Smoked Gouda Murder: Book 5 in Papa Pacelli's Pizzeria Series Read online

  A sudden motion from behind her, and Ellie just had enough time to stumble backwards and out of the way as Alex ran forward and punched his brother in the face.

  It was impossible for her to follow the fight that ensued. The men tumbled closer and closer to her, and Ellie continued backing up until she felt the bottom of the window frame bite into her legs. There was the flash of a knife, and someone’s blood spattered her pants. With a horrified moan, she climbed backwards out the window and onto the relative safety of the roof.

  “Ellie!”

  She glanced down and saw Russell on the ground, looking up at her, fear evident in his pale face.

  “They’re fighting!” she said. “Alex didn’t kill her, his brother did, but Chris has a knife and —”

  She slipped on a mossy shingle and felt herself fall. Waving her arms frantically, she tried to restore her balance, but to no avail. She took a step backwards, felt nothing but air under her foot, and fell.

  EPILOGUE

  * * *

  “Two Pacelli women in the hospital in under two weeks,” Nonna said, chuckling. “Maybe they should name this room after us.”

  “I don’t care what they name after me as long the doctor shows up soon with more medicine,” Ellie groaned. “My head’s killing me. I feel terrible. I can’t believe they’re going to make me stay here over Thanksgiving.”

  “I’m sure he’ll be here soon, dear.” The older woman patted her on the elbow. “And don’t you worry about Thanksgiving. I’ve already cancelled the dinner with the ladies. I’m going to make the two of us a special meal and eat it here with you.”

  “Oh, no, Nonna, I can’t let you do that – “

  “Nonsense. Thanksgiving is about family. I’m not going to let you spend it here alone. Now, don’t argue. The doctor will be here any minute, and he’s not going to thank me for getting you riled up.” As if in response to her words, a knock sounded at the door to her room.

  Ellie sat up in bed while her grandmother walked over to the door. She opened it to reveal, not the doctor, but Shannon, James, and Russell.

  “Oh, I’ll let you three have a few minutes alone with her,” Nonna said. “I’m going to go see if they have any of that wonderful gelatin left. This place has the best lime gelatin.”

  The moment she left, Shannon rushed over to Ellie’s bed and stared down at her. “Are you okay? Do you remember your name and everything? Does it hurt terribly?”

  “Yes it hurts, though it’s bearable, and no, I don’t have amnesia,” she told her friend. “I’m fine, thanks to our sheriff.”

  She smiled at Russell, who gave her a pained sort of smile back. “I think what you mean to say, is that you’re fine despite the sheriff irresponsibly taking you along on a call and leaving you to fend for yourself on an abandoned stretch of road with a killer on the loose.”

  “Don’t you dare blame yourself for any of this,” Ellie told him. “Seriously. If I had just stayed in the car like you’d asked, I would have been fine.” She struggled to sit up further, and Shannon helped her, fluffing her pillows and propping them up behind her back. “So did you manage to catch Chris?”

  “We did,” Russell said. “He managed to get out to the road with one of his suitcases and was in the process of trying to hitch a ride. Luckily he was covered in blood and no one was willing to stop for him. We think his plan was to go to Canada. He must have gotten spooked when he realized that Alex might lead us back to the house, where we would have seen evidence of their earlier fight.”

  “How is Alex?” she asked. “Was he hurt badly?”

  “He has some superficial cuts,” Russell said. “But he’ll be fine. He’s in custody right now. He may not have killed anyone, but he still did take a knife to multiple tires and he fled during a traffic stop. Despite all of that, he seems like a good guy. He’ll probably get let off with probation and community service.”

  “Good,” Ellie said firmly. “I’m glad he’s okay.”

  “We’re glad you’re okay,” Shannon said. “You fell off a roof. You could have died.”

  “Russell caught me,” Ellie pointed out.

  “I partially caught you. Thankfully I managed to keep you from becoming a stain on the driveway, but you still hit your head pretty hard on the deck railing. It’s amazingly lucky that you’re mostly unhurt.”

  “Pacelli women are tough,” Ellie said with a smile as she thought of her grandmother. “It takes a lot to keep us down.”