance
to nab a grateful girlfriend while, at the same time, sending someone else to prison
for his own actions. A win-win, so to speak.”

“Or a lose-lose, depending on your perspective,” Olivia said. “Did Jennifer suspect
Howie might have been involved in Melissa’s death?”

“No, she did not.” With a slow shake of his head, Del added, “I wish people would
leave the investigating to the professionals.”

“Well, I can sure understand Jennifer’s frustration,” Maddie said. “The police have
had years to investigate her sister’s death, and it looks like they just let it go.”
Lucas slipped his arm around her shoulders.

Del opened his mouth to respond, but he remained silent when Olivia cocked a warning
eyebrow at him. “Anyway,” Del said, “Howie was convinced he was smart enough to implicate
Trevor or Dougie in Melissa’s death. When they showed up ready to fight for their
reputations, Howie panicked. At the moment, I can only guess what happened, but I
suspect that Trevor confronted Howie, maybe even accused Howie of pushing Melissa
off the cliff because she resisted his questionable charms.”

“That sounds like Trevor,” Olivia said. “He was arrogant to the point of foolishness.”

“Fatal foolishness,” Ellie murmured. “Howie and Trevor were prone to self-delusion.
Del, am I correct to think that Howie tried to implicate Jennifer because she had
begun to suspect him of killing Trevor?”

“Oh yes, Ellie, you would be correct. Jennifer admitted as much. Of course, Jennifer
knew she was innocent, so by setting her up to take the fall, Howie only convinced
her that he was guilty.”

“Oh, what a tangled web, and so forth,” Ellie said. “So very sad.”

The group heard a tentative knock on the door of The Gingerbread House. Olivia handed
Spunky over to Maddie and opened the door. Jennifer Ellsworth took a few shy steps
inside. “Um, I just came to say good-bye,” she said, “and thank you.”

“Come in and have some champagne,” Maddie said. “And maybe half a cookie cake.”

Jennifer smiled, and her features softened. “No, really, thanks. I need to get going.
I wanted to tell you that I’m leaving town. I…I’ve really enjoyed working here, but
I think it’s best that I get on with my life, now that…well, now that my sister’s
killer is behind bars. That has been my only goal for so many years, and now it’s
accomplished. I just wanted to thank you for all you’ve done and to explain why I
disappeared from the store sometimes. You see, I thought Howie was on my side, that
he was helping me, so I had to meet with him on short notice. And I look a bit like
my sister, so I didn’t want Trevor or Dougie to see me and get suspicious that I was
the one pretending to blackmail them. I got more and more angry with Howie because
he was doing stupid and dangerous things, like breaking into Chatterley Heights businesses
and hurting people. I should have seen through him earlier, but…Anyway, I’m truly
sorry for all the trouble I caused.” She slipped out the door so fast that no one
had a chance to respond.

The group fell silent for some time before Allan said, “Well, seems I was right about
that lad, Howie Upton. I’m certainly glad I’m no longer in the corporate world.”

Ellie regarded her husband with puzzlement. “So am I, dear, but what brought that
up?”

With his hearty laugh, Allan said, “I’d pegged Howie as a sociopathic genius, you
see. If I were in the corporate world, I’d have been tempted to hire the boy for his
genius,
thinking I could control his sociopathy. That might not have been such a good idea.”

When everyone laughed, the mood lightened. “Del, what about the break-ins around town?”
Maddie asked. “Were they connected with Trevor’s murder? And the rumors in Binnie’s
blog, what about those?”

Del took a sip of champagne. “Given Howie’s lack of cooperation, we’re still working
on those questions. It’s our hypothesis that Howie was trying to create the impression
that a violent criminal was preying on Chatterley Heights businesses to throw suspicion
off himself. Sort of a fallback plan, if you will. It’s interesting that he used a
hammer to damage Lady Chatterley’s safe and a different hammer to kill Trevor Lane.”

“So Howie is a thematic sort of killer,” Olivia said.

Del grinned at her. “Nicely put. Howie wasn’t as smart as he thought he was, or he
would have realized he should use Wade’s hammer for both crimes. Also, Howie shouldn’t
have left the murder weapon in the band shell while Wade was in jail.”

“I find it curious that Howie chose to attack the head teller at the very bank where
he works,” Olivia said.

Del toasted her. “That happens to be one of our best leads. The head teller was hard
on Howie, for good reason. Choosing him to attack looks a lot like revenge.”

“At least Wade Harald has been cleared, and Struts gave him back his job at the garage,”
Jason said. “I’m sure glad about that, especially because I was doing all the work.
I mean, I love my job but jeez…”

“Stacey and the kids are back home, too,” Olivia said. “So far, Binnie has left them
alone. I hope she’s ashamed of herself for hounding them, but I doubt it.”

“And speaking of Binnie,” Maddie said, “I hope she’s under indictment for something.
Where did she get those nasty rumors for her blog?”

With a laugh, Del said, “Probably from Howie, but she claims to be protecting her
sources. Not much I can do about that until I hear from a judge. Although Binnie still
seems to be conducting a determined vendetta against Livie and me.” Del slid his chair
closer to Olivia and wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders. “Lucas told me
that he and Maddie have moved up their honeymoon to start tomorrow. So now I think
we should toast the bride and groom one more time before they disappear to an undisclosed
location.”

Allan refilled their champagne glasses. It might be a Monday, but no one at the gathering
had any intention of going to work, not even Olivia’s brother.

To Olivia’s surprise, Jason stood to give a toast. He looked handsome in his new blue
suit. He’d even gotten his dark hair trimmed so it no longer fell over his eyes. He
held his champagne glass aloft, and said, “Maddie, I gotta tell you, I will never
forget seeing you take down that jerk. Wow. And in a dress, too. Lucas, you are one
lucky dude. If and when I ever find someone I want to marry, I want her to be just
like Maddie.”

“Olivia was great, too,” Maddie said. “The way she pulled everything together.”

“Yeah, but she didn’t save the day,” Jason said.

“It was a cooperative effort,” Ellie pointed out. “Del did the investigating, Livie
figured out the connections, and Maddie—”

“And Maddie,” Jason said, raising his glass to her, “was the muscle.”

Olivia raised her own glass to her circle of loved ones. “I want to propose a toast,
too,” she said. “To each of you, my dear family and friends. You are the best of the
best.” When Olivia’s breath caught in her throat, she stopped and said the rest in
her heart.

Place chicken in ungreased oblong pan, 13 × 9 × 2 inches. Mix remaining ingredients
and pour over chicken. Sprinkle lemon-pepper seasoning over chicken mixture.

Cook uncovered in 375°F oven for 20 minutes. Turn and spoon sauce over chicken. Cook
until thickest pieces are done, about 20–30 minutes longer.

Using a sifter or a whisk, mix together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and
salt. Set the bowl aside.

Cream together the softened butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. (Use
the paddle attachment, if your mixer has one.) Add the unbeaten egg, rosewater, and
vanilla. Mix well.

Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Use the low setting if you
are using a mixer. Mix until thoroughly blended, but try not to overmix the dough.
Wrap the dough and chill for about thirty minutes.

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Using powdered sugar (rather than flour) on your rolling surface, roll the dough to
a thickness of about
¹
⁄
₄
inch or less. (Powdered sugar keeps the cookies sweet tasting and more moist, especially
if you reroll the remaining dough.) Use a round cookie or biscuit cutter if you wish
to use the cookies for a cookie cake. Place the cookies about one inch apart on
ungreased baking sheets. If you wish, sprinkle the unbaked cookies with sparkling
sugar, in place of icing. Bake for about 7 to 9 minutes, or until they brown slightly
on the edges.

Makes about 3–4 dozen cookies, depending on the size of the cookie cutter.

*If you wish to make a cookie cake, you might try using sparkling sugar before baking.
If you want an iced cake, spread royal icing on cooled, baked cookies, and allow the
icing to dry thoroughly before assembling the cake. Use a dab of royal icing to hold
the cookies together as you arrange them in a pyramid. A dab of royal icing can be
used, as well, to attach other decorations, such as organic or candied rose petals.
Use your imagination and have fun!

Berkley Prime Crime titles by Virginia Lowell

COOKIE DOUGH OR DIE

A COOKIE BEFORE DYING

WHEN THE COOKIE CRUMBLES

ONE DEAD COOKIE