Pizza, Weddings, and Murder (Papa Pacelli's Pizzeria Series Book 23) Read online

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  PIZZA, WEDDINGS, AND 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

  EPILOGUE

  Pizza,

  Weddings,

  and

  Murder

  Papa Pacelli’s Pizzeria Series

  Book Twenty-Three

  By

  Patti Benning

  Copyright 2018 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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  PIZZA, WEDDINGS, AND

  MURDER

  Papa Pacelli’s Pizzeria Series

  Book Twenty-Three

  CHAPTER ONE

  * * *

  It was only a few weeks before spring, but Eleanora Pacelli wouldn’t have guessed it by looking out the window. Northern Maine was still buried in snow, and the forecast wasn’t promising a thaw any time soon. Truth be told, she was glad that things wouldn’t be warming up for a while. She would rather have a beautiful and snowy winter wedding than one where her guests had to tromp through slush.

  “It’s just like I remember,” her grandmother sighed from the seat beside her. Ann Pacelli had just spent the last four months in Florida and was looking quite good for a woman in her eighties. Ellie didn’t think she had ever seen the older woman so tan.

  “I’m sorry you had to come from sunny beaches to this, Nonna,” she said. “Do you want me to turn the heat up? Are you cold?”

  “Oh, I’m fine. I’ve lived here most of my life, you know. Four months out of state hasn’t made me soft. I’m glad I get to see the snow, as a matter of fact. I’ve missed it.”

  “I think you’ll be the only one in town who’s glad to see it. I don’t remember the last time I was actually warm. At least having a winter wedding means that Russell and I will appreciate our honeymoon more.”

  “And don’t forget your visit in April. I’m so glad you’re going to stay for a few days before my lease is up. I’ve enjoyed my time in Florida, but I’ve missed you very much.”

  “I missed you too, Nonna. I’m happy you could come to the wedding. I’m barely working this week, so we’ll have plenty of time to spend together before you go back.”

  They were on their way home to Kittiport, Maine, from the airport in Portland. Ellie was less than a week away from becoming a married woman, and she didn’t know whether she was more excited or terrified. This would be her first — and last, if she had her way — marriage, and she wasn’t sure what to expect. Would things change between her and Russell? Would they grow closer once he moved into the big Pacelli house with her, or would the stress of living together push them apart? What if he decided at the last minute that he was making a terrible mistake, and she was left standing alone at the altar?

  “Ellie, dear, are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” she said, reinforcing her words with a small smile. She hoped she hadn’t gone noticeably pale. She had been doing that a lot lately. While she loved her fiancé, she had to admit that she was just slightly terrified of the idea of marriage now that it was just a few days away from becoming a reality.

  “How is Shannon doing? I’m sure she’s excited about the baby. It won’t be long now, will it?”

  “Just a couple more months,” Ellie said. “And yes, she’s excited. So am I. I’ve never been an aunt before.”

  “This is going to be a wonderful year, I can already tell,” her grandmother said. “I can’t wait to see what it has in store for us.”

  Ellie’s home was a big, white colonial style house on a curving coastal road just north of the small town of Kittiport. Across the road were a few scraggly trees, and past them was the coast. The property’s back yard bordered a state park, which consisted of thousands of acres of trees and trails. It couldn’t have been more different from the apartments that Ellie had grown up in Chicago, and it had taken her a while to get used to living surrounded by so much nature and so few people, but now she didn’t know if she would be able to bear living in a city with walls all around her instead of nature.

  As she pulled into the driveway behind the other cars that were parked there, she looked over at her grandmother’s face. It had been months since the older woman had seen the house that she had spent the better part of the last five decades in. She had given Ellie free reign to make any changes that she wanted to the interior while she was gone, but Ellie didn’t know how she would feel about those changes once she saw them. That, plus the four guests that had arrived earlier that day, meant that her grandmother’s homecoming wouldn’t exactly be the relaxing event Ellie had envisioned.

  “I’ll help you inside, then I’ll come back out and get your things,” Ellie said. The driveway and the walkway to the front door had been shoveled and salted, but she still didn’t want to chance her grandmother slipping on an unexpected icy patch on her way up to the door.

  She let the older woman lean on her as they made their way along the path. Nonna looked good for someone her age, and seemed to be in good spirits, but Ellie couldn’t help but wonder how much her age was catching up to her. For how much longer would her grandmother be able to retain her relative independence?

  Florida is good for her, she thought as they walked up the steps. All of that sunlight, the warm weather, being surrounded by people who have all of the same limitations that she does… even though I miss her, I’m glad that she signed up for the lease.

  She heard barking coming from inside as she inserted her key into the lock and realized that she had forgotten to call ahead and ask Darlene to put the puppy away. Sawyer was only about four and a half months old, but
he weighed enough that he could easily knock the older woman off balance if he jumped up out of excitement — and the young Labrador retriever was almost always excited.

  Once the door was unlocked, she turned the knob and slipped through in front of her grandmother, grabbing the black puppy by the collar and pulling him a safe distance away so Nonna could come inside. While her grandmother took off her coat, Ellie clipped a leash onto the puppy’s collar. By then, Darlene, Ellie’s cousin, had heard the commotion and had come to greet them. Three more women appeared behind her; Ellie’s mother, and her two best friends from her previous life in Chicago. They had arrived earlier that morning, and it was still odd to see them here in Kittiport. She had kept her old life almost completely separate from her new one, and this was the first time she had seen either of them in person since she had moved over a year ago.

  “Nonna,” Darlene said, beaming. “How was your flight? Are you tired? Where are your bags? I can bring them in.” Ellie gestured toward the door.

  The introductions were simple; Nonna already knew Ellie’s mother, Donna, though they hadn’t seen each other in years. Ellie introduced her friends, Rachel, who had her black hair cut into a sleek bob, and Katia, whose auburn hair flowed over her shoulders. She still hadn’t had much of a chance to reconnect with her friends, but they knew about her grandmother from the emails Ellie sent them and were both politely pleased to meet her.

  It took a while for Nonna to get settled in her old room on the ground floor. First, she wanted to meet Sawyer, the new puppy who greeted her with the same happy enthusiasm that he did everyone, and then Ellie pulled the puppy away to give Bunny, her black and white papillon, the chance to greet the older woman without getting trampled by the clumsy puppy.

  In the hallway, Nonna stopped by Marlowe’s cage to say hello to the parrot. The greenwing macaw had never taken to her as well as she had taken to Ellie, but when she recognized the older woman, she greeted her with a loud “Hi!” — the same greeting she usually reserved for Ellie when she had been gone at work all day.

  The tour of the changes could wait for later; Ellie could tell that her grandmother’s energy was failing, and Nonna was happy to retire to her room and begin unpacking her things before taking a nap while the other women planned dinner.

  That evening, after all six of them had eaten dinner and cleaned up, Ellie retreated to her bedroom. She had lived alone in this house for months and adjusting to so many people being here would take time. Her mother, who hadn’t been on good terms with her grandmother for as long as she could remember, had opted to stay in a motel just a few miles away from the Pacelli house. Darlene was sleeping in the same guest bedroom that she had stayed in last time, and Rachel had taken the other small room upstairs that Ellie had been planning on turning into an office before she had taken over her grandfather’s study. The study was where Katia was sleeping, on an old camping cot that Ellie had dragged out of the basement. She was grateful to her friends for wanting to stick close and spend time with her while they could, but that didn’t change how odd it felt to be sharing the house with so many other women.

  As she changed into her sleeping clothes, with Sawyer happily chewing on a toy by the door and Bunny laying on her pillow on the bed, her eyes fell on the wedding dress in the closet. I’m going to be married, she thought, wondering why the idea still seemed so odd to her. She’d had months to prepare, but it hadn’t seemed real until now, when the wedding was just a few days away. The thought of waking up next to Russell every day for the rest of her life was both terrifying — what if something went wrong? What if they ended up resenting each other? — and exhilarating. As long as the thought of it continued to be more exhilarating than terrifying, she knew she would be okay.

  CHAPTER TWO

  * * *

  Besides the fact that Ellie didn’t have to drive down to Portland and back, Tuesday was just as busy as the day before had been. I’ve spent months planning this thing, how is there still so much to do? she wondered as she drove back from the community center with Darlene next to her. Her mother was sitting in the back seat, oddly quiet as she gazed out the window. In fact, her mother had been oddly quiet ever since she had arrived the day before. Ellie wasn’t sure what to make of it and didn’t ask. If her mother had a problem, she could bring it up.

  “I think we should decorate it on Thursday,” Darlene was saying from the passenger seat. “I mean, Friday is going to be busy with so many other last-minute things we have to do, and the place won’t be available until late Wednesday evening. We probably won’t want to stay up so late, especially not after tonight.”

  “I hope you and Shannon aren’t planning anything too crazy for tonight,” Ellie said. “Bachelorette parties are all well and good for people in their twenties, but I’m too old to stay up until dawn and drink all night long.”

  “Don’t worry, it won’t be anything you won’t like,” Darlene said. “The evening’s about you, after all. It will be fun.”

  Ellie smiled, but didn’t say anything more about it. She hadn’t even been planning on having a bachelorette party, but Shannon, her best friend and maid of honor, had insisted. She supposed it would be fun to spend a night out on the town, and not worry about the coming days.

  “I think I’ll have time to decorate the reception area on Thursday,” she said, returning to their original conversation. “Assuming nothing gets delayed, of course. I’ve got to pick up the flowers and the cake on Friday, and I need to double check the catering menu at the White Pine Kitchen.”

  “Rachel, Katia, Shannon, and I can handle the decorating,” Darlene said. “And your mother, if she wants. We’ll just need the key from you. We’re your bridesmaids, it’s our job to make things easier for you.”

  “Are you sure? I would feel bad asking you to do anything. You drove all the way from Virginia, and Rachel and Katia came from Chicago. Just the fact that you’re here is more than enough.”

  “I didn’t come all the way from Virginia just to sit on my butt and twiddle my thumbs,” Darlene pointed out. “We want to help. Starting with the party tonight.”

  Ellie laughed. “Okay, okay. I suppose it will be nice to have someone else handle these things for once. I don’t want to turn into a bridezilla, so I won’t micromanage. Just tell me what you need, and I’ll make sure you have it.”

  The rest of the day passed in a blur. Ellie tried to spend some time with her grandmother but got pulled away to take phone calls from guests who were coming from out of state and to approve her cousin’s ideas for the reception’s decor. Ellie was glad that she and Russell had opted to use the community center for both the ceremony and the reception. It would save them from trying to figure out how to move all of the guests from one building to the next, and no one would have to brave the cold and snow outside until the reception was over.

  By the time the sun began to set, talk had shifted from wedding plans to the coming bachelorette party, which Darlene and Shannon had planned by themselves. Neither of the women had given Ellie any hints as to what might be in store for her. She trusted them enough not to worry, and their secrecy made her curious.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to come, Nonna?” she asked.

  “Oh, I’m sure,” the older woman said with a chuckle. “I’m already tired, and my bedtime is in about two hours. I would just slow you down. You ladies have fun.”

  “I don’t want you to be left out. I wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for you. I would never have met Russell.”

  “Don’t worry about me, Ellie. I want you to go out with your friends and have the perfect evening. If you do that, then I’ll be happy.”

  “If you’re sure.” Ellie leaned over to give her grandmother a kiss on the cheek, then grabbed her purse and joined her friends by the front door. At Darlene’s request, she had dressed casually, in a nice pair of jeans, a sweater with a shirt underneath so she could remove it if she got hot, and a comfortable pair of flats. Earlier that day, she'd h
ad so much to think about that she hadn’t really been able to focus on the party that evening, but now that everything else was out of the way, she was excited. She had no doubts that whatever Darlene and Shannon had planned would be fun.

  “They’re here,” Darlene said, peering out the window by the front door and then turning back to the rest of them with a grin. “Let’s go.”

  Darlene opened the front door, then stepped back so that Ellie would be the first one out. Parked alongside the curb in front of the house was a stretch SUV limo. As she stared at it, the back door opened, and Shannon came out. Her friend waved at her with a broad grin on her face, and Ellie grinned back. She hadn’t been in a limo since her high school prom. While it might be a bit excessive, it would certainly make the night one to remember.

  They started their evening at a tiny restaurant in Benton Harbor — a small town just to the south of Kittiport — that Ellie had driven by a hundred times but had never been in before. Judging from the small, unobtrusive sign on the single door in front, she had expected it to be just another small-town pub but found to her delight that it was anything but. The waiter brought her steak out on a sizzling black rock, and it finished cooking before her eyes. She had to make herself stop eating when she began to feel full, because she knew that there was still more planned for the night ahead of them.