A Pizza To Die For - A Pizza To Die For Part 31
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A Pizza To Die For Part 31

"I'm surprised to see you here," she said. Gina was dressed in a peasant outfit with her cleavage exaggerated outward, and so much of her left thigh showing that she had to be chilled to the bone in the brisk October breeze. It was absolutely not a kid-friendly outfit, but most of the men around us didn't seem to mind.

"I didn't think you were opening up until this evening," I said.

"Midnight, as a matter of fact. Dramatic, isn't it?" She waved a hand in the air. "This is a dry run. We're offering some excellent deals to get the word out, and then we're going to close from four until we open again at midnight. I'm sending everyone home to rest. We're going to have a busy night."

"Good for you. We thought we'd come by and show our support," I said.

Maddy snorted beside me, but if Gina heard her, she chose to ignore it. "How sweet of you."

I pretended to look around. "Where's Nancy Thorpe? I haven't seen her all day."

Maddy took the bait. "Eleanor, we saw her leave town this morning, remember?"

Gina's face clouded up. "That woman is delusional. Did she tell you that I tried to kill her?"

"It came up," I said.

"Well, she tripped over those boat shoes of hers and I tried to grab her shoulder before she fell. The idiot pulled away from me, and she nearly took a tumble. It was just three steps."

"How did Nathan react?"

Gina looked angry enough to spit. "He took her side, of course, until she started babbling about making the pregnancy up to trick him. He changed his attitude after that, believe me."

"Then I guess she and her phantom baby are out of the will," I said.

Gina looked smug as she admitted, "Uncle Nathan's making the final revisions to his will even as we speak," she said. "He's planning on signing it either tonight or tomorrow."

"Leaving it all to you? You must be so pleased."

"I don't know what he's doing, but I'm happy that fraud was exposed for what she really was."

An elegantly dressed man in a tuxedo called out to Gina, who held up one hand. "I'll be there in a second." She turned to us and added, "Sorry, but duty calls. It's amazing how many people in Timber Ridge love pizza, isn't it?"

Maddy started to say something nasty in reply-I could see it in her eyes-so I grabbed her arm and squeezed it. She got the signal, so I said, "Good luck."

Gina pointed at the customers still waiting to get in as she said, "It's sweet of you to say that, but clearly luck isn't a factor at all."

As she turned away, Maddy started after her, and I was glad that I'd kept a grip on her arm.

"She's not worth it," I said.

"I don't know. You could be wrong about that."

"Maybe, but it's too late now. Gina's already gone."

"Fine, you can let go of me now. Is there any place in particular you'd like to go for lunch?"

"I've got an idea," I said. "I've suddenly lost my taste for crowds. Why don't we go back to the Slice, make something with way too many calories, and shut the rest of the world out?"

"That's the best idea you've had in weeks," Maddy answered.

It was just too bad that's not how it ended up working out.

When we got back to the pizzeria, someone was waiting for us there. "Art, we were just about to have a quiet lunch. Would you care to join us?" I hadn't even glanced at Maddy for her permission to make the invitation. She'd been holding Art in contempt for too long, and I had a feeling if she took the chance to know him, she might get to like him as much as I did.

"I'm sorry to say that I don't have time for that at the moment. Eleanor, I'm afraid there's something we need to discuss," he said.

"I'll go inside and get started on our pizza," Maddy said.

"This involves you as well," Art said. "You should hear it, too."

"Whatever it is, Eleanor can handle it." She disappeared inside before I had a chance to say anything else.

I turned to Art and said, "I'm sorry. I don't know what's gotten into her."

"That doesn't matter," he said. "You need to come with me."

"Why? Did something happen?"

"I had someone who owes me a favor watch your pizzeria," he said.

"Without telling me? Seriously? What happened to our trust?"

"I did it for you," he said patiently. "And you should be glad that I did. He caught someone trying to break in the minute you left." I felt a chill of ice run through me as he said it.

"Who was it?"

"It's the gentleman we discussed earlier, Jack Hanks. He's being detained in my car, and I thought you might like the opportunity to speak with him."

I could barely contain myself as I said, "Let me at him."

When we got to Art's car, his driver opened the door instantly. I slid inside, and Art joined us. Jack Hanks sat there sullenly against the opposite door, and he barely glanced my way as the door shut behind us.

"Explain yourself," Art said softly.

Jack looked as though he'd been slapped.

"I was looking for something to steal," he said.

"From me?" I asked. "I don't have anything of value to you."

"You have a cash register, don't you? I'm betting you don't lock your money up between your lunch and dinner shifts. Am I right?"

Art coughed lightly, and the man came instantly back in line. "Sorry," Jack said, obviously reined in.

"I never thought about it before," I admitted. I promised myself that I'd change that habit immediately. I couldn't afford to lose a day's lunch receipts, especially with Italia's off to such a good start.

"Why me, though? I'm not in your usual hunting ground, am I?"

When Jack didn't respond, Art tapped him lightly on the knee. It was as though the touch was charged with high voltage. "Okay, there was more to it than that. You were making life unhappy for my friend."

"Which friend is that, Gina or Lacy?"

"Trust me, Gina's no friend of mine," he said sullenly.

"I thought you two were dating," I said.

"Off and on, but she wanted more expensive things than I could give her, and her nagging was driving me nuts, so I broke it off with her."

Somehow I doubted his spin on their breakup, but that didn't concern me at the moment. "So, that's when you took up with Lacy."

"It wasn't like that," he said. "We've been friends since grade school. We watched out for each other when nobody else would."

I nodded. He was there to defend a friend's honor, a worthy duty that had been performed badly. "So you decided to make me pay for my meddling. Did you call me in the middle of the night?"

He nodded. "For all the good it did me. You wouldn't give up, so I thought I'd teach you a lesson the hard way."

I couldn't believe how cooperative he was being, so I decided to ask him the most important question of all. If I could confirm Lacy's story in front of Art Young, I knew that he had to be telling the truth. The consequences of being caught lying were clearly too much for the man to take. "Where were you the night of Judson's murder?"

"I was in Charlotte clubbing with Lacy after her doctor's appointment, and that's the truth."

I turned to Art. "Can that be confirmed?"

"It already has. They were both where they said they were."

I nodded. "It's fine, then."

"Is there anything else you'd like to ask him?" Art asked.

I was suddenly sick of the man's presence. "No, I'm finished with him."

Art nodded. "Very good. Why don't you go back to the Slice and join your sister for lunch?"

I didn't like the tone of his voice. "What's going to happen to him?" I asked as I gestured to Jack Hanks.

Art laughed softly, but there wasn't an ounce of humor in it. "You don't have to worry about him. He'll never bother either of you again after he's shown the error of his ways."

I couldn't allow that to happen, no matter how I felt about this creep. "Please, I don't want him hurt, not on my account."

Art shook his head. "Eleanor, you do realize that he tried to rob you less than an hour ago, don't you?"

"I'm asking as a favor to me."

Art nodded, though it was clear it was a reluctant agreement. He turned to Jack Hanks and said, "You may go, but remember this. You owe this woman a great favor, and the best way you can repay it is to forget you ever met her. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," he said quickly.

"Then go."

He left so quickly I thought the door's hinges were going to snap off as it bolted open.

After Jack was gone, Art said, "I'm not sure compassion was the right instinct to have just then."

"Sorry, but it's all I've got. Thanks for looking out for me."

"It was no trouble at all," he said.

"Now, I would like to repeat my invitation. Would you like to have lunch with Maddy and me? Your driver can come, too, and we can make it a party."

"Thank you, but we have obligations elsewhere. Enjoy Halloween. By the way, I like your costume."

In all honesty, I'd forgotten that I was wearing it. "Thanks. Bye. And Happy Halloween to you, too."

I got out of the car, and it quickly drove away. I wouldn't have trusted Jack Hanks to tell me the truth without Art's presence, but I felt pretty good about what I'd been told. I sincerely doubted that he'd dare lie to my friend, and that meant that I could strike two more names off my suspect list. I wondered if Chief Hurley was doing any better than that, but I had to doubt it. It wasn't entirely his fault, though. I wasn't bound by any rules or regulations regarding my conduct. He didn't have the resources I had at my disposal. True, he had computers, databases, and experts at his fingertips, but I had something just as vital, sources I could tap that he could never touch.

In all honesty, I didn't care who caught the killer, as long as one of us did before they could ever strike again.

Chapter 18.

"There's somebody here to see you," Maddy said as I worked at forming the last of the spooky little ghost pizzas for later that night. We were just about to officially close for the evening so I could finish making the treats we'd be selling at the dance. They'd stay warm in the sleeves we had for delivering pizza, and that way I wouldn't be tied up in the kitchen all night and miss out on all the fun.

I wiped my hands on my apron. "That sounds great. Why don't you send him back?"

"What makes you think it's a man?" she asked.

"I'm just guessing," I said. "At least there's a fiftyfifty chance that I'm right."

Maddy grinned at me, enjoying torturing me a little when the opportunity presented itself. "Sorry, you chose the wrong half. It's Karen Green."

"Tell her to come on back," I said.

Maddy looked surprised. "Really? Into your kitchen? Are you sure? I didn't think you liked anyone back here but friends and family."

"It's Halloween. Let's live a little."

"Okay, I'll ask her."

A minute later the door opened again, and Karen stuck her head in. She was dressed in some kind of long burgundy robe, with a flickering light coming out of her tall hat.

"Come on in," I said as I formed another ghost. "I won't bite."

"If you're sure it's okay," she said as she took a few tentative steps in.