A Melted Morsel of Murder Read online

  A Melted Morsel of Murder

  The Papa Pacelli’s Pizzeria Series Book 33

  Patti Benning

  Summer Prescott Books Publishing

  Copyright 2019 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.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Epilogue

  Also by Patti Benning

  Author’s Note

  Contact Summer Prescott Books Publishing

  Chapter One

  The black Labrador retriever raced through the snow, skidding to a stop in front of Eleanora Ward, dropping the tennis ball at her feet. She picked it up and looked down at the dog, who gazed up at her hopefully, his tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth.

  “One more throw,” she said for the third time that morning.

  She tossed the ball toward the tree line at the back of the yard, and the lab darted after it. Behind her, she heard the door to the kitchen slide open.

  “There you are,” her husband, Russell Ward, said. “I couldn’t find you. I was starting to get worried.”

  She turned and gave her husband a peck on the lips. “Sorry. I know I said I’d be right back up, but then Sawyer found an old tennis ball buried somewhere in the snow, and you know how convincing he can be when it comes to fetch.”

  Russell chuckled. “He certainly can be very convincing. I don’t want to interrupt your game, I just wanted to let you know that I’m going to head out now. I should be back in time for dinner.”

  “All right. Have a nice day at work. Do you have any interesting cases?”

  “Nope. It’s been slow lately, thank goodness.”

  “Well, that’s good. A boring day for you means you’re doing your job well.”

  “Hopefully it lasts.”

  He gave her another quick kiss, then bent down to scratch Sawyer behind the ears when he returned with the ball. After he went inside, Ellie looked down at the dog.

  “Okay, one more throw. I’m serious this time.”

  Sawyer jumped to his feet, and was already running across the yard by the time the ball was in the air.

  One of the many things that Ellie loved about working at the pizzeria was the fact that she very rarely had early mornings. Not having to roll out of bed at seven and get ready for work right away was a major benefit, in her book. Russell usually left a couple of hours before she did, so she almost always had a long stretch of time in the morning that she could use to get her own chores done, or if she didn’t have anything pressing on her to-do list, to read or get some exercise in.

  She spent a lazy morning cleaning Marlowe’s cage — the greenwing macaw was a champion at making messes, and enjoyed throwing her food all over the place, just to watch the dogs rush to clean it up — and vacuuming the rugs. She finished with enough time to enjoy a cup of tea in the kitchen before changing into her clothes for work.

  “You two be good,” she called out to the dogs as she left the house late that morning. “I’ll be back in a while.”

  She locked the door, double checking the handle out of habit, and then got into her car and started it. She glanced over at her grandmother’s house — another habit — and jolted when she saw a moving van and a small group of people gathered in the driveway. Today is the day the tenants move out, she thought. I completely forgot.

  Her grandmother spent six months of every year at a retirement community in Florida, and the other six months in Maine. This year they had rented out her house so it wouldn’t just be sitting empty for those long winter months. Her grandmother was coming home in just a few weeks, and the tenants had found a house to buy just in time. She had meant to stop by earlier this morning and say goodbye to them. A glance at the car’s clock showed her that she had a few minutes to spare, so at the end of her driveway, she turned left instead of right and drove the few yards to the neighboring driveway. She pulled to a stop just behind the moving van and got out of her car.

  “Hi, Ms. Ward,” Fiona Frank said. Her husband, Dustin, turned from where he was trying to stuff one last box into the van and waved at her before refocusing on his work. Their teenage son, Chris, was leaning against the van, looking bored. He did nothing more than glance in her direction as she approached.

  “Hey, Fiona,” Ellie said. “How’s the moving going?”

  “We’re just about done. This should be our last trip. The cleaners are supposed to be here soon, and we were just going to stay long enough to let them into the house. Oh, here’s your key back. I was going to drop it off in your mailbox, but I might as well give it to you now.”

  “Thanks.” Ellie took the key and slipped it into her pocket. She heard the sound of a large vehicle approaching, and turned to see a truck with Wallace Cleaners: Garbage Removal, Carpet Cleaning, Window Washing, and More! written on the side. It turned into the driveway and parked beside her car. Part of the money Ellie’s grandmother had received for rent each month had gone into a fund to hire professional cleaners once the tenants moved out. She wanted to come back to a clean and tidy house, not a house that felt as though it had been lived in by strangers for the past six months.

  A man got out of the truck and walked over to her and Fiona. “I’m Ronald Wallace, of Wallace Cleaners,” he said.

  “Ellie Ward,” Ellie said, shaking his hand. “I’m the one who’s in charge of the property.”

  “It’s nice to meet you. So, what all do you need done here? I know you asked for the full package when you called, but that’s usually for places that are basically dumps. This place looks pretty nice.”

  “Well, it’s my grandmother’s house. She’ll be moving back in soon. I know she’ll want the carpets and hardwood floors cleaned, the windows washed, and one of the bedrooms repainted… stuff like that. Do everything except the attic. It’s locked up; we put my grandmother’s things in there when she left.”

  “Tell you what, I’ll put you down for a basic clean. If it ends up needing anything more, I’ll itemize it, which should save you money. Sound good?”

  Ellie nodded. She had found the cleaning company online, and hadn’t really known which services to select. She decided to go with their judgment. They were the professionals after all.

  “Feel free to get started. Fiona said they’re just about done here. I’m going to be at work until this evening, but I should be reachable by phone if you need anything.” She pulled out her cell phone to check the time, wincing. “Shoot. I’ve got to get going. It was a pleasure to rent to your family, Fiona. I hope you enjoy your new place.”

  “I’m sure we will. Thanks, Ms. Ward. We really enjoyed renting this house.”

  Ellie smiled at her and gave the rest of the family a quick wave before getting back in her car. She pulled out of the driveway and headed toward town. She was halfway to the pizzeria before she realized she had forgotten to do a walk-through at the house. Oh, well, she thought. The Franks seem like good people, and we never had
any trouble with them. I doubt they did anything too bad to the house. And if they did, the cleaners will tell me. I’ll get the walk-through done tomorrow, first thing.

  Chapter Two

  Papa Pacelli’s Pizzeria was Ellie’s pride and joy. She had taken the pizzeria from almost failing under the weight of dishonest and incompetent employees and had brought it back to its original glory and success from when her grandfather had been running it. She felt like she was carrying on her family’s legacy, and always put her all into her work.

  She spent the day alternating between making pizzas and working the front counter. She enjoyed both sides of the job, and was glad that she had the chance to work in both parts of the restaurant. There was something soothing, almost meditative, about making pizzas in the kitchen. It was where she thought best, and where she liked to relax if she was stressed about something. On the other hand, working at the front counter allowed her to interact with the guests and get to know the regulars. It made her feel like part of the community, and made the regulars who came in multiple times a week feel more like friends than customers.

  The only part of the job she didn’t particularly enjoy was the delivery driving, and thankfully she had Jacob, Pete, and Iris for that. She knew they enjoyed being able to listen to music and collect tips. It was one of the more desired duties amongst her employees, which meant that she rarely had to do the job herself.

  It was busy that night. Iris was on delivery duty, and Jacob had ended up doing a few runs himself while she manned both the kitchen and the counter. It was late winter, nearly spring, but the weather in northern Maine was still bitterly cold and unpleasant. The days with the worst weather always had the most deliveries, since fewer people felt like venturing into town themselves.

  Ellie had been hoping that she would get the chance to go home early. On slower evenings, two people could run the pizzeria comfortably, and if it had been one of those evenings, she would have already been long gone. Russell had said he might be home in time for dinner, and Ellie, who had recently gotten back from a long, harrowing trip to Florida, had been looking forward to spending extra time with him that evening.

  She glanced at the clock as the evening wore on, and gradually resigned herself to staying until close. She couldn’t complain, not really; profits at the pizzeria were up from last year, and she had a couple of renovations in mind for the summer that the extra profits would go a long way towards paying for. One thing she was determined not to do was let the restaurant stagnate. Kittiport might be a small town, but it was always changing. A new hotel was going to go up near the marina, with construction starting once the ground thawed — that little bit of progress was thanks to the husband of one of her best friends, and the advance knowledge was a handy tidbit of information to have — and the addition of the hotel meant a new influx of customers. Kittiport was already a tourist destination in the summer months, though not a very major one. A five-star hotel right on the coast would likely change that.

  She kept her mind occupied with thoughts of how she could continue to improve the pizzeria while still keeping the comfortable, familiar feel, and before she knew it, the clock had ticked past the hour and it was time to close. She sent a quick text to Russell to let him know that she would be home soon, then started scrubbing the last few dishes in the sink. It had been a busy day, and she was tired, but she was ending the day with a strong sense of satisfaction. Owning her own business made her perspective on work completely different to what it had been before. She was no longer just putting her hours in and getting out of the building as quickly as possible. Now, everything she did mattered. She cared about her work, and that made all the difference in the world.

  The sun had been high in the sky when she left for work that morning, but it was long past dark when she turned onto her road. She bit back a yawn as she drove down the coastal road. As she neared her house, she saw that the cleaners were still at her grandmother’s house. There were bright lights on throughout the building, and she could hear music playing even from inside her car as she turned into her own driveway. Her hand hovered over the key in her ignition as she considered going over there to see how things were going, but after a moment she decided against it. It was late, she had a husband to eat dinner with, and as long as they turned the music off by the time she and Russell went to bed, she really didn’t care. It wasn’t as though this would be a common occurrence. The cleaners would be coming twice a year at most, and they wouldn’t always be repainting one of the bedrooms.

  She shut off the ignition, gathered her things, and went inside. The two dogs greeted her at the door, along with the delicious scent of whatever Russell had made for dinner. She locked the door tightly behind her and put her purse down on the long table by the entryway. After taking her coat off, she bent down to pet both dogs, laughing as Sawyer tried to lick her face.

  “None of that, boy,” she said. “I'm wearing makeup. It probably isn't good for you to lick it.”

  “Ellie, is that you?”

  She straightened up and called back to her husband. “It's me. Just let me take my shoes off, and I'll come find you and tell you all about my day.”

  She found Russell in the kitchen, tossing a leafy green salad in one of their wooden serving bowls. She sniffed the air, then peeked into the oven to see a beautiful lasagna baking.

  “What's the occasion?” she asked, slipping her arms around him from behind. “This all looks delicious.”

  “No occasion,” he said. “Things have just been so quiet lately, that I find myself with more time than I know what to do with. I thought I might as well make it up to you for all of those dinners where one of us just stopped and picked up takeout instead of making something at home.”

  “Well, it's lovely.” She pecked his cheek. “What do you need me to do?”

  “Would you mind setting the table? I was going to do it, but it slipped my mind. And there is a box of cookies on the counter by the fridge from Shannon. I was going to pack half of them up to bring to work, then leave the other half here for us.”

  “Cookies from Shannon?” Ellie asked as she reached up to take the plates out of the cupboard. “When did you see her?”

  “I stopped at her place for lunch. I wasn't planning on it, or we would have invited you. She called me just as I was heading out to pick up food, saying she needed someone to come help her fix her screen door. One of the hinges broke.”

  “It was nice of you to go help her,” Ellie said. “You're a great brother-in-law. I know it's hard for her there alone with Andrew. James works a lot.”

  “He's been trying to keep himself right at forty hours a week, but even when he manages that, it's hard since he works out of town so much. They manage, though,” Russell said. “They both seem happy.”

  “That's what matters,” Ellie said. She grabbed some cloth napkins out of one of the drawers and folded them neatly, setting them next to the plates on the kitchen table. The house had a dining room as well, but when it was just the two of them, it made the most sense to eat in the kitchen. The table was smaller, which was better for conversation, and it was easier for them to get up and grab drinks or condiments that they might have forgotten.

  The two of them continued getting ready for dinner, chatting occasionally, but spending most of the time in companionable silence. By the time the oven beeped, signifying that the lasagna was done, the table was set, the kitchen was clean, and a bowl of fresh salad and a half loaf of sliced French baguette was sitting in the center of the table.

  Ellie and Russell sat down to eat. The lasagna was perfect; cheesy and gooey, with plenty of sauce and meat on the inside. Ellie smiled across the table at her husband. It was the perfect end to a great day. She loved her job, she loved the man sitting across from her, and all in all, she didn't think that it was possible for her to be happier.

  Chapter Three

  The next day was a Saturday, a day when Ellie usually didn't have to work. She enjoyed taking the weeke
nds off, and though she didn't mind going in on occasion when she was needed, she almost never scheduled herself to work on them. This weekend was no exception. She was looking forward to two days where she could do whatever she wanted. She had a short to-do list that listed simple household chores that she wanted to get done, and after that, she would be free to tackle her new books from the library, and to catch up with her friends.

  She opened her eyes slowly, and saw Russell getting dressed over by the closet. She realized that the soft sounds of him putting on clothes was what had woken her up. He must have just gotten out of the shower, because his hair was still slightly damp.

  “What's going on?” she asked sleepily.

  “I've got to head in,” he told her. “Bethany's got the flu, and Liam scheduled this weekend off almost a month ago. I don't want to call him in unless I have to. Sorry to leave you high and dry on a Saturday like this. I'll make it up to you tomorrow. Maybe we can go out to dinner somewhere nice.”