One Dead Cookie by Virginia Lowell Page A

so she’s cooking some chicken thing.” Jason usually teased and
     taunted Olivia, but maybe his recent breakup with his troubled girlfriend had forced
     him to grow up a bit.
    “Hey, I hear Del finally dumped you for a younger woman.”
    Or maybe not. “I’m going to ignore that,” Olivia said.
    Jason chortled as he stuffed the remainder of his sandwich into his mouth.
    Olivia sniffed the air as she entered the kitchen. “Yum! You’re making lemon chicken.”
     She scrunched next to her mother to smell the aroma as the oven door opened. “I love
     lemon chicken. I’m so glad Jason ate all the ham.”
    “I knew you would be, Livie.” Ellie basted the chicken breasts and reset the timer
     for ten minutes. “I used fresh Greek oregano from the garden, too. Such a satisfying
     fragrance.”
    “Speaking of which…” Olivia set her package of herbs on the kitchen counter.
    “Something from Bon Vivant? Are you implying that my cooking isn’t good enough for
     you?” Ellie opened the bag and removed two small packets.
    “Lavender buds and lemon verbena leaves,” Olivia said. “Both organic, dried from last
     season. I didn’t know if you’d dried either one. I was in the Bon Vivant garden this
     morning, so I asked if I could buy some of their supply. Only don’t tell anyone. The
     manager said they barely haveenough for their own use until the new crops are ready. Especially the lemon verbena,
     which they use a lot.”
    Ellie handed four plates to Olivia, a silent order to set the table. “I hope they
     explained that lemon verbena really should be dried and crushed before it’s used in
     cooking. The fresh leaves are tough. If they are cut into pieces, I imagine they could
     do some damage to the esophagus. Something you might want to remember in relation
     to your investigative work.”
    “I’ll keep that in mind.”
    Ellie lifted a large bowl of tabbouleh from the refrigerator and placed it on the
     table.
    “I suppose the parsley and mint came from your garden, too?” Olivia might have sounded
     a bit irritable, but really, her mother could make her feel inadequate with no more
     than a gentle smile…which was precisely what Ellie offered her, along with a handful
     of silverware.
    “We’ll give the chicken a few more minutes before calling the boys to dinner,” Ellie
     said. “That gives you just enough time to tell me why you’ve brought lavender and
     lemon verbena with you. Such interesting ingredients. I’m assuming they have something
     to do with our cookie-baking session this evening?”
    Olivia explained her ideas for the special cookies she wanted to create for Maddie’s
     engagement party. “Don’t tell Allan and Jason,” Olivia said. “I want it to be a secret,
     if that’s possible anywhere within the town limits.”
    “I’m very good at secrets,” Ellie said. “Besides, even if we explained our cookie
     experimentation to Allan and Jason, they wouldn’t retain the information. Nor would
     it occur to either of them to mention the idea to anyone else. Trust me.”
    As if he’d heard his name, Jason appeared at the kitchen entrance. “Is dinner ready
     yet? I’m starving. So is Allan.”
    “You can’t be starving,” Olivia said. “You just ate a whole ham and a sack of potatoes.”
    “Did not. Anyway, that was, like, half an hour ago. I don’t have excess fat to keep
     me going, like you do.” Jason retreated before his sister could whack him with a potholder,
     the only weapon at hand.
    As Ellie brought butter, salt, and pepper to the table, Jason returned to the kitchen
     with his stepfather, Allan Meyers, who rubbed his hands together when he saw the lemon
     chicken. Jason snatched a warm roll and downed it in two bites. Ellie watched her
     son with a tolerant smile. Olivia rolled her eyes.
    Allan curled a strong arm around his wife’s waist and pulled her to him. “Ellie, you
     are the best cook ever to breathe air.” As he planted a kiss on Ellie’s