Pesto Pizza Murder Read online

  Pesto Pizza Murder

  The Papa Pacelli’s Pizzeria Series Book 31

  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

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Epilogue

  Also by Patti Benning

  Author’s Note

  Contact Summer Prescott Books Publishing

  Chapter One

  One lonely suitcase sat in the middle of the queen-sized bed. It was half-full of clothes, and Russell Ward was still adding more. Eleanora Ward sat on the wooden stool at her vanity, watching her husband pack with her arms crossed in front of her.

  “Don’t forget your razor,” she commented as he stepped into the bathroom with his toiletry bag. “Last time you forgot it, you used one of the hotel ones and got razor burn. And don’t forget to bring your laptop so we can video call each other. And don’t forget —”

  “Ellie.” Russell poked his head out of the bathroom. “Are you sure you don’t want me to stay home?”

  She looked down at the top of her vanity, an antique that her grandmother had insisted that she take with her when she and her husband bought their new home. For a moment, she imagined telling Russell that yes, she wanted him to stay, that she would be lonely when he left, that she didn’t feel at home in their new house yet and with strangers renting her grandmother’s home next door, she couldn’t even go there for comfort.

  Instead, she sighed then looked up and met her husband’s eyes. “I want you to go. I know how much you enjoy these conferences, and I know how much you learn at them. I travel down to Florida all the time, it wouldn’t be fair for me to ask you not to go to this.”

  “A police conference is different than you running down to Florida to manage the second pizzeria,” he said, coming fully out of the bathroom. “I’m serious, Ellie, I don’t have to go. If you want me to stay here, I will. You’ve been on edge all morning, and I get the feeling you’d rather I stayed.”

  “I’m going to miss you,” she admitted. “But I know this will be good for you. You almost never get time off work, and it would be selfish of me to ask you to stay. I just… I don’t know, I have a bad feeling about this trip. The weather is supposed to be terrible all along the coast, and I’m worried about you flying out. Plus, I think I’m still shaken up about what happened to your cousin. Being here alone makes me feel weird, and I’m not usually the superstitious sort.”

  “I can still cancel my ticket…” he began.

  Ellie shook her head. “No. You should go. I’ll be fine, I’m just trying to explain why I’ve been so out of sorts all morning. I promise, I’ll be all right here, Russell.”

  He frowned. “Are you sure you can’t come with me?”

  “I need to be here at the pizzeria. We’ve got a huge meat shipment coming in from a new supplier, and if something goes wrong with it and I’m three states away, it won’t be good. Just call me as soon as your plane gets in, all right?”

  “Of course.” He walked over to give her a kiss on the cheek. “And remember, you can always go over to Shannon and James’ house if you need the company. James said to tell you you’re welcome to eat dinner with them every night, if you want. I know it’s going to be lonely out here, especially since your grandmother’s in Florida. Promise me you’ll have dinner with them at least a couple of times, all right? I hate to think of you eating here alone every night.”

  “I promise,” she said. “I know I’ll go stir crazy if I don’t do anything but go to work and come home all week. Living alone out here is very different from living alone in the middle of Chicago. Don’t get me wrong; I love where we live, but when you’re gone and I’m alone here, it feels like I could be the only person in the entire world.”

  “I’ll be just a phone call away. I’m sorry I’m leaving so soon after what happened with Bea, but I’ll be back before you know it.”

  “I know.” She gave him a smile, then stood up. “I’m going to go check the dryer to see if it’s done. We need to get you packed and get on the road. The plane won’t wait for anyone, not even a sheriff.”

  Two hours later, Ellie pulled away from the Portland, Maine airport with a tight feeling in her chest. Her husband going away for a week wouldn’t usually bother her this much, but between the threatening weather and the intensity of the past few weeks while Russell grieved for the loss of a family member, she wasn’t at all eager to have the time to herself. The thought of going back to an empty house, sitting in front of the TV, then going to bed alone was depressing.

  I should treat myself, she thought. Live it up tonight, then start eating healthier again tomorrow. She smiled, remembering the new Thai food restaurant in Benton Harbor that had opened only a couple months ago. She had just enough time to call in an order and pick it up on her way back home. Russell might not be there, but she still had the dogs and Marlowe, the greenwing macaw, to keep her company. With the thought of as much Thai food as she could eat and Sawyer and Bunny snuggled up to her on the couch while she re-watched one of her favorite romantic comedies, the evening suddenly seemed a lot less bleak. She would get through this week just fine, she just had to re-learn how to enjoy spending time with herself again.

  Chapter Two

  The next morning, Ellie woke up sprawled out on her bed, with Bunny, her papillon, curled up on the pillow next to her head. One advantage of sleeping alone is that I can take up as much space as I want, she thought, stretching luxuriously before glancing at the clock by her bed. When she saw the time, she frowned. It was almost eight, but the light that was creeping its way into the room around the curtains was weak enough that she had thought it was much earlier.

  She got up, nearly tripping over Sawyer, who was snoring on the floor next to the bed, and pulled back the curtains. Outside, a sky full of dark, menacing clouds greeted her. She felt a cold feeling in the pit of her stomach. Winter was almost over, but in northern Maine, that never meant much. Snow storms had been predicted for the next week, and by the look of the clouds outside, they were due for a bad one sometime today. It wasn’t snowing yet, but she knew that it could start at any time. Already, she could hear the wind whistling around the house’s eaves, and an involuntary shiver worked its way down her spine at the eerie noise.

  She and Russell had bought the house only a few short months ago. They had gotten a killer price on it due to the house’s history. At the time, the knowledge of the multiple deaths that had occurred inside the house hadn’t bothered her much, but now, alone for the next week right after yet another death had been added to the count, she was beginning to feel uneasy with every creak and groan the house made. The fact that she didn’t believe in ghosts didn’t seem to help calm her jumpy nerves at all.

 
; “I need coffee,” she said out loud, closing the curtains with more force than was necessary. A winter storm was the last thing she needed. It would take a bucket full of good luck for the house to keep from losing power once the snow hit.

  As she made her way downstairs, the dogs running ahead of her, she considered closing the pizzeria for the day, but it wasn’t snowing yet, and she was looking forward to the familiar, comforting warmth of the pizzeria’s kitchen. I can always close early if the storm gets really bad, she thought. I don’t want Pete and Iris to have to do deliveries if it’s snowing heavily. The roads always get bad more quickly than I expect.

  She hit the button on the coffee pot to start the drink brewing before opening the back door to let the dogs out. A blast of wind caught the door and nearly slammed it into her face before she braced herself. Grumbling, she shooed Sawyer outside, then turned to look for Bunny. The little Papillon was standing a few feet back, giving her a pitiful look.

  “You have to go out,” Ellie said apologetically. “I know it’s terrible out there, but if you just go do your business and come right back in, it won’t be too bad.”

  It took another few seconds of convincing, but at last the little dog slunk outside, her tail between her legs. Ellie made a mental note to start keeping Bunny’s sweater by the back door. The weather was supposed to be bad all week, and she didn’t blame the papillon for being reluctant to go out in it.

  Even Sawyer didn’t want to be outside in the blowing wind for any longer than necessary, and it wasn’t long before she cracked open the door to let the two chilled dogs back into the house. She filled their food bowls before pouring herself a cup of coffee, then took a seat at the kitchen island while she sipped the drink, slowly waking up.

  One thing she loved about her job was that there were no early mornings. She still had a good hour before she had to start getting ready for work, and enjoyed the fact that she didn’t have to rush.

  However, this morning wasn’t meant for kicking her feet up and relaxing. She was going to be gone until late that evening, and if the storm knocked the power out before she got back, then the animals would be relying on the backup generator to kick on to keep them warm.

  The generator had been Russell’s idea. They usually lost power at least twice, if not more, each winter, sometimes for spans of almost a week. While a short outage wasn’t the end of the world for them or the dogs, a longer one ran the risk of having the pipes freeze and burst, and Marlowe wasn’t anywhere near as hardy as the rest of them when it came to low temperatures. The generator they had purchased didn’t hold more than a day’s worth of fuel, but it would come on automatically if there was an outage and could be refilled with regular gasoline.

  She spent the morning double checking the generator and then touching base with Russell. She could tell over their video call how happy he seemed, and didn’t want to wreck his mood by mentioning her worry over the coming storm. It lifted her heart to hear him talk excitedly about the speakers he would get to hear at the police conference that day, and when they said their goodbyes, she was able to shut her laptop with a genuine smile on her face.

  Thankfully the clouds held their snow in for the morning, and the roads were clear as she drove to town, even if the sky was still ominous and dark. When she let herself in to the pizzeria, she felt an immediate sense of calm come over her. The familiar scents and sights, the hum of the fridge and freezer, even the forgotten pair of gloves someone had left on the staff table all felt like home here. There were no ghosts, real or imaginary, here.

  She went through her usual morning routine, turning on the ovens to pre-heat, setting the radio to her favorite station, and doing a final check of the dining area to make sure it was ready for opening. Then, she washed her hands and got to work making the fresh marinara sauce for that day’s pizzas.

  It didn’t take her long to get the sauce simmering and the crusts for the pepperoni and cheese pizzas that they served by the slice pre-cooking in the oven. Once everything was on track for that, she turned her attention to making the week’s special; chicken pesto on Papa Pacelli’s famous thin crust pizza.

  While the marinara sauce was made fresh daily, she had made the pesto two days before. She always thought the flavor was better after it had had a day or two to sit, and she was determined to take as few shortcuts as possible when it came to the food she served. Her pizzeria was one of the best in the state, and she knew that she had to keep re-earning that title daily.

  The pesto sauce might have been made already, but the chicken needed to be cooked, the onions sliced, and the cheese grated. She hummed to herself as she worked, moving easily around the kitchen. She knew it even better than the kitchen at home, and the thought made her smile. Sometimes she was surprised by how much she just loved the pizzeria. It meant the world to her, in a way no other job ever had. Sure, it wasn’t glamorous, and she would never get to be a millionaire from it, but it was satisfying, meaningful work, and she enjoyed almost every second of it.

  By the time the three by-the-slice pizzas were under the warming lights and ready to go, it was time to open for the day. She turned on the open sign and unlocked the door, taking a moment to frown through the front window. It still wasn’t snowing, but the sky was even darker than before. If she craned her neck, she could just see the water in the marina down the road. The bay was steel-grey and choppy, with white spray flying up feet into the air.

  She shivered and turned away from the window, back to her warm, comforting restaurant.

  Chapter Three

  Despite, or maybe because of, the intimidating weather outside, the morning was unusually busy. Ellie cooked pizza after pizza for her customers, most of them to-go. It seemed like half the town wanted an easy, warm meal to feast on as a way to brace themselves against the harsh wind and impending snow. She couldn’t blame them; there was something about winter weather that made her want to eat food laden with carbs and fat. She could understand why bears hibernated in the winter, and thought it was a shame that people didn’t have that option.

  She was glad for the backup when Iris and Pete arrived. They didn’t start offering deliveries until mid-afternoon, but by the time Pete arrived and started taking pizzas out, they had a long list of orders to fill. Ellie knew the townspeople wanted their food delivered before the snow inevitably closed the roads. The whole town, it seemed, was getting ready for the blizzard that was sure to come.

  By the time her employees arrived, Ellie was glad for the chance to take a break from cooking and sit at the register. Being on her feet all day made her legs ache, and sitting at the stool behind the front counter was a momentary bliss.

  By now, snow had begun falling lightly outside, just a hint of what was to come. The dining room was quiet, with only one eat-in patron sitting near the door. Between answering the phone for delivery and pick-up orders, Ellie read through the report Linda had sent her about the Florida pizzeria. Seeing the projected profits for the next few months made her smile. Opening the second pizzeria had been a lot of work, but it had been more than worth it. And it gives me an excuse to head down south when I get sick of the snow, she thought, glancing outside. Just as she looked up, the front door opened, letting in three new customers. Two of them made their way to a booth, while the third made a beeline for the counter. She pulled her hood down and shook out her curly brown hair, unzipping her coat to reveal a black skirt and blouse underneath.

  “Can we get a large chicken pesto pizza?” she asked, after a glance at the menu. “And three drinks from the cooler.”

  “Sure thing,” Ellie said, smiling. “Will that be for here or to go?”

  “For here. On second thought, can I also get a personal sized cheese pizza to go? I’m staying at a motel, and by the looks of things, I won’t want to head out into town for anything else to eat.”

  “You probably won’t,” Ellie agreed. “I’ve got one large pesto chicken pizza for here, and a personal sized cheese pizza to go, plus three dri
nks from the fridge. Will that be all?”

  The other woman nodded and reached into her purse for her wallet. Ellie punched in the order, then reached across the counter to take the card. As she did so, she met the woman’s eyes and saw that they were red and puffy, as if she had been crying.

  Ellie ran the card and printed out the receipt, then handed both items to the woman. Unable to help herself, she asked, “Sorry if I’m being rude, but is everything all right? You look upset.”

  “I’m a mess, aren’t I?” The woman gave a dry chuckle as she put the wallet back into her purse. “My brothers and I just left our mom’s funeral.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Ellie said. “Forget I said anything. My condolences to you and your brothers. Feel free to take as long as you need here, and I’ll make sure no one interrupts you.”