A Pizza to Die For (11 page)

“I mean, take a more active role in your investigation.”

I wasn’t about to let him risk his law practice, not to mention his life, because of us. “Thanks, but no thanks.”

He studied me carefully. “This isn’t about before, is it?”

“No, I promise that it’s not,” I answered with a sigh. “Maddy and I don’t have nearly as much to lose as you do.”

“That’s not true. Your
lives
come to mind.”

“I mean besides that,” I said with a grin. “We can both still make pizzas, even if we have criminal records. You have a successful law practice to protect. Don’t worry about the two of us. We’ll be fine.”

“I certainly hope so. There’s one more thing you need to know, and then I have to go. I’m going to be late for a court appearance as it is.”

“Tell me quickly, then.”

“Gina has a rather unsavory boyfriend hanging around somewhere in the shadows,” Bob said. “From what I’ve learned, he’s a bad seed.”

“Do you have a name?” I asked. Art had told me about someone named Jack associated with both Gina and Lacy, but he hadn’t had a last name. I suspected it had been the man with the newspaper who’d been watching Lacy at the clothing boutique, but I had no proof of it.

“Not yet, but I’m still looking,” he said.

“Let me know when you find out. And thanks, Bob. Maddy and I both appreciate what you’re doing for us.”

“It could be more,” he said.

“Or not,” I replied. “I just love these word games, don’t you?”

After he left, I took the pizza I’d boxed out front. As I looked for our customer, I couldn’t help wondering about Gina, and her real feelings toward her uncle. Regardless of what Bob had just said, I still felt that someone should warn Nathan that he might have invited a viper into his home, but with the way she had been blocking our access at every turn, it couldn’t be us. I’d have to think of another way to warn him that keeping her close might be the worst thing he could do, at least if he wanted to survive until Halloween, let alone Christmas.

I walked out to talk to Maddy and found Karen Green sitting at a table with books spread out on top of it.

I detoured over and asked her, “What are you reading?”

She grinned brightly at me. “I had so much fun taking a genealogy course in the adult education program at the college last semester that I decided to take two classes this time.”

“That sounds like fun. What are you taking?”

She held up a book for me to read.

I studied the title and the book’s description, and then said, “Wow. Basic Law looks tough.”

“It’s nothing compared to my other class. I decided to take an auto repair class in case I get stranded somewhere. So far, I’m not sure if I’ve learned anything.”

“That’s how I’ve spent half my life,” I said. “I admire you for improving yourself. Can I get you anything?”

“Thanks, Maddy just took my order.”

“Then I’ll let you get back to work.”

I approached my sister and told her about Karen’s ambitious schedule. When I finished, I asked her, “Do you have any orders for me? I’m caught up in back.”

She smiled as she handed me two order slips. “I was just coming back there to give you these. How did it go with Bob?”

“He wants to help us,” I said.

“How sweet.”

“No, you don’t understand. He wants to join our little investigation team and start digging.”

She shook her head. “That’s not going to happen for so many reasons. I hope you told him that.”

“In so many words,” I said.

“Then he needs to hear it in those exact words.”

I touched her arm lightly. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?”

“Do not use this as an excuse to pick another fight with that man.”

She frowned at me. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Madeline, I mean it.” I rarely used my sister’s full name, just as she didn’t call me Ellie, unless it was for something important. “I thought you wanted to get married again someday.”

She shrugged. “I’m not so sure about that anymore. After all, I’ve walked down the aisle so many times, I’m starting to wear a path in the carpet.”

“That’s entirely up to you, but don’t take your reticence out on Bob. He’s only been trying to help.”

“Point taken,” she said. “Now, are you going to make those pizzas, or am I going to have to?”

“You can do it,” I said as I handed the slips back to her.

“I was just kidding,” Maddy said, quickly backpedaling.

“Come on. We could both use a break in our routine. We’ll switch up for the rest of the evening.”

Maddy reluctantly took the slips and headed back into the kitchen, and I grabbed Karen’s drink and refilled everyone else’s glasses. This was going to be a piece of cake.

I hoped.

Ten minutes until closing, everyone was happily eating, and I was doing a bit of spot cleaning up front. Greg had gone home early to study for a major exam, and Josh was watching the clock like it was about to tell the future instead of the time. Staying closed a little longer for lunch had made for a short evening—or was it because I hadn’t been in the kitchen all that time? It did seem to go by quicker interacting with customers instead of just my staff, but I would be ready the next day to recapture my solitude. I could swear I was getting a bit hoarse from all the talking I’d done.

I glanced again at Josh, whose gaze had never left the clock.

“Got a big date tonight?” I asked.

He shrugged. “If I get out of here in time, I do.”

“Never let it be said that I stood in the way of young love,” I said.

“Does that mean I can go?”

“It does,” I said.

I could barely finish before he was out the door.

Things were slow, and I considered closing early, when the chief of police came in, a cloud across his face.

“I know I should have made him stay, but he had big plans, and I didn’t have the heart to keep him here,” I said.

“What are you talking about?”

“I just let Josh go early for a big date. Isn’t that why you look so upset?”

He shook his head. “Believe me, my son’s love life is the least of my problems at the moment.”

I pulled him aside out of earshot of my customers. “Don’t tell me. I’m probably at the top of that list, aren’t I?”

He rubbed his face, looking tired and worried beyond his years. I certainly gave the man my share of grief, but I never really thought about the toll his job must take on him. It was an unusual position to be in, feeling sympathetic for him, but I couldn’t help myself.

He ran a hand through his hair and then asked me, “Have you been doing something you shouldn’t have?”

“I can’t even begin to answer that question,” I said. “How in the world could I ever know?”

“I don’t have time for these word games of yours, Eleanor, no matter how much fun you find them.”

“You implied that you had big problems. What’s going on? Is it about Judson Sizemore’s murder?”

“No, but it’s kind of related. You heard about what happened with Nathan today, didn’t you?”

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

“Are you serious? For once, I actually have the information before you do.”

“Don’t make me wait,” I said as I stared at him. “What happened to him?”

I thought I might choke him, while the chief of police just stood there looking at me. If he thought he was going to get away with jerking me around like that, he was sadly mistaken.

Chapter 9

“Y
ou know I’m going to find out sooner or later, so you might as well tell me now,” I said.

“You’ve got me there. Fine, I can’t imagine what it will hurt telling you about it. The only thing that amazes me is that one of your customers hasn’t mentioned it to you already: Nathan had an accident with his lawn mower. He was cleaning up some leaves on his property with it this evening, and apparently it went out of control and nearly drove him into the river in back of his place. That would be bad enough for most folks, but Nathan never learned how to swim, and it’s pretty deep along his property line. He managed to jump off just in time, but his mower isn’t going to make it.”

“Did someone tamper with the brakes?” I asked. The instant I heard what had happened, I began seeing it as an attempted murder.

“What? Your imagination’s running a little too wild even for you, Eleanor. Have you seen that bank he has to mow? It would make a mountain goat nervous.”

“No,” I admitted, “I’ve only seen the front of his garden.”

Kevin looked surprised. “I’m shocked you’ve seen even that much. He’s pretty private about his land.”

Apparently our chief of police knew the secret land baron better than the rest of us did. “Have you seen it, then?”

“No,” he admitted. “I got the call from his niece, Gina. She was worried about him when she didn’t hear from him, so she asked me to drop in and check on him.”

That sounded suspicious to me. “If she was so concerned, why didn’t she go herself?”

“She was in Chastain when she called me. She phoned the house because he was supposed to call her about something, and when he didn’t answer, she got worried. It’s perfectly understandable, Eleanor.”

“Maybe, but don’t you think it’s odd that this happened so soon after Judson’s murder?”

He laughed, but there wasn’t an ounce of joy in it. “Now you’re seeing conspiracies where they don’t exist.”

I wasn’t all that fond of being mocked, especially in my own pizzeria. “Since you clearly had no intention of telling me about Nathan, what brings you here?”

“I was hoping to get a pizza to go. I’m working late tonight, and I got hungry. I called and got Maddy, so it should be ready.”

“I’ll get it for you,” I said.

I went back into the kitchen to find my sister with her hands buried in detergent doing dishes, something she hated.

“Getting an early start on leaving?” I asked.

She shook the bubbles from her hands as she pulled them out of the water. “No offense, but I can’t wait to get out of here. Whatever I did to deserve this, trust me when I say that I’m sorry, and as soon as I figure it out, it will never happen again.”

“I keep telling you, it’s not punishment,” I said as I looked at the to-go warming shelf and saw Kevin’s pizza there.

“It’s sure not a reward,” she said.

When Maddy saw me pick up the lone box, she asked, “Did our esteemed chief of police finally make it in?”

“He’s there now. Nathan Sizemore had an accident this evening,” I said.

“What?” she asked, nearly dropping the soapy glass in her hand. “What happened to him? Is he all right?”

“He’s fine, but his mower ended up in the water at the rear of his property.”

Maddy frowned as she finished washing the glass in her hand and put it in the other sink to rinse. “Do you think it was really an accident?”

“I don’t know. It’s hard to imagine that it’s just a coincidence.”

“They do happen, you know,” Maddy said as she started rinsing things.

“I still don’t have to like them,” I replied.

The kitchen door opened and Kevin walked in. “Let’s go, ladies. I don’t have all night.”

“You don’t need it. Here you go.”

He handed me his money, and I said, “Hang on, I’ll get your change.”

“Put whatever’s left in the tip jar,” he said. “From what you pay my son, he can use his cut of every extra penny you get.”

“Hey, he loves being here,” I said defensively.

“I know. I don’t get it, but I can’t talk him out of it. Good night.”

“ ’Night,” I said.

I looked at Maddy. She looked exhausted, and I knew how tired I was as well. “Let’s close up. I’m tired of people right now, and I just want to go home and take a long hot soak in the tub.”

She managed a faint smile. “It’s not so easy out there, is it?”

“I never said that it was,” I replied.

Maddy offered a slight sigh. “Then I can be honest with you when I say that I’d rather go hungry and never shop again if it meant I didn’t have to work in the kitchen for another second.”

“Wow, don’t hold back, Sis. Tell me how you really feel,” I said with a smile. I knew it was hard work, but I enjoyed it.

“I can go into more depth and detail if you’d like me to,” she said.

“I think I’ve got it,” I said. “Why don’t you go lock up, and I’ll finish up back here? Think of it as an early parole for good behavior.”

“Are you kidding?” she asked as she rinsed a plate. “I’ve almost finished up. The dining room is all yours.”

“That’s only fair,” I said.

I announced we were closing, and our last two customers left without complaint.

As I was sweeping the floor, Maddy came out.

I looked up and said, “I thought you were going to finish in the kitchen.”

“I am,” she said. “I just came by for the rest of the dirty dishes.” Maddy walked over and flipped the sign to CLOSED, something I’d neglected to do. “As soon as I’m finished, I’ll come out and give you a hand.”

“I’ll be finished before you will.”

“In your dreams, Sis,” she said.

“I’ll race you,” I challenged her with a laugh.

“You’re on. You’re going to get slaughtered, you know that, don’t you?”

“We’ll see,” I said as I started cleaning at a much more harried pace. It was childish, immature, and lots of fun to try to beat Maddy, and it came as no great surprise that I lost the competition.

As we walked to Maddy’s car in back when we were finished, the air was getting a real bite to it that had been missing so far. October was coming to a close, and it was ending on a much cooler note than it had started on.

Maddy pulled her jacket closer to her. “If it keeps this up, the kids are going to have to trick-or-treat in their jackets.”

“Remember the time it snowed, and Mom made us wear our snowsuits over our costumes? That had to be the worst Halloween ever.”

“At least we got lots of candy,” Maddy said as we walked through the shortcut.

“Because not many other kids were insane enough to go out in eight inches of snow just for a little sugar.”

“Were we crazy, or savvy?”

“I vote for crazy.”

I could see her smile in the glow from the streetlight. “Yeah, you’re probably right, but we were rarely bored as kids. A little crazy is never a bad thing.”

“That’s part of our charm, don’t you think?” I said. “That reminds me. We’ve got to get things ready for the Halloween Blowout.”

“Funny, it feels as though we just had one,” she said as she opened her car door.

“What can I say? Time flies when you’re getting old,” I said with a laugh.

“Hey, at least I’m not as old as you are,” she said, her laughter carried away by the wind.

As she dropped me off at my place, I said, “See you tomorrow, Maddy.”

“Not if I see you first,” she said.

As I walked up to my front door, I realized that I fussed about the cool temperatures sometimes, but, in truth, the chilled air always invigorated me. Joe had been a great deal more warmblooded than me, and he’d always had a blanket on when the thermometer plummeted, since I was always reluctant to turn the heat up past 67 degrees. It was no surprise that the weather change made me miss him. Just about anything could pull that trigger, from the way the leaves changed colors to coming across an old book we’d both loved to read. The edge of my despair had softened since he’d died, but there was still something there when I thought about him, a large portion of thankfulness that he’d been in my life for so long, and a hint of sadness that all I had of him now were memories. Maddy was right, and I knew it. He wouldn’t have wanted me spending the rest of my life looking back. If my late husband had believed in one thing, it was that life was meant to be lived to the fullest, and I was finally beginning to realize in my heart as well as my head that was exactly what he would have wanted me to do.

It was just so much easier to talk about than to accomplish.

I was surprised to see David Quinton’s car parked on the street in front of my place when I looked out the window. A little of the gloom I’d been feeling seemed to lift from my shoulders when I saw him there.

He got out of his vehicle as I stepped outside. “I hope you don’t mind me just showing up like this. I went by the Slice to see you, but you were closed, so I thought I’d come by here. If you want, we can talk tomorrow.”

“No, this is fine,” I said as a gust of wind sent shivers through me. “Want to come in for some hot chocolate?”

“You know what? I really would,” he said and smiled, as he followed me inside.

Most of my weariness melted when I saw that smile. It was amazing how much of the somberness had left him since he’d moved to Raleigh. David was suddenly fun to be around, something I hadn’t felt before.

As I took his jacket and hung it in the hall closet, I said, “You seem absolutely giddy these days.”

“Do I?” he asked. “It must be the air. I love the chill here. Timber Ridge has to be at least five degrees cooler than Raleigh.”

“How do you like it so far?”

He shrugged. “The work’s challenging, and I’m around a lot of nice people, but I’m a mountain kind of guy, and if the foothills here in Timber Ridge are as close as I can get, that’s something I can live with.”

“Well, I’m glad to see you again,” I said as I moved into the kitchen. David followed and took a stool at the counter. It was natural to have him with me, and I found myself enjoying his presence more than I had before. I had to wonder if that was entirely due to his change of address or more because of his new disposition.

“Likewise,” he said with a smile. As I started the milk on the stovetop and gathered my special blend of cocoas and sugar, he added, “It looks like I’m going to be here a little longer than I’d expected.”

Was that a hint of happiness in his voice as he said it, or was I reading something into it that wasn’t there? “What’s going on?”

“It appears that my old boss was playing fast and loose with some basic accounting principles, and it’s going to take some work to straighten things out and hire his replacement.”

“You’re firing him?” I asked.

David shrugged. “Well, I could have him arrested, so on the whole, I think it’s a better alternative for everyone involved. He’s agreed to pay back the money that ‘disappeared,’ and in return, we’ve promised him that we won’t prosecute. If he reneges on the agreement, he’s going to jail, so I don’t think that’s going to be an issue with him.”

“I’m sorry about that, but it will be nice having you around town a little longer.”

He nodded. “I’m pretty happy about the assignment myself. I’m actually going to be able to go to the Halloween Blowout. I don’t have much time to come up with an outfit for it, but I’ll find something.”

It was tradition for many of the adults in town to dress up for the festivities, but David had never done it before. “Are you really going to wear a costume?”

“Absolutely. I’m thinking of being either a pirate or a gangster.” He scratched his chin, and then added, “Hey, I just had a thought. Maybe I’ll be both. I could wear a pirate outfit and add a black fedora.”

“I love it. Your parrot can have a tiny little machine gun,” I said laughing, getting into the spirit of it.

He nodded. “It would present quite the image, wouldn’t it? What are you going to wear?”

“To be honest with you, I wasn’t planning to dress up this year.”

He frowned. “That’s insane. I love your costumes. You can’t let me or the rest of the town down.”

David had a point. I usually came up with something good, and several folks had asked me if I’d decided what I was going to be yet. I hadn’t felt moved to do it before, but now I was in the mood to add to the event’s festivities with something of my own. “Why not? If you’re going to dress up, then I will, too.”

“But not as a gangster–pirate,” he said with an air of mock seriousness about him. “That’s mine.”

“Never that,” I agreed. “But don’t worry, I’ll come up with something.”

“I can’t wait,” he said. His voice softened for a moment as he asked, “Any chance you could save me a dance?”

There was a dance held on the promenade, filled with folks from around town wearing the craziest getups. I loved to watch, but I’d never really participated since Joe’s death. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to. I’ll probably be busy selling little ghost pizzas.”

I expected an argument from him, but he just shrugged as he said, “If you have time, I’ll be around.” There was no hard sell like the old days, just an offer to dance, if and when I was interested. Nice.

David took a deep breath, and then asked me, “It smells heavenly. Is there any chance that it’s ready yet?”

I stirred it again gently and looked down into the richness. “It looks good.”

I poured the hot cocoa into two stout mugs, and David surprised me by saying, “I know this is going to sound counterproductive, but do you have any interest in drinking these outside? I just love the way the wind blows the leaves around on the ground when it’s dark, and there’s nearly a full moon tonight.”

“I’d love to,” I said.

We put our jackets back on, grabbed our mugs, and then went out to the porch. Each of us took a rocker, and we chatted and sipped as we looked around the neighborhood. It was a quiet and special time, and I found myself relaxing even more in the comfort of the mood and the easiness of the conversation.

I was startled later when David stood and handed me his mug. “That was the most fun I’ve had in ages, but I’ve got people to fire tomorrow and money to confiscate.”

“It sounds like a busy day,” I said as I stayed seated.