Dead Men Don't Eat Cookies (14 page)

“Yeah,” Jason said. “Alicia is only like nineteen, right? Kurt is twenty-six. I know that because he filled out an application form for the job at Struts & Bolts, plus he had to show Struts his driver’s license. He wrote stuff about his experience, too, and he sounded pretty knowledgeable. Now I’m thinking he just looked it all up on the Internet to make himself look good on the application.”

“That’s an interesting observation,” Allan said. “From what I saw of him, Kurt reminded me of one of those kids who hide
out in their basements and spend all their time online. He’s got that pasty look and hunched shoulders.” With a sheepish grin, he added, “I guess you could say I hang out with my computer for endless hours, too, but I’ve got Ellie to kick my butt out of my office and into the world.”

“And you’re a successful businessman with many professional contacts and friends,” Olivia said. “Although your shoulders could use some straightening.”

Allan gave her a good-natured grin as he put a finger to his lips. “Approaching footsteps,” he whispered.

“Dessert has arrived,” Ellie announced as she entered the living room carrying a large tray piled with decorated cookies. Alicia followed with a large carafe of coffee. “The cookies are from Maddie and Livie, of course,” Ellie said. “Sorry we took so long. Alicia and I filled the dishwasher while we had a lovely talk.” Alicia placed the heavy carafe on the coffee table just as Ellie said, “Alicia, dear, would you mind going back to the kitchen? I forgot to prepare a tray with coffee cups, cream, and sugar. Perhaps you could add some spoons, as well. Thank you so much, dear.”

Once Alicia had left, Maddie asked, “So? What did you two talk about in the kitchen?”

“Nothing earth-shattering,” Ellie said, “though I am happy to report that Alicia and I plan to chat with Pete about rehiring her. We’ll wait a bit, I think.” Ellie smiled fondly at her daughter and Maddie. “I would feel more comfortable if that former boyfriend of hers weren’t around. He might be more bark than bite, but I’d rather not encourage Pete to let her work at the diner again if she or anyone else might be in danger.”

As Allan stared into the fire, his normally affable expression darkened.

Ellie reached toward her husband and lightly touched his forearm. “Is something worrying you, dear?”

Allan patted her hand. “I was wondering . . . Does anyone know what Kurt does for a living? Because if he turns out to be a computer geek, he might be able to discover if someone
is tracking him. He might even be a hacker.” He shrugged, and said, “It’s a long shot, but . . . well, I’d stay alert. And don’t discuss Kurt on social networks. Just a precaution, that’s all I’m—” Allan stopped abruptly at the sound of clattering crockery. Alicia entered the living room slowly, frowning in concentration as she delivered a tray loaded with cups, saucers, spoons, cream, sugar, and napkins. Allan leaped up to help her.

“Whew,” Alicia said, once the tray had landed safely on the coffee table. She began to fill cups to the brim and pass them along. Olivia noted that there was no room left in her own cup for the heaps of cream and sugar she preferred, but she kept her disappointment to herself. It wouldn’t hurt to cut down. Besides, she had more important issues on her mind. Olivia took a sip of her unadulterated coffee and left it on the end table to fend for itself. “Alicia,” she said, “you’ve mentioned how much you love to bake cookies. Are you interested in cookie cutters, too?”

Alicia’s eyes lit up. “Oh yes. I
love
cookie cutters. I wish my mom had given her cutter collection to me instead of selling it online.”

Interesting
 . . . As Olivia remembered their conversation in the park, Crystal had claimed, disdainfully, that she’d given her cutters away. Had she needed money?

“Some of them were lovely antiques,” Alicia said. “Mom once told me they’d been in the family for generations. If only she had kept them for me, like her mother did for her. I would have loved them and kept them safe.” Tears doused the sparks in Alicia’s eyes. She dabbed her eyelids with her napkin. “I’m sorry. I’m acting like a little kid. Mom always says I’ll never grow up.”

Ellie reached over and patted Alicia’s hand. “You are already quite grown-up, dear.” Alicia gave her a shy smile, and Olivia began to wonder if she’d acquired a new little sister. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

“Hey, let’s check some online sites like eBay this evening,”
Maddie said. “Maybe we’ll find some of those cutters for sale again. Would you recognize them, do you think?”

Alicia practically bounced off her seat with excitement. “I should have thought of that. If there are good photos, then yes, maybe. Each of those cutters had little marks and dents that I’d recognize instantly. I used to play with them when I was a little girl. I caused quite a few of those dents, but mom never said anything. We got along a lot better when I was little.”

Olivia surrendered to her need for caffeine and took another sip of her naked coffee. Nope, she’d never get used to it. Now that there was some room in the cup, she stirred in cream and sugar. The next sip tasted much better. Olivia wanted to bring Kenny Vayle into the conversation, but that might trigger a crying jag. Maybe Crystal would be a safer topic for now. “Perhaps your mom wasn’t as interested in cookie cutters as you were,” Olivia suggested.

Alicia’s shoulders drooped. Her voice quivered as she said, “Mom really wasn’t . . . It was my dad who truly loved to bake. He taught me how to make cutout cookies using those old cookie cutters. We’d give each cutter a name and talk to them while we baked. I really, really miss him, you know?”

“I do know,” Olivia said. “And so does my brother, don’t you, Jason?” She made the question into a statement as a signal to Jason to show a little empathy. “He was only in high school when our dad died,” Olivia said, “and it hit him hard. Didn’t it, Jason?” At the time, the loss of his father and the shock of it had knocked Jason off his rapidly growing feet. He’d lost interest in school, hung out with borderline delinquents, gotten into trouble . . . Once Jason had straightened himself out, he became tight-lipped about those days.

With everyone staring at him, Jason stretched out his legs, jiggled his feet, and stared into the fire. Olivia was about to change the subject when Dolly gently poked Jason in the ribs with her elbow. He gave her a startled look, and said, “Uh, well, yeah. It was . . . you know, hard.”

Alicia grabbed a small pillow from the sofa and held it
tightly against her stomach. “My dad disappeared years ago, but it feels like it only just happened, you know? Do you ever get over it?”

Jason’s gaze darted toward Dolly’s elbow. “Well, yeah, but . . . It takes a while. The thing is, you’ve been hoping your dad might still come back, but I . . . well, I knew my dad was gone.” Dolly touched Jason’s forearm with her fingertips, and his shoulders relaxed.

“I guess you’re right,” Alicia said. “It’s tough to let go when you think someone might only be away for a while, but not . . . not dead.”

Olivia decided this wasn’t the time to mention that the bones they’d found in the old Chatterley Boarding House had yet to be positively identified . . . or that Kenny Vayle, if he was still alive, might be a
murderer.

After dinner at the Greyson-Meyers home, Olivia, Maddie, and Alicia returned to the Gingerbread House kitchen, eager to get to work. Maddie reached into the refrigerator and removed a disk of cookie dough wrapped in plastic. She plopped it on the worktable, where Alicia squirmed impatiently in her chair. “Would you like to do the cutting?” Maddie asked Alicia, who nodded eagerly. “I’ll roll out the dough,” Maddie said. “While you are cutting, I’ll search some Internet sites that sell vintage and antique cutters. There isn’t time for much else. Ellie set your curfew at eleven p.m., which I think of as late afternoon, but who am I to question? Everyone knows that Livie’s mom was Mary Poppins in a previous life—practically perfect in every way. Livie, do you plan to join us?”

“I’d better finish reconciling today’s receipts. It’s a boring job, but somebody has to do it.” Olivia settled at her little desk in a cozy corner where she could watch, listen, and even get some work done.

“And I’m so grateful you are that someone, not me.” Maddie picked up the rolling pin and applied it to the center of
the dough. “Alicia, why don’t you pick out the cookie cutters you want to use. The ones we use most often are over there.” Maddie aimed her elbow at a narrow cupboard. “We try to keep them arranged by category, but when things get hectic around here, organization wanders off for a nap.”

Alicia opened the cupboard door and gasped. “Golly, there must be hundreds of cutters in here.” She peeked inside the nearest box. “Oh, these are some old-fashioned shapes. Let’s use them.”

“You can’t beat the classics.” Maddie exchanged a quick glance with Olivia. They kept a cutter in that box, similar to the one Dolly had noticed when Struts first brought her to The Gingerbread House—the heart pierced by an arrow. With any luck, that cutter might induce Alicia to talk about her father, thereby providing some possible leads. They planned to dig into Kenny’s disappearance without involving Alicia in an investigation that might cause her pain . . . or harm.

“Why don’t you spread those cutters on the kitchen counter,” Maddie said. “While I finish rolling out the dough, you can select four or five cutters that are about the same size. Then I’ll turn the table over to you. I find it really meditative to cut out shapes. Maybe the process will jog your memory, so you can describe some of your mom’s cutters for my online search.”

When Alicia didn’t answer, Olivia glanced up from her receipts to see the young woman staring down at a cookie cutter in her hand. Maddie’s eyes met Olivia’s over Alicia’s bowed head. “How’s it going, Alicia?” Maddie asked. “I’m almost finished rolling out the dough.”

Alicia’s head jerked up as if Maddie had startled her. “I’m just about ready. I’ve picked out four . . .” Alicia hesitated, looking at the pierced heart cutter on her palm. She added it to her small pile of chosen cutters, and said, “I chose five cutters to work with, and they are all close to the same size. Could I add one more? My dad would use a little cutter on those small, leftover bits of rolled dough—you know, so you don’t have to keep rolling the dough over and over.”

“Sure,” Maddie said. “We don’t usually do that because our customers seem to go for the bigger cookies. Not that our customers are greedy, I hasten to add. I like to think of them as appreciative.”

Olivia watched as Alicia scooped up her chosen cutters and carried them to the worktable, where she arranged them in a row. She placed the pierced arrow cutter at the end. As Maddie settled in front of her laptop, Alicia picked up a daisy-shaped cookie cutter, dipped the cutting edge in flour, and applied it to the rolled dough. She clearly knew what she was doing. Meanwhile, Maddie visited several auction sites, including eBay. She paused now and then to quiz Alicia about her mother’s cutter collection.

When Olivia joined her at the computer, she quickly realized that Crystal’s cookie cutters would be difficult to locate. They’d been common shapes, such as vintage hearts, flowers, Christmas trees, and stars. There were numerous examples available for sale online. The photos rarely showed exactly where the nicks or dents were located.

Alicia had saved the pierced heart cutter for last. Olivia watched surreptitiously as she picked it up. “This is exactly like the charm I gave my dad,” Alicia said, “only this one is a lot bigger.” She glanced over at Olivia, then at Maddie. “Why did you put this in the box with the others?”

“Oh, it’s just a classic design,” Maddie said.

Alicia’s eyes narrowed to dark slits. “I’m not stupid, you know. I may have been a kid when I bought that charm for Dad, but I remember the girl who sold it to me. She told me she made it herself. That girl was blond and really pretty. She looked a lot like your brother’s girlfriend, Dolly.”

Behind Alicia’s back, Maddie made eye contact with Olivia and silently mouthed, “Oops.”

Alicia spun around to face Maddie. “Is this all a big joke to you two? Are you trying to trick me for some reason?”

Olivia’s emotions bounced between dread and shame. “Alicia, we weren’t trying to . . . I mean . . . once I realized
that cutter was in the box, I was hoping the cutter shape would help you talk about your father. Talking about him might make you feel better. We were only trying to help you without hurting your feelings.”

“Why? Because you think I’m so fragile I’ll fall apart if you say the wrong thing? I’m not, you know.” Alicia tossed back her long hair and crossed her arms tightly over her slender ribcage. “It’s been tough living in the same house with my mom and that awful man. My mom doesn’t like me much because I remind her of my dad, and Robbie hates me. He threw me out of my own house like I was some worthless leech, just because my ex-boyfriend got me fired.”

“Kurt is your
ex-
boyfriend?” Maddie reached into the freezer and dug out a plastic container with half a dozen cookies in it. “I am so glad to hear that news. I think a celebration is in order.” She began to spread the cookies on a plate. “It won’t take long for these to defrost.”

“Of course Kurt is my ex-boyfriend. He’s a jerk.” Alicia grabbed a cookie and took a bite. “I like frozen cookies,” she mumbled.

“Me, too,” Olivia and Maddie said in unison as they each selected a cookie.

“So I was wondering . . .” Maddie slid the plate of cookies closer to Alicia. “How did you and Kurt get together in the first place?”

Alicia captured a lock of her chestnut hair and wrapped it around her finger. “I was a kid, about twelve, when I met Kurt. He was maybe eighteen or nineteen. He seemed really grown-up to me. I guess I had a little crush on him then. Actually, he was a friend of my dad’s, although, looking back, I think Dad might have felt sorry for him. I don’t know . . . I was pretty oblivious at that age.”

“How long did you date him?” Olivia asked.

Alicia shrugged. “Hard to say. We were off and on a lot.” She selected a scalloped cookie with burgundy icing and placed it next to her half-eaten one. “I think Kurt had a
falling out with Dad at some point, because suddenly he stopped hanging out with us. Then he showed up again a couple years ago.”

“When Kurt showed up again, did he ask about your father?” Olivia asked.

Alicia nodded. “It was a little weird. When I told him Dad had disappeared, Kurt said it sounded like something he would do—just go off and leave me. I was furious. I told him Dad had gone to see someone about a job, so something bad must have happened. Kurt just nodded and never brought the topic up again. I had the feeling he was relieved that Dad wasn’t there to interfere.”

“Interfere with what?” Maddie asked.

Alicia shrugged one slender shoulder. “I don’t know. Maybe he didn’t want Dad to object to our relationship? Kurt can be possessive. I guess you figured that out from his behavior at Pete’s Diner. I’m sure most everyone in town knows about that by now.”

“Oh, yeah,” Maddie said with a light laugh. “That was poor judgment on Kurt’s part. Pete used to be a prizefighter.”

“I know.” Alicia giggled. “I was secretly hoping Pete would punch Kurt, but he didn’t. Pete is a gentleman.”

“But Pete did fire you,” Maddie pointed out. “I don’t think that was fair.”

“Kurt just wouldn’t go away, so Pete had to do it. I understand that, although I would really like my job back. Pete was interested in adding decorated cookies to the diner menu, and he wanted me to bake them. That would be absolutely the most perfect job for me.” Alicia clasped her hands together as if she were begging Pete to give her another chance.

Olivia felt touched, and found herself saying, “We’ll see what we can do to make that happen. It might take a while, though.”

“Thank you,” Alicia said softly. She picked up her second, uneaten cookie and placed it in the palm of her hand. With her finger, she lightly traced the burgundy scalloped design
around the edges. “I love these little guys,” she said. “I love the feel of the dough, the colors, the way the royal icing squeezes out into different shapes and designs . . . I even love cleaning up the mess afterward.” When Alicia giggled, gold flecks brightened her eyes. Olivia thought of Del, who also had gold-flecked brown eyes. Suddenly, even though she’d just spent time with him earlier that day, she missed him, missed talking and joking with him, discussing cases . . . She especially enjoyed digging up information before he could.

“Sounds like you’re a natural-born cutout cookie baker,” Maddie said.

“I think so.” Alicia smiled shyly. “So I was wondering . . . could I maybe work here in The Gingerbread House? I’d work really hard and do anything you want, even if it means cleaning up the kitchen. Please?”

“I, uh . . .” Olivia hadn’t seen this coming, although she probably should have. She glanced at Maddie, who looked as if she, too, had been caught off guard. “Well, that’s something Maddie and I would have to talk about. We already have an experienced clerk, Bertha, who also knows how to cut and decorate cookies. Business can be slow at times, and we don’t really . . .” Olivia’s voice trailed off as Alicia’s shoulders drooped. “We’ll think about it,” Olivia said.

“It’s just that I miss my dad so much, and making cookies makes me feel like he is with me.” Alicia took a bite of her cookie, then another, apparently lost in her memories. By the time she had swallowed the last lemony bite, Alicia nodded, as if she had reached a decision. Dusting the crumbs off her fingers, she said, “I want to know what happened to my dad. Kurt keeps telling me to forget about him, that he was weak, a hopeless drunk. I knew he had a drinking problem. So what? It didn’t make him any less my father. He was trying to get help to stop drinking, but it’s hard when you don’t have any money.” Alicia paced around the kitchen. “I am so tired of being pushed around by men. First, Kurt, then Robbie, and now Kurt again. My dad was better than both of them put
together. He was kind. He didn’t deserve . . .” Alicia’s slender hands tightened into fists. “I
must
find out what happened to my father. If he was murdered, I want to know who did it, and I want that person to pay. I know you two have solved murders before, and I bet that’s what you’re trying to do now. Let me help you. Please?” She planted her fists on the kitchen table and leaned toward Olivia and Maddie. “Because if you don’t, I’ll hunt down his killer by myself. I swear I will.”

Olivia met Maddie’s eyes, which glittered like emeralds in sunlight. Clearly, Maddie felt no qualms about involving a nineteen-year-old in a potential murder investigation. She probably still perceived the case to be so old it presented minimal danger.

“Let us think about it.” Olivia realized she was the only one aware of how quickly a cold case could spark into flame. However, one glance at Alicia’s tight, determined face, and Olivia knew she had a fight on her hands. There was no way she could justify allowing Alicia to tag along with Maddie and her as they dug deeper into Kenny Vayle’s disappearance and presumed death. But if she excluded Alicia, she might trigger an even more dangerous outcome—Alicia might make good on her threat to investigate on her
own.