Smoked Gouda Murder: Book 5 in Papa Pacelli's Pizzeria Series Page 6

  Ellie looked around herself fondly. They were standing in the middle of the pizzeria’s dining area, which was thankfully empty at the moment. Shannon was walking around the room, touching everything as if she had never seen it before. Rose and Iris were in the kitchen; she hadn’t told them about the change in ownership yet, and wasn’t quite sure how to bring it up so that she didn’t sound as if she was bragging. She had signed the papers only hours before, and it still felt somewhat unreal.

  “I’m glad you stopped by,” she said to her friend. “I was just about to call you when you showed up, in fact.”

  “Oh! That reminds me. I didn’t just happen to drop by. I was hoping you’d be in.” Shannon glanced towards the kitchen and lowered her voice. “You’ll never guess who tracked me down earlier today while I was hanging around the editor’s office at the paper.”

  “Who?”

  “One of the two brothers that you told me about. Christopher Gaines.”

  “Really?” Ellie’s eyes widened. “What in the world did he want?”

  “He heard that I was with you when you saw the murderer and wanted to ask me some questions. He asked to meet somewhere more private than the office. And get this.” She lowered her voice even further. “He said he didn’t want his brother getting wind of any of this.”

  “That’s really odd, Shannon. Did you tell Russell?”

  “I want to hear what he has to say first. I mean, if he wanted to see the sheriff, he’d just go do it himself, wouldn’t he? It’s not like the sheriff’s department is hard to find.”

  “What if he’s dangerous, Shannon?” Ellie shook her head. “Where did you tell him you’d meet him?”

  “Ah… here. In about five minutes.”

  Fighting down a surge of annoyance at her friend — she understood her curiosity, but in her opinion this entire situation could have been handled much better — Ellie went into the kitchen and let her employees know that she was going to be having lunch with Shannon and someone else, so she wouldn’t be minding the register.

  She hoped that Chris wouldn’t show up. She wasn’t quite sure why she thought meeting with him was such a bad idea. Maybe it was just because Russell had so recently impressed upon her how important it was for her to be careful. I’ll just have to hope that Shannon knows what she’s doing, she thought. There he is now.

  “You’re sure this is off the record? I don’t want any of it in the paper.” Chris glanced pointedly at Shannon

  “My lips are sealed,” she promised.

  He still looked doubtful, but took a deep breath and began speaking anyway. “I think my brother is the one who killed Celestine.”

  “Really?” Ellie said, surprised. Sure, those women who had been friends of Celestine sure seemed to think that he had done something, but she still couldn’t shake the feeling that Alex’s grief had been sincere when she’d last seen him.

  Chris nodded. “I wouldn’t say anything if I didn’t have good reason for my suspicions. The man’s my family, after all. That’s why I don’t want to go to the sheriff until I’m absolutely sure.”

  “Why’d you want to talk to us?” Shannon asked. “We don’t know anything other than what the cops know. We probably know a lot less, in fact.”

  “But you witnessed it,” Chris said, keeping his voice low and urgent. “You two are the only ones besides Celestine that saw the killer and, well, she’s not talking. Surely you must remember something about the man who killed her?”

  “It happened so quickly,” Ellie said, shaking her head slowly. “I really don’t remember anything about him other than what he was wearing, and I didn’t even see his clothes for more than an instant as he ran past the window. I wouldn’t even be able to pick him out of a line-up.”

  “Me either,” her friend added. “I think I was even more frozen than Ellie. At least she tried to help Celestine after the attacker fled. I could barely even manage to dial nine-one-one.”

  “So you didn’t see anything?” he pressed. Both of them shook their heads. He sighed and made to stand up. “Thanks for meeting me anyway, I guess.”

  “Hold on,” Ellie said. “We may not be able to help you identify her killer, but there is something else I noticed that seems odd to me.”

  Chris sat back down. “Go on.”

  Shannon looked at her questioningly. “Yeah, go on, Ellie. This is the first time I’ve heard of anything else.”

  “Well, you know how your tire got slashed that day you came over to decorate?” Her friend nodded. “That was the day after James met with Celestine to talk about the house she was thinking of building. And Jacob’s car got messed up the day after he delivered the pizza to her. And someone did the same thing to Russell’s truck the day after he spoke to Celestine’s friends. All three of those people had ties to her just before someone sabotaged their vehicles. Can that really be a coincidence?”

  Chris frowned, his forehead creased with concentration as he took in what she said. Shannon, on the other hand, shook her head.

  “Ellie, other people have had their tires slashed too. That older guy at the bistro, remember? He probably didn’t know Celestine at all. It’s just some vandal who enjoys playing pranks on people.”

  “What old guy?” Chris interrupted. “What did he look like?”

  “Balding, a bit round. He drove a red sports car,” Shannon told him.

  “That sounds like Mr. Fischer. He was Celestine’s boss.”

  The three of them fell silent as they took that in. Ellie was convinced that her hunch was right. The vandalism was connected to the murder. But why?

  “Why do you think it was your brother?” she asked Chris after a moment. “You said you had a good reason for your suspicions. What is it?”

  “Because Celestine was cheating on him,” Chris said. “She thought he didn’t know, but he did. He was obsessed with her — still is, in fact. I think he finally snapped and decided to end her instead of ending their relationship.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  * * *

  Ellie was shaken from her conversation with Chris and Shannon, but went home that evening without telling Russell. She wanted to figure out who that Mr. Fischer was first, and see if he was the same person that had seen his car get vandalized at the bistro. She’d had enough experience with being the woman who called wolf, and didn’t want to waste the sheriff’s time again if she could help it.

  When she began her search for Mr. Fischer online, she expected it to take only a few minutes, but it turned out that Fischer was a rather common last name in the area. Without a first name, or any clue what sort of business he had run, finding him online would be a daunting if not impossible task. I bet Russell knows where Celestine worked, she thought. I’ll ask him at dinner tonight, then we’ll probably be able to track down a picture of the man. If Celestine’s boss hadn’t been the man in the bistro, then she knew that her theory about the car vandal and the murders being connected wouldn’t stand up to scrutiny. Still embarrassed about how wrong she’d been in the past, she decided to bring the topic up as naturally as possible that evening. She was determined not to let anything wreck this date.

  She got ready that evening with a sense of Deja vu. Bunny was lying on her bed in almost exactly the same spot, watching her sadly as she examined herself in the mirror. When her phone rang at a quarter to eight, she half expected Russell to cancel again. She was relieved when he told her instead that he was on his way.

  Russell had made reservations not for the White Pine Kitchen, but rather at a nice restaurant in Benton Harbor called Juliette’s. The drive was a good forty minutes, and by the time they got there, thoughts of the murder and the car vandal had been pushed to the side by hunger. The restaurant was beautiful, with a comfortable, Italian feel.

  They perused their menus and placed their orders. It wasn’t until the appetizer came — freshly made flatbread with a smoked whitefish dip — that Ellie could focus on the news that she most wanted to share with the sheriff.
Opening her purse, she withdrew a manila folder and handed it over to him. Raising his eyebrows, he opened it and looked inside. She saw the exact moment that he realized what he was seeing, and met his grin with one of her own.

  “Your grandmother’s giving you the pizzeria?”

  She nodded. “I can hardly believe it myself. When I first came here, I just planned on helping out for a while. I never thought I’d end up owning the place. I still feel very conflicted about agreeing to sign. I don’t want to take advantage of my grandmother. What if she wasn’t thinking straight when she came up with all of this?”

  “I don’t think you have to worry about that. She’s probably been planning this for a while.”

  “You think so?”

  “I do. It makes sense for her to want to keep the restaurant in the family and, well, she doesn’t have any other family around here, does she? And over the past few months, you’ve proven that you can do amazing things. The restaurant is nearly unrecognizable now compared to how it was a year ago, and in a good way.” He smiled at her. “So, congratulations, Ellie. Papa Pacelli’s is yours. You shouldn’t waste any time feeling bad about that.”

  She smiled, glad that she had told Russell before she’d had time to agonize with her feelings of guilt any longer. He was right; it made sense for Nonna to want to find a good owner for the pizzeria before she lost her ability to do so. “Thanks,” she told him. “That means a lot to me.”

  “So, what did your employees say when you told them?” he asked.

  “I actually haven’t said anything to them yet,” she admitted. “Shannon’s the only other person who knows. I told her yesterday evening when she stopped by the pizzeria.”

  That reminded her of the other topic she wanted to bring up; that of Chris and his brother, Alex. She bit her lip. Their date was going so well. Would bringing up Celestine’s murder wreck it? She would just have to do this carefully, that was all.

  “Have you had any luck tracking down the person who trashed your car?” she asked. It wasn’t exactly a smooth change of subject, but hopefully he wouldn’t notice.

  “No.” He sighed. “The security footage caught the person on tape, of course, but there’s no way to identify the culprit. He — or she — was wearing a ski mask, and didn’t touch anything, so there’s no hope of getting fingerprints.”

  “A ski mask?” Ellie asked, her heart starting to pound. “Like the guy who killed Celestine?”

  Russell stared at her, his brows drawing together. “Yes, but a lot of criminals wear something to hide their identity. The chance of it being the same person…” He trailed off. She could see him connecting the dots in his mind.

  “You, Jacob, and Shannon — through James — all had some sort of connection with Celestine,” she said. “That can’t be a coincidence.”

  “It could be a coincidence,” he said. “Never say never. But you’re on to something. I just don’t understand what the motivation would be.”

  “Me either,” she said.

  Russell put down the glass of water that he had just picked up, without taking a sip first. His gaze locked onto hers. “You sound like you’ve been giving this a lot of thought,” he said.

  “It’s crossed my mind a few times,” she said.

  “Ellie, didn’t I tell you to be careful? You’re supposed to leave the whole investigating crimes thing to me. Getting involved could be dangerous for you, especially since you witnessed the crime in question.”

  “Just thinking about something isn’t going to hurt me,” she said. She decided not to mention her and Shannon’s meeting with Chris unless she had to. “And it’s sort of hard not to think about it when two of my friends and one of my employees all got their tires slashed within day of each other.”

  He shook his head, as if to clear it. “You’re right,” he said. “I’m sorry. I know I worry too much. I do think you’re onto something, but I’ll have to look into it more. Let’s just enjoy our dinner for now.”

  “Okay,” she agreed. I still haven’t told him about Mr. Fischer, she thought. Chris seemed pretty certain that he was the guy at the bistro. It might be an important connection. She was reluctant to bring up the subject of Celestine again, though. The sheriff must have spent nearly every moment for the past week thinking about her, pouring over the case, trying to solve her murder; it didn’t seem fair to make him talk about it on their date as well.

  “Are you planning on making any changes to the pizzeria, now that it’s going to be yours?” he asked, getting back to their original topic.

  “No, not that I can think of. Honestly, it won’t be much of a change. I’m happy with how well it’s doing now. I think I’m going to continue expanding the menu, but we’ve already been doing that.”

  “What else are you going to add?” he asked.

  In the past few weeks alone, she had already added both calzones and brownies to the menu, and both had been successful. She felt like she was on a roll. “Salads, for one. Nothing fancy, but I think people would order them if we had them. And I think I’m going to look into getting a gluten free recipe for our dough, as well. It was popular option for pizza places back in Chicago, and it can’t hurt to give it a try here.”

  “Both of those sound like great ideas. I’d —” He broke off as his phone rang. He stared at it for a moment, then sighed and picked it up off the table. “I’m sorry, Ellie, but it’s a call from the department.”

  “It’s fine,” she told him. “I understand.”

  She ate more of the smoked whitefish appetizer while he spoke to whoever was on the other line, thinking of her plans for the pizzeria. She wanted to stay loyal to Arthur Pacelli’s original concept, but still keep the restaurant as up to date and modern as possible. Maybe they should implement an online ordering system… then again, that might just complicate matters. There was a difference between updating things that needed it, and trying to fix something that wasn’t broken.

  “We’ve got to go,” Russell said, startling her out of her thoughts. “That was Mrs. Laffere. The car vandal has struck again, but this time someone caught him in the act. I have his license plate number and the make and model of his vehicle. With any luck, I’ll be able to track him down and maybe even get some answers about Celestine’s death while I’m at it.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  * * *

  With time being of the essence, Russell was forced to let Ellie ride along with him. She was thrilled, though he seemed less than happy with the arrangement. With the lights on top of the truck flashing, they flew through the night, following the state highway along the coast back up to Kittiport.

  “Whatever happens, I want you to stay in the car,” he said. “Do you understand?”

  She nodded. “Where are we going?”

  He glanced over at her. “The call came from the house that Celestine was staying at,” he said. “It’s another connection to her, a strong one. I think you were right, Ellie. It’s no coincidence that the person slashing tires and breaking windows is targeting people that are connected to her.”

  Ellie couldn’t help the triumphant feeling that blossomed in her chest. She had been right, for once. She’d managed to piece together something of a mystery without being dreadfully wrong, and it was a good feeling.

  “Who lived at the house with her?” she asked.

  “The house is owned by the Gaines brothers,” he said. “She didn’t live there permanently, but split her time between there and Portland, which is why she hadn’t changed her address.”

  “What was in Portland?”

  “Her job,” he said, keeping his eyes on the road as he navigated a curve in the road. “She worked as an actress for an advertising firm. She got called down for a week or two every month to do a shoot for the next advertisement.”

  Ellie fell silent, digesting this information. If Celestine’s job had been in Portland, then what had her boss been doing in Kittiport? Of course, she still hadn’t confirmed that the man in the b
istro had indeed been Mr. Fischer, but if all of the other car vandal incidents had been connected, it stood to reason that that one had been, too. So, what reason did Mr. Fischer have to spend a day in Kittiport?

  “We’re close,” Russell said. “Keep your eyes open. We’re looking for an older car, dark blue.” He recited the license plate number. “Two people looking is better than one, since I’ve got to concentrate on the road as well. Mrs. Laffere said the person who called in reported that the car drove away to the north. Bethany and Liam are covering the roads in town. We’ll take the back roads.”

  They passed Celestine’s old house in a rush, and Russell turned off the flashing lights. Ellie kept her eyes peeled, but there was no sign of any other cars on the road at all. She realized that if the car had come from the house where Celestine had lived with the two brothers, then one of them must have made the call. What was going on? She wished Russell had given her more information, but she didn’t want to distract him by asking now. This was turning out to be quite the exciting date.