A CRISPY SLICE OF MURDER (Papa Pacelli's Pizzeria Series Book 21) Read online

  He opened his mouth to say something else, but at that moment, Shannon collapsed. Danny swore as she slid to the ground to lie awkwardly at the foot of the pole she was bound to. Ellie pushed aside her worries for Shannon and took advantage of the distraction. She stepped around behind James and took the wire cutters from him, quickly snipping the zip ties at his wrists. She handed him the cutters, then ran over to the workbench while he freed his legs. She grabbed a heavy wrench just in time; Danny had looked up and seen what she was doing.

  “Put that down,” he shouted. In his hurry to un-holster his gun, he dropped the knife, which Shannon — clearly faking unconsciousness — kicked over toward James.

  Ellie raised the wrench and edged toward the stairs, hoping to distract Danny. James had freed himself from the chair, and was reaching for the hunting knife.

  Her mistake was that she thought he would hesitate. Instead, he pulled the trigger the instant he had aimed at her. The shot was loud enough to make her ears ring, and she felt a sharp burn on her arm. The bullet had grazed her.

  He never got off another shot. He had forgotten completely about Shannon, who was still on the floor behind him. Her hands were bound, but her feet were free, and she kicked him hard in the back of the knee. His leg collapsed, and he fell to the ground, the gun went flying.

  Ellie and James moved at the same time; Ellie toward the gun, and James toward Danny. James put his knee on his captor’s chest, holding him down, with the hunting knife gripped tightly in his hand. Faintly, over the ringing in her ears, Ellie could hear sirens. Somehow, Russell must have used the call to find them.

  Epilogue

  After everything that had happened during the past forty-eight hours, Ellie had thought she would never be truly happy again. The constant fear of the past couple of days was gone, and its absence was a welcome bliss. Somehow, they had all gotten through the past couple of days. James was the worst off; the cut on his arm had gotten infected. Danny had wrapped it with a torn strip of t-shirt to stop the bleeding, but hadn’t done anything to treat it. After some stitches and a round of antibiotics, he would be okay.

  Ellie was the next worse off, with the graze on her arm from the bullet. It stung, but hadn’t done any real damage. She knew she was lucky. They had all been lucky.

  The only person left to get cleared by the doctors was Shannon. Ellie and Russell were sitting in the hospital’s waiting room together, while James was with his wife. Though Shannon hadn’t been injured, they were worried that the stress might have harmed the baby.

  “Where are you going?” Russell asked as she got up.

  “I need to walk around. My legs are falling asleep, and my arm hurts, and I need to do something besides just sitting here.”

  “Do you want me to come with you?”

  She shook her head. “One of us should stay here in case they come out. I won’t be gone long. Do you want anything from the vending machine?”

  “I’m good,” he said. “Thanks for offering, though.”

  She walked away, stretching her legs and being careful not to move her arm too much. She was tired, and the faint buzzing of the hospital’s fluorescent lights wasn’t helping the growing ache in her skull. Despite all of that, she felt good. Better than good, in fact. The one nagging worry was that of Shannon’s baby, but with luck, the doctors would have an answer soon.

  “You.”

  Surprised by the cold voice, she turned to see a familiar face in one of the rooms. It was Clark Mackley.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  He gave a dry chuckle. “While I was running from the cops, I fell down an icy hill like an idiot. Apparently, I have a concussion. They’re keeping me for observation overnight, before I get cleared to go straight to a jail cell. I guess I should be happy I get to spend one more night out from behind bars.”

  “I know you didn’t kill that man,” Ellie said. She stepped into his room hesitantly. “We found the person who did. He confessed everything to us, and the sheriff heard it. I’m sure they’ll let you go once everything gets straightened out.”

  “Really?” he sat up straighter in bed. “You’re not just pulling my leg?”

  “Really,” she said. “I’m sorry I called the police on you. I mean, at the time I thought you were a murderer, but now… well, I’m sorry. What really did happen, though, with that murder victim? Why were you found with his blood on your hands?”

  “I found him bleeding on the sidewalk. I did what any normal person would do and tried to help him. That’s all.” He sighed. “If they’re really going to let me go, then I suppose I don’t have much to complain about. I did attack a deputy on my way out of the sheriff’s department. Was my cousin involved in all of this? I know you two seemed to be looking for her. I asked her to rent me the hotel room, and I didn’t tell her that I had been arrested, so I hope she didn’t get in trouble over that.”

  “I’m not sure if she will or not, but I do know she wasn’t involved in the kidnapping,” Ellie said. “I should get going back. I’m sure everything will get cleared up with you soon. Once you’re out, you can stop by the pizzeria if you want to hear my part of the story.”

  She figured it was only fair. After all, he had been blamed for one of the murders that Danny had committed, and had almost been accused of kidnapping James. He deserved some sort of explanation.

  When she returned to the waiting room, her heart leapt. Shannon and James were out, and were standing by Russell. She hurried over.

  “The baby’s fine,” Shannon said, beaming. “He’s perfect.”

  “He?”

  “Yes.” She smiled. “We had decided to be surprised, but I just had to ask when they were doing the ultrasound. We’re going to have a boy.”

  Beaming, Ellie hugged her friend. The two of them had been through a lot together in the past couple of days. After everything that happened, their friendship felt stronger than ever. In just a few short weeks, they would officially be family, and Ellie couldn’t think of anybody else she would rather call her sister-in-law.