A Pizza To Die For - A Pizza To Die For Part 17
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A Pizza To Die For Part 17

"That might not be what this is. We've been digging into a lot of people's lives, only one who is likely a killer. But that doesn't mean other folks don't have secrets of their own to hide."

She had a point, I knew that, but I wasn't about to embrace it. "I refuse to accept that," I said. "I'm looking at this as good news."

"Wow, then I'd hate to hear what thrills you. Eleanor, should we call someone about this and tell them what happened?"

I thought about it, and then answered, "In this day of disposable cell phones, I doubt anyone would be stupid enough to call us from their home phone. If we tell Kevin Hurley, then we have to admit that we've been digging into Judson Sizemore's murder, and that's a conversation I don't want to have. If we tell Bob, he'll just worry about us, and it won't do any good."

"Then we keep this to ourselves, at least for now," Maddy said.

"And we keep digging," I added.

"See you in a few hours," she said.

"If you can get back to sleep."

"Trust me, I'll be out before you're off the line."

I doubted I'd be that lucky, but I had to try. I couldn't face the day without at least making some kind of attempt to get more rest. To my surprise, I was able to nod off again without too much trouble. Whoever had called us had been threatening enough, but they didn't know my sister or me. We don't scare easily, even when it makes perfect sense for us to be terrified.

All it was going to do was intensify our search for Judson Sizemore's murderer.

"We need to talk and clear a few things up," Lacy White said to Maddy and me the next morning as she barged into the pizzeria. We'd just opened for business, so at least we didn't have any customers yet, but I knew that could change at any moment.

"What's on your mind?" I asked as Maddy started inching toward the baseball bat we kept at the register for protection. It wasn't that we didn't believe in guns-I had some of Joe's locked up safely in a gun cabinet at home-but we didn't want any on the premises.

I was hoping that my sister's actions would go unnoticed, but Lacy didn't miss Maddy's movement. "Where exactly are you going? If you have a gun behind the register, you're not going to need it. I'm here to straighten some things out, not start any trouble."

Maddy looked at me for input on what she should do, and I nodded slightly to her that it would be okay to wait and see what Lacy had to say. Maddy and I had developed a way of communicating that felt as though we were psychic at times.

She stopped in her tracks, and I asked, "Why the sudden change of heart, Lacy? Yesterday you weren't inclined to give me the time of day, let alone talk openly with me about what I wanted to know."

"Let's just say I found out who your special friend is, and found out it would be in my best interest to cooperate," she said. It was clear that she wasn't all that happy about speaking with us, but she was there; that's all that mattered.

"So talk," Maddy said.

"Judson and I were in the process of patching things up when he was murdered. I slipped once, he found out, and I begged him for forgiveness. He agreed to see me again, and before we could work it all out, someone killed him. Believe me, I want to catch the murderer just as much as you do."

I wanted to believe her, but she didn't make it easy. If Lacy was telling the truth, she was doing a truly unconvincing job of it. "Who did you sleep with?"

She looked at me as though I'd just slapped her. "Is that really something that you need to know? It wasn't my finest hour."

"It wasn't Jack, was it?" It was a total guess, but I'd said it mainly to gauge her reaction to hearing the man's name.

It was a shot in the dark, but it looked to hit home. "How did you find out about Jack?"

"We hear lots of things," I said. "Was it him?"

"We're just friends," Lacy said. It wasn't exactly a denial, but I doubted she'd answer my question honestly, so I let it drop.

There was something else I wanted to pursue, so I said, "Funny, we never heard that you and Judson were reconciling."

"We wanted to keep it under wraps until the Halloween Blowout," she said. "Judson thought it would be sweet if we went to the festival here as Romeo and Juliet. I already rented our costumes. They're sitting on my bed, but we'll never get to wear them now."

"They both died, you know," Maddy said softly.

"Nothing's going to happen to me," she said. "Listen, I've told you both everything I know. Is that all?"

"Not quite," I said. "There's just one more thing. Where were you really at the time of the murder?"

"Jack and I were in Charlotte that night, but it's not what you think."

Maddy stared at her and asked, "How do you presume to know what either one of us is thinking?"

"I just meant that we're friends, and that's it. We've never been anything more, no matter what your sources told you."

"What were you doing together in Charlotte, then?" I asked.

I could tell she wanted to tell me to go to the devil, but Art's influence must have been reaching out to her. "I had a doctor's appointment late that day, and Jack was nice enough to drive me. Judson volunteered, but with the pizzeria about to open, I knew he couldn't spare the time, so I insisted he stay right where he was. Jack and I decided to go to a club while we were in town, and we didn't get back until nearly dawn the next day."

"So, by the time you got back into town, he was already dead," Maddy said.

I didn't expect Lacy's tears, but that's what we got. "Don't you think I realize that? If Judson had taken me himself like he'd wanted to, he'd still be alive today."

"I don't know how you could possibly assume that," I said. "If it's your time to go, I believe that there's nothing you can do about it."

"Do you really think that's true?" she asked, and I could swear I saw a hint of relief in her eyes as she asked it.

Maddy answered for me. "She does. I don't."

That brought her back to reality. "Are we finished here?" Lacy asked me as our first customer of the day came in.

"I don't have anything else for you right now," I said, clearly hedging my bets.

"Then do me a favor," Lacy said. "Call your 'friend' and tell him I'm cooperating, will you?" There was almost a pleading quality to her voice now.

"Has someone threatened you?" I asked. I hated the thought of that being done on my behalf, even to Lacy.

"No, there were no threats, just some advice that I should cooperate with you. I have, haven't I?"

"So far, you've done just fine."

"Then you'll call?" she asked.

"Right now," I replied, and she was gone.

In another instant, Lacy was finally out of sight, so I said, "Hang on a second. I'll be right back."

"You're not going anywhere without me," Maddy said.

"We have a customer, remember?"

"She can wait," Maddy answered.

"Stay."

My sister did as I asked, much to my surprise.

I went out in time to see Lacy getting into a car parked on the promenade's parking strip. There was a scruffy-looking young man waiting for her, and as they drove away, I knew that it was the same man I'd seen waiting outside Carole's the day before.

Chapter 10.

"Was she alone?" my sister asked me as I walked back into the Slice.

I smiled. "Not a chance. It appears that her friend Jack doesn't trust her out of his sight. I've got a feeling that you were right, by the way."

"I just love hearing you say that. Just so I'll know, about what, in particular?"

"It's the same man I saw in front of Carole's keeping an eye on Lacy. Chastain's not that big. He's got to be the same man Gina's been involved with."

"It just makes sense." Maddy shook her head. "I can't believe you let her off the hook like that. You really had her squirming for a second there. That girl was afraid, there's no doubt about it."

"I was under the impression that you don't approve of my friendship with Art Young. Doesn't it strike you as odd that you're willing to use his influence anyway if it helps us with our investigation?"

Maddy laughed softly. "What can I say, I'm a mess of contradictions. I'm just saying, she would have told you anything just then."

"We can discuss that later. Right now, we have a customer," I said as I pointed to the older woman sitting alone squinting at the menu.

"She's still deciding, but I get it," Maddy said as she took the hint and approached the woman while I went into the kitchen.

I'd purposely done it so I could be alone. The second I was back in my familiar turf, I grabbed the phone and dialed Art Young's private number. He picked up on the first ring.

"Eleanor, what a pleasure."

I let it rip. "Did you say something to Lacy White about me?"

Art paused, and then said, "I'm fine, thank you for asking. And you?"

I took a deep breath before I trusted myself to speak again. I knew Art indulged me in my temper, but I had no reason to believe that he would keep letting my abruptness with him pass indefinitely. "Sorry, I'm a little flustered at the moment. I hope you are well. I just had a conversation with Lacy, and she was a completely different woman. She asked me to call you and tell you that she is cooperating."

I couldn't believe it, but he actually sounded shocked as he said, "She called me by name?"

I thought back to our conversation. "No, not exactly. She kept referring to you as my friend, so I just figured that it had to be you."

"And we are friends, correct?"

"That's true," I said. "I just don't want anyone threatening anyone else on my behalf. Do you understand?"

His voice was so soft I almost missed the next thing he said. "Eleanor, we both need to be careful about what we say next."

I was jumping to conclusions and blowing things out of proportion like an idiot, and it had to stop right now before I damaged a friendship I really did enjoy having.

In a much more contrite voice, I said, "You're absolutely right, Art. I sincerely apologize."

His tone much smoother now, Art said, "It's gladly accepted. Think nothing else of it." After a moment's pause, he added in a softer voice, "However, you might not be entirely wrong. There's a chance that my instructions may have been misinterpreted. I asked an associate to pass a message along to Ms. White that it would be nice if she were helpful to you. I meant no inferences to be taken by it, and I implied no ramifications if she refused her assistance."

"I understand how communications can get muddled sometimes," I said, not realizing that I was beginning to model my speech after his. "I just wanted to clear this up before it had a chance of escalating."

"It's good that you called, then," he said. "Now, if there's nothing else that's immediate, I must go."

"Of course. Thank you again for your help. I truly do appreciate it. Are we good?"

"We're excellent. Goodbye, Eleanor."

After I hung up, I started to wonder if I'd done the right thing calling Art on how he'd treated Lacy. She wasn't a favorite of mine, but she didn't merit threats, either. Then again, I was certain that if I came anywhere close to having that same kind of conversation with Art Young again, the outcome would not be to my satisfaction.

Perhaps I should have told him about the telephone calls Maddy and I had received early this morning, but I knew in an instant that I'd made the right decision to keep it to myself. Putting my friend with shady contacts in charge of what amounted to a police investigation was so funny that I couldn't keep myself from laughing out loud.

Maddy chose that moment to come into the kitchen with her order. "What's so funny? Tell me and we'll both laugh about it," she said as she looked around the otherwise empty kitchen.

"I just had a thought," I said.

"Well, if you get another one, call me. I'd hate to miss it, since they come along so infrequently."

Maddy accepted my whimsy like no one else in the world did. I pointed to the pad in her hand and asked, "Is that order for me to make, or would you like to take a swing at it yourself?"

She shoved the pad toward me so fast it might have been radioactive. "No thank you. What did he have to say?"

"What are you talking about?"

Maddy grinned at me. "Come on, Sis, I know you called Art Young the second you walked in here. Tell me I'm wrong."

"You're wrong," I said, fighting to keep a straight face.

"And you're nothing but a big fat liar," she said with a grin.

I made it a point not to play poker with my sister, with good reason. "Okay, you got me. He didn't mean any threats were to be conveyed to anyone, but he may have been misunderstood by an associate."

"Don't you just hate when that happens?" she said.

"Okay, I don't want to hear any guff from you. Let me make this order, and you can go back up front."

"Yes, ma'am. I can tell you in complete honesty that I wouldn't have it any other way."