CHRISTMAS PIZZA MURDER Read online

  Table of Contents

  Christmas Pizza Murder

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Epilogue

  Christmas

  Pizza

  Murder

  Papa Pacelli’s Pizzeria Series

  Book Twenty

  By

  Patti Benning

  Copyright 2017 Summer Prescott Books

  All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication nor any of the information herein may be quoted from, nor reproduced, in any form, including but not limited to: printing, scanning, photocopying or any other printed, digital, or audio formats, without prior express written consent of the copyright holder.

  **This book is a work of fiction. Any similarities to persons, living or dead, places of business, or situations past or present, is completely unintentional.

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  Christmas Pizza

  Murder

  Papa Pacelli’s Pizzeria Series

  Book Twenty

  Chapter One

  * * *

  Eleanora Pacelli looked out her bedroom window and saw nothing but white. It was two o’clock in the morning, and she was only awake because the power had gone out. The house was unusually silent, and with the snow falling heavily outside, it was almost as if the rest of the world had vanished.

  Winter had hit northern Maine fast and hard. Power outages were to be expected, but were always something of a pain. They could keep warm with the fireplace downstairs, but showering and cooking would be impossible. At least her grandmother, Ann Pacelli, was safely down in Florida. Ellie and her cousin Darlene would be all right, and Bunny could sleep with Ellie on the couch.

  Ellie groaned. Marlowe. She had forgotten about the parrot. The macaw needed warm temperatures. She was probably shivering in her cage right now.

  Pulling her bathrobe tightly around herself, Ellie hurried out of the room, her slippered feet sounding loud in the silent house as she walked down the hall. She reached for the light switch at the top of the stairs automatically, but the stairwell remained dark.

  Annoyed at herself, she returned to her bedroom and grabbed her phone. Bunny was curled up half under the comforter. The little papillon watched as she crossed the room, but made no effort to follow her. Ellie didn't blame her; if she had been able to stay cuddled up under the blankets with her dog, she would have.

  Using her phone’s light, she made her way downstairs and approached Marlowe’s cage. The bird was sitting on her favorite perch, her feathers fluffed up. She made a low, growling sound as Ellie approached.

  “It's just me. I'm sorry about shining a light in your face, but I need to move your cage into the living room. Don't bite me, okay?”

  Thankfully, the macaw’s heavy cage was on wheels. Juggling her phone made it more difficult, but she managed to roll the cage into the living room and situate it in the corner next to the fireplace. The house was getting colder by the minute.

  She propped her phone — her only source of light — against the bricks, then began building a fire. It wasn't long before a cheery blaze was crackling in the hearth. She rose and drew the curtains across the large window on the other side of the room, then went back upstairs to fetch her dog and her blankets. With any luck, the power would be back on by morning.

  Ellie woke up a few hours later with a stiff neck and a sinking sensation as she realized the power was still off. She had spent the night on the couch, getting up once to put more wood on the fire. It was still chilly in the room, but hopefully warm enough to keep Marlowe healthy. The bird was hanging on the bars of her cage, looking lively, and probably enjoying the sleepover.

  She heard a noise from behind her and turned to see her cousin asleep in the armchair, a blanket tucked around her. Darlene must have come down at some point during the night without waking Ellie.

  In a hushed tone, she called Bunny over to her and left the room with the little dog at her heels. It was still snowing, but lightly. The snow in the backyard was taller than the papillon, and Ellie had to put on her boots and kick a path through the snow before her dog would go outside.

  The Pacelli house was right on the border of the state forest. There were about twenty yards of grass before the trees started. The evergreens were covered in snow, their branches drooping toward the ground. It was so silent outside that she could hear the snow falling. Since she already had her boots on, she tromped through the snow around the corner of the house, curious to see whether the road had been plowed yet. It had, which was a relief. Today was the day that her cousin was flying down to Florida to visit Nonna for the holidays — if the flight hadn't been canceled, that was.

  Once she and Bunny went back inside, she began her normal morning routine. She reached for the coffee pot automatically, then stopped, realizing that no power meant no coffee, no running water, and no way to make a warm breakfast.

  Feeling cold, cranky, and sore from her night on the couch, she poured herself a bowl of cereal, foregoing the milk since she didn’t want to open the fridge, and took it into the living room to eat her breakfast in the relative warmth near the fire. Darlene stirred as she sat down.

  “Power still out?” her cousin murmured sleepily.

  “It is,” Ellie said. “I'm hoping it won't be too long until it's back on.”

  “Me too. I wanted to take a shower before flying out. Oh, no, I hope Emily didn't get caught in the storm.” Her cousin sat bolt upright in the chair, all traces of sleepiness gone.

  Ellie had completely forgotten that her cousin’s best friend was supposed to be meeting them at the airport. “I'm sure she's fine. Portland is about an hour south of us. They usually don't get quite as much snow as we do, and they have a pretty active team of snowplows to keep the roads clear.”

  “I'd call her, but my phone is dead. I didn't plug it in before bed, and now, of course, I can't charge it. Can I use yours?”

  “Of course. While you're at it, make sure that your flight hasn't been delayed. I'll go get dressed and get the animals settled, then we’ll leave.”

  After getting dressed and making herself look halfwa
y presentable even though she was unable to take a shower, Ellie felt much better. If the power was going to be off for days instead of hours, she could always bring Marlowe and Bunny over to Russell’s house. Her fiancé lived on the other side of town, and likely hadn't been hit with the same power outage that she had. She would be able to take a shower there, too, and do laundry if she needed to. Having him to turn to made the power outage more of an annoyance, and less of a disaster like it may have been otherwise.

  “The flight’s still on,” Darlene said as she came downstairs. “It's been delayed for an hour since they have to clear the runways, but none of the outgoing flights were canceled, thank goodness. Emily made it to town, and will meet us at the airport.”

  “All right. I'll go see what I can do about shoveling the driveway, and you finish packing. We should leave early in case some of the roads between here and Portland are bad.”

  Three hours later, Ellie pulled into the airport’s drop off lane and helped her cousin take her suitcase out of the trunk. The two women stared at each other for a moment, then, unexpectedly, Darlene leaned forward and pulled Ellie into a hug.

  “Thank you for being there for me,” her cousin said. “I know it was probably a pain for me to come so unexpectedly and stay for so long. It means a lot to me.”

  “I enjoyed having you,” Ellie said. “It was nice to spend some time together. I hope you enjoy your stay with Nonna. When you get back, we’ll figure everything else out. Have a good flight.”

  Ellie waved as her cousin walked away. She saw another woman call out to her, and was relieved that Darlene’s friend had made it on time. The two of them would have a wonderful time in Florida, she was sure of it. And maybe when she got back, Darlene might be ready to start the long process of divorcing herself from her disloyal husband.

  Chapter Two

  * * *

  The drive back up to Kittiport was a beautiful one. Ellie kept to the roads that hugged the coast, and drove through a handful of small towns that were all decorated for the coming holiday. The snow had stopped completely by now, and the main roads had all been plowed. To her right, the ocean was grey and choppy, but the rest of the world was white. If it hadn’t been for the power outage at home, she would have loved the weather. Now, her thoughts were on keeping Marlowe warm, and what she was going to do all day at work. There was no way the bird could come with her, and she couldn’t run home every couple of hours to put more wood on the fire.

  Staying at home all day wasn’t an option either; she had recently hired a temporary employee for the holiday season, and today was her first day of training.

  Ellie pulled into her driveway, still trying to figure out what she was going to do. She shut off her car and walked up to the front door, kicking away the clumps of snow that had fallen from her hurried shoveling that morning. After unlocking the door, she pushed her way inside, glad to be out of the cold. She flicked on the light in the hall, thinking, What am I going to do?

  She blinked, then straightened up and squinted at the overhead light. It was on. The power was back.

  Grinning, Ellie took off her shoes and coat and went into the living room, where Marlowe was busy tearing up one of the toys in her cage.

  “The power’s back on,” Ellie told her. “I guess that solves our problems, huh?”

  The bird ignored her. Ellie chuckled and went back into the hallway. She felt as if the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders. Darlene was gone — not that she had minded having her cousin over, but there was something freeing about having the house to herself again — Nonna would have company for Christmas, and the holiday itself was only a couple of weeks away. She was even looking forward to going in to the pizzeria today, now that she knew that Marlowe and Bunny would be warm enough.

  She still had almost an hour before she had to head in. She fried herself an egg and some bacon, then went upstairs to take a much-needed hot shower. It was amazing how much she took the little things for granted. It made her feel terrible for the people who had lost power for weeks the winter before. Just one morning without electricity had made her cranky and anxious. She hoped that this winter would be milder than the one last year had been. She knew that they would get a lot of snow, but they could do without the ice storms and blizzards. High winds and freezing rain were both recipes for disaster, though the former was a given in any coastal town.

  Feeling much better and more like herself by the time she was done with her shower, she got dressed again and ready for work. On her way out the door, she plugged in the extension cord for the outdoor lights. When she got home that evening, she would be greeted by the soft glow of the Christmas lights hanging around the gutters and on the large pine tree out front.

  Papa Pacelli’s Pizzeria had been done up for the holiday, too. The day after Thanksgiving, she and her employees had put up every decoration in the box. There was a fake tree in the corner, lights on all the windows, and even an electronic Santa Claus on the counter that said “ho, ho, ho” when someone pressed a button.

  Ellie loved the little restaurant. Even though she had only worked there for about eighteen months, the place felt almost like her second home. As she walked inside that morning, she thought once again about how lucky she was. She had a job that she loved, a fiancé that she adored, and couldn't have been happier with her life.

  She began the morning routine of preheating the ovens, turning on the lights in the dining area, and preparing the first pizzas of the day, which would be sold as individual slices for their lunch special.

  She had made hundreds of pizzas since she had first started working at the restaurant. She could've done it with her eyes closed, but didn't find the work boring at all. Even though she followed the same recipe for each pizza that she made, every pizza was unique. There weren't many jobs where she would have been able to bring a smile to people’s faces every single day, and she felt lucky to have found a career that let her make people happy.

  Christmas was a busy time in Kittiport — it was a busy time everywhere. With children off from school, and some of their parents already on their own Christmas break, they had plenty of customers earlier in the day. After the holiday, things would slow down considerably until summer. January and February were the slowest months, and Ellie’s least favorite time of year… most years.

  This coming year, she was getting married. With her wedding in February, she knew that the next two months would be unusually busy. She had her wedding dress and had reserved the community center in town, but beyond that she hadn't made any plans. She hadn't even officially decided who her bridesmaids would be. Her best friend Shannon would be one, of course, and she was planning on asking Joanna as well. Even so, there was a lot left to do. Thinking about it made her feel anxious, so she had been mostly ignoring it for the past few weeks. There was enough to do with the holidays, but after Christmas, she wouldn't have any more excuses.

  She heard a hesitant knock on the door, from the employee entrance. She hurried to put the pizza that she was working on in the oven, then went to open the door. She was surprised to see their newest hire, Mariah, standing outside. Any of the other employees would have just gone straight in.

  “Come on in,” she said. “You don't have to knock. You work here now.” She gave the young woman an encouraging smile.

  She had been hesitant about hiring Mariah, mostly because the young woman had seemed so shy and quiet during the interview, but she had a lot of kitchen experience and had had three references that had given her glowing reviews.

  “Sorry,” Mariah said. “I didn't know if it would be weird to just come in, since this is my first day.”

  “You're one of the team now. Go ahead and hang your coat up, then I'll start showing you the ropes. I'm sure most of it will be pretty familiar to you, of course.”

  She spent the next few hours showing Mariah around the kitchen while Rose, one of the full-time employees, worked the register. Mariah listened intently, and picked
up on how to roll out the pizza crusts and put on the sauce and toppings quickly, so Ellie decided to let her fulfill one of the orders on her own while she took a quick bathroom break.

  When she came back, she peered at the pizza in the oven. “Not bad,” she told Mariah. “You did a great job for your first day.”

  Seeing her new employee’s smile made her heart lift. Despite the power outage that morning, it had been a great day, and she had the feeling that it was just the beginning of a wonderful holiday season.

  Chapter Three

  * * *

  “Well, that's enough of that,” Ellie said, stomping her boots to get the excess snow off. It had snowed again overnight, and she had just finished shoveling the driveway and walkway. It hadn't been fun work, but it was satisfying to look behind her and see the piles of fresh snow that she had moved. There was something fulfilling about caring for her own home, even if she’d rather be inside drinking a hot chocolate.

  It was a relief to get indoors, where the heat was blasting, and Bunny was waiting with her little tail wagging a mile a minute. It was a Saturday, and she normally didn't work on weekends. Mariah had done so well in the kitchen the day before that Ellie had decided to enjoy her day off and let Jacob and Iris handle the next segment of her training; working the register and interacting with the customers.