When the Cookie Crumbles (27 page)

“
Who
needs to learn self-control?” Olivia said this
under her breath, since it usually wasn’t a good idea to antagonize the local press. Binnie had a camera and a tape recorder, and she knew how to use them. Maddie heard Olivia’s comment and giggled softly.

“I am curious, though,” Olivia said once Binnie was out of earshot, “what Karen lost her self-control about. And with whom did she lose it?”

B
y midafternoon, the excitement began to wane among fete goers. The madrigal singers had lost their voices, and several busloads of visitors had departed, having eaten their way through the Chatterley Heights town square park. Given it was Sunday and getting chilly, Olivia figured the audience for the evening fireworks would be mostly tired locals. Just as well the crowd had thinned, she thought, since The Gingerbread House booth was running seriously low on decorated cookies.

“Hey, there’s Heather and Matthew,” Maddie said, pointing toward the Pete’s Diner booth. “Matthew looks less tortured than usual.”

“Rosemarie is right behind them,” Olivia said.

Maddie waved as Heather looked in their direction. Heather waved back and took Matthew by the arm.

Olivia checked over their dwindling supply of cookies. “I hope they aren’t too hungry.”

Matthew paid Maddie for two cookies, while Heather engaged her in bubbling conversation. Rosemarie settled near Olivia, watching the young couple fondly. “Your cookies look delicious, as always,” Rosemarie said, “but I’m stuffed.”

“How is Matthew holding up?” Olivia asked.

“Quite well, considering…”

As Rosemarie’s smile faded, Olivia noticed the puffiness around her eyes. “And how are
you
holding up?”

“Oh, I’m fine. Matthew is still under some suspicion, of course, but he was released from jail when a test of some sort showed he hadn’t fired a weapon. The sheriff told me he did a second search of the mansion and grounds this morning and found two spent bullets.”

“So someone did fire a weapon,” Olivia said, “and it wasn’t Matthew.”

“That’s what it looks like.” Rosemarie leaned an elbow on the booth’s sales shelf.

“You don’t seem relieved. Are you sure you don’t need a cookie?” Olivia edged the tray an inch closer to Rosemarie’s elbow.

“So tempting, Livie, but no. Over the past few weeks, I’ve eaten enough sugar to fill the community center. And I really am relieved about Matthew…for now, anyway. I’m just feeling a touch of tattletale’s remorse. I wish I hadn’t told you what I did about Quill and Paine in high school. Now I’ve made Quill a suspect.”

“Rosemarie, he really is a suspect. Quill had a strong reason to hate Paine, assuming he did mastermind the switched names on those tests.”

“Oh, he did indeed,” Rosemarie said with quiet force. “But I have sympathy for Quill. He took the fall for Paine, and I think I know why.”

Olivia hesitated, uncertain how to encourage Rosemarie to say more but not wanting to seem too eager for the information. “If Quill had a reason to accept blame,” she said, “that might weaken his motive for murdering Paine.”

“It might,” Rosemarie said. “Yes, I think it might.” She edged away from Matthew and Heather, who were still chatting with Maddie. Olivia gestured toward the back
entrance to the booth. Rosemarie nodded, and they met behind the booth. With the fete winding down, they’d have adequate privacy.

“Quill was quite shy with girls,” Rosemarie said. “And Paine was popular. He was good-looking and brash, so girls were drawn to him. I’d noticed that when the two became friends, Quill began to double-date with Paine. Once I realized Paine was cheating, copying Quill’s work, I suspected he was ‘paying’ Quill by getting dates for him. I wondered if Quill even understood that he was being bought. He was rather naive for his age.”

“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.

“N
ine 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.”