A Crunchy Crust of Murder Read online

  “Anyone we know?” she asked – it wasn’t unthinkable, not in such a small town. “How fast was he going?”

  “I doubt it. He mentioned that he had only recently moved here and that he must have missed the forty mile-per-hour sign. It's reasonable, that sign is a little bit overgrown. I need to put a note in that the trees need to be trimmed. He was going almost sixty, and the road curves just about a quarter of a mile away from where I stopped him. He could have been hurt if he didn’t see it in time.”

  “A new delivery driver who just moved to town? Was his name Adam, by any chance?”

  Russell raised an eyebrow. “How did you know?”

  “He dropped off our meats and cheeses today,” she said. “He told me his life story while he was at it. He seems like he is a nice guy. It was kind of you to let him off.”

  “I figured if he really missed the sign, ticketing him wouldn't help matters at all. If he was lying, well, hopefully this will have scared him straight. If I catch him at it again, I'll have to ticket him. I wonder where he was in such a hurry to so late.”

  “I'm not sure,” Ellie said. “It's possible he had an out-of-town delivery and he is just getting back with the truck now. If I remember right, Lorenzo's delivers all over the area.”

  “You know more about all of that stuff than I do,” Russell said. He chuckled, then stepped past her, heading for the kitchen. He made a beeline for the kitchen sink, where he washed his hands. Ellie checked the timer on the kitchen stove. Only five minutes to go until the lasagna was done.

  “I've got something to show you,” she said. “Do you want to take a seat at the table?”

  Looking curious, he sat down at the small round table. Ellie pushed the sheaf of papers over to him. “This is the secret project I've been working on. I finally finished my research this evening. What do you think?”

  He spent a few moments looking through the papers, then glanced up at her, a grin on his face. “I think this will be great, Ellie,” he said. “You're so creative. I never would have thought about a food cart, especially not one that serves both hotdogs and pizza. What does Joanna think?”

  “She told me she's all for it, but she's been pretty busy recently, so I'll have to double check with her. I might have to take some money out of our savings account for this.”

  “Go for it, just let me know if it’s a significant amount,” Russell said. “I trust you. You’ve got a great mind for business. And we can stand a bit of a hit if it ends up not paying out. Let me know if you need any help with any of this.”

  “I will. I might be able to save some money by getting a used food cart that needs some repairs. I still have to figure out the specifics. More importantly, I'll need a way to transport it. That's actually the last thing I have to look into.”

  “Well, worst case scenario you can just pick up an old, beater pickup truck and write it off as a business expense,” he said, pushing the papers back to her. “I’m sure it would come in useful for other things as well.”

  She smiled at him. “What do you say about some lasagna and wine to celebrate?”

  Chapter Three

  By the time Ellie woke up the next morning, Russell was already gone. He often worked early shifts when he could. It wasn't unusual for him to be gone before she was fully out of bed on weekday mornings, but from what she remembered of the early morning hours, it seemed that he had left before he usually did. She remembered a quick explanation, a sleepy kiss goodbye, and the sound of Russell tiptoeing quietly out of the room. She checked her cell phone and saw no messages from him, so figured that whatever had called him to work bright and early probably wasn't that important. Either that, or it was something he was still in the middle of working on. She hoped it was the former. He had been enjoying a few slow weeks without a major case, and with the nicer weather, she had hoped that would be able to continue.

  She spent a lazy few hours eating breakfast, tidying up the kitchen, and taking the dogs on a quick walk in the state forest behind her house. Half an hour before she was due to leave for work, she walked over to her grandmother's house. Nonna answered the door, her tiny little chihuahua, Amie, following at her heels. The little dog barked at Ellie once, then ducked behind Nonna's legs. Ellie chuckled.

  “Great protector you’ve got there,” she said. “If I was a robber, I would be quaking in my boots.”

  “She knows I’m the one with the scarier bark,” Nonna said. “Come on in. Do you want some tea? I just put on a pot.”

  “No thanks,” Ellie said. “I just stopped by to say hi and see how you're doing. Do you need help with anything? I can grab groceries or something for you on my way home this evening if you want me to.”

  “I should be fine for now,” Nonna said. “I picked up knitting again, you know. I've been spending my mornings doing that. It sure is taking some getting used to being back here. I suppose it's good, though. I've taken a step back and slowed down life a bit. Things are so much faster paced down in Miami.”

  “It is like a different world down there,” Ellie agreed.

  “How is everyone at the pizzeria there?”

  “They're doing well. Linda is still seeing Steven. They've begun serving more cold pizzas and fresh juice drinks. The weather there is starting to really heat up. It's a bit of a shame, since it means that we’re not sharing a menu anymore, but I definitely think it's the right decision. No one wants a piping hot pepperoni pizza when it's ninety degrees outside.”

  “That Linda seems like one smart cookie,” Nonna said. “She's done a great job of managing the place for you.”

  “I know. I’ll have to find a way to show my appreciation. I really don't know what I'd do without her.”

  The two of them chatted a while longer, then Ellie's eyes caught the clock and she excused herself. “I've got to go make sure my own pizzeria is up and running for the day,” she said. “Feel free to call me if you change your mind about needing something from town. It's really no problem at all. I might stop at the store anyway; I need to pick up a few things.”

  “I'll think about what I might need and get back to you,” Nonna said. “Have a nice day, dear. And tell Russell I say hi. He doesn’t come over often enough.”

  Ellie was in a good mood as she made her way back to her house, made sure the dogs were settled for the day, then headed toward town in her car. She was excited about the food cart. She had gathered up all of her plans and was planning on stopping by the hotdog shop later that day to pass them off to Joanna so her friend could look over them. If they wanted to get the food cart up and running in time for summer, they would have to start soon. Before they knew it, the warm weather would be upon them.

  Her mind was so focused on the food cart and everything they would need to do to get ready for the coming season that she didn't even notice the police vehicles until she was almost at the pizzeria. It looked like half of the block had been cordoned off. Her heart began pounding the moment she saw the vehicles parked behind the pizzeria. The fact that the majority of the commotion seemed to be further down the road was a small solace.

  She pulled into her parking lot and was almost immediately approached by an officer. She had to show him her ID before he was convinced that she was who she said she was.

  “What’s going on?” she asked.

  “A body was found this morning. We’re searching the area right now.”

  “Oh.” She bit her lip. Was it someone she knew? “Should I leave? Is it all right to open my restaurant?”

  “The crime zone begins right past your parking lot. As long as you instruct your employees to avoid the crime tape and to stay out of the way of official vehicles, you’re free to do what you want.”

  She thanked him and rolled up her window, pulling up to a parking spot closer to the pizzeria. She hurried inside, fumbling through unlocking the door, her mind on one thing. She needed to call Russell.

  Chapter Four

  When the call rang through to voicemail, she was d
isappointed, but not exactly surprised. She should have expected it, she knew. It made sense now, why he had left so early. A body being found downtown was a major emergency, one the sheriff would definitely be needed for. She was a bit upset that he hadn’t thought to tell her what was going on. He had to know how worried she would be when she got to work to see the police there.

  No sooner had she left a voicemail message than the phone rang in her hand. A bit of her annoyance at her husband vanished when she saw his name on the caller ID. She answered it quickly, pressing the phone to her ear.

  “Hello?” she asked breathlessly.

  “Ellie,” Russell said. “Is everything all right?”

  “I’m at the pizzeria,” she said. “The police are gathered on the street behind it. One of the officers told me what happened.… I have to know… the body…”

  “Oh, I'm so sorry,” he said. “I didn't even think – don't worry, Ellie, it's not one of your employees or anyone we know. They called me in early this morning after the body had already been found and brought in. I took a look around the crime scene, then examined the body. It’s been one thing after another, I didn’t even think about you running into the police. Are they still there?”

  “They are,” she said. “He said they were searching the area for evidence.”

  “I'm sure they will be gone soon,” he said. “Are you okay? That must've been quite a surprise.”

  “I'm okay now,” she said. “My goodness, if you ever want to give me a heart attack in the future, this is the way to do it. Can you tell me anything about the victim? I know you said it wasn’t one of my employees, but it could have been a customer.”

  “He was a young man named Devon Rhodes,” Russell said. “His wallet wasn’t taken, so he was easy to ID.”

  Ellie frowned. The name didn't ring a bell for her. “So, it probably wasn’t a mugging,” she said. “Not if they left his wallet.”

  “There was cash in his wallet and everything,” Russell said. “Few killers will ignore opportunistic cash like that.”

  “What exactly happened to him?”

  “He was found, stabbed multiple times in the back, in someone's yard about twenty yards away from your restaurant. We believe that he was originally attacked in another spot and fled from there. The blood trail actually begins right behind your parking lot. My guess is he was either getting into or out of a car when he was attacked. We don’t have any suspects yet. His girlfriend let us into their apartment, which they shared with another person, but we didn’t find anything that might point us to a motive.”

  She shivered. “Thanks for telling me. I will keep my ears and eyes peeled today. Do you think it's safe to open the pizzeria?”

  “It should be. As far as I can tell, this has nothing to do with you or your restaurant.”

  “All right. Keep me updated, it scares me to think that someone was killed so close to the pizzeria last night.”

  “I will,” he said. “Can you do me a favor and see if your employees heard anything yesterday? We aren't sure exactly when he was killed, but it was sometime last night, judging by the condition of his body.”

  “I will,” Ellie said. “If any of them mention something, I will let you know.”

  After that, Russell had to go. She said a quick goodbye to him, then pocketed her phone. She was relieved that the victim hadn't been one of her employees, but the feeling brought with it some guilt. Even though the deceased wasn’t anyone she knew personally, what had happened was still terrible. Kittiport was such an idyllic little town, and the thought of something so violent and terrible happening so close to the pizzeria made her physically ill.

  Even though Russell said it was safe to open the pizzeria that day, she entertained the thought of just keeping it shut, but before she had made a decision the employee entrance opened, and Pete walked in. He turned to glance back at the door as it shut behind him.

  “What's with all the cops?” he asked. “Did someone die or something?”

  “Yes,” she said quietly. He looked up at her, his eyes meeting hers, she saw a flash of shock in them.

  “I'm so sorry,” he said. “I didn't realize someone actually had died. What happened? Who was it?”

  “I don't know. It was some guy named Devon. He was found –”

  “Devon?” Pete asked, his eyes widening. His car keys slipped out of his hand, falling onto the floor.

  “Yes, did you…” She trailed off, suddenly realizing. Dev. Short for Devon. The name of his friend who had won the lottery the day before. “Oh, Pete. You don't know, it might not be the same person.”

  “What was his last name?”

  “Rhodes, I think,” Ellie said. He closed his eyes. Ellie's heart sank.

  “I… I should have known something was wrong. We were supposed to hang out last night and I canceled. My girlfriend’s cat died, and I wanted to be there for her. I messaged him again this morning just to say hi and he didn't reply. I thought he was probably just still sleeping from the night before. He was so excited about the money he won, I figured he must have partied last night or something. Oh, my goodness. I'm sorry, Ms. P., but can I have the day off?”

  “Of course,” she said. “You go straight home. I wouldn't even dream of asking you to stay for today.”

  “Are you sure it'll be okay? I know we’re the only ones scheduled for this morning –”

  “Don't worry about it, Pete,” she said. “I'll handle it. Would you mind doing me a favor though?”

  “Of course.”

  “I'll give you one of my husband's business cards. Can you call him and just tell him everything you know about your friend? I'm sure anything would be helpful. He probably doesn't know that Devon won the lottery. It could have something to do with his death.”

  “I'll do it as soon as I get in the car,” he said.

  She checked her purse until she found one of Russell's cards. Handing it over to Pete, she patted him on the arm. “Take care of yourself today, okay? Don't feel bad about missing work. I just want you to focus on taking care of yourself and helping Russell out however you can.”

  “I'll try,” he said. “Thanks, Ms. P. He was my friend. And he just won all that money…” He trailed off, and ran a hand quickly over his eyes. “I'm going to get going.”

  Ellie nodded. He gave her a small nod, then left the way he had come in, after scooping his keys up off the ground. Ellie watched him go sadly. The name should have rung a bell in her head. She should have known, should have broken the news to him more gently. Poor Pete, she thought. To lose a friend like that, so unexpectedly, and to such a violent crime, has to hurt.

  Chapter Five

  The police left by noon, but Ellie was still filled with unanswered questions. It was a busy day, and she hated to think that many of the guests might just be gawkers. Since the murder had happened close to the pizzeria, stopping in for a slice was the perfect excuse for anyone who wanted to walk by the place where the body had been found.

  Even though it bothered her, there was nothing she could really do about it, so she did her best to ignore it, along with all of the gossip she heard. Devon hadn't been particularly well known in town, but such a public killing, with a body found so close to Main Street, meant it was all anyone talked about that day.

  By the time Ellie got home that evening, she was exhausted. She hadn't had a chance to talk to Russell since early that morning, and she didn't know if there had been any updates on the case. She doubted it. While Russell could make things move quickly when it came to high-profile cases, there was a limit, even for him.

  She stumbled through her evening routine, glad that Russell wasn't home yet, since that meant she could send him a text asking him to pick up takeout on his way home.

  It was a late night for him as well, and it was well past dark by the time he got home with a bag full of Chinese food. The two of them settled down in the living room, paper plates spread out on the coffee table as they divvied up the noodles, eggro
lls, and breaded chicken. Ellie turned the TV to reruns of old sitcoms and kept the volume down low. Even though she was itching to know more about the case, she didn't ask him about it, at least not right away. She knew that he needed a break. He had spent all day trying to figure out what exactly happened to Devon, and the last thing she wanted to do was make him keep thinking about it now, after he had finally gotten done for the day.

  “This hits the spot,” he said, after finishing the last of his eggroll. “Chinese takeout is the best after a busy day.”

  “I'm not going to argue with you on that,” she said. She twirled some of her noodles around her fork. “Is this next week looking pretty busy for you?”

  “The next few days are, definitely,” he replied. “After that, it depends. If the case goes cold, things will probably go back to normal. If we get a couple of good leads, I'll have to focus on those.” He drained his water glass then leaned back on the couch, looking satisfied. Ellie decided to carefully approach the subject now that he had had some time to relax.