A Pizza to Die For (5 page)

“It’s only been a few months,” I said after finishing a bite of my own. “How could that have happened so quickly?”

He waved his fork in the air as he explained. “Try moving to a place where you don’t know a soul, and then get thrown into a job that’s way over your head. It will make you change perspectives in a hurry. It didn’t take me long to realize that I’d grown a little stale here, since we’re both being so brutally honest. Going to a new city was exactly what I needed.” He took another bite, and then added, “If I’m being honest about it, there was only one thing I missed in Timber Ridge.”

I waved a piece of carrot at him. “Nara’s cooking?”

He smiled. “Close, but no.” David put his fork down, and then looked at me. “I’m not trying to scare you, and there’s nothing I want from you, but the only thing I missed was you. I know I drove you away before, and there’s no chance left for us now, but it’s important to me for you to know that the only thing I regret in my life is the way I pursued you.”

I shrugged. “You were earnest, I’ll give you that.”

“I was a golden retriever,” he said with a laugh. “I’m sure it must have driven you crazy the way I followed you around hoping for a bit of your attention.”

“Okay then, it’s my turn to be candid. I was probably more than a little flattered by your interest,” I admitted. It was true. I just wasn’t sure what made me admit it to him. Maybe his rush of honesty was having more impact on me than I realized.

“But you were right to put me off. I can see that now. I fell for you, Eleanor, and when you didn’t respond in kind, I started pushing you harder. I finally figured out that was exactly the wrong thing to do, and I hope you can forgive me.”

“There’s nothing to forgive,” I said after I finished another bite. “It’s like they say, another time, another place, who knows what might have happened.”

“Well, it’s another time right now, and I’m certainly in another place. I know you’re not ready for anything more right now, and I respect that, but if you ever change your mind, I hope you’ll call me.”

“Don’t tell me you’ll be waiting for me,” I said.

He grinned as he shook his head. “I won’t lie to you. If I happen to meet someone else, it will be too bad. But if we’re both free and interested, I’d be a fool not to pursue it. And that’s the end of the sales pitch. I promise.”

“Not so fast,” I said, closing the white clamshell container. “I can’t believe you’d be interested in a long-distance relationship with me, when we couldn’t even manage to get together when we both lived in the same town.”

“Try me. I don’t mind driving, and my schedule’s pretty flexible. It helps having a branch office here, so just give me an excuse, and I’ll be here.” He shook his head as he laughed. “I promised myself I wouldn’t say anything today. I just wanted to enjoy your company, but what can I do? You seem to have that effect on me.” He looked down at my lunch. “Are you finished?”

“I’m stuffed,” I said as I pushed some of the remaining rice around in the box.

“Me, too.” As he gathered up our trash, I couldn’t help noticing again the air of confidence he had about him. This was indeed a changed man, and he was clearly still interested in me, which was a nice stroking for my ego. But Joe was still in my heart, and I wasn’t sure there would ever be room for anyone else there.

If there was, though, I couldn’t imagine anyone better than David to find his way into my heart.

“I’d walk you back,” David said, “but I lost all track of time, and I’m going to be late for a meeting as it is. I’m working seven days a week right now. Thanks for seeing me, Eleanor. It was great fun.”

He leaned in to kiss my cheek, and I caught the hint of aftershave on his neck as he did. I had to admit that I enjoyed his proximity, and wouldn’t have minded one bit if it had gone on a little longer.

As he started for the alley, I said, “If you have a chance, stop in and say goodbye before you go.”

“I will,” David said, and I watched him walk away with a new spring in his gait.

My, my, my, how things could change.

I walked back to the Slice, and found Maddy, Greg, and Josh standing out in front of the pizzeria.

“Our lunch breaks are over,” I said as I glanced at my watch. “What happened, did you forget your key, Maddy?”

“No, it’s right here,” my sister said. “The only thing we’re missing is a single customer to serve.” she gestured to the area of the promenade in front of Italia’s. It was full of dozens and dozens of people, many of whom I recognized as our regular customers. “We can’t really blame them. Everyone wants to see what Italia’s has to offer.”

I’d nearly forgotten about the opening, which was a true indicator of how much I’d been enjoying David Quinton’s company.

“I’ve got an idea. Why don’t we go, too,” I suggested as I reached past Maddy and locked our door.

“Are you serious?” she asked.

“Why not? It couldn’t hurt to scout out the competition, and it’s not like anyone’s going to come to us.”

I started toward the new restaurant, and the other three followed close behind. Maddy caught up with me and asked, “How did it go? Did he take you somewhere elegant?”

“In Timber Ridge? You’re joking, right?”

“Well, someplace nicer than the Slice, anyway.”

“We had a picnic at the shortcut,” I said. “He’d been craving hibachi steak from Nara’s since he moved to Raleigh, so we dined alfresco.”

Maddy frowned. “Eleanor, maybe I was wrong about David. I just don’t understand it.”

“What don’t you get?” I asked.

She shrugged as she admitted, “I thought for sure he’d pull out all the stops on his chance to take you to lunch.”

“The old David would have, but I’ve got to tell you, Maddy, the man’s changed.”

My sister touched my arm lightly, and as I turned to look at her, I found her staring into my eyes. “What are you looking for?”

“To see if you’ve changed, too,” she said.

“No, I hate to disappoint you, but it’s the same old me,” I replied.

“Then why are you grinning like a teenager?”

“I hadn’t realized that I was,” I said, trying to wipe any expression from my face that might be misinterpreted.

“Too late,” she said. “Are you going to see him again?”

“He’s coming by to say goodbye before he leaves,” I admitted.

Maddy deflated. “That’s it? He didn’t try any harder than that to get another date with you?”

I considered not telling her about our conversation, but I knew that she wouldn’t be satisfied until she heard it all. “He told me that if I’m ever willing to date again, he wants to be first in line.”

“That’s the spirit.” My sister frowned at me, and after a moment’s pause, she said, “But I’m willing to bet that you brushed him off.”

“Actually, I left the door wide open,” I said.

“I’m so proud of you,” Maddy said as she stopped us and hugged me.

“There’s not exactly a reason to celebrate,” I said. “There’s a real possibility that day might never come.”

She laughed as she said, “But there’s a chance that it might. That’s all that counts, just knowing that there’s a possibility you might say yes.”

“You are a hopeless romantic, aren’t you?”

“I thought you already knew that,” my sister said as we joined the crowd. “No woman gets married as many times as I have without being one.”

“You’ve got a point.” I looked at my watch. “What time is Italia’s supposed to open?”

A man beside me must have overheard, because he said, “They should have been open thirty minutes ago. I understand wanting to build suspense, but this is ridiculous. I wonder if there’s anyplace else to eat around here.”

“A Slice of Delight is just over there,” Maddy said as she pointed back to our pizzeria.

“Nope, they’re closed. I checked them half an hour ago.”

“Try again in ten minutes,” I said, that being all the time I was going to give Judson Sizemore before I gave up on him.

He shrugged, and I decided to let it go at that. A stage had been set up in front of the new pizzeria, and I saw that I wasn’t the only one growing impatient with the delay. The mayor was whispering with the head of the city council, and they both kept looking back over their shoulders toward the restaurant.

I was about to say something to Maddy when I noticed Kevin Hurley mount the steps to the stage. He went directly to the mayor, whispered something to him, and then left as fast as he’d come.

The mayor immediately took the stage, approached the microphone, and then said, “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m afraid that the grand opening of Italia’s has been delayed indefinitely. I’m sure the owner appreciates your support, but there’s nothing that can be done about it. Enjoy the rest of your day.” With that, he practically sprinted from the stage before a reporter from
Timber Talk
, our local paper, could interview him. I noticed a TV truck from WHKY in Hickory standing by, and a reporter holding a microphone as he conveyed the news to his viewers.

There were some grumbles from the crowd, and as they started breaking up, Maddy shouted, “I’ve got great news, folks. A Slice of Delight is open right now, if anyone’s hungry.”

There were murmurs and nods from the crowd, and several folks started off in our direction.

“Why on earth did you do that?” I asked as I hustled back to unlock the front door and get ready to make pizza.

“Their loss is our gain,” she said with a grin. “Why not take advantage of it?”

I couldn’t argue with her logic. “It looks like we’re going to be busy. Why do you suppose Judson called off the grand opening?”

“Does it matter? We’re getting some free publicity from it, and enough customers to help add to our rainy-day fund—and we both know it’s about to pour.”

I decided to go along with Maddy’s idea, not that I had any real choice. If these folks wanted pizza, it wasn’t up to me to tell them no.

I was making pizzas as fast as I could, with the conveyor belt full, and several more pies waiting to go through. I didn’t even have time to look up when someone came through the kitchen door from the dining room.

“We’re nearly out of dough,” I said, “so I’m going to have to switch to what we’ve got in the freezer.”

“And that’s my problem how, exactly?” Kevin Hurley asked as he came in to the kitchen.

I was in no mood to deal with him at the moment. I had my hands full. “Chief, I’d love to chat, but I’ve got more orders than I know what to do with.”

“Sorry, Eleanor, but this can’t wait.”

I shoved a loose strand of hair out of my face. “Do you want to see me throw a fit, because I’m not far from that right now. I’ve never made so many pizzas so quickly in my life.”

“Yeah, funny how that worked out, isn’t it?”

I stopped and stared at him. “Hang on a second. Are you implying that I had something to do with Italia’s postponing their grand opening? What happened, did Judson lose his pizza man? Or did his wood supply fail to show up?”

“It’s a little more serious than that,” Police Chief Hurley said.

“I can’t imagine that I could find it in me to care,” I said flippantly.

“You should care about this,” he said solemnly.

There was something in his tone of voice that made me stop what I was doing instantly. “What are you trying to tell me, Kevin?”

“The reason Italia’s didn’t open is because someone killed Judson Sizemore inside his pizzeria last night.”

Chapter 4

“W
hat? How did it happen?” I asked as I nearly dropped the pizza I’d just made onto the floor. I hadn’t been a big fan of Judson Sizemore or the arrogant way he’d treated me, but that didn’t mean I wanted to see him dead.

“I’m the one asking the questions, if you don’t mind,” Kevin said.

“Not until you tell me how he died,” I said. “Otherwise, you’re just wasting your breath.”

He seemed to chew that over, and then he admitted, “This isn’t for public knowledge, but he was hit from behind with a piece of firewood he used in that pizza oven of his.”

What a horrible way to go. No matter how I felt about him, I hoped it had at least been quick. “Thank you for trusting me with that. Now, what do you want to know?”

“Let’s cut to the chase. I understand the two of you had some very public arguments over the past few days.”

I couldn’t believe he’d actually put any credence in them. “You don’t believe for one second that I would do anything to him, do you?”

Chief Hurley shrugged. “I’m not in the believing business. I’m just gathering facts right now, Eleanor.” He looked around, and then said calmly, “You’ve got plenty of motive, even you can’t deny that.”

“Just because I wasn’t thrilled about him opening his pizzeria doesn’t mean I’m the one who killed him.”

“You didn’t get along, either.”

I paused long enough to stare at him a moment before I trusted myself to speak again. “If I murdered everyone I ever had an argument with, the body count would be too high to measure.”

The police chief was clearly not buying my argument. “This is different. It could have easily buried this place forever, and we both know it. You had a great deal to lose if Italia’s did well. In fact, some might say your entire life.”

“I don’t agree with that for one second.”

It was his turn to look hard at me. “That’s your right.” Kevin took a deep breath, and then asked, “Eleanor, where were you between the hours of midnight and six
A
.
M
. this morning?”

I shook my head in disbelief. Was this really happening, or was I in some kind of nightmare and couldn’t wake up? I took a deep breath to calm myself before I replied, but it didn’t do any good. This wasn’t the first time the chief of police had implied that I was involved in a murder, and I was getting tired of it. “I was home in bed, and before you even think about asking me if anyone can confirm it, we both know that I was there alone.”

“I figured as much,” he said as he jotted the information into his little notebook. “I wasn’t even going to ask.” There had been times that I would have loved to shred that notebook into confetti, but there was nothing I could do about it at the moment. “I’m surprised you and your sister didn’t have one of your famous movie nights and sleepovers.”

“Even that would have been too convenient for you,” I said. “I doubt you would have believed either one of us if we’d been playing Monopoly with the mayor.”

“There you go, talking about belief again. Eleanor, since you haven’t denied your public disagreement with the deceased, would you care to help me out here and speculate on anyone else who might have wished him harm?”

I could think of three other people, all members of my wait-staff now serving customers in the other room, but I wasn’t about to name any of them. “Sorry, I’m at a loss who might want him dead. I really didn’t know the man at all.”

“It doesn’t matter,” he said as he flipped his notebook shut. “We’ll find them ourselves.”

“Good. When you do, I’ll be waiting right here for an apology.”

With a grin that reminded me so much of the boy I’d dated in high school, Kevin Hurley said, “Then you might be in for a long wait. We’ll talk again later, Eleanor.”

“Believe me when I tell you that I’m not looking forward to it.”

He turned and looked at me one last time and then said, “Now that I believe completely, regardless of what I said before.”

“Can you imagine the nerve of that man?” Maddy asked the second Kevin left the kitchen. “He was back here grilling you, wasn’t he?”

“Of course he was, but we’ll have to talk about it later,” I said as I pulled another pizza off the line, cut it, and shoved it toward her. “We have too many customers in the Slice right now to drop everything and worry about what Kevin Hurley is doing.”

“I know that,” she said, “but there’s no way that we can afford to let him accuse us all of murder.”

“I’m guessing he said something to you, too,” I said as I prepped another dough round. Knuckling the dough into place onto the pan wasn’t as fancy as tossing it in the air, and I doubted anyone would ever classify it as a “show,” but it had to be a faster and more efficient way to make pizzas in a hurry.

“Oh, yes,” she said. As Maddy picked up the waiting pizza, along with its twin, she headed out the door. “This makes things worse than they were before, Eleanor. We’re going to have to come up with a plan.”

I knew what that meant. Maddy and I had meddled into murder investigations in the past, and while it was never my choice, trouble seemed to continue finding me. Still, I wasn’t about to back down from a fight, and I wouldn’t stop digging into Judson’s murder.

Josh came in a minute later for the next load of pizzas.

As he grabbed two and headed back out, I asked, “Is it slowing down any out there?”

“Are you kidding? We’re being overrun.”

“Make an announcement,” I said, making an executive decision. “Tell anyone coming in that we’ve run out of dough, but if they’d like sandwiches, we’d be more than happy to make them.”

“They aren’t going to like that,” Josh said.

“The dough in the refrigerator is gone with this pizza,” I said. “We really don’t have much choice.”

“Use the fresh you made this morning.”

“That was gone quite awhile ago,” I replied. “Tell Maddy to do it if you don’t want to. She’s never been afraid to speak in public.”

“I’ve got it covered, Eleanor. I’ll tell them,” he said.

I slid the last pizza onto the conveyor and started to clean up my prep stations while I waited for sandwich orders. The sauce I made every week was getting low, and if we ran out of that, I wasn’t sure what we’d be serving, since that went on just about everything we made.

Maddy came back to the kitchen for another pickup minutes later. “Smart move. That will clear some of them out.”

“It wasn’t a ploy,” I said. “It happens to be true.”

“Wow, we had a bigger run than I thought.”

“Has the announcement had any effect on the folks waiting?” I hated the idea of losing customers, not that there was anything I could do about it.

“A few of them drifted out,” she said, “but it’s not exactly like we had any tables for them anyway. I think the worst of it is over.”

“Thank goodness. We’re closing in an hour, regardless of who’s still waiting to eat,” I said as I glanced at the clock and I knew some of our dinner patrons would be unhappy with it. I could always make more quick dough given enough time, but I was exhausted, and I was sure the other three were, too.

Maddy looked relieved by the news. “If you weren’t going to pull the plug, Greg and Josh wanted me to come back here to urge you to close soon. We’re beat.”

“Trust me, I’m worn out, too,” I said with a slight smile. “I think we deserve a little break this evening. Do you want to make a sign for the door, or should I?”

“I’ll handle it,” she said as she looked around the kitchen, which was messier than I ever liked to see it. “You’ve got your hands full back here.”

“I was told you were back here,” Bob Lemon said as he walked into the kitchen to join us.

“Sorry, Bob, I can’t talk,” I said.

He ignored me completely. “Madeline, you are not to investigate this man’s murder, and that’s final.”

Maddy hated her given name, and I could see her bristling at its use, not to mention the direct order her boyfriend had just given her. I looked around for something I could use as a shield when she exploded, but my sister surprised me by smiling at him.

It was clear that Bob was puzzled by her reaction as well.

“Did you hear me?” he asked in a halting voice.

Her smile never wavered as she said, “I must not have. It sounded as though you were telling me what to do, and I know you’re more intelligent than that.”

His voice had a deeper pleading quality to it as he said, “The police chief is going to make this case his number one priority. If he finds you interfering with his investigation, you might get into a mess that even I can’t get you out of.”

I was watching his face, and it was clear that he realized he’d made a mistake as the words left his mouth. “What I mean to say is
. . .
”

One look at my sister’s stare was enough to silence him.

After a brief pause, Maddy said to him softly, “You may leave,” her tone calm and even.

“Maddy, I
. . .
”

“Now,” she said, with just the slightest hint of force behind it.

He started to say something else—I could almost see the words forming on his lips—when he decided he’d buried himself deep enough, turned, and left.

“Wow, you’ve got to teach me how to do that sometime,” I said.

“What?”

“Intimidate someone like that,” I replied. “I had chills and a fever from seeing it, and it wasn’t even directed at me.”

“Not now, Eleanor.”

I could tell from her voice that she was in no mood to be jollied out of her anger.

“Got it,” I said.

As Maddy left the kitchen, I started cleaning up between pulling pizzas out of the oven and preparing them for delivery. Bob should have known better, but I could relate to his sentiment. He cared for my sister, maybe he even loved her, but if he wanted to be with her, he was going to have to learn how to deal with her better than he’d been managing lately. It was his problem, though, not mine. I had enough of my own grief and concern without taking anyone else’s on.

Greg came into the kitchen forty-five minutes later and announced, “The last customer just left and the front door’s locked.”

“I thought we were staying open for another fifteen minutes,” I said as I glanced at the wall clock.

“We had a hunch that no one else would want to come in, given the fact that we had already locked the door and put up the CLOSED sign,” he said with a smile. “Would you like some help with the dishes?”

I’d been steadily working on them as the orders had decreased, and I’d been through four sinks of suds so far. “Thanks, but I think I’ve got it under control. How’s the front look?”

“Like a herd of angry llamas stormed through it,” he said. “But we’re getting it in good shape.”

Maddy came back, followed by Josh. “We’re here to help you tackle the back,” she said. My sister looked around the kitchen and whistled. “Wow, I’ve got to hand it to you, Eleanor. You work fast.”

“It pays to keep on it all the time,” I said. “That way, it’s usually not as bad at the end.”

“I can see that. We’ve got the front in pretty good shape.”

“What about the llamas?” I asked.

“What?”

Greg said, “Maybe I exaggerated a little.”

“Maybe. Why don’t you all go on home? Everyone deserves to have an early evening, and I can handle the rest of this myself.”

Greg and Josh were headed for the front door when Maddy said, “I’ll let them out, and then I’m coming back.”

“It’s okay. You can go, too,” I said.

“Why?”

“Don’t you have a date tonight?”

She frowned. “The key word is ‘had,’ not ‘have,’ ” she said.

“Are you sure?”

Maddy bit her lip and then asked, “Eleanor, do I look like I’m kidding?”

I could see that she was in pain, but for the moment, there was nothing I could do about it. “Okay, I’ll gladly take the help, if you’re sure.”

She came back a minute later, smiling. “Man, I didn’t know how fast those two could move when they had incentive.”

“Were they in that big a hurry to get out of here?”

She laughed, a sound I always liked hearing. There was something about a laugh that infected me with a touch of joy myself, and I just couldn’t get enough of it. “They were both afraid you’d change your mind.”

“I’m not that bad to work for, am I?”

“You have your moments,” she said as she took up the drying towel, “but most of the time you’re a wonderful boss.”

As we worked our way through the rest of the dishes, I said, “I still can’t believe Judson is dead.”

“Are you kidding me? After the way he treated us? I can’t believe he lasted as long as he did, if that was his standard of behavior toward people.”

“Nonetheless, it looks bad for us, doesn’t it?” I asked as I handed her another glass to dry.

She nodded. “That’s exactly why we have to ignore what Bob said and dig into this ourselves.”

I thought about that for a few seconds, and then said, “At the risk of having a pot thrown at me, can I say there’s a chance that Bob might be right?”

Maddy looked at me with a serious expression, and then smiled broadly. “Of course he’s right, but we can’t let that stop us, can we? Since when have we been afraid of stepping on Kevin Hurley’s toes? We both have a stake in this, and you know it.”

“So we start digging into Judson Sizemore’s life. What do we really know about him?” I asked.

“Other than the fact that he was a pretentious bore?”

“Maddy,” I said.

“Okay, I’ll get back on track. The only thing we really know is that he was being backed by one of the richest men in Timber Ridge, someone we thought was just about stone broke. That’s as good a place to start as any, as far as I’m concerned.”

“Then we need to talk to Nathan Sizemore.”

As we drove to Nathan’s house on the outskirts of town, I realized that I didn’t really know much about the man other than the reputation he had around town. He was an odd bird, there was no denying that, and I was still trying to accept the fact that he was wealthy beyond my wildest dreams as we headed over to speak with him. I’d only seen his house a few times as a kid, and I hadn’t really thought much about him since then, if I was being honest about it.