Free When the Cookie Crumbles by Virginia Lowell

other.
    “Between you and me, right now Lucas is more worried than angry.” Maddie slid a lid on one of her cake pans. “I mean, sure, he’s irritated with Paine and upset about the labor and materials he and his team ended up giving away for free.”
    “Except for Matthew Fabrizio, that is,” Olivia said. “I hope Matthew isn’t hoping to work at Heights Hardware ever again.”
    Maddie paused with another pan lid in her hands. “You didn’t hear? Paine took advantage of Matthew, too. The poor kid thought if he kept working on the Victorian trim on the mansion, Paine would welcome him into the Chatterley dynasty and help him prove his lineage. He suggested the exchange to Paine, and Paine played along. Matthew worked a while and decided to finish the next day. Before leaving, he went to the Chatterleys and told them more about his great-great-great-whatever’s dalliance with dear old Frederick P. These revelations were not well received by Hermione, and Paine did a sudden about-face, claiming he had no idea what Matthew was talking about.”
    “I can’t imagine why Matthew would expect anything different.”
    “I can,” Maddie said. “Matthew is an artist. He can imagine wonderful possibilities.”
    “So you’re saying artists don’t have a good grasp of reality?”
    “I’m saying he’s broke, and this seemed like a good way to become part of a wealthy family.” Maddie lifted her covered pans into a large Gingerbread House bag. “So yeah, Matthew’s grasp of reality is limited. Also, he has that dark, tortured-soul thing going for him, so now he’s probably drinking away his disappointment. By the way, Heather Irwin seems to have fallen for Matthew. She sure knows how to pick ’em.” Maddie double-bagged her precious cargo and carried it to the alley door. “Close up behind me, would you? I can’t afford to drop these cookies. Thanks.”
    As Olivia locked the kitchen door behind Maddie, she thought about Heather Irwin, the town’s shy young librarian. Heather had misjudged men in the past, trusting when she should have run for the hills. Olivia had hoped Heather had learned her lesson the previous summer after falling for a thief with a violent temper. On the other hand, Maddie might have overstated Matthew’s negative qualities. He was, after all, a fine craftsman. Olivia had heard Lucas say that Matthew would work on a curlicue of Victorian trim until it was flawless, no matter how long it took.
    Lady Gaga declared her love for Judas from the direction of the kitchen desk, where Olivia had left her cell phone. Maddie had been messing with her ring tone, again. Olivia was tempted to let the call go to voice mail until she saw it was from Del Jenkins.
    “Don’t shoot the messenger, okay, Livie?” were the first words out of Del’s mouth.
    “I don’t like the sound of that,” Olivia said. “What’s up?”
    “Remember I told you that Paine Chatterley more or less ordered me to guard his block over the celebration weekend? Well, Friday morning Karen and members of the press intend to descend upon Chatterley Mansion, camerasand microphones at the ready. And Karen insists that Cody and I accompany her.”
    “So you’re caught between the dog and the tree,” Olivia said.
    “Exactly.”
    “Karen is really getting on my nerves.” Olivia opened the refrigerator to scour for a spare cookie, her solace in moments of irritation. “Who does she think she is?”
    Del heaved a manly sigh. “She thinks she’s mayor. She’s threatening to get me removed as sheriff if I refuse. And here’s the wrinkle: Karen insists she talked at length to Hermione Chatterley, who promised she’d get her husband to consent to letting the public wander through the mansion this weekend. I find that hard to believe.”
    “Hermione made a similar promise to me when I visited them this morning,” Olivia said. “To be honest, I got the impression she has more power in that relationship than we’ve been