Pepperoni Pizza Can Be Murder (11 page)

“I keep telling you, it’s nothing. You’ve got an overactive imagination, Eleanor.”

“And you don’t?”

She laughed. “You’ve got me there. I guess it’s just the family curse.” After we ordered, Maddy asked, “Do you believe Sandi was really with Jamie last night?”

“Not a chance,” I said. “He was clearly covering for her.”

“But is it something we can prove?”

I bit my lower lip, then I said, “I don’t see how we can yet, but that doesn’t mean we should be willing to just let it go. That girl has a mean streak a mile long, and if she thought she was being replaced by someone else, I could easily see her killing Wade.”

“So we’ve got at least one viable suspect. Who do we go after next?”

“I’d like to talk to Art Young, but I’m afraid he’s going to make Sandi look like a cooperative witness.”

“I’ve been thinking. You’re right. We could ask Bob to do it for us,” Maddy said.

“Maybe we shouldn’t dump this on him.”

“I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”

I grinned at my sister. “Especially if you asked him.”

Maddy clearly didn’t like the tone of my teasing. “He’s a friend, nothing more. I keep telling you that, and yet you refuse to believe it.”

“That’s because I see the look in your eyes whenever he’s around. Why do you keep turning him down? He’s not going to keep asking you out forever.”

“Do you really want to go there? Because I’ve got questions about your love life, too. What are you going to do about David Quinton? Don’t you think it’s time you called him back and made things right? It might take a little groveling, but you can do it. So what if he never returned your last call?”

That was hitting a little too close to home for my taste. Despite my earlier protests, I’d kept hoping David would call me back and set up another dinner, though it was clear I hadn’t welcomed it before. We weren’t dating—at least not what I’d call dating—but over the past few months, we’d gotten closer, and I missed him, whether I was willing to admit that to my sister or not.

“Okay, let’s make a new rule. From now on, we don’t talk about the men in our lives,” I said.

“Or even the men
not
in our lives,” Maddy said as she extended a hand across the table. I shook it solemnly, and after a few moments, she asked, “So, what does that leave us to talk about?”

“Wade Hatcher is a subject that comes to mind,” I said. I was about to expound on the thought when our food came. Burgers thick with toppings of lettuce, onions, tomatoes, and pickles were placed in front of us, and plates of French fries and onion rings soon followed. Maddy and I rarely got a chance to eat out, and we were taking full advantage of it.

As we ate, our conversation seemed to deteriorate into mono-syllables.

Mark approached a handful of minutes after he’d served us. “How is it, ladies?”

“Excellent,” I said after swallowing another bite of burger.

Maddy just nodded as she devoured another onion ring.

He laughed. “That’s what I like, happy customers.”

After we finished stuffing ourselves, Maddy asked, “Where do we go now?”

“I don’t know about you, but I need a nap.” I wasn’t used to eating anything like the feast we’d just enjoyed.

“Come on, woman, shake it off. We’ve got work to do. How often do we get a free day to investigate a crime without worrying about the Slice?”

I got out enough money to cover both bills, along with a healthy tip. “It would be nice to have a day off without thinking about anything, but there’s not much chance of that, is there?” I said.

“Dream on,” Maddy replied. When she saw how much money I’d laid out, she said, “Hey, you don’t have to buy my lunch, too.”

“I think your smooth move getting Jamie out of the way deserves some kind of special recognition for a job well done.”

She smiled. “If that’s the case, then it was at least worth a steak, don’t you think?” Maddy bit her lip, and then added, “Speaking of steak, that’s precisely the way that Jamie was looking at Sandi, like a hungry bear eyeing prime rib. You noticed it, didn’t you?”

“I thought I saw something there too, but he said they were just friends.”

“He lied,” Maddy replied.

“Probably,” I answered. “But how do we prove it?”

“I’m just saying, maybe we should keep an eye on both of them. Jamie should be on our suspect list, too.”

“Honestly?”

She nodded, obviously getting enthusiastic about the idea. “What better way to make room for his own play than to get rid of his competition? Whether Sandi and Wade had broken up or not, it’s pretty clear Jamie knew he’d never get anywhere with Sandi as long as Wade was around.”

“That sounds kind of drastic, killing a rival for a woman’s affection.”

“I’m just saying.”

“You’re absolutely right,” I said. “We need to put him on our list. We should talk to Roger Henderson, too.”

“Wade’s boss?”

“Sure. He might know something we don’t, and even if he doesn’t, we need to meet him and see what he has to say about Wade.”

“By all means, then, let’s add him to the roster,” my sister said.

After saying good-bye to Mark, Maddy asked me in the parking lot, “Do we go after Jamie now?”

“No, he’s still with Sandi, and it’s no good tackling them together. We need to get him alone when he’s not so worried about protecting her. Maybe he’ll let his guard down then.”

“How about Roger Henderson, then?”

“Why not? He’s as good a place as any to start.” Art Young, the loan shark, was really the number one name on my list, but I wasn’t in any hurry to brace him without reinforcements.

We drove to the accountant’s office, an unpretentious place in what passed for a strip mall outside town. Henderson Accounting wasn’t much more than a glorified storefront, with barely enough room for two desks, two computers, and a potted plant that hadn’t been dusted in years.

A thin, nervous-looking man in his forties stood as we came in. “The pizza business must be good if you need an accountant,” he said as he tried to offer us a smile.

“We’re doing okay,” I said. I’d seen Roger in the Slice on occasion, and he’d even asked for my business a few times in the past.

“You must be if you’re ready to let me take over your bookkeeping.”

I was about to tell him no, when Maddy said, “We’re considering it, but given your current status, we’re not sure you can handle the work all by yourself. It was tragic about Wade, wasn’t it?”

I saw where Maddy was going, and decided it couldn’t hurt anything to play along. “How are you ever going to replace him?”

“It will be tough, but I’ll manage. Wade will be missed around here.”

“Were you two close?” Maddy asked as she walked up to the desk.

Roger shrugged. “You work in an office this size, you get to be friends, or it drives you crazy.” He paused, then Roger added, “I’ve got a new employee starting next week, so it won’t take long to bring her up to speed.”

“That was quick,” I said.

“What can I say? The business is bigger than either one of us. I’ll miss him, but it’s my company, and Wade was just an employee.” He hesitated before adding, “I know that must sound callous, but I have to move on.”

“Where were you when it happened?” Maddy asked. “I can’t imagine how you must have felt when you found out.”

“I was home watching a movie,” he said.

“Alone?” I asked.

He nodded. “I don’t date much these days.” Roger practically rubbed his hands together when he added, “If you’ll start bringing me your bills and deposits, I’ll handle everything. If I may, I’ll take your corporate checkbook now so I can familiarize myself with your assets.”

This was going too fast for my taste. “Thanks for the offer, but I need a little time to decide,” I said.

“The sooner we get started, the quicker I can relieve you of the burden of watching your money.” The man sounded sincere, and I found myself nearly taken in by his presentation of concern.

“Thank you,” Maddy said. “We’ll be in touch.”

He forced business cards on us before we could manage to escape.

Once we were outside, Maddy said, “He’s good at what he does, isn’t he?”

“I don’t know what kind of accountant he is, but he’s a pretty pushy salesman.”

My sister nodded. “At least we’ve had a chance to talk to him. Could you see him killing Wade?”

“Anything’s possible, but unless I hear something else about him, there’s no reason not to believe him, but something’s bothering me.”

“What?”

“I can’t help thinking that he was trying to sell us something more than his accounting services in there. He pressed me awfully hard for my company checkbook a few minutes ago, don’t you think?”

“He must be delusional if he thinks you’re making enough money to have a company checkbook.”

“That’s beside the point. I had a feeling he was kind of desperate for our business.”

Maddy shrugged. “You might be right, but I don’t know what it means just yet. What do we do in the meantime?”

I thought about it for a second, and then I took a deep breath and said, “I think we ought to pay Bob Lemon a call, if you really don’t mind asking for his help dealing with Art Young.”

“I wouldn’t have offered if I did,” she said.

As we drove to the attorney’s office, I wondered how far he’d go to impress Maddy. This was above and beyond the call of love, and he had every right to refuse us.

But I hoped he didn’t. I wasn’t all that anxious to tackle the closest thing we had to a gangster in Timber Ridge without at least some kind of backup.

“S
orry, ladies, but I won’t do it,” Bob said as soon as he heard our request. In his early fifties, Bob had a fair amount of gray hair, and a huge crush on my little sister. He kept fit by walking around town whenever he could, and I often saw him pass by the pizzeria on his lunch hour, logging in a great many more miles than slices of pizza.

“Why not?” Maddy asked. “I’ve never known you to say no to me before, and I have to say, I’m not all that fond of hearing it.”

He shook his head, whether because of her request, or her reaction to his refusal. “It’s too dangerous. I don’t approve of the way you two butt into police business, and as an officer of the court, I’m certainly not going to help you.”

“Then we’ll go see him ourselves,” Maddy said. “Don’t think you can keep us from doing it, either.”

I wasn’t all that fond of the new plan, but my sister was right. We needed to talk to Art Young, and though it would have been easier with Bob’s help, we couldn’t let his refusal stop us. Greg was in trouble that seemed to grow deeper with each passing hour, and neither one of us was about to abandon him in his time of need.

“I’m serious. You can’t go,” Bob said, the frown across his brow growing deeper. “I won’t let you.”

Maddy laughed. “How on earth do you think you can stop us?”

Bob reached for the telephone. “I can call the police chief.”

Maddy arched one eyebrow. “Go ahead. But I’m warning you, if you make that call, don’t bother coming around me anymore. What little chance you have with me right now will be gone forever, and I mean it. Look at my face, Bob. I’m not bluffing.”

It was clear to me that she meant every word of it, and I hoped Bob realized it, too.

“I guess I don’t have much choice, then, do I?” He dialed the telephone, and Maddy started for the door. Bob held up one finger, commanding her to wait. I was actually shocked when she did just that.

“This is Lemon. Is he in?”

After a long pause, Bob said, “Art, I need a favor, but you’re under no obligation to give it. I have two women in my office who want to talk to you. No, it’s nothing official. They’re friends of Wade Hatcher’s, and they’re digging into his murder.”

I shook my head and mouthed to Bob, “The truth,” and he added, “Strike that. They are more like friends with his brother. The police aren’t looking at any other suspects, and these women believe he’s innocent.” Bob frowned as he listened a few moments, then he answered, “Okay, I suppose I have to. If you want to put it like that, I’m calling in the favor you owe me.” After another pause, he said, “My office is as good a place as any. That’s fine. We’ll see you in ten minutes.”

Bob hung up the telephone, and then he stared hard at Maddy. “You should know that this goes against every principle I have, and just cost me the only leverage I have on this man. You’d better make good use of the opportunity.”

Maddy shocked all three of us by going around his desk and kissing him full on the lips. “Does that convince you that I appreciate it?” she asked.

Bob looked a little off-balance as he replied, “Maybe I should go against my principles more often.”

Maddy grinned at him. “Maybe you should.”

“I hate to break this up,” I said, “but I have a question. Just how dangerous is this man?” I knew we had to talk to him to find out his exact arrangements with Wade, but it wasn’t going to be easy without accusing him of some pretty bad things.

“Don’t kid yourself,” Bob said, suddenly going sober. “He’s trouble. But you should be fine here in the office. Just don’t push him. If he doesn’t want to answer your questions, he won’t. He’s doing this as a favor to me—don’t forget that.”

“What exactly did you do for him in return?” I asked.

“That’s privileged information,” Bob said. “Just know that it cost me something to get him over here, so don’t let me down. I like Greg too, you know.”

“You’re nothing but a big sweetie deep down inside, aren’t you?” Maddy asked.

“I’ll never admit to that, not even under oath.”

Ten minutes later, Art Young walked in. I wasn’t sure what I’d been expecting, but it was nothing like the impression the man gave when he came into Bob’s office. He wore a nice Italian-cut suit, and his shoes were at least ten times more expensive than my best pair. His light blond hair was carefully styled, and there was a subtle waft of cologne in the air whenever he moved.

Art shook both our hands in turn, then turned to Bob. “This is truly that important to you?”

“It is,” Bob said.

He nodded, and then turned back to us. “Ladies, what can I do for you?”

“We want to know what your relationship with Wade Hatcher was,” I blurted out, my carefully crafted question poised on my lips flittering away in the wind.

I’d half-expected him to storm out of the office, but instead, he smiled at me. “Direct and straight to the point. I like that. You run A Slice of Delight, don’t you?”

“I do,” I admitted.

“You make very good pizza,” he said.

“Thanks.”

“Your sauce could use a little more oregano, though.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Then again, it could be perfect the way it is.”

He openly laughed at my rebuke. “Maybe you’re right.” Then he turned to Bob. “Don’t you have something to do outside? Surely there’s a brief that needs to be filed. If nothing else, you can chase an ambulance or two for a few minutes while we chat.”

“I’d be more comfortable staying,” Bob said. Though his inflection hadn’t changed, there was an edge of steel in his voice that I hardly recognized.

Art’s eyebrows shot up. “I’m sure you would,” he said in a measured cadence after a moment’s pause, “but if they want to discuss such delicate matters, I’d rather you weren’t present for my remarks, if it’s all the same to you.”

“It’s okay,” I told Bob. “We’re just going to talk.”

“That’s right,” Art said, laughing a little. “It’s just going to be a friendly little conversation. In fact, why don’t we use first names? It’s much nicer that way.”

Bob looked at me, then at Maddy. When we both nodded our approval, he stood and said, “I’ll be in the next room if you need me.”

After he was gone, Art said, “I trust you ladies aren’t wearing any police wires.”

Maddy said, “You can search us if you’d like.”

“That won’t be necessary,” he said. “Your word will suffice.”

“Do you honestly mean that?” I asked, intrigued by his faith in us. “We could be lying to you.”

He nodded; then he said gently, “But if you were, I’m sure you are both aware of the torrents of destruction that would come down on your friend’s head.”

“Do you mean Greg Hatcher?” Maddy asked.

Art shook his head. “No, I’m talking about our mutual acquaintance waiting patiently in the other room, Bob Lemon.”

I started to call him Mr. Young, but then decided to keep it as friendly as he’d suggested. “Art, I know you don’t typically divulge your business dealings with strangers, but we’re trying to help a friend, and you could give us some information that will make that easier.”

“I thought he was your employee.”

“Can’t he be both?” I asked.

“Not in my line of work.”

“Well, he can in ours,” I said. “I understand his brother owed you some money.”

“He might have,” Art said, being careful with his words.

“Was he late paying you back?” Maddy asked. “Did you have a problem with him? Is that what happened to Wade Hatcher?”

Art shook his head. “That’s the problem with folks these days. They watch two or three
Sopranos
reruns and think anybody who chooses to operate on the edges of the law is a thug by definition. I help people sometimes who can’t generate cash flow in more conventional ways. I like to think of it as a service I provide to the community.”

My sister asked, “Are you saying you don’t kill people?”

Art looked at Maddy, who’d reddened slightly after blurting out that last bit. “Please. I’m not a barbarian.”

“So, if someone owes you money and they don’t pay you, you just write it off as a bad debt,” Maddy said. “Is that what you’re saying?” What had gotten into my sister?

I was about to comment when Art replied, “No, I don’t have the backing of the FDIC, so I can’t afford to take a loss that a bank might. But I certainly give someone every opportunity to pay me back before any drastic measures are taken. How else could I guarantee repayment? Your friend’s brother made his first payment a day early. He was shaping up to be a good investment, and someone canceled the loan without my consent or approval. Trust me, I’m as upset that Wade Hatcher was murdered as you are, maybe even a little more. I’m the last person here who wanted to see him harmed, whether you’re inclined to believe that or not.”

Art’s cell phone rang as he finished speaking, and after a brief whispered conversation, he said, “Ladies, it’s been a pleasure, but duty calls.”

He smiled at me, then lowered it a notch as he nodded toward Maddy. Bob was back two seconds after Art left, and he looked honestly relieved to see that we were all right. “How did it go?”

“He told us he didn’t do it,” I said, “and oddly enough, he made a pretty compelling case. I believe him.”

“Don’t be fooled by the fancy clothes and the stylish haircut,” Maddy said. “No matter what he says, he’s still a thug, and I trust him about as far as I can throw either one of you.”

“I’m not necessarily a big fan of the man, either,” I said, “but he treated us with nothing but respect.”

“I don’t care,” Maddy said. “Somehow that made it even worse.”

I asked Bob, “What do you think? Should we believe him?”

“Within reason,” the attorney said after giving it some thought. “He wouldn’t hesitate to lie to save himself from arrest, or maybe even a little embarrassment, but I didn’t hear him, so I don’t know if he was telling the truth or not.”

“Have you become some kind of human lie detector?” Maddy asked, still rubbed raw by our conversation with Art Young.

“In a way. Over the years, I’ve become pretty adept at studying people’s body language. It’s amazing what folks give away without even realizing they’re doing it. I’ve caught my clients lying to me before, and when I call them on it, they admit that I’m right most of the time, so I must be pretty good at it.”

“I don’t know how you do it,” Maddy said to Bob.

“It’s easy, if you know what clues to look for.”

“I don’t mean that,” she protested. “I mean dealing with criminals all day long, day in and day out.”

“Everyone’s entitled to the best defense they can afford, and believe it or not, I represent innocent people as well. It’s not a pretty sight to see someone chewed up by the legal system when he doesn’t deserve it, and I do all I can to make sure that doesn’t happen. I’m sorry you don’t approve of my chosen profession.” The last sentence was said clearly enough to prove that he wasn’t sorry at all.

“Bob, I didn’t mean anything by it,” Maddy said, softening her words. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. I’ve got a tough skin. As a lawyer, I have to have one, don’t I? Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got work to do.”

Maddy looked flustered, but it was clear that she was—for once in her life—at a complete loss for words.

Fortunately, I wasn’t. “Bob, I don’t know what this has cost you, but I greatly appreciate you doing it.”

“I just hope it helped,” he said.

Once Maddy and I were out on the sidewalk in front of my car, I asked, “What was that all about?”

“I don’t know,” Maddy said. “I’m just having a bad day, I guess. That man in there made my skin crawl. I can’t believe you were able to stay so calm when we were talking to him.”

“Everybody’s the hero of his own life story,” I said. “I read that somewhere and it stuck with me. I don’t think he realizes he’s a bad man, and reacting the way you did to him wasn’t getting us anywhere. I’m kind of surprised you went after Bob that way, especially after he did us such a huge favor.”

“I know I owe him a better apology than the one I just gave him,” Maddy said. “I just don’t know what to say. I had no right to treat him that way, but how do I make it better?”

“You could always take him out to dinner,” I said, half-joking.

“You’re right,” Maddy said. “Hang on, I’ll be right back.”

She headed back into Bob’s law office, and I found myself standing alone on the sidewalk. I felt kind of like an idiot doing that, so I walked over to my car and got in. Without starting the engine, I turned on the radio and searched for a station that actually played music instead of the bombardment of talk radio we seemed to be getting lately.

Three minutes later, Maddy walked out and looked around for me. I tapped my horn, and she came over to the car.

As she got in, I asked, “How’d it go?”

“He had plans tonight, but I convinced him to change them. We’re going out at seven. Can you believe that?”

“As far as I’m concerned, it’s about time,” I said.

Maddy started laughing, so I asked her, “What’s so funny?”

“That’s exactly what Bob said when I asked him out.”

As I started the engine, I asked, “Where should we go now? Or do you need time to go home and get ready for your date?”

“That’s hours away yet. I don’t need that much time.”

“I don’t know. It’s been a while. You might be out of practice.”

She shook her head. “It’s like riding a bicycle, Eleanor.”

“And goodness knows you’ve rode your share of those,” I said.

“Okay, that’s about enough of that,” she said. “We’re getting close to breaking our rules of conversation. What should we do with the time we have left?”

“I’d like to talk to Sandi Meadows again, but I think she needs a little time to cool off. It might be worth our time to speak with Jamie Lowder, too. But do you know who I’d really like to talk to? Katy Johnson.”

“Do you honestly think she could have killed Wade?”

“I do,” I said. “She was in our restaurant last night, so she could have grabbed the key while she was there, and she had reason enough to be angry with Wade.”

“If you locked the door in the first place, which neither of us is sure about, and if she was mad enough to kill him, then I suppose it’s possible. That must have been a pretty heavy blow, and frankly, I’m not sure Katy’s strong enough.”