Pizza, Paradise, and Murder (Papa Pacelli's Pizzeria Series Book 24) Page 6

  “He could be. I just can’t see what motive he would have for trying to kill Linda and Sandra. You said yourself, they didn’t make any effort to stop him. Papa Pacelli’s was an easy target.”

  “I just wish I knew what to do next,” Ellie said. “I hate not knowing anything. We don’t even know for sure if it was anything more than an accident.”

  “Why don’t we pay another visit to Pizza Perfect later today?” he suggested. “We can talk to them, and maybe get a feel for how many employees there hate us. I still think that they are the most likely culprit. It would make sense for them to be at the restaurant convention, and that seems to be when Linda had a run-in with the person who made her uncomfortable.”

  They finished their hot dogs and enjoyed the beach for the next few hours. It was the first real break that Ellie had had since leaving Kittiport earlier in the week. It was nice to just relax next to her husband, and not have anything immediate to worry about, although nagging worries about Linda’s safety and the truth about what had happened to Sandra still bothered her.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  * * *

  It was late afternoon by the time she and Russell packed up their belongings and left the beach. They had just enough time to go back to the hotel room and get cleaned up before heading out to Pizza Perfect for dinner. As they pulled into the restaurant’s parking lot, Ellie was surprised to see that it was almost full. Why was Pizza Perfect so busy?

  She realized why as soon as they get closer to the doors. A sign out front read Grand Closing; Last Day Open! Everything Half Off. It seemed that the promise of cheap food had drawn in customers where nothing else had been able to.

  “Let’s get in line,” she said. “I didn’t think it would be so busy.”

  “Neither did I,” her husband admitted. “It might make it harder to get our questions answered.”

  “Or easier,” she said. “There will probably be more employees on the floor, and one of them might be willing to talk.”

  It took a while for the line to move up to the register. Ellie began looking over the menu as they got closer, but nothing looked appetizing. She hadn’t been impressed with the pizza they had gotten last time and doubted that this experience would be any different.

  “What do you want?” the employee at the counter asked, a young man this time. “It will be a twenty-minute wait.”

  “That’s fine,” Ellie said. “We’ll have a medium cheese pizza, please.”

  The employee scribbled down the order, then ran Ellie’s card.

  “It looks like you guys are doing pretty well,” Ellie said.

  “It’s too little, too late,” the young man said. “This is the last day we are open. Didn’t you see the sign out front?”

  “I did. I’m sorry,” Ellie said. “Do you have a job lined up?”

  “Maybe, if I can get into one of the other restaurants. There are a couple other Pizza Perfect locations spread around Miami. This location has just had bad luck. We’ve been struggling since we opened five years ago.”

  “That’s a shame,” Ellie said. “I own the pizzeria just a few blocks away, and I hope that the same thing doesn’t happen to us. What do you think was so bad about this location?”

  The younger employee straightened up, giving her an odd look, then said, “I’ll be right back.”

  Surprised, Ellie waited at the register while the line of people behind her began to grumble. After a couple of minutes, the employee returned with an older man in tow. She recognized the red-faced man, Jim, from a couple of days before.

  “You own the Pacelli place?” he asked her gruffly.

  “Yes,” she said cautiously. She was glad Russell was behind her, because this man did not radiate friendliness.

  “I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” he said.

  “Why?” Ellie asked, puzzled. “We just ordered a pizza.”

  “If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t be closing today. You stole our business, you stole our customers, and you drove us into the ground. I have every right to ask you to leave. Now, go.”

  To her shock, he stepped forward and shoved her. Russell put an arm out to steady her and moved in front of her. “Don’t touch my wife.”

  “I don’t care if she’s your wife, or the Queen of England. You need to leave. Now.”

  “We’re going,” Russell said. He was turning around to usher Ellie out when the man made his second mistake and shoved Russell. Russell barely moved, and it just seemed to make the other man angrier.

  “Get out now!” he shouted. The restaurant quieted down as the customers realized that there was a fight brewing.

  “Don’t touch either of us again,” Russell said, his voice dangerous.

  “Oh, yeah?” he moved closer, staring right into the sheriff’s face as he slowly placed his hands on Russell’s shoulders, then shoved him even harder than he had before.

  Russell froze, then moving carefully, he drew his wallet out and showed the man his badge. “You just assaulted a law enforcement officer. I’m going to call the local authorities, and they can deal with this.”

  The man’s redness had faded, and now his face was very pale. He began stammering apologies, but Russell had had enough.

  “This might take a little bit,” he said to Ellie. “Physically assaulting his customers is going a step too far. The police will want to know about this. It’s proof that he will resort to violence if he is angry enough.”

  “What should I do?” she asked.

  “Just stay out of the way.” His face softened. “I didn’t mean that to sound rude. But I don’t want you to get hurt, and it’s probably best if you aren’t in range if he lashes out again. You are already a potential target, since you own the pizzeria.”

  “I understand,” she said. “I’ll go outside, and call Linda and my grandmother and tell them what’s going on. Be careful, okay?”

  Russell nodded.

  Her heart still pounding, Ellie fought her way through the crowd of intrigued customers and slipped through the restaurant’s doors. She hadn’t expected to be physically pushed around, and it had upset her more than she wanted to admit.

  More and more, Jim seemed like he might be the one responsible for the accident. If Linda recognized his description, it might be the nail in his coffin. She called her co-worker, pacing anxiously as she waited for her to pick up. When Linda answered the phone, she gave her a quick summary of what had happened and described Jim.

  “Do you recognize the description?” she asked.

  “I… I don’t know. He sounds familiar. I do think I saw him at the convention, but I don’t know if he’s the one who was threatening me. We’ve never had good relations with Pizza Perfect. I wish I could help more. Maybe if I saw a picture…”

  Ellie agreed to try to take the man’s picture if she could. She said her goodbyes and ended the call, then turned her attention back to what was happening inside. Should she go back in? She didn’t want to get in the way, but she hated the thought of standing out here safely while Russell dealt with someone who was willing to use violence to get his way.

  Another car pulled into the parking lot, and she was faced with the new conundrum. Should she try to keep customers out of the building since the police had been called and there was a confrontation inside? She turned toward the doors, eyeing the group of people inside. She couldn’t see Russell or Jim any longer. What could she do to help if she didn’t even know what the police would want her to do?

  “Pardon me, but…” the man behind her broke off as she turned around. She recognized him; it was Frank Harris, the man who had offered to buy Papa Pacelli’s. “You’re the owner of Papa Pacelli’s, aren’t you?”

  “That’s me. Eleanora Pacelli.” Despite her concerns, she grinned. “Actually, that’s Eleanora Ward. I just got married.”

  “Congratulations,” he said. He glanced toward the doors. “So, um, what’s going on in there?”

  “It’s kind of a long story, but
the short version is the restaurant’s owner started pushing me and my husband around. I was asked to leave, since my presence might make things worse. The owner seems to blame me and my restaurant for Pizza Perfect closing down.”

  “I see. I hope things get straightened out,” he said. “Not to pry, but have you reconsidered my offer?”

  “I don’t want to sell,” she said. “Unlike Pizza Perfect, Papa Pacelli’s is doing just fine. Why don’t you buy this place?”

  “I was going to, until I saw their sales records. They haven’t managed to break even for more than one or two months in the past five years, let alone make a profit. I decided it was a bad investment.” Ellie nodded. She didn’t blame him.

  “Well, I’m sure there are a few other buildings for sale in the area.”

  “I’m interested in something very specific, unfortunately.”

  “I wish I could help you, but I’m not from around here. All I know is that Papa Pacelli’s is not for sale.”

  “You might be more help than you realize. I looked you up online and found out that you own two restaurants. You must have some experience when it comes to choosing location and finding a good building to purchase. Would you mind giving me some pointers?”

  “I don’t know,” she said. “We were actually planning on flying out tomorrow or the next day. I could give you my email address…”

  “How about right now? There’s this little place just a few doors down that serves coffee. We can talk business, and it would give you a chance to be out of the sun while things settle down in there.”

  Ellie hesitated, but then relented. She had no idea how long it would take the police to arrive. She would just have to keep an eye on the building, so when they got there, she could go out and give her statement. In the meantime, she might as well help this man out if she could.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  * * *

  Frank Harris chatted incessantly as he led the way down the street. Most of Ellie’s attention was on the building behind her. She was beginning to feel guilty for abandoning Russell, even though he had been the one to ask her to leave.

  “How far away is the coffee…”

  Without warning, Frank grabbed her roughly by the arm and yanked her into a narrow alley between two buildings. Ellie was shocked into silence at first, and by the time she gathered her wits enough to scream, she couldn’t; his other hand pressed over her mouth, making it hard to breathe.

  He dragged her behind an open dumpster and pressed her against the wall. She struggled, panic beginning to overcome her confusion.

  “Don’t say anything,” he said in a threatening voice. “Don’t scream.”

  She nodded, wide-eyed, willing to agree to just about anything if that meant he would let her go. He slowly removed his hand from her mouth. Ellie opened her lips to ask him what in the world he was doing, then immediately shut them again. He was still holding onto her arm and could quickly cover her mouth again if she tried something he didn’t like.

  “You’re the sole owner of the Papa Pacelli’s franchise, correct?” he asked her. Instead of speaking, she nodded. “What will happen to the restaurant if you’re gone?”

  She hesitated, and he sighed, gesturing for her to speak. “I don’t know. I haven’t really planned on that.”

  In truth, it would go to her grandmother, but she didn’t want to put Nonna in any danger.

  “That’s all I needed to know.”

  He dug a hand into his pocket, his grip on her arm tightening. Ellie didn’t know what he was about to do, but she knew that it wouldn’t be good.

  The garbage bin that she was brushing up against was open, and she moved her eyes, trying to sort through the mess of disgusting items for something that might be useful. The most promising was a long, metal shower curtain rod. He was still busy trying to pull something out of his pocket – a knife? She didn’t want to wait to find out.

  Knowing that she had only one chance, she didn’t allow herself time to think about it. She jerked away from his grip and reached into the dumpster, wrapping her fingers around the aluminum rod. He was surprised, and that was what gave her the time to whip around and hit him across the chest with it.

  He stumbled back reflexively. The shower curtain rod wasn’t heavy enough to do any real damage, but it would have still surprised him. He had a pocket knife in his hand by now and flipped it open as she watched. She swung the rod at him once more. He jumped back, looking more surprised than frightened.

  Ellie swung the shower curtain rod a third time, but this time he grabbed it and yanked it. Terrified of being pulled closer to him, she let it go. He stumbled back with the momentum, and she took the opportunity to duck down and grab half of a brick from the ground at her feet. She gripped it tightly, knowing that it would be her last chance to find something she could use as a weapon.

  Frank eyed the brick warily, his eyes darting from it to her face. He seemed to be judging whether or not she would actually use it against him.

  “Why are you doing this?” she asked, the words coming out automatically. They were at an impasse. If she threw the brick, she wouldn’t have any other weapons in easy reach. If she turned to run, he would have an opening to attack her. If he made a move, she would attack him with the brick, and it was heavy enough that it could do a lot of damage, especially if it hit him in the face.

  “I’ve been wanting that corner shop for years now,” he said. “I knew that the restaurant was going out of business last year. Imagine my surprise when, after years of being patient while that woman ran it into the ground, I walk by one day and it has a brand-new sign up. The same management, but it had been bought out by your Papa Pacelli’s. When I learned that Linda was still running it, I thought it was sure to close up again shortly, but it didn’t. I ran into her at the convention, and it just came to me. If I could kill her, or even just injure her badly enough, I might be able to finally have a chance at buying the building. I followed them after the convention and took my chance, but I guess the wrong person died. It wouldn’t have worked anyway; I realize now that you would have just replaced her with someone else. You are the last thing that is standing between me and the building I have dreamed of owning.”

  Ellie inched backward, until she felt the metal of the dumpster against her back. The smell of rotting food was overpowering.

  “Why did you want it so badly that you were willing to kill for it?” she asked.

  “My father owned it years ago. It was a corner burger joint back then. He sold it as payment for my college classes, and I vowed to him that I would get it back one day. I’ve been working toward it my entire life. I’m not going to let you take it away from me. It’s not fair.”

  “Would he want you to become a killer for him? Just let me go,” Ellie said. “Even if you kill me, you will never get the restaurant.”

  “Oh?” He raised his eyebrows. “You just told me you had no idea what would happen to it if you died.”

  “I have a husband and other family. Someone else would get it. Not you. They wouldn’t just put it up for sale.”

  “Your husband is here, isn’t he?”

  “You can’t kill him,” Ellie said, her heart racing even faster.

  “And why not? He’s over there at Pizza Perfect, isn’t he? Imagine me, running in, a panicked look on my face. ‘Oh, it’s terrible. She just stumbled in front of the car. Hurry, I think she’s hurt.’ He would follow me out, and I could lead him into this alleyway to meet the same fate you did.”

  “No, you couldn’t,” Ellie snapped. “Russell is a sheriff, and you would never get away with killing him. You would never get away with killing me, either, for that matter.”

  She saw the doubt flash across his face and decided to take that moment of his hesitation to make a move. She threw the brick as hard as she could but didn’t pause to see whether it hit him. She darted out of the alleyway, hearing a grunt of pain behind her. A moment later, footsteps. She was being followed, but it didn’
t matter. Russell had called the police to Pizza Perfect, and they must be there by now. All she had to do was make it a few stores down, and she would be safe.

  She didn’t even make it a few feet past the entrance to the alleyway before she ran headlong into someone. Familiar arms gripped her shoulders, stabilizing.

  “I was worried when I looked outside and you were gone,” Russell said. “What happened? Are you okay?”

  Out of breath, she could do nothing but gasp and point. Behind her, just coming out of the alleyway, was Frank Harris. Blood was streaming down his face from a cut on his scalp where the brick must have hit him.