Dead Men Don't Eat Cookies (12 page)

Olivia forced herself not to check her watch. Would it really matter if they were late for dinner? Aunt Sadie’s stories were always worth hearing.

With her free hand, Aunt Sadie massaged Spunky’s silky neck, while she made quick work of her cookie. Accepting Maddie’s offer of another cookie, she said, “I know you are both in a hurry, so I’ll answer your question before I indulge in another of your delicious treats. Although . . .” She picked up a pink and purple rose shape. “Perhaps just one bite, for energy.” After a tiny nibble, Aunt Sadie put the cookie on her plate. “Now where was I? Oh yes, the Chatterley Boarding House . . . It was a lovely building in the beginning, which is hardly surprising since it was conceived and built by Horace Chatterley, a direct descendant of our own town founder, Frederick P. Chatterley.”

“Horace,” Maddie said. “I remember that name. Wasn’t he notorious for something or other? I once heard my mother and a couple of her friends discussing Horace Chatterley in hushed, giggly voices. Was he a ladies’ man, like Frederick P.?”

Waves of wrinkles spread across Aunt Sadie’s plump cheeks as she grinned. “Oh my, yes, but Horace was even worse. Say what you will, Frederick took good care of his wife and family. Of course, everyone knew about his indiscretions, but family
always came first for Frederick. Horace, on the other hand, behaved as if he had no family. He attended gala affairs in the company of other women, while his wife stayed home. His children barely knew him.”

“I suppose his wife suffered in silence?” Olivia knew that time was passing, but she was hooked.

“Not precisely,” Aunt Sadie said. “No doubt she suffered, but not in silence. She turned all five of her children against their father. After all, Horace ignored them, too, while he lived the good life. In the end, it was the Chatterley Boarding House that finally brought him down. You see, he became involved with a lovely young woman named Imogene who wasn’t at all like his previous companions.” Aunt Sadie paused, her eyes straying to the cookie she had barely begun.

“You’re killing me, Aunt Sadie.” Maddie handed the cookie plate to her aunt. “Please tell us that Imogene ground Horace into cookie crumbs.” Spunky’s head snapped up as the cookie changed hands, but he lost interest when no tasty tidbits fell within snatching distance.

Aunt Sadie closed her eyes as she enjoyed a big bite. “Now,” she said, “I feel as though I can go on with the story. Yes, Maddie, Imogene proved to be Horace’s undoing, as they used to say. She was smart and, in her own well-intentioned way, ruthless. You see, Imogene was a reformer. She despised rich, selfish men like Horace, but she was more than willing to play his companion in order to separate him from his wealth. She strung him along to keep him interested in her. She even managed to convince him to fund the construction of a boarding house for worthy, yet disadvantaged workers. Don’t ask me how she did it, but she got Horace to believe that the venture would be wildly lucrative for him. Imogene knew full well he would barely break even, but she was determined to provide good, inexpensive housing for young workers, men and women both, who might have a chance to escape poverty. And it worked, for a while.”

“And then the Depression hit,” Olivia said.

“Yes, then came the Great Depression.” Aunt Sadie put down her cookie. “Horace had invested heavily in the stock market. Ultimately, the Chatterley Boarding House failed, of course. The residents could no longer pay for their rooms, though many of them stayed until they were forced out. In later years, a succession of owners tried to revitalize the building, but it never took off again. It was abandoned many years ago. If Chatterley Heights were a city, these abandoned old buildings would be torn down for new ones, but no one here has shown much interest in the property. So the building sits there, crumbling, waiting . . .”

“Not to worry, Aunt Sadie,” Maddie said. “Calliope and Ellie will soon have the place renovated and living a new life.”

“I’m so glad.” Aunt Sadie checked her watch, and said, “Now, you two must run along or you’ll be late for dinner. I didn’t mean to keep you so long listening to my silly old story.”

“It’s an intriguing old story,” Olivia said. “I’m curious, what happened to Horace Chatterley’s family? It was always my impression that the Chatterleys managed to stay more or less solvent through the centuries.”

Aunt Sadie nodded. “Yes, all but poor Horace. His family, however, did just fine. Horace’s eldest son, Henry, had realized quite young that his father could not be depended upon to support the family. So Henry decided he needed a trade. He settled on law. Henry was a bright lad, took after his mother in that respect. He convinced his father to turn over to him a portion of the family fortune, which he withdrew from the stock market right before it crashed. He used the money to take care of his mother and siblings while he slowly established his law practice in Baltimore.”

“A most satisfying story.” Maddie kissed her aunt on the forehead. “I’ll put your meatloaf on a plate and heat it up in the microwave before we leave.” In less than a minute, she returned from the kitchen bearing a plate of warmed meatloaf, which she handed to her aunt. “By the way, what finally happened to good old Horace?”

“Oh my, such a sad ending. His wife and children wanted nothing to do with him and sent him packing. Poor Horace ended up living in his own boarding house for a time. Finally, he simply disappeared and was never heard from again.”

“Why didn’t I know this story?” Olivia asked. “And I’ve certainly never heard a word about Henry Chatterley.”

“Oh, there are so many stories about the Chatterley dynasty, and many have been forgotten. I suspect Henry Chatterley has faded from memory because he changed his last name to Jones. Most folks don’t know that. Now you two, off you go or you’ll be terribly late for dinner. I do hope you can help that poor girl, Alicia. Such a sad way to lose one’s father.”

“Just one more question,” Olivia said, “and then we’ll disappear so you can eat in peace. What happened to Imogene and her crusade to save the downtrodden? I’m hoping she didn’t sink into a life of despair and poverty.”

“Goodness,” Aunt Sadie said. “I almost forgot the best part of the story. Well, you see, Imogene married Henry Chatterley. Together they continued Imogene’s mission to help the poor rise up in the world. So romantic, don’t you think?”

“But Henry had changed his name, so she became a Jones instead of a Chatterley,” Olivia said as she scooped her pup out of Aunt Sadie’s lap. “Most women wouldn’t appreciate that, but I suppose Imogene didn’t mind so much.”

“Oh no, my dear, you have it turned around. When they married, Imogene kept her last name, which was Jones. So you see, Henry took
her
name. It was done, I believe, without fanfare or explanation . . . though his meaning was clear,” Aunt Sadie added with an impish grin. “Taking Imogene’s name was Henry’s way of divorcing his Chatterley
heritage.”

Olivia, Maddie, and Spunky arrived twenty minutes late for dinner at the Greyson-Meyers home. Jason answered the door, holding a half-eaten cheese sandwich. “Jeez, you two,” Jason said with his mouth full. “You sure took your time getting here. It only takes like five minutes to drive from your store. Mom won’t let me sample the meatloaf until we sit down to eat, and I’m practically passing out from hunger.”

Olivia took in a breath to fire a retort, but she changed her mind when Dolly Fitzpatrick appeared behind Jason’s left shoulder. “Hey, Livie,” Dolly said. “It was so nice of your mom to invite me for dinner.” Dolly was slightly out of breath, Olivia noticed, and her cheeks looked flushed. Either she was excited to be with Jason, or the two of them had recently been arm wrestling. If it was the latter, Olivia hoped Dolly hadn’t let him win. That wasn’t the way to get Jason to notice her.

“Can I hold your sweet little Yorkie?” Dolly held out her arms to Spunky, who wriggled in an effort to reach her.

“Traitor,” Olivia whispered in his ear as she handed him over to Dolly.

“I’ll bring our dessert contribution to the kitchen,” Maddie said, “and offer my services to Ellie. Livie, you stay here and socialize.” She wiggled her eyebrows to indicate she expected Olivia to listen, learn, and report back later.

“Jason, your mom wants your help in the kitchen, too.” Dolly lightly touched his arm as she spoke. Jason didn’t seem to notice the touch. He rolled his eyes and turned to leave. As he ambled toward the kitchen, he stuffed the rest of his sandwich into his mouth. Dolly watched his retreating figure and shook her head. “If I ate like that,” she said, “I’d weigh as much as Jason’s Ford Fairlane. It’s so unfair.”

“I’d like to believe that he’ll turn into a blimp one day,” Olivia said, “but our father was always tall and thin, despite his cookie addiction.”

With a shrug, Dolly shifted her bright blue eyes to Olivia’s face. “You’re probably wondering why I’m here, Livie. I was really surprised when Struts told me your mom wanted me to come to dinner this evening and take a look at a young woman to be sure she’s the girl who bought that cookie cutter charm I made. Of course, she was about twelve when I met her, and it was only for about ten minutes.”

“Even so, you have a great memory for faces.” Olivia glanced toward the dining room to make sure no one was coming their way. “I certainly thought your drawing of the young girl looked very much like Alicia. I wonder why Mom would go to all this trouble.”

“I wondered about that, too,” Dolly said.

“My mother’s ways are often mysterious,” Olivia said. “Do you have any idea how many of those charms you sold?”

Dolly frowned in concentration, which only made her more gorgeous.

It’s a good thing Dolly is a likable person,
Olivia thought. She was surprised by her fiercely protective instincts. She had already watched Jason nearly go to prison for a former girlfriend, and she still didn’t trust his judgment. Besides,
irritating as Jason could be, Olivia didn’t want her baby brother to endure another broken heart.

“I think I sold four of those heart charms,” Dolly said. “But I’m positive that three of them sold to adult women. I could sketch them for you, if you like.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Olivia said.

Dolly motioned to Olivia to follow her to a more private spot near a bookcase. “Listen, Livie, about Jason and me,” Dolly said. “Please don’t worry that I’ll throw myself at him. I do like the guy a lot, but I’m not a dumb teenager anymore. Not that all teenagers are dumb, of course, but I sure was. I thought all those guys who were after me really liked me as a person. Ha! They were only chasing after me because of my . . .” Dolly shook her perfect golden curls impatiently. “That’s not important. I want you to know that I like your brother because he treats me with respect. I swear, the first thing Jason noticed about me was I changed the oil in my car all by myself. We started discussing auto maintenance, and pretty soon we were talking about classic cars and how to restore them. That was the best conversation I’ve ever had with a man.”

“Okay, then,” Olivia said. “I will worry no more. But I do have one little piece of advice. If you ever find yourself in an arm wrestling contest with Jason, don’t—”

“Oh, we arm wrestled soon after we met,” Dolly said with a lopsided grin. “I used to arm wrestle with my brothers all the time. Believe me, it wouldn’t occur to me let a guy win. Jason put up a fight, but I won in the end. Jason took it well. Wait, you don’t think he let me win, do you? That would be
so
disappointing.”

Ellie entered the living room, followed by Alicia, who stared, wide-eyed, around the room as if she were having second thoughts about entering. “Poor kid,” Dolly said. “She’s had a rough time. I think I’ll wander over for a chat with her.”

As Dolly left, Ellie joined Olivia. “Dear Maddie is minding the kitchen while the meatloaves finish baking,” Ellie
said. “I thought Alicia might enjoy some social time before dinner.”

Olivia observed Alicia’s animated expression as she chattered with Dolly. “Those two seem to be getting along well.”

“I thought they might,” Ellie said. “I must say, Alicia has been quite helpful with the meatloaf experiments.”

Olivia’s antennae perked up. Her mother’s experiments usually had an ulterior motive. “Dinner is an experiment?”

“Of course, dear,” Ellie said. “Alicia has a remarkably sophisticated palate. Who better to help me discover the secret to Pete’s secret meatloaf recipe?”

Uh-oh.
“Mom, aren’t you worried that spending an evening discussing Pete’s meatloaf might make Alicia feel even worse? He did just fire her, after all.”

“I am hardly in my dotage, Livie. Naturally I discussed the idea with Alicia before moving forward with it. She lit up like a house on fire . . . such a disturbing analogy, when you think about it.”

“Extremely disturbing, but I won’t tell anyone you used it.”

“How thoughtful of you, dear.” Ellie checked her watch. “I should get the rest of the meal ready soon, but let me reassure you that Alicia is looking forward to our little experiment. She told me she adores all types of cooking. She seems to have survived being fired rather well. She confided that Pete spoke to her privately after he’d thrown that sad young man out of the diner. He said he wasn’t angry with her, but he owed it to his customers and staff to keep them safe from violence.”

“That still sounds like Alicia got fired,” Olivia said.

“Yes, Livie, but Pete also expressed concern for Alicia’s safety. He suggested she break all ties with Kurt and report him to the police if he bothered her. I suspect Alicia hasn’t experienced much kindness from adults—with the exception of her father, poor soul.”

Olivia glanced across the room at Alicia as she chatted
with Allan. “Well, I’m glad she is staying with you and Allan. If she mentions anything that might help resolve what happened to her father, you will tell me, right?”

“Of course, dear, just as soon as I’ve passed the information on to Del.” Ellie’s expression brightened as she looked over Olivia’s shoulder. “She is such a charming young woman, don’t you think?”

“Wait, are we still talking about Alicia?” Olivia turned and followed her mother’s gaze. “Ah, you mean Dolly. Charming, gorgeous, artistically and mechanically gifted . . . If only she weren’t so pleasant, I could happily hate her. As far as I can see, her one flaw is she is besotted with Jason.”

“Now, now, Livie,” Ellie said. “You give Jason too little credit. Although, to be fair, he gives you even less. The two of you are so different. I can only hope that someday you will both learn to appreciate one another.” With the wistful sigh of a long-suffering mother, she added, “I would so enjoy seeing that happen before I die.”

Olivia rolled her eyes heavenward. “Nice delivery, Mom. However, you exercise and do yoga a million times a day, while I live on pizza. I suspect you will outlive me.” Olivia regarded her mother with deepening suspicion. “Okay, Mom, what’s the real reason for this dinner?”

Ellie’s eyes blinked too rapidly, or so Olivia thought. “Livie, dear, I don’t understand what you mean. How many reasons must I have to host a dinner for my friends and family?”

Olivia stroked her chin. “I wonder . . . Dolly doesn’t really need to be here to identify Alicia, does she? I’m guessing that was just a ruse. I’ll bet you and Struts hatched the idea to get Dolly here tonight so she and Jason could get to know one another in a casual family setting.”

Ellie shrugged but admitted nothing.

“I thought so,” Olivia said. “You’d better hope Jason doesn’t get wind of your intentions. He likes Dolly, but he’d hate being set up by his mother. As would I, by the way.”

“You have no need of my services,” Ellie said.

Olivia couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re right about Jason. He’d never pick up on Dolly’s interest, despite the fact that she is perfect for him—though arguably out of his league, but that’s just my opinion. Does Dolly know about this little plot?”

“Heavens no,” Ellie said. “No woman likes to be thrown at a man, especially when it’s his mother doing the tossing. Struts and I discussed the options. It was her idea to tell Dolly that we wanted to be certain Alicia was the girl who’d bought the little charm found with . . . well, you know.”

“Ah.” Olivia remembered seeing Ellie intercept Struts as she left The Gingerbread House during the impromptu event on Tuesday. “So this dinner isn’t really about Alicia or even about Pete’s meatloaf, is it?”

Ellie shrugged her slender shoulders. “One might as well take advantage of an opportunity,” she said. “Dear Struts is quite the romantic, you know.”

Olivia didn’t know, but she wasn’t surprised. As a mechanic, Struts was the best, but she indulged in regular manicures, and her work clothes always managed to show off her tall, slender figure.

“Of course,” Ellie said, “Struts is also practical. She’s been watching Jason and Dolly get to know each other. She is worried that Dolly might quit the garage if she feels Jason is rejecting her. You see, Dolly is a promising mechanic, and she definitely attracts business . . . especially from men who usually do their own oil changes. Struts doesn’t want to lose her.”

When her mother announced dinner, Olivia joined Dolly as she headed toward the dining room. “I just wanted to let you know,” Olivia said, “that Jason never
lets
anyone beat him at arm wrestling. Such an idea would never occur to him. So you did good.”

“You won’t tell Jason we’ve been talking about him, will you?” Dolly asked in a whisper.

“Not a chance,” Olivia said.

“Good, because I like being one of the guys to Jason. For now, anyway.”

Followed by Olivia, Dolly entered the dining room and glanced around the table. There were two empty chairs left. One was next to Jason, who gave her a quick wave. Dolly smiled at him and chose the other seat, across from Jason and next to Alicia. Olivia sat next to Jason. At least she’d be able to observe Dolly and Alicia. Also, Maddie was seated on Alicia’s other side, so Olivia could communicate with her nonverbally, if needed.

“Before we begin,” Ellie said, “I want to tell you all that I have an ulterior motive for organizing this gathering. I’m hoping everyone here has tasted the sublime meatloaf served at Pete’s Diner? Good, because I am determined to replicate his recipe. Pete has refused to share it with me. Normally, I would respect his wishes, but . . . well, his meatloaf is the best I’ve ever tasted, and I am a connoisseur of meatloaf.”

Olivia sneaked a quick look at Alicia to gauge her reaction to the mention of her former boss. Alicia showed no sign of discomfort. In fact, she looked more relaxed than Olivia had ever seen her.

From the opposite end of the table, Allan belted out an enthusiastic, “Here, here,” in response to his wife’s announcement.

“Thank you, dear,” Ellie said. “Although Pete has every right to keep the recipe to himself, there’s no law against trying to decipher it through trial and error, is there? Naturally, should I be successful, Pete’s secret will be safe with me.” Ellie beamed at her guests. “Now for the fun part. I’ve made four meatloaves, all slightly different. As you taste each of them, I’d like you to rate them in comparison to your memory of Pete’s recipe. I did not buy any of Pete’s meatloaf for comparison. That didn’t seem fair because . . . well, I’d feel compelled to tell Pete what I’m doing.”

“How do you know one of us won’t squeal on you to Pete?” Olivia asked.

“Oh, Livie. That would make me so very sad.” Ellie’s tone had an edge that Olivia recognized from childhood. “Now
everyone, you have small score sheets hidden under your plates, and tiny pencils under your napkins. We will taste the meatloaves one by one, rate each one, and cleanse our palates with salad and steamed broccoli. Once we’ve finished our ratings, feel free to eat more. Are we ready? Good, then let the feasting begin.”

Feeling oddly self-conscious, Olivia tried but failed to catch Maddie’s eye. Everyone at the table seemed eager to follow Ellie’s orders, including Alicia. Perhaps she hadn’t really minded losing her job, now that she had a place to stay. Or maybe she enjoyed the thought that Pete’s exquisite and very private recipe might be revealed?