Authors: Chris Cavender
Rest in Pizza (9 page)
“You were thinking about a woman who’d just lost her husband,” Maddy said. “Your reaction makes sense on that level, but I couldn’t let you take that kind of chance.”
“That’s just one of the reasons why we need each other,” I said.
We lingered out front awhile, and Jenny Wilkes, the woman who owned our local flower shop, Forever in Bloom, stopped by and saw the police tape in front of the Slice.
“I can’t believe what happened,” Jenny said. “You found another dead body here? You must feel cursed, Eleanor.”
“I try not to think about it, but how did you hear about what happened?” I asked.
“You’re kidding, right? It’s all over town,” Jenny said. “I’m sorry. Was it supposed to be a secret?”
“No, of course not,” Maddy answered.
“Well, I don’t care what folks are saying, I know the two of you had nothing to do with that man’s murder.”
“People are already saying that one of us killed him?” I asked, incredulous that anyone could believe that.
“Hey, don’t shoot the messenger. I said I’m on your side,” Jenny said.
“I’m sorry,” I replied, trying to calm my voice down. “I didn’t mean to attack you. As a matter of fact, I appreciate you telling me.”
Jenny was satisfied with my apology. “Like I said, there’s no way everyone believes it. You’ve got a core group of people in town who believe in you, including me.”
After Jenny was gone, I told my sister, “You know what this means, don’t you?”
“That Jenny Wilkes is on our side?” Maddy asked. “It’s good to know that at least somebody’s got our backs.”
“It is, but that’s not what I’m talking about. There’s no doubt in my mind that what she said is true, and it just confirms what I’ve been thinking. If so many people around Timber Ridge believe that we could have had something to do with Benet’s murder, we’re going to have to dig into this ourselves.”
“What’s the chief going to think about that?” Maddy asked.
“It’s a little too late to start worrying about that now,” I said. “We’ll do what we have to do, and if we step on a few toes in the process, then so be it.”
The chief of police finally came out of the restaurant again. Kevin Hurley barely noticed us at first, but when he did, he walked over and joined us. “What are you two still doing here?”
“We were wondering when we could get our restaurant back,” I asked.
“Not today, and maybe not tomorrow,” he said flatly.
That was not the news I wanted to hear. “What? You can’t do that to me. I need my business to be open.”
He sighed as he ran his hands through his hair. “Eleanor, we’ll do what we can, but I can’t make any promises. All I can say is that you’ll get it when you get it. The coroner’s on the way, and my crime scene guy is already in there taking videos and pictures of everything. As it is, they’re going to be working awhile. I really am sorry,” he added, and I believed him. “I’m not trying to hurt you, but murder is murder, and we aren’t cutting a single corner.”
“Just do what you can,” I said.
“I’m glad you’re still here. We’re going to need a key to the place so we can lock up for you.”
I turned to Maddy and said, “Go on. Give him yours.”
“Where’s your key, Eleanor?” Chief Hurley asked.
“I gave it to him,” I said, pointing toward the dead chef, but not even looking in his direction.
Hurley nodded. “We’ll be sure you get it back when this is all over.”
“You can keep it, for all I care,” I said, thinking about it being in the dead man’s pocket. “I’ll have Slick make another one for me from Maddy’s.”
“Exactly how many keys are floating around town right now?” the chief asked. It was clear there had been another reason he’d approached us.
“As long as I’ve owned the place, there have just been two,” I admitted. “I tried to give Greg one, but he decided not to take it. He said it was too much responsibility.”
“That’s smart of him. How about Josh?” he asked, softly.
“No, it never came up,” I admitted.
“Good,” he said, and I could understand why. Who wanted their child tied in closer to a murder than they already were? Because he worked at the Slice, I knew Josh had to be on the list of suspects, though I doubted he was very high up, since he’d never even met the chef. Maddy and I, on the other hand, had to be closer to the top of any list that the chief made, and my name in particular might be one of the headliners. While I didn’t have a real motive to kill the man, we had argued, and in public at that. When I thought of it that way, I knew the police chief had to at least consider the possibility that I’d done it, no matter how unpleasant that prospect was for me.
“I’ll call you as soon as I can about when I can turn the restaurant back over to you,” he said.
He walked away, and I turned to Maddy. As I did, I looked at my watch, and then said, “I have some time before I have to go shopping for supplies. Do you mind giving me a hand?”
“With the pizza, or the investigation?” she asked.
“I was hoping we might be able to do a little bit of both,” I admitted.
“You can count on me,” Maddy said. “You know that.”
“Then why don’t we go back and talk to Cindy about what happened to Benet?” I suggested.
Maddy looked at me askance. “Eleanor, do you honestly think that she might have done it?”
It was not as easy a question to answer as I might have liked. “I wish I could say no, but I just can’t, not yet. Cindy’s the real reason he was here, after all. I’m still not sure why Benet canceled a national television appearance to come to Timber Ridge instead, but I have to wonder if she’s not a part of that decision somehow.”
“Why do you say that?” Maddy asked.
“I don’t know,” I replied. “It just doesn’t make sense unless there was some kind of personal connection between them.”
When we got to the bookstore, it was empty. Everyone had cleared out, including the staff. At least there was no police tape across the door, like there was at my place. I glanced back in again, and saw something that I’d missed at first glance. Cindy was sitting among a mess of things, surrounded by empty chairs and a demonstration kitchen that would never be used. There was clearly a general pall of doom around her, not that I could blame her. Her grand opening had turned out to be one huge nightmare, and I wondered if her shop could ever recover from such an inauspicious start.
I tapped on the door, and had to do it twice before she even looked up.
As she stood, I saw the weariness in her, and wondered if Maddy and I should wait until later to talk to her. No, the sooner we got started investigating the chef’s murder, the faster folks would forget that we’d ever been involved.
As she unlocked the door and let us in, I asked, “Where did everybody go?”
“I sent them all home. We obviously can’t open the store now,” she said. As she looked around at the mess, she added, “What am I going to do? This is bad on so many levels, I can’t imagine ever making it all go away.”
“Take a week before you hold your grand opening,” I said. “That way, you can get the place in order and try again.”
“I’m not sure I have the heart to do that,” she said. “Let’s not kid ourselves. The chef’s murder is going to hang over the bookstore like a black cloud. I might as well just shut the place down and get it over with.”
“We’ve dealt with it ourselves in the past,” I said as diplomatically as I could. “You can come back from it. I’m not saying that’s going to be easy, but it can be done.” She had problems today, there was no denying that, but at the end of the day, the body hadn’t been found in her store. It had been discovered at the Slice, and that put Maddy and me right in the middle of it.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t even think about what this is going to mean to you,” she said quickly. “Is there anything I can do to help you?”
“Funny, that’s why we’re here,” Maddy said. “What say we get started on making things right again now?”
“I guess we should,” Cindy said halfheartedly.
“That’s the spirit,” Maddy said, trying to drive a little enthusiasm into her words. “When are they coming to take the kitchen apart?”
I looked over and saw that it was indeed a stark reminder of what had happened, or had failed to happen, earlier.
“Not until tomorrow,” she said sadly.
I knew that Maddy loved a challenge, and this gave her something to sink her teeth into. “We’ll see about that. Where’s your paperwork?”
Cindy pointed to the counter. “It’s all over there in that mess.”
Maddy dove into the pile of papers, and I quietly thanked her. As she sorted through the stack and got the right number, I told Cindy, “Don’t worry. My sister is a whirlwind when it comes to handling something that needs to be done.”
“That’s nice,” she said calmly, as though it didn’t matter to her one way or the other. As I looked closer, though, I saw that she’d been crying earlier, if the redness in her eyes was any indication. “How are you taking the murder itself?”
“It’s devastating, of course,” Cindy said.
“Had you met Benet before he came to town?” I asked, trying to keep my voice and tone even as I asked.
“No, not really,” she said after pausing a moment.
What an odd response. “What exactly does that mean?”
“It’s complicated,” Cindy said.
Maddy’s voice suddenly rose as she spoke on the telephone, and I heard her say, “I don’t care what the contract says, get someone over here this afternoon to remove your things, or you’ll find them out in front of the bookstore in one hour. Oh, and it’s supposed to rain tonight, not to mention the possibility that it won’t be here when you finally show up tomorrow.” She paused, and then nodded as she said, “Okay, but after two hours, it’s all going. Trust me, you don’t want to call my bluff.”
She hung up, and then noticed we were watching her. “It’s all taken care of. They’re coming this afternoon,” she reported.
I grinned at my sister and asked, “And, how are we going to get all of this out front if they don’t?”
Maddy grinned at me. “Hey, we all know that I was bluffing. They probably suspect as much themselves. But do they have the courage to prove it? How much do you want to bet they beat the deadline?”
“No way I’m betting against you,” I said.
“I’ll get started on making things ready to go, then,” she said.
“That sounds great to me. We’ll help you,” Cindy said.
“Hang on. We’re not done talking yet.” I needed to find out just what Cindy had meant by saying that she hadn’t really met Benet before. How could you not really meet someone? You either had or you hadn’t, as far as I was concerned.
Cindy looked as though she might start crying again at the slightest provocation. “Eleanor, I don’t want to talk about it. Is that okay?”
“We can postpone it, but we’re going to have to talk about it sooner or later,” I said. I’d give her a little time, but the two of us were not done talking about her relationship with Benet.
I had a feeling that Cindy had lied to me before about it.
It might not have mattered before the chef had been murdered, but it had become significant now, and I wasn’t about to just drop it.
Chapter 8
“I
can’t believe we pulled it off,” Cindy said in amazement as she surveyed her shop two hours later. The movers had come and gone, the folding chairs were taken away, and we had the Bookmark in good enough shape to open the next day if Cindy wanted to. I wished I could say the same thing about the Slice, but I still hadn’t heard from Chief Hurley. It looked like Maddy and I would be winging it in my kitchen tonight, making pizzas the old-fashioned way in my portable pizza oven. I didn’t mind, though. Somehow it was a fitting way to remember my late husband. Joe and I had tried out a dozen different recipes for dough and sauce in that kitchen before we’d opened the Slice, so in a way, it might be a nice way of revisiting my roots and how the pizza parlor had come to be.
can’t believe we pulled it off,” Cindy said in amazement as she surveyed her shop two hours later. The movers had come and gone, the folding chairs were taken away, and we had the Bookmark in good enough shape to open the next day if Cindy wanted to. I wished I could say the same thing about the Slice, but I still hadn’t heard from Chief Hurley. It looked like Maddy and I would be winging it in my kitchen tonight, making pizzas the old-fashioned way in my portable pizza oven. I didn’t mind, though. Somehow it was a fitting way to remember my late husband. Joe and I had tried out a dozen different recipes for dough and sauce in that kitchen before we’d opened the Slice, so in a way, it might be a nice way of revisiting my roots and how the pizza parlor had come to be.
“I can’t thank the two of you enough for everything that you’ve done for me,” Cindy said. “You continually keep saving me.”
“We’ve been glad to help. After all, what are friends for?” I asked. Maddy and I had earned some real credit with her, and I planned on using every bit of it soon to speak to her again about Benet.
As Maddy and I started to leave the bookstore, I looked at the clock near the door. Once we were outside, I said, “We need to get home so we can start on the dough,” I said.
Maddy must have seen the clock, too. “We’re kind of pushing it, aren’t we?”
I nodded. “We’ve been known to do that in the past, though, haven’t we? We’ll make accelerated dough and modify our sauce. It might not be perfect, or even up to the Slice’s standards, but it will be good. I can guarantee that.”
“I’ll say this for you, Sis. I like your confidence,” Maddy said.
“Don’t forget, this won’t be my first time making pizza at home,” I said. “Joe and I tried our recipes there first.”
“This won’t be too sad for you then, will it?” Maddy asked softly as we walked down to the grocery store. My sister struck most people as brash and more than a bit flippant, but I knew deep down that she had a heart as big as the great outdoors.
“I thought about that for a second, but in a way, it’s going to be perfect.”
“Something’s changed about you, Eleanor,” Maddy said as she took me in.
“These are new jeans,” I admitted, “and I got a haircut last week.”
“I’m talking about the inside, not outside.” She hesitated, and then said, “You’re finally healing, aren’t you?”
I nodded, having come to that very same conclusion myself earlier. “I admit that David’s helped some, but I’ve finally come to realize that Joe wouldn’t want me to stay broken for the rest of my life. I’ll never forget him, but it’s time that I started making a real life for myself. Maybe I’m finally getting some perspective.”
“Well, whatever it is, I approve,” she said.
“I’m glad. Now let’s shop.”
“Well, it’s not clothes, but it still might be fun,” Maddy said.
Maddy and I had fun buying what we needed, and then we got into my Subaru and headed to my place. It was a Craftsman-style Arts and Crafts home that Joe and I had remodeled ourselves, with lots of nice homey touches. My place was the perfect house to call home, and I was glad about it again every time I walked in the front door.
As I pulled the last pizza out of the portable oven, Maddy glanced at the clock and said, “If we’re lucky and don’t hit any red lights, we just might make it after all.”
“I never had any doubts,” I said.
“Boy, I must have had enough for both of us, then,” she answered as I slid the last small pizza onto the cooling rack with the pizza peel.
“Too bad we didn’t have time to make one for ourselves,” she said as she stared at the pizzas we’d already made. The pizzas were smaller than I usually made, but the oven would only hold a medium-size crust, so I’d had to plan accordingly.
“Hey, you said you liked the way I made your peanut butter and jelly sandwich,” I protested with a smile. We’d eaten them while the pizzas had been taking their turns in the oven.
“It was good,” Maddy acknowledged, “but it was no pizza.”
“As soon as we get back into the Slice, I’ll make you something special,” I said, looking around for something to carry the food in.
Maddy must have read my mind. “Eleanor, how are we going to get these pizzas to the hotel? We can’t exactly carry them in like this.”
I suddenly remembered the boxes Joe and I had tested out before we’d placed our first order for the to-go boxes we used now. I looked in the back of the pantry, and sure enough, three unused boxes were still there, along with a worn-out insulation bag that had seen better days. It was all buried under a pile of dishcloths that had gotten too worn for the restaurant. I’d been meaning to clean out the pantry for ages, but now I was glad that I hadn’t.
“How about this?” I asked as I opened the box and showed it to Maddy.
That’s when I saw the letter inside.
“What’s that?” Maddy asked as she reached for it.
“I have no idea,” I said as I pulled it out myself, “but it’s addressed to me, and it’s in Joe’s handwriting.”
The pizzas now forgotten, I pulled out the envelope and started to read a handwritten note I never thought I’d ever see again.
Ellie,
I just wanted to tell you how very much I love you. I know I’m not the most romantic guy in the world, but having you in my life has made it complete. If I die tomorrow, it will be as a happy man. I’ve built a business, rebuilt a house, and even changed my life, and I couldn’t have done any of it without you beside me.
If I don’t tell you enough, please know in my heart that I’m thinking it all of the time nonetheless.
Joe
I started crying from the first word, and as I looked up at Maddy, I saw that she was worried about me. I handed it to her, and when she looked to see if I was certain about letting her read it, I nodded my acceptance.
By the time she finished it, she was crying, too.
“He really was something, wasn’t he?” Maddy said.
“The find of a lifetime,” I answered. “I must have put this in the box when he gave it to me, and then promptly forgot all about it.” I took the note back from her, caressing the paper, touching each written word as if it still had a connection with my late husband.
“Do you want me to take the pizzas myself? If you want me to, I completely understand,” Maddy said.
I gently folded the note back up, treating it like the precious thing that it was, and then gently slid it back into the envelope. “Thanks, but we need to do this.” I wiped the last of my tears away, and then put the letter on the counter where I’d never forget it again.
It was clear from the look in her eyes that Maddy still wasn’t sure, but I was certain.
I would have that letter from my husband forever to cherish, reread, and memorize from that moment on.
But at least for right now, I had to put that on hold.
Maddy and I had a killer to catch.
After we drove the fifteen minutes to Mountain Lake, we got Patrice’s room number at the front desk and knocked on the door.
No one answered. Was she sleeping? Sedated? Or even gone?
Maddy knocked again, louder this time, and Jessie answered the door.
“Hey, look at you. We’d just about given up on you, but here you are,” she said, slurring her words a little as she did.
Maddy and I had been watching the dashboard clock the whole time over, so I knew that we’d made it with at least a minute to spare. “We’re right on time, and don’t forget, free delivery is included, too,” I said, smiling.
“Do you mean that people usually have to pay extra for delivery?” she asked, clearly confused.
“No, like I said, it’s included,” I said, and then got tired of standing out in the hallway. I’d tried to be a little funny, but it was clear that I’d failed. “May we come in?”
“Sure thing,” she said as she stepped aside. It was a spacious suite, and I could see why Oliver had chosen it. I could imagine that it must have fit Benet’s personality better than where he’d ended up staying, but the commute to Timber Ridge had probably been too far for him.
In the living room, I saw the reason for Jessie’s intoxicated behavior. On the table between the sofa and two chairs was a collection of liquor bottles, not a single one unopened. Patrice had a bit of a glazed look on her face, and Oliver sat there nodding and smiling, but making no real sounds at all.
“Pizza’s here,” I announced as Maddy moved some bottles around to make room for the boxes.
“Join us,” Patrice said, shaking her head as though she was trying to get the cobwebs out of her brain.
I knew there wouldn’t be enough for all of us, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to talk to these people when their tongues were a little loose.
“Thanks so much for your kind offer. I don’t mind if we do,” I said.
Maddy looked at me curiously, since we both knew that we hadn’t brought enough pizza for all five of us, but my sister played along. As she plated up a piece for each of them on the tough paper plates we’d brought with us, she took one slice and cut it in half, dividing it between us. It would give us something to nibble on to look sociable, but not detract much from their pizza or our conversation.
“Have a drink,” Jessie insisted after we were all settled down. “Goodness knows that we have.”
“Thanks,” I said, trying to decline as politely as I could, “but we’ve got to do some driving after this.”
“Just a little one, then,” Patrice said. “I insist.”
“You’ve convinced us,” Maddy said. “I’ll take care of them myself.”
I wasn’t sure what she had in mind, and then I saw a large bottle of Coke on the table behind one couch. She filled two cups with soda, and then grabbed a bottle of bourbon. I tried to warn her off before she poured some into our cups, and then she showed me that she’d planted her thumb over the opening. To the rest of them, it must have appeared as though we were getting a healthy dose of booze, when in fact our sodas were still pristine.
I was glad that Maddy knew as well as I did that we both had to be at the top of our game right now.
I took a sip after she handed me my cup. “Um, that’s good.”
“Only the best,” Jessie said. She tried to stand, but must have realized that she’d never make it. Instead, she lifted one of the hotel glasses and said, “I’d like to propose a toast, to Antonio.”
We all lifted our cups and said in unison, “To Antonio,” and then we drank.
I moved over to Patrice, and asked carefully, “How are you holding up?”
“I still can’t believe he’s gone,” she said. “He wasn’t the best husband in the world, and I knew he had at least one woman on the side most of the time that we were married, but in his own way, he loved me. I know it with all my heart.”
Jessie came over and put a hand on Patrice’s shoulder. “I keep telling you, he was faithful to you.”
“As far as you know,” Patrice said, puckering her lips slightly.
Oliver was still silent as he sat there eating pizza, and it was pretty clear he had no interest in joining the conversation. We’d see about that later, but at the moment, Patrice and Jessie were willing to talk, and I was going to take advantage of it.
“I knew when I married him that he wasn’t the kind of man who’d ever be satisfied with just one woman,” Patrice said. “What a shame.”
She started nodding off then, and Jessie said, “You are clearly exhausted. Let’s get you into bed. You’ll feel better in the morning.”
“I don’t think that I’ll feel better ever again,” Patrice said, though she let herself be led away.
Jessie hesitated, turned to us at the door and said, “I’ll be back in a second.”
That left Oliver in the room, and Maddy decided to finally take a shot at him. “Did you ever figure out why Benet wanted to come here in the first place?” my sister asked him.
“I didn’t have to figure it out,” Oliver said, and then smiled broadly. “I knew,” he added, tapping his temple with an index finger. I imagined he was just as drunk as the other three, but I never would have been able to tell it from his voice.
“Would you mind telling us?” Maddy asked, acting as though it were the most important thing in the world he could say.
“It was for some important business,” Oliver said. “Very important business.”
“About his television show?” Maddy prompted when it was clear that he wasn’t going to explain any further.
“Not television. Family business,” Oliver elaborated.
This was a potential blockbuster. “Did Chef Benet have family in Timber Ridge?” I asked, forgetting for a second that I’d decided to let Maddy question him.
“He sure did,” Oliver said, just as Patrice’s door opened and Jessie came out. “He didn’t want to tell me, but I found out.” Oliver nodded his head slightly, and then turned toward the television producer as she spoke, effectively killing our conversation.
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