Killer Crust (15 page)

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Authors: Chris Cavender

Tags: #Fiction, #Mystery & Detective, #Women Sleuths, #General

BOOK: Killer Crust
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“I’ve got it all under control, boss. No worries.”
“How I wish that were true,” she said.
As we walked the short distance to the restaurant, I asked Gina, “Before I forget, I wanted to ask you something. You’re charging Luigi’s to let us raid your pantry, right?”
“Oh, yes. We negotiated the fee ahead of time, and Luigi was so enamored with this place that he didn’t even blink an eye when I quoted a price to him.”
“Why
did
he choose to hold his competition here?” I asked. “Not that it’s not beautiful and all, but he could have done it easier in one of the larger cities in the state.”
“That’s true, but he was trying to get on my uncle’s good side, so that’s why he booked the contest here at Tree-Line. He clearly didn’t know my uncle Nathan, though. I’m his closest family left in the world, and I don’t have a clue why he does some of the things he does. I’m determined to make this place a success, so I appreciated the extra publicity.” She hesitated, and then added, “At least I did at the time.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll get through this,” I said as I patted her shoulder lightly.
“Let’s hope so,” Gina said. We walked through the dining room, nodded toward Bob and David as we passed them, and then we all headed into the kitchen. The guys were sitting there enjoying their coffee at a leisurely pace, but we were on the clock, and time was quickly ticking away.
The kitchen was a flurry of activity, but the chef stopped the moment that he saw Gina there. She smiled at him as she explained, “Demetri, I need you to give these two ladies anything they need. Understood?”
“Yes, ma’am. I will take excellent care of them.”
“That’s good to hear. Carry on.”
He went back to his staff to continue shouting orders, and Gina told me, “Why don’t you make a list and he’ll have it delivered to the auditorium in time for the final stage?”
“We really appreciate you going to so much trouble just for us,” Maddy said.
“I would do it gladly without any reimbursement on my own, but it’s even sweeter that I’m making Luigi, or I should say his company, foot the bill.”
“Excellent,” I said as I turned to my sister. “Maddy, would you mind making a list for Demetri? You know what we can use better than I do.”
“I’d be glad to,” she said, taking a pen and some paper from her purse. In seconds, she started to write, and I had to wonder what kind of exotic choices she might be making for our final pizza. “Keep it simple, okay?” I told her.
“No worries, Sis.”
Gina touched my arm lightly. “Eleanor, I was wondering if I could ask you a favor while Maddy’s working on that. Don’t feel obligated to say yes, but it would mean a great deal to me if you could help me out with something.”
We stepped out of the way in the kitchen so we could talk without being run over by someone with a knife or carrying anything sizzling. “You know that I’ll do whatever I can. Just name it.”
“It’s about Paul.”
I was surprised to hear her mention him, since I knew that they’d been an item in college. Gina had dumped him in search of greener pastures, and he still resented the way she’d dropped him. “What about him?”
“Listen, I know that I messed up with him royally, but I’d love to get another chance. If I asked him to dinner out here, do you think he’d come?”
“No,” I said.
Before I could finish my thought, she said, “Of course not. And who could blame him? What was I thinking? Thanks anyway.”
She turned to go, but I grabbed her arm before she could get away. “What I was going to say was that it would have to be a meal earlier than dinner. Don’t forget, Paul has to get up in the dark, so he’s usually asleep by seven-thirty or eight at night. Why don’t you ask him out for a late lunch instead? He closes the pastry shop around three most days.”
She looked at me curiously as she said, “You seem to know a lot about him. Is he dating anyone special right now?”
I shrugged as I answered, “Maddy and I tried to fix him up a few times, but it never seemed to work out.”
Gina looked fretful. “I don’t know if I should even try. I’m afraid I ruined it with him forever, and to be honest with you, I’m almost too scared to ask.”
“Do you want some free advice, worth every cent it costs you?” I asked.
“From you? Always.”
“The way I feel about it is that you’ll never know unless you try,” I said.
“Would you talk to him for me?” Gina asked softly. “Rejection might not feel so horrid if it happens secondhand.”
I took her hands in mine and said, “Gina, I’ll do it if you really want me to, but think about it first. Paul likes strong women, and he admires brave ones as well. In my opinion, you have a much better shot if you approach him yourself and lay it all out like you just did with me.”
“Did you two ever date?” she asked.
I laughed loudly enough to cause some of the staff to look over in my direction. “Me and Paul? No. No way. We’re friends. Just friends. That’s it. He’s young enough to be my, my, I don’t know, little brother maybe? We are allies in life, nothing more.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to touch a nerve.”
I smiled broadly at her. “I’m the one who should apologize. I don’t know why I just reacted that way. It took me forever to let someone back in my life, and David’s the first man I’ve even looked at since my husband died. Paul was there for me all along through some of my roughest times, but as a friend. He’s like family to Maddy and me.”
“I can see that,” Gina said.
I didn’t let it go, though. There was a point that I needed to make, something she had to understand if she decided to go down that particular road again. “I want to be certain that you know exactly what I’m saying. Paul is like family to Maddy and me, and neither one of us would appreciate it if you broke his heart again. It nearly killed him the last time, from what he’s told us. Don’t do this unless you’re willing to see it through to the end.” I was serious, too. I might be overstepping my bounds, but I meant every word of it.
“Eleanor, I’ve grown up a great deal since college. That wasn’t when I changed though, and we both know it. When my brother died and my uncle was nearly murdered, I learned pretty quickly to put things in perspective. The fire just cemented the change within me. Paul was perfect for me, but I was too stupid to realize it at the time. If he gives me the chance, I won’t make that mistake again.”
“Then you should call him,” I said.
“Now?” she asked as she glanced at her watch.
“I didn’t mean this very second,” I said.
“No, you’re right. I need to do it right now. Otherwise I’ll just overanalyze it and end up chickening out.” She hugged me, and then said, “Thank you for everything.”
“Hey, don’t give me too much credit. He could still say no.”
“If he does, I’ll be sad, but at least I’ll know that I tried. And in the end, isn’t that all that really counts?”
“It is if you go by me.”
Maddy handed the chef her list, and then walked me out of the kitchen. Once we were out of earshot, she asked me, “What was that all about?”
“Gina, you mean?”
“Of course that’s who I mean. She just hugged you like you were the last life jacket on the
Titanic
.”
“She wants to date Paul again,” I said.
Maddy frowned. “That’s a bad idea, Eleanor. Remember how he told us that she was the only woman he’s ever really loved his entire life? She broke his heart. Can he take it if it happens again?”
“He can’t live his life in bubble wrap,” I said. “If he’s still interested in her despite everything that happened between them in the past, I say he should go for it.”
Maddy grinned at me. “My, my, my. My big sister has really grown up, hasn’t she?”
“I didn’t realize that I hadn’t already,” I said.
“Come on, you know what I mean. I love the changes I’ve been seeing in you since you let David into your life. I’ve got a hunch that the pep talk you just gave Gina was based on personal experience, or am I mistaken?”
I had to laugh. “I’d love to be able to tell you that you were wrong, but this one time, you’re not. Okay, maybe I was a little too enthusiastic about the idea of them giving it another go, but we both know how lonely Paul is. If he can give Gina a second chance, who knows what might happen?”
“You, my dear sweet sister, are nothing more than a hopeless romantic,” Maddy said once we were in the lobby.
“What can I say? I’m just like my little sister,” I said proudly.
“What do you mean?”
“Maddy, no one walks down the aisle as many times as you have without truly believing in love. You’ve got the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever known.”
“It’s a fact. I’m every bit as wonderful as you say I am,” she said melodramatically, and then we both erupted in laughter. A few older guests were enjoying the fire in the hearth, and one of them looked at us with disapproval. I saluted her, and then walked my sister back into the auditorium. I was the one who owed Gina a debt of thanks. I’d been wound up pretty tightly thinking about the contest’s stakes tonight, but her question about Paul had allowed me to put things in perspective a little. Could we use that money at the Slice for improvements, and maybe even a rainy day fund? Absolutely. But if we didn’t win, life would go on in my little pizza place, and I’d be as happy as I made up my mind to be.
And that really was all that mattered in the end.
Chapter 14
S
andy from Asheville approached me the second Maddy and I walked up on the stage to join our fellow competitors. “I’m sorry to bother you, Eleanor, but have you seen Jeff?”
“Your husband? No, I didn’t know that he was missing. When’s the last time you saw him?”
She bit her thumbnail as she said, “We split up half an hour ago so he could make a few telephone calls about our pizzeria, but he should have been here ten minutes ago.”
“Don’t worry. I’m sure he’s fine,” Maddy said. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but we
are
all here jammed up here together like eggs in an omelet. How far off can he go? The next time that door opens, I’m willing to bet he walks right through.”
“I hope you’re right,” Sandy said as her gaze darted to the back entrances.
The door opened, and I think that we all held our breaths a little, but it wasn’t Jeff, and I could feel the air go out of us.
“If he doesn’t make it, you know that you’ll be disqualified,” one of the Raleigh twins said. “And unlike her, I fully intended to eavesdrop. Sorry, but those are the rules.”
I looked around, but I didn’t see the other part of the matching set from Raleigh. “I wouldn’t be too smug about it. After all, your brother’s not here, either. Doesn’t that worry you in the least?”
“He can take of himself. He’ll be here on time; there’s no need to worry about him.”
“If neither one of them show up, it’s going to be down to the two of us,” Kenny said. Anna was by his side, but it was clear that she wasn’t happy to be there.
“I have faith in them both,” I said. “This is too important to just skip for no reason at all.”
“Who said they didn’t have their reasons?” Kenny asked wickedly.
“What did you do to them?” I asked strongly, getting up in his face. His attitude smacked too much of knowledge that he might have done something to delay them himself. The same disqualification had nearly happened to us, so I was probably more than a little sensitive about it, but I couldn’t help wondering if the police dusted that chair that had blocked us in the stairwell for prints if Kenny’s might not be on it.
“Back off, train wreck,” Kenny said, his lips forming two thin lines.
“I want the truth. Are you the one who rigged the elevator and locked us in the stairwell?” I asked.
Did Kenny flinch when I mentioned what had happened to us? I was fairly sure that he had, but what I couldn’t tell for sure was whether it was from a guilty conscience or not.
Maddy joined me, and we presented a united front against him. She smiled with sweet false sincerity as she said, “If I find out you had anything to do with what happened to us, I’ll make certain you pay for it, one way or another.”
“That’s a threat! You can’t threaten me!” He whirled around and looked at Anna. “You heard that, right? You’ll be able to testify about what she just said to me.”
“I’m sorry; I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m a little preoccupied with something else. What did she say?” A ghost of a smile slipped past her lips, and then it was gone just as quickly as it had surfaced.
Kenny looked at his assistant in amazement, and then he turned to the twin from Raleigh and Sandy. “Surely
you
both heard it.”
It was an odd request for reinforcements, especially since Kenny had so recently admitted to rooting for both of their teams to be disqualified from the competition.
Sandy shook her head, and the twin added, “I have more important things on my mind than trying to follow your petty little conversation.”
“I guess it’s just your word against ours, then,” I said.
Maddy grinned. “Don’t you just love it when it works out that way?”
I could tell that Kenny was about to respond when the back doors opened again with three minutes left. Sandy visibly deflated as the twin with us smiled as the other walked in, a little breathless and flushed. There was bright red lipstick on his cheek, but if he knew about its presence, he didn’t seem to mind.
The twin who’d been with us tapped his watch, and his brother just smiled. That was the only exchange between them as they reunited on the stage.
“Where is he?” Sandy asked again, the worry thick in her voice. Finally, she threw her apron down on the stage and said, “I’m going to go find my husband. I don’t care about this stupid contest anymore.”
I blocked her way. If I could keep her from doing something foolish, even if it cost me a win here tonight, I was going to try to do it. “Think about it, Sandy. What if Jeff shows up on time and you’re out searching the complex for him? You need to wait at least until that clock hits zero before you go searching for him.” I glanced up at the clock and saw that there were only ninety seconds left. Her husband was cutting it close—there was no doubt about it—and I had to believe that something dire was holding him up. “Just give him the ninety seconds, and then you can go with a clear conscience,” I said.
“Okay, I guess I can do that, but when that thing hits zero, I’m out of here.”
“You don’t have any choice then, remember?” Kenny asked, getting a little of his steam back. “If you don’t leave willingly, they’ll have you escorted off the stage.”
“You’re not helping,” I told Kenny.
“I wasn’t trying to,” he said with a wicked grin.
With five clicks left on the clock, Jeff rushed into the auditorium.
“He has to be on stage for it to count,” Kenny said. “He’ll never make it.”
Jeff must have heard him, or else he spied the clock himself, because he raced for the stage, launching himself in the air with one second left. Just as his left hand touched down on the stage in front of us all, the clock hit zero.
“He didn’t make it!” Kenny shrieked with joy. “He’s disqualified.”
“That’s not true. He made it at the last second,” I said, and Maddy and Sandy backed me up.
“No way,” he said as he looked around. “Where’s Jack Acre? He needs to make a ruling on this right now.”
Instead of Jack though, Frank Vincent walked out onto the stage from the back of the room with a nervous smile on his face.
“Where’s Jack?” Kenny asked, the insistence thick in his voice. “We need a ruling here.”
“I’m afraid that Jack won’t be able to make it tonight,” Frank said.
“If he’s not here, then who’s going to be our judge?”
Frank smiled again, and even looked a touch embarrassed as he admitted, “That would be me. It turns out that I’m the new CEO of Luigi’s, not Jack. Now, if you’ll all take your places at your stations, we can get started with the grand finale.”
I looked in the fridge, but it was practically empty. “Frank, we’d love to get started, but none of our supplies have arrived from the kitchen yet.” For one split second I worried that someone else had stolen them, but after checking, each team reported the same thing.
Frank turned to one of the men with him on stage and said calmly, “Steve, go see what the holdup is, okay?”
“Your brother wouldn’t have put up with this kind of sloppiness, and neither would Jack Acre.” Kenny must have lost his mind talking to the final arbiter of the contest like that, snapping under the pressure.
I wasn’t sure how Frank was going to react to the personal nature of the attack, but he took a moment, caught his breath, and then smiled at Kenny, though there wasn’t an ounce of warmth in it. “My late brother—and Jack Acre, too, for that matter—had their own style of running things, and I have mine. I find that people respond better to kindness than fear.” He hesitated, and then added, “But if you believe that anything about this contest is unfair in any way, you’re free to withdraw your team from consideration.” It was as though he were channeling his brother for just a moment, and my worries about Frank having the backbone to run the company were gone.
Anna didn’t even try to hide her smile now as she nodded happily toward Frank. He took a second to grin back at her, and I had to wonder if there might not be something going on between them. I had a hunch that Helen had been wrong about her, just as she’d mistaken Sandy’s allergy attacks for tears.
“Thanks for the offer, but we’ll stay and bake with the rest of them, and we’ll win this thing fair and square.”
Frank laughed a little at that, and then said, “How refreshing a change that would be for all of us.”
At that moment, I realized that he knew the contest had been rigged before, at least once. If the Raleigh twins had paid off Jack Acre as Maddy and I suspected, two different teams had tried to influence the outcome of this competition. At least now I firmly believed that we were all on a level playing field. No matter what happened from here on out, I truly felt as though we’d be judged on the merits of our pizzas, and not the favors any of us had managed to curry along the way.
The back doors opened again, and three staff members from the kitchen came in wheeling large carts in front of them. As they took the ramp on the right side of the stage, Frank looked at us all and grinned. “See? We’ll be ready to commence in no time.”
We each got our selections based on the lists we’d provided, and it was finally time to begin. This was it.
Frank was a little nervous as he took the microphone, and his voice cracked a bit at first, but he soon found his way, and after a moment, he even began to look comfortable with the mike in his hand. “Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce myself. I am Frank Vincent, the new CEO of Laughing Luigi’s Pizza Dough. It’s been a traumatic time for us these past few days, and I mourn the loss of my brother, our company founder, but he, more than anyone else, would have urged us to go on. If you would, I’d like to ask everyone to bow your heads in a moment of silence for George Vincent, or as you all knew him, Laughing Luigi.”
We were all dead silent, and I could hear the heat kick on above us from normally whisper-silent vents. The effect was stunning in its simplicity, finer than any spoken eulogy.
After a suitable interim, Frank lifted his head and said, “After tonight’s contest is finished, we’ll all break up for an hour so the results can be tabulated and the final winner chosen. We’re going to set up a cocktail party here in the meantime, and that takes a little time, so if you’ll bear with us, we’ll announce the winner then.”
I wasn’t happy about the last-minute change since the check was supposed to be awarded the moment the winner was announced, but I took some satisfaction from the fact that no one else seemed all that thrilled about the delay, either. On the plus side, it would give all of the contestants a chance to get cleaned up before the big announcement. I didn’t know about anyone else, but if I won, I didn’t want my picture in the newspaper to be of the outfit I currently had on. Frank was going to be better at this than I gave him credit for.
He reset the clock to ninety minutes, and then said, “Begin. Remember, this is the pizza chef’s choice, so wow me.”
I turned to Maddy, smiled, and asked, “Are you ready?”
“All the way, Sis. Let’s win this puppy.”
We worked in happy tandem, not needing words to communicate on something we made individually just about every day we were in the kitchen at the Slice. I realized that I’d be glad to get back to my old stomping grounds soon and forget all about competitions, and more important, murder, though I wasn’t all that eager to make pizzas again anytime soon.
After the dough was the perfect temperature—something I’d become used to determining given the flurry of my recent pizza making using Luigi’s products—I knuckled it into the pan, pressing it firmly all around and making a nice crust ridge. The sauce was next, the last of our own blend, which I carefully ladled out over the dough in a counterclockwise pattern. I wasn’t sure why I did it that way, but it was a habit long ingrained in me. While I’d been waiting for the dough to reach the proper consistency and temperature, I’d grated our special blend of cheeses, and it was ready to be added now. I let it fall like snowflakes, covering the pizza in a pleasing pattern. My part was over for the moment as I gently slid the pizza to Maddy, where she waited to add her own artistry to the pie.
After my sister had arranged the toppings on top of the cheese, I took it from her and slid it into the oven. I set the timer just in case, but I wasn’t about to rely on that to tell me when it was done.
As I shut the oven door, I said, “And that’s that.”
“We did the best we could,” Maddy said with a tired smile. “No matter what happens now, we can both hold our heads up high.”
I started to help her clean up our workstation, but she said, “I can handle this. You watch the pizza. That’s your only responsibility.”
“Okay,” I said. After all, we could be baking a pizza worth twenty-five grand, and that was worth the extra attention.
I was almost ready to pull the pizza from the oven to test it when I felt someone tap me on the shoulder.
It was Sandy from Asheville.
“Do you have a second?” she asked.
“Maybe sixty of them,” I said, though I kept watching the cheese and toppings for just the right shades and hues.

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