Exotic Pizza Murder (Papa Pacelli's Pizzeria Series Book 9) Read online

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  EXOTIC 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

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Exotic Pizza

  Murder

  Book Nine

  in

  Papa Pacelli’s

  Pizzeria Series

  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.

  Author’s Note: On the next page, you’ll find out how to access all of my books easily, as well as locate books by best-selling author, Summer Prescott. I’d love to hear your thoughts on my books, the storylines, and anything else that you’d like to comment on – reader feedback is very important to me. Please see the following page for my publisher’s contact information. If you’d like to be on her list of “folks to contact” with updates, release and sales notifications, etc…just shoot her an email and let her know. Thanks for reading!

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  EXOTIC PIZZA

  MURDER

  Book Nine in Papa Pacelli’s Pizzeria Series

  CHAPTER ONE

  * * *

  Eleanora Pacelli set a tray down on one of the metal outdoor tables that had just been delivered. The tray was laden with glasses of fresh lemonade and a plate of brownie bites.

  “Thanks, Ms. Pacelli. You really didn’t have to.”

  “Nonsense, Sam, you and your men have been working so hard.” Ellie grinned. “Besides, I need someone to test out the lemonade. It’s my grandmother’s recipe, and I’d like to begin selling it this summer.”

  “No complaints from us. We’re happy to be guinea pigs.” He gestured the other men over, and they each grabbed a glass.

  While the workers took their break, Ellie looked around the patio. The small iron fence, the beautiful stone floor, and the door in the side of the pizzeria were all brand new. The construction work had started last week, when the spring thaw came early. She loved how the project was turning out. In just a few more days, the outdoor patio would be ready to open. Weather permitting, she might be able to start seating people outside as early as Friday. It was just another step in her dream of turning the pizzeria into a real, family friendly sit-down restaurant. That didn’t mean they would be stopping their pick-up and delivery services, of course.

  Thinking of the new eat-in area made her remember what had been stressing her out so much over the past few days. There was no way around it; she would need to hire a new employee. She had already scheduled a few interviews, one of which was supposed to start in just a few minutes. It wasn’t fair to her four employees to try to stretch them even further than they were already stretched. She knew that she should be excited at the prospect of a new face, but instead the idea just worried her. What if the person she hired turned out to be as bad as Xavier? The previous manager, before she had taken the role, had stolen thousands from her now-deceased grandfather and had almost driven the pizzeria into the ground.

  “The lemonade is great. I’d ask for the recipe, but I’m guessing you won’t give it up that easily.”

  Ellie shook herself and focused on the present. She smiled at Sam. “Family secret,” she said. “But you’re welcome to come and buy a glass whenever you’d like.”

  “I’ll have to bring my kids out to eat here when the patio is finished. And you said you’re going to let people bring dogs?”

  “Yep. They can’t come into the restaurant, but well-behaved dogs will be welcome on the patio.”

  “My kids will love that — we can bring our beagle, Casey.”

  “She’s very welcome. We’re going to have a supply of healthy dog cookies from the bakery in town, so your pup will have something to eat, too.”

  After gathering up the empty glasses, Ellie went back inside, almost running into Jacob, her delivery driver, as she pushed through the door. He jumped back, and she had to put a hand out to steady herself.

  “We’re going to need to do something about that,” she said.

  “I’m sorry, Ms. P.,” he said. “I should have been more careful.”

  “Oh, it’s not your fault, Jacob. I almost ran into Rose the other day. I should have thought to install two doors — one for in and one for out. With customers and employees trying to get through the same door, accidents are bound to happen. I’ll print out a sign warning people to be careful and open the door slowly. Anyway, were you looking for me?”

  “Yes, I was. Clara said she thought she’d seen you come out here. I wanted to talk to you about something kind of important.”

  Ellie frowned. Was Jacob about to quit? She hoped not. He had been working at the pizzeria for longer than she had been there. He was a great employee, and knew all of their regulars by name. He knew the town well enough that he could probably deliver pizzas with his eyes closed.

  “Come into the kitchen with me. I’ll drop this tray off and then we can step out back for a moment and chat.”

  The employee entrance opened into the parking lot at the rear of the building. It wasn’t the most scenic place to talk, but it was the only place where they could get a semblance of privacy.

  “So, what’s going on?” she asked him.

  “I’ve just been thinking about work. I love doing deliveries, but with the new outdoor eating area I know you’re going to need more people working in the kitchen and working as servers. I probably should have brought this up sooner, but I’d love to start working in the restaurant more.”

  Thank goodness, he isn’t quitting, she thought. “I’m sure we can make that work. Do you mind if I ask what changed? Have people not been tipping well?”

  She knew that the tip money paid for most of her driver’s gas and other driving expenses. It was important to her that her employees were being treated fairly, and she was determined to stand by them even if it meant losing a customer or two.

  “Oh, no, the tipping has been fine. It’s just getting to be kind of a lot, you know? Paying for gas and everything. I’m thinking of getting a new car, and I don’t really want to run it into the ground like the one I have now. Plus, I actually really like working in the kitchen.”

  “Of course. Thanks for coming to me, Jacob. Can you keep working delivery until we get someone else hired? I’ll ask you to train them, too, but after that we’ll switch you to a different shift.”

  “Sounds good. Thanks, Ms. P..”

  “Hey, there you are,” Clara said, opening the employee exit and looking out at them. “I was looking for you, Ms. Pacelli. Some guy named Billy is here for an interview.”

  “Perfect timing
, Clara,” she said. “Take him to a booth and bring him a glass of lemonade. I’ll join him in a second.”

  I really need an office, she thought as she went back inside. Maybe that will be my next project. The thought was tempting, but she would have to think about it more later. Right now, she had to focus on hiring a new delivery driver. Someone trustworthy, willing to work, and with a good car. It couldn’t be too hard to find someone like that… could it?

  CHAPTER TWO

  * * *

  The Pacelli house was old and big, which meant there were a lot of small nooks and crannies that needed constant dusting and sweeping. Ellie lived with her grandmother, and though the eighty-five-year-old woman was determined to be as active as possible, she could no longer go up and down the stairs with ease, and tending the lawn was out of the question. That left Ellie with enough housework for two people, on top of her daily responsibilities at the pizzeria.

  “You know, it would be nice to have a weekend where I don’t have a single thing I have to do,” she said to her little black and white papillon, Bunny. She was kneeling on the floor, scrubbing at a spot on the rug where someone had spilled a drink. The dog was watching her, her brown eyes following the rag as it rubbed back and forth.

  “I know I could just put this off, but if I don’t do it, no one will,” Ellie continued. “It’s not like I can relax while there’s work to be done.” It felt good to vent to the dog, even if Bunny couldn’t understand her.

  “Of course, I’d never tell Nonna how overwhelmed I feel sometimes. She does so much as it is.” She gasped and glanced at her watch. The mention of her grandmother had reminded her that she was supposed to pick the woman up from physical therapy at two — and she was already late.

  “Shoot. I’ll have to finish this later. Come on, Bunny, you can ride along.” She stood up and hurried to the foyer with the little dog at her heels. It didn’t take her long to slip on her flats and clip the thin leather leash to her dog’s collar. It was nice to be able to walk out of the house without putting on a coat first. Spring was in the air.

  Ann Pacelli was waiting outside the physical therapist’s office when Ellie pulled up. She had Bunny jump into the back seat, then got out to help the older woman into the passenger seat.

  “Sorry I’m late, Nonna. I was busy cleaning, and it just slipped my mind. I’ve been trying to get everything done so I can have at least a few hours to relax before making dinner.”

  “Oh, it’s alright, dear. It’s so nice outside that I hardly noticed. And you know, you don’t have to finish everything on your list today. It can wait. Or maybe I can do some of it —”

  “I wouldn’t ask you to do that,” Ellie said. “You should be taking it easy. The last thing you need is to have another fall. You got lucky last time; you just broke your arm. It could have been a lot worse. At your age, a broken hip is a real concern.”

  “I know, I know. I just spent an hour with a doctor telling me the same thing. At least you don’t make me do gymnastics in the pools while you tell me to take it easy.”

  She gave her grandmother an understanding smile. “I know it’s hard. But we tell you to be careful about what you do because we want you around for a good long while. Personally, I would love to have someone tell me that I need to have someone else take over the housework. I’d get to sit around with a book and a cup of tea all day.”

  It was hard to imagine not being busy. She had been working forty or more hours every week since she had gotten out of graduate school, with hardly a vacation. She knew it was probably bad to be so addicted to a busy life, but she honestly couldn’t imagine what it would be like to live a life without work to occupy her. She liked her job, which helped, but sometimes the never-ending list of things she had to do just got to her. Today, she still had to finish scrubbing the carpet, then Bunny needed a bath, and she should probably clean Marlowe’s cage because the bird had thrown pieces of fruit out of her bowl that morning and —

  “Ellie, watch out!”

  She slammed on the brakes and swerved, narrowly missing the car that had come to a stop in front of her. Her eyes wide, she looked back at it in the rear-view mirror. What had she been thinking? She had always been a careful driver, but she hadn’t even seen the car.

  “Are you alright, Nonna? Bunny?” She made sure her two passengers were none the worse for the wear, then breathed a sigh of relief and tried to slow her racing heart down to a more normal pace. “I’m so sorry, you two. I was just planning out everything else I had to do today, and I guess I wasn’t paying attention to the road.”

  “We’re fine,” Nonna assured her. “I don’t think Bunny even realizes that something almost happened. But Ellie, I think you need to take some time off. Or at least take an evening to yourself. It’s not good to work so much that you don’t leave time for other things.”

  “Now would be the worst possible time to cut back on work. The patio’s about to open, and we’re hiring a new employee. He’ll be in for training on Monday, and it will probably be a couple of weeks before he can work on his own.”

  “You’ve got to take care of yourself, sweetie.” Her grandmother gave her a sly smile. “I just spent an hour listening to a doctor tell me the same thing, so I know I’m right about this. Promise me you’ll take some time for yourself?”

  Ellie reluctantly agreed. What she doesn’t realize is taking time to relax just means I’ll have to do more work on another day, she thought. I’d really rather just get what needs to be done, done, and worry about everything else later. A promise was a promise, though, and she resolved to set aside some time for rest and relaxation… after the new employee was trained up and ready to go.

  CHAPTER THREE

  * * *

  “Clara, can you take Billy to the storage room and get him a hat and a shirt?” Ellie asked. “Then send him back to the kitchen and I’ll start showing him around. You two met at his interview, right?”

  “Sure did, Ms. P.. Come on, Billy. The storage room is this way. It’s mostly just mops and buckets, nothing super interesting, but all stuff you’ll need to know.”

  She bit her lip as Billy followed Clara down the hall. She hoped again that she had made the right choice. She had interviewed quite a few young men and women the week before, but Billy was the one she had the best feeling about. The tall, brown haired young man was around the same age as her other employees. She liked him because he seemed confident and intelligent, and was easy to talk to. She felt bad turning down some of the shyer interviewees, but answering the phone and building a rapport with the customers was an important part of the job.

  Her promise to her grandmother was still on her mind, but she didn’t see how she could take any extra time off with so much going on at the pizzeria. The outdoor eating area was complete, and was ready to open — though she was going to wait for a less windy day to officially cut the tape. Billy was promising, but he still needed to be trained, which would take up more of everyone’s time. And of course, with the nicer weather, more and more people were showing up at the pizzeria during their busiest hours. In just a few months, it would be summer and the height of tourist season. The little Maine town would really come to life, and the pizzeria would be bustling with customers every night. If they weren’t ready for the busy season, they would lose out on a lot of business.

  Ellie headed towards the kitchen, glancing out the front window on her way. The clouds were racing across the sky, and she could hear the wind as it tore across the face of the building. She did not envy the people who worked at the electric company; she was sure they would be getting a lot of calls about downed power lines and outages today. Something loud rattled outside, and she winced. Hopefully, the wind would die down soon, before doing any damage to the pizzeria — or worse, her house.

  A few minutes later, Billy reappeared, wearing a black hat and a red shirt, both boasting the Papa Pacelli’s name. He was grinning and tipped the hat proudly when he saw her.

  “Gotta say,
this place has great colors. Thanks again for hiring me. I’m looking forward to learning the job.”

  “It’s not too difficult, once you get the hang of it. You’ll be doing mostly deliveries, but everyone here also knows how to work the register and make pizzas. We’ll start in here right now, but Clara will tell us if someone comes in to make an order so you can get some register practice, too. The most important thing is learning how to make new dough to replace what you use. Our number one rule is to replace any dough that you use. It takes a few hours to chill, so we definitely don’t want to risk running out.”

  “Dough’s important,” he said. “Got it.”

  An hour later they had finished with the dough and moved on to where all of the various ingredients were kept. She was in the middle of telling him what to do if they were low on a certain ingredient, when her phone buzzed in her pocket. She glanced at it to see the call was from Russell.