Pepperoni Pizza Can Be Murder (19 page)

“That’s terrible news,” I said.

“What’s wrong with that?” Maddy asked.

“If Greg didn’t know Wade signed, then he had a pretty big motive for murder.”

Emma shrugged. “I suppose you’re right. Sorry if I got you over here for nothing. I just wanted to help.”

“You did,” I said. “Thanks, Emma.”

“I’ll keep you informed,” she said, “if anything else comes up, or if any more wills for Wade Hatcher come across my desk.”

As Maddy and I walked back to the Slice, I said, “We’ve got new motives for old suspects. I’m not sure if we’re any better off now than we were before.”

“I don’t believe that for a second. The more information we have, the clearer things will get. I’m sure of it.”

“I hope you’re right,” I said. “What do you think our next step is?”

“We need to talk to Clara again.”

I shivered a little at the thought. “She’s not exactly our biggest fan, is she?”

“If you think she disliked us before, just wait.”

“Wonderful,” I said.

We were back at the Slice, but before I had a chance to unlock the door, Clara Hatcher herself stormed toward us, with a fierce look of anger burning on her face.

It appeared that our conversation with her about Wade’s last will and testament was going to happen sooner rather than later, and in a pretty public arena.

“Y
ou two busybodies had better butt out of my business, or you’re going to regret it, I promise you that.”

“Hi, Clara. How are you?” I asked, mimicking my best level of sincerity. “You’re looking nice this morning.”

“Cut the small talk,” she said. “I heard you were just at the courthouse sniffing around a few minutes ago.”

“Wow, that’s fast, even for Timber Ridge,” Maddy said.

“You stay out of this,” Clara said to my sister. “I’m talking to her.”

“Well, this is your lucky day. You get two sisters for the price of one.”

Clara snapped, “You both think you’re so clever, but everyone in town is laughing at you. You know that, don’t you?”

“I doubt that,” I said. “Why are you so angry? All we’re doing is looking into your son’s death. You should be cheering us on, not trying to get us to stop.”

“It’s a police matter,” Clara said. “As long as you keep interfering, they can’t do their job properly. My son deserves the best he can get, and you’re not going to be able to provide it.”

“We’re looking out for the son you have who’s alive. He’s in jail right now, did you know that?”

A look of triumph crossed her face for just a split second, and then vanished so quickly that I began to doubt I’d seen it. “They got him?”

“Not for murder,” I said.

“Why was he arrested, then?”

I wasn’t about to answer that, but Maddy said something before I could stop her. “The chief arrested him for armed robbery.”

Clara frowned. “I never did think that boy would turn out to be any good, always acting like he was better than the rest of us. Who did he rob?” She paused for a beat, and then actually laughed. “It was you, wasn’t it? He held a gun on his own boss. I guess this changes your tune about him.”

“He didn’t do it,” I said, angry that Greg’s mother could turn against him so deeply, especially when he was such a fine young man. “Wade did.”

The words were like scalding water thrown in her face. Clara reached out and grabbed my jacket in her hand and pulled me toward her. It was as if I had no strength of my own to resist her.

“Take it back,” she said, the words hissing out of her like escaping steam.

I pulled myself away from her, but I couldn’t keep my voice from shaking as I said, “I won’t, because it’s the truth. They arrested Greg, but Wade is the one who robbed me. How does that fit into your attitude about your sons?”

Maddy put a hand on my shoulder, but it was too late to stop me.

Clara looked as though she wanted to kill me just then, and there was no mistaking it on my part.

She stared at me, then said hotly, “Mark my words, you’ll pay for trying to sully my son’s good name.”

I couldn’t believe this woman, and I wasn’t about to stand there and take any more grief from her. “Clara, do you honestly think I’d say it if it weren’t true? Wade was no good. I’m not saying he deserved what he got, but I don’t think it should be all that much of a surprise to you that something bad happened to him.”

Her face had gone pallid as I spoke, and I instantly regretted losing my temper with her, but it was too late to make amends.

“Why don’t you do the world a favor and crawl into a hole and die,” Clara said before she stormed off down the street.

It took me a second to catch my breath after she was gone. Confrontations always left me like that, a little weak from the strain, but to my credit, I’d stood my ground with the woman and hadn’t backed down.

Maddy started after her as she said, “She’s not getting away with that.”

I reached out and grabbed my sister’s arm before she could get to Clara. “It’s not worth the bother.”

“Maybe not to you, but I’m not about to let her talk to you that way.”

“Maddy, I don’t like her any more than you do, but she just lost a son, and as sad as it is to say, Wade was clearly her favorite.”

My sister shook her head in disgust. “If I live to be a thousand, I’ll never understand how a woman can turn her back on her good son and idolize her bad one.”

“It’s a mystery to me, too.”

I looked around the plaza and saw that there were a few people standing around, watching us. I wondered how much of the earlier confrontation they’d seen. “Let’s go inside, okay?”

“That’s fine with me,” Maddy said.

We walked into the Slice, but things I normally took great pride and satisfaction in doing were merely performed, not savored. The confrontation with Clara had left me queasy and unsettled, and I hated her just a little for taking one of my life’s joys from me, no matter how temporary it was.

Maddy came back into the kitchen two minutes after we were supposed to open for the day.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“You’re not going to believe who our first customer is.”

“I’m really not in the mood to guess,” I said as I brushed an errant strand of hair back behind my ear.

“Clara Hatcher is sitting at a table by the front window.”

That I had to see for myself. If she wanted to continue our fight, I was going to do it before we had a restaurant full of customers. The last thing I wanted to do was air any more dirty laundry in front of the residents of Timber Ridge.

“Where’s my soft drink?” Clara said when I walked up to her.

“What are you doing here, Clara?”

She raised an eyebrow as she looked at me. “Is that how you treat all of your customers?”

I nodded. “It is for the ones who come in looking for trouble.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said. “We’ve said all we need to say, and as far as I’m concerned, the subject is closed. Now, are you going to serve me my Diet Coke, or do I have to go have my lunch somewhere else?”

“We’ll serve you,” I said.

I nearly bumped into my sister as I came back into the kitchen.

Maddy asked, “What did she want?”

“A Diet Coke,” I replied.

“I heard that much myself. What did she say to you?”

“She said that our argument was over, and she came here to eat.”

Maddy looked skeptically at me. “Do you believe that?”

“Not on your life, but I can’t throw her out without a good reason.”

Maddy said, “I keep telling you, we need to post a sign that says we refuse to serve anyone we choose without a reason.”

“I’m not doing it,” I said. “Now, are you going to get her drink, or do I have to?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of her.”

I touched her shoulder lightly before she could leave the kitchen. “No extras in it, Maddy, and make sure it’s in a clean glass.”

“Spoilsport,” Maddy said. “I was going to fill it with lemon seeds just to see if she could tell. The woman’s got such a natural sour disposition, I doubt she’d be able to tell the difference.”

“Come on, I’m counting on you to take the high ground.”

“Fine, be that way.”

Two minutes later, Maddy had delivered the drink and came back with an order. Clara was having a personal-sized pizza, along with one of our house salads with honey mustard dressing. As I prepped the salad and handed it to Maddy, I peeked out the door. The place was starting to fill up, and we’d have our hands full soon enough. It appeared that Clara wasn’t going to cause a scene. If that was her intent, she would have done it now that she had acquired an audience. Thank heaven for small favors, anyway.

As I worked steadily to fill the orders, I mostly forgot about Clara Hatcher. It got that way when things were busy, and we were having a record lunch crowd. That always made me feel good, and all was well until I heard the first scream coming from the dining room.

When I raced out the kitchen door, the first thing I saw was Clara Hatcher standing over her plate, screaming her head off. “There’s a roach in my salad.”

Her tone was hysterical, and it was clearly upsetting our other diners.

People were getting up to leave in droves when I said, “Let’s all stay calm. I’m sure it was an isolated incident.”

“Thanks, but I don’t feel like taking any chances,” Yancey Grober said as he threw his napkin down on the table. “I’ve kind of lost my appetite.”

“I’m not all that hungry anymore, either,” Bill Hayes said.

His wife, Enid, chimed in. “We’re so sorry, Eleanor.”

This was getting bad. “Folks, I’m sorry about what happened. You’re all free to go, and nobody owes me a cent, but I’d appreciate it if you’d stay.”

Of course, no one did, and I honestly couldn’t blame them.

As Clara left the Slice, I could swear she shot a smile at me that no one else could see.

“This is a disaster,” I said as we cleared away the plates and glasses from the tables where our former customers had been sitting. “She planted that bug on purpose.”

“Well, I didn’t do it,” Maddy said. “Even though I have to admit that I’d been thinking about doing something to her myself.”

“She beat you to it,” I said. “How can we possibly get anyone to believe that we didn’t serve her a disgusting bug?”

“I doubt they’ll just take our word for it,” she said.

“I’ve got an idea,” I said. I looked in my address book and found a number. After dialing it, I prayed the person I needed to speak with was in his office, and not out somewhere having lunch.

He answered on the second ring. “This is Jason Pine, county health inspection department.”

“Mr. Pine, this is Eleanor Swift at the Slice of Delight in Timber Ridge.”

“Ms. Swift, we’re not due to inspect your restaurant for another month.”

“I know, but I need you to come today. Right now, if you can manage it.”

“Is there a problem? The reason I ask is that most people don’t actively seek our inspections of their establishments.”

I said, “I just had a customer who claimed she found a roach in her salad.”

He paused, and then said, “I can’t imagine your restaurant having a roach problem.”

“It doesn’t,” I said, nearly shouting into the phone. “She planted it, and I need you to prove it.”

“I’m not sure what I can do,” he said. “I have no way of knowing whether it was on your premises or not.”

“Would you come right now? Please? This could cost me my restaurant, and you know I don’t deserve it.”

I didn’t think my plea was going to work, but finally he said, “I’ll be right there. Take my advice and lock your doors immediately.”

“Consider it done, not that there’s much chance anyone’s going to come in now, anyway.”

“I’m on my way.”

Maddy looked crossly at me. “You called Pine? Have you lost your mind?”

“Who else can prove that we didn’t serve someone a roach?” I asked. “Whether you like him or not, we need him.”

“I guess so,” she said. “What do we do in the meantime? Should we start cleaning up?”

“Ordinarily I’d say yes, but we need to show him our kitchen, warts and all. If he gives us a bad rating, we’ll just have to live with it.”

I started for the kitchen when Maddy asked, “Where are you going? You just said you’re not going to clean.”

“I’m not, but on the off chance there really was a roach in her salad, I want to find it before Jason Pine does.”

He arrived at the pizzeria in thirty minutes, really just a little under that. I thought whimsically that the inspection would be free, based on a pizza chain’s old advertising campaign. I thought about sharing that thought with him, but from the stern look on his face, I could tell he wasn’t in the mood for my offbeat kind of humor. Jason Pine was a balding, thin, and sallow man, who displayed his short height like a challenge, daring anyone to say something to him about his lack of stature. He carried a black clipboard that had been known to make grown men faint in the past, and I felt queasy looking at it even now.

“Have you touched anything?” he asked.

I shook my head. “No, sir. As promised, this is exactly as we left it.” It was true, too. Maddy and I had searched the kitchen more thoroughly than we ever had in our lives, and there was no sign of any infestation at all.

He nodded, then asked, “Where was the customer sitting?”

I pointed to Clara’s table, and he examined the roach before picking it up with a pair of tweezers. When he flipped it over, he said, “I’ve seen enough.”

“Come on, aren’t you even going to look in my kitchen?” I could see my reputation as a restaurateur going in the drink with a surprisingly small amount of effort on Clara Hatcher’s part.

“There’s no need.”

He got out his clipboard and started jotting notes down. Maddy started to say something, but I knew whatever she came up with would just make it worse. I put a hand on her shoulder, then shook my head in warning. She didn’t like it, but my sister abided by my request to leave it alone.

“That should do it,” he said, then tore the top copy of his sheet and handed it to me.

I looked at it dumbly, and then saw that it absolved me of all guilt in the matter.

Maddy was about to explode, so I knew I had to say something quickly. “How do you know she was lying about finding the roach in her salad?”

He picked the offending bug up with his tweezers and turned it over so I could see. I just wasn’t sure what I was supposed to be looking at.

“It’s clear enough, wouldn’t you say?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t follow you,” I said.

Impatiently he took a pen from his pocket and pointed toward the roach’s sternum. “Someone swatted this roach and killed it, then carefully cleaned up the evidence. See how the carapace is slightly crushed here, and then again here? Whoever did this was clever and cleaned it well, but a trained eye can always tell.” He sniffed the roach, then said, “This insect has been dead less than an hour, so that eliminates it coming in with your food supplies.”

“How do you know it didn’t come from our kitchen?” Maddy asked.

“I’ve seen your sister’s work space. For this to have been your fault, you would have had to step on the insect in back, rinse it yourself, and then carefully place it in among the salad greens. If that weren’t unbelievable enough, you would then have to call me to find it, something no restaurateur would ever do. I’ll take a look around if you’d like, but I stand by my report.”

He went into the kitchen, and as I started to follow, he said, “I’ll do it alone, if you please.”