Maddy asked, "Both of us?"
He shook his head. "No, ma'am. Sorry, but the invitation is for Mrs. Swift alone. My apologies."
Maddy looked as though she'd just gotten a get-out-of-jail-free card. "No offense taken. I've got work to do inside." As she started to unlock the door to the pizzeria with her own key, she said, "Don't be long. Remember, you've got dough to make."
Maddy was inside before we made it to Art's car, and I glanced back to see her face pressed up against the glass, watching my every step. There was no doubt in my mind that my sister's cell phone had the first two digits of 911 already punched in and waiting to be completed.
As the driver opened the door, I looked inside the car to find Art waiting for me.
"This is an odd summons," I said as I looked in.
"Would you join me for a moment?" he asked.
"What's the matter, are you afraid of being seen in public with me now?" I asked him. "You're not still upset with me, are you?"
He shook his head. "You know better than that, Eleanor. It is your reputation that I'm concerned about."
"It's nice of you to think of me, but don't do that again. I'm not afraid who knows we're friends, so it shouldn't matter to you."
Instead of answering, Art got out of the car and said to his driver, "Wait here. I'll be right back."
The driver looked at me with a hint of disbelief in his expression, though I was certain Art couldn't see it from where he was standing. Or so I thought.
"Save your opinions of my behavior for your own time," he said softly, and I saw the large driver stiffen.
"I'm sorry, sir. No disrespect intended."
"I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it," I said.
Art simply shrugged in my direction, and then turned and stared at the man for a second and a half before dismissing him completely.
We moved to a bench on the promenade that faced a statue dedicated to the doctors who had died saving others from polio, an obelisk that I often admired. After a moment, Art said, "I respect those who behave selflessly, though I doubt I'll ever understand it."
"Given the right circumstances, I'm sure you'd be heroic yourself."
He laughed softly. "Eleanor, you give me too much credit."
"Could it be that you don't give yourself enough?"
He seemed to consider that, and then shook his head. "I'm not here to discuss my character. You're in some difficulty, aren't you?"
"No more than usual," I said, trying to keep my voice light as I said it. I didn't want Art to know just how deeply I'd managed to get myself involved in a murder investigation. Although he was on the opposite side of the law from our chief of police, neither man wanted to see me put myself in harm's way.
"Eleanor, I hope you respect me enough not to lie to me."
I let out a deep breath. If I was going to ask him to treat me as a friend, then I had to return the favor. "Okay, you're right. I apologize. Apparently Maddy and I have ruffled some feathers in our investigation."
"That shouldn't surprise you," Art said. I couldn't believe how dapper the man could look, how professional and businesslike he could act, and yet still be the same person who Bob Lemon-a man who had faced his own share of bad guys in the past-was afraid of.
"It shouldn't, but it always does," I said.
"You were threatened," Art said quietly.
I whirled around and looked at him. "How did you know that?"
"I didn't, but your actions made it a possibility, and you just confirmed it."
"Have you ever thought of being a detective?" I asked him.
His loud laughter caught me off guard. When he was able to compose himself again, he said, "You never cease to entertain me, Eleanor."
"What was so funny about what I said? You have the skills a good detective needs. You're persistent, observant, pay great attention to detail, and are able to make intuitive leaps based on limited information."
"Thank you for your praise, but I believe that particular job opportunity is forever lost to me. Do you have any idea who is threatening you?"
"No," I admitted. "Maddy and I each got telephone calls telling us to butt out, or we'd pay the consequences."
"Were those the caller's exact words?" he asked.
"No. Hang on, let me think about it." I put myself back in time and tried to recall the exact wording of the threat I'd received. It came back so vividly that I felt myself shaking upon hearing that voice in my mind again.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to subject you to that again." He must have seen my reaction, and was feeling remorseful about his question.
"It's fine. You can't help it if you don't know exactly what the person on the other end of the line said." I replayed it once more in my head, and then opened my eyes and repeated, "Keep nosing around where you don't belong and you're going to pay for it. That's it. I'm certain of it."
"Was it a man or a woman?"
"The voice was gravelly and pitched really low, so there's no way I can be sure of anything other than the threat."
He stared at me, and then nodded. "Do you have a guess?"
"Not a clue," I admitted. "If it matters, Maddy didn't know, either."
"Was her threat the same, or was it something similar?"
I didn't have to think about that for a second. "She got the exact same threat that I did. It was as though the caller had read it off a script."
Art frowned, and then looked around for a moment. I knew better than to interrupt him, but after a few seconds, he said, "I'll look into it."
"You don't have to," I said.
"It's what a friend would do," he answered.
Before I could say another word, he left the bench we'd shared to return to his car. I couldn't believe how quickly his driver moved to be sure that Art's door was open by the time he got there. My friend didn't look at his driver, he just slid inside, and the door quickly closed after him. The driver nodded in my direction, and I could swear he said thank you under his breath before getting in and driving off.
Chapter 15.
"What was that all about?" Maddy asked me as I walked back into the Slice.
"Art wants to help us figure out who threatened us over the telephone," I admitted as I started back toward the kitchen. I wanted to make that biscuitlike dough again for the deep dish pizzas, and if I started now, I might have some decent crust by the time we hit our dinner rush.
"You're not serious, are you? Did you actually tell him that someone called us? I thought we were keeping it to ourselves."
I was getting tired of my sister's attitude toward Art Young, especially since he'd been nothing but helpful to us in the past. "I didn't tell him anything; he guessed it from my reaction. This is a good thing, Sis. He thought he might be able to help."
"That's too funny," Maddy said.
"What's that?"
"A man in his line of work acting like a detective," Maddy said. "Come on, Eleanor, you have to see the irony in it."
"I don't agree. He's just a friend doing us a favor," I said. "That's it. Don't read anything into it, Maddy."
"Okay, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything. Goodness knows we can use all the friends we can get."
I smiled at her. "That's the spirit. After I make more dough, we might have a little time to chat about what we saw at Nathan's this afternoon."
"Forget that. I'm not willing to wait that long. We'll discuss it while you work. I can't believe how openly defiant Gina was with Nathan. He looked pretty shocked by her behavior, too."
"I'm not sure why he should have been," I said. "After all, Gina went from being his last living beneficiary to just getting a third."
Maddy nodded as she took a seat on the stool by the counter where I prepped my dough. "It had to be a shock for her to hear it out of the blue like that, and she didn't really have time to prepare herself for it."
"Especially if she really did kill her brother to get his share," I said as I measured out ingredients for the dough. I planned to make another batch tonight and let it sit out overnight to see if I could get the dough to rise any more than I had so far. What I was making at the moment was perfectly fine, but it wasn't good enough for my standards, at least not yet. I hoped with a little tweaking and a lot more practice, I'd be ready to serve three kinds of pizza at the Slice on a regular basis.
"Do you really think she could have killed her own brother for his share of an inheritance they weren't even sure they were ever going to get?" Maddy asked me.
"I'd believe anything from her. She's in debt up to her pretty little eyebrows," I said. "Being desperate makes people do some unimaginable things."
"How about our other suspects?" Maddy asked.
"I wanted to talk to you about that," I said. "I'm having a hard time believing that Nathan could have done it."
"Why do you say that?"
I shrugged. "Look at how far he's willing to support a woman who says she's carrying his nephew's baby. That sounds like an act of love to me."
"When you look at it from another angle, it could just as easily be guilt," Maddy said after a moment's thought.
I considered it, and as I mixed the dough with my hands to get the right consistency, I finally said, "You're right. We have to leave his name on the list."
"Don't forget, we've got Lacy White and Jack Hanks, too."
"I'm not about to forget them, or Nancy Thorpe, either."
"That just leaves Nathan's mystery heir," Maddy said.
"I have a hard time counting whoever that is," I said. "Nathan doesn't even know his cousin's identity, or if the family rumors are even true for that matter. And a lot of people would have to die before this cousin inherits anything, and quickly before Nathan can write another will."
"It's a motive, no matter how slight it might look," she said.
"I'm not disagreeing with you. We'll have to keep it in mind." I had a sudden thought. "Hey, I know who might be able to help us find out who it is."
"Forget it. I can't ask Bob to help us dig this person up," she said. "We're still having a bit of a rough patch, and you shouldn't ask David Quinton, either."
"What on earth made you think I'd ask him?"
She smiled brightly at me. "Come on, we both know there's something there, no matter how much you deny it."
"Who's denying it?" I asked.
Maddy whooped with delight. "That's outstanding, Eleanor. You've got your spunk back."
"I don't know about that," I said, "but I'm planning to enjoy his company as long as he's here."
"That sounds like a good idea," she said. "So, if we're not talking about Bob or David, and Art Young is already doing us a favor, who's left?"
"I'll tell you when we open for dinner. I'm expecting her to come by the Slice this evening."
Maddy looked at me. "You're seriously not going to tell me until then?"
I laughed. "I'm evil, I know."
"I was just going to say that you're getting more like me every day."
"That's just cruel," I said, adding a smile to show her that I was just teasing. I could do worse than emulate my sister and the way she lived her life. Maddy put herself out there every time, and if it meant she was vulnerable, she didn't let that stop her the next time. Granted, she'd never lost someone she loved, but the principle was the same, and it would make me a happier woman if I could manage to apply some of the things I'd seen her do to my own life.
When Greg arrived just before we opened, I sent Maddy to the back to pick up some extra napkins.
"While she's gone, I need to ask you for a favor," I said.
"You don't want me to knock her off, do you?"
"Of course not," I said.
"Then I'm in. What can I do? Do you need someone tailed? Can I teach someone a lesson for you?" he asked as he slapped his fist in his palm. "I can do the rough stuff, too, you know, so don't be afraid to ask."
"You've been watching too many old movies," I said as I laughed out loud. "Just let me know when Karen Green comes in."
"That's it?" he asked, clearly disappointed with his assignment. "That's the only thing I can do?"
"For now, but I may need you to rough someone up later, so don't go far."