A Pizza to Die For (6 page)

When we arrived, I stared at Nathan’s home, trying to peer through the heavy vines that covered the front porch. It was difficult to see the bones of the basic house underneath it all. The place was in dire need of some serious landscaping, a good scrubbing, and a fresh coat of paint on the outside, and some of the columns on the front porch were showing signs of decay. But as I stared at it, erasing the clutter and disrepair in my mind, I began to see that it was an Arts and Crafts bungalow, much like my own.

“I never realized that it was just like my house,” I said.

Maddy looked at the house, and then stared at me. “Eleanor, are you okay? Did you hit your head in the kitchen and not tell me?”

Her sarcasm was thick, but I wasn’t about to be dissuaded from my point of view. “Maddy, look at the frame and forget everything else and you can see it. It’s a bungalow, and I’m willing to bet the builder used the same crew that constructed mine.”

She looked at the house again, this time longer and harder, and then finally said, “I don’t see it.”

“That’s because you didn’t spend a year of your life refurbishing one.”

We were about to approach the porch when a wiry old man with a shotgun threw open the front door and pointed it in our direction.

“Get off my land, or I’ll shoot you both where you stand.”

It was time for some fast talking, and that shotgun gave me plenty of incentive. “Mr. Sizemore, I’m Eleanor Swift, and this is my sister, Maddy. We came to talk to you about . . .” I wanted to say Italia’s, but instead, found myself finishing with “your house. I own an Arts and Crafts bungalow myself.”

His shotgun started to lower as I said it. “You trying to tell me that you own the place on Farrar?”

“My late husband, Joe, and I rehabbed it from top to bottom,” I admitted.

“I wouldn’t mind seeing it,” he said, the shotgun now pointed straight down at the porch floor. “I’ve always wondered what it looked like on the inside.”

I had a sudden inspiration. “Why don’t I show it to you right now? It’s not clean, or ready for any company, but you can see the work we did.”

He nodded. “I never worried about a mess I made myself in my life. Maid services are for sissies.”

Nathan started to walk off the porch when I asked him carefully, “Did you forget something?”

“I surely did,” he said as he walked back and locked his front door soundly.

That wasn’t what I’d meant.

I pointed to his weapon and said, “There’s no need to go there armed.”

Nathan shrugged. “You never know,” he said, but he got the hint and unlocked the door again so that he could stow the shotgun inside. “You never can be too careful these days,” he said. “Are you driving, or should I?”

I’d seen the rusty old pickup he drove through town, and I didn’t want to chance getting lockjaw from sitting in it.

I decided to volunteer my services. “I’ll be glad to drive,” I said.

Maddy got in the back, and Nathan sat up front with me. As we drove, I wondered how I might bring up the pizzeria and what had happened to its owner. I was about to say something about it when Maddy tapped me on the shoulder. When I looked back at her in the rearview mirror, she shook her head slightly. I had to be imagining things. Was my sister actually telling me
not
to talk about something? I decided to hold my questions until later. She must have had her reasons, even though they weren’t obvious to me.

We got to my house, and I led the way up front. When I got to the porch, I was surprised to see that Nathan Sizemore was still standing on the sidewalk.

“I like it,” he said after a moment’s pause.

“I’m glad,” I said. “Trust me. It looks even better inside.”

I unlocked the door, and as Maddy and I waited for him to join us, she said softly, “Save our interrogation for the ride home when he’s more receptive.”

“Okay,” I replied.

Once Nathan joined us, I explained, “We stripped four coats of paint from the wainscoting in the living room before we got to the bare wood. It’s quarter sawn oak, you know.”

He looked at me for a moment, and then said, “Thanks all the same, but I don’t need a tour guide. I know what I’m looking at.”

“Fine. Be my guest, then. Feel free to look around all you like.”

He nodded and then did as I’d suggested, wandering around the first floor without any acknowledgment that Maddy and I were still standing there. Other than a few grunts and nods of approval every now and then, the house was silent. Only when he got to the oak staircase did he hesitate long enough to look at me. “Mind?”

“Go right ahead,” I said, and Maddy and I trudged up after him.

After he’d poked his head into every nook and cranny upstairs, he said, “I’ve seen enough.”

“Would you care for some coffee?” I asked.

“Can’t stand the stuff,” he said.

“How about tea?”

He appeared to consider it, and then finally rendered his verdict. “Got any hot cocoa?”

“Always,” I said with a laugh. We went into the kitchen, where Nathan took a seat at the table as though he’d been there a thousand times before.

As I made the cocoa, he took a checkbook out from his jacket pocket and started scribbling.

“I’m not going to charge you for it. The cocoa’s on the house,” I said, trying to be funny, but apparently failing miserably.

“This isn’t for the drink,” he said as he finished signing his name with a flourish.

After he tore it out of the book, Nathan handed me a check for more money than I’d ever seen in my life. “What is this for?”

“I’ll take it, furnishings and all,” he explained as he sipped the cocoa I’d just handed him.

I dropped the check as though it were coated in anthrax. “Sorry, but my house is not for sale.”

“Everything in this world is for sale, if the price is right,” he said. He retrieved the check, tore it up, and then put the pieces into his pocket.

As he began to write another check, he chuckled. “I shouldn’t have low-balled you the first time. My mistake.”

I couldn’t believe this man. Did he honestly think he was going to waltz into my home and buy it from me without even asking first? “Mr. Sizemore, I don’t care how much that check is written for, I won’t take it. I told you before and I meant it, so it would be in your best interest to believe me that my home is not for sale at any price.”

He looked surprised. “Would you mind telling me why not?”

“My late husband, Joe, and I remodeled this place from top to bottom. Do you honestly think those kinds of memories are for sale? This is my home. More importantly, it was his as well.” I felt tears come to my eyes as I spoke, but I didn’t care if he saw them or not.

Nathan shook his head. “Mrs. Swift, I don’t want to buy your memories. The house is all I want. With your little pizza place struggling, I figured you’d be happy for the chance to make some real money.”

“I guess you were wrong, then,” I said, and then pressed my lips firmly together before I said anything I might regret.

“You don’t want to see the amount? You might change your mind if you do.” He was watching me closely to see how I’d react. “I know there’s not a single soul in Timber Ridge who thinks I have money, but they’re all wrong.”

“It’s not a factor, anyway. Would you like more cocoa?” I asked. “I think I’ll have some.” I looked at Maddy, but she just shook her head silently. My sister was clearly intrigued by what was going on, and she didn’t want to interrupt for fear of breaking the conversation up.

“I don’t get it,” he said as he shook his head. “You and I both know that it’s not worth half what I’m offering. Sentimental attachment is understandable, but there comes a time when turning money down just doesn’t make sense.”

He wasn’t trying to be offensive, I could see that now. I really wanted him to understand my reasoning. “Maybe it doesn’t make sense on one level, but in my heart, there isn’t enough money in the world to make me give this place up.”

Nathan put the checkbook back into his pocket and looked at Maddy. “Do you understand her?”

“About half the time, if I’m having a good day,” she admitted with a grin. “The rest of the time I just play it by ear.”

Nathan seemed to finally grasp what I’d been trying to tell him. With a dour smile, he said, “Okay, it’s not for sale. Got it. Tell you what I’ll do,” he said after a moment’s pause. “If I hire the right crew, can they come here to see what you’ve done? I’d appreciate if you’d give them pointers, too, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble.”

“I can do that,” I said. “As a matter of fact, I’d be glad to help in any way I can.”

He nodded. “That sounds like a plan. We’ll negotiate your fee later.”

“We’ll do it now,” I said firmly.

He looked surprised by my tone of voice and the direct nature of my reply, but he nodded briefly. “Tell me what you’re asking, and we’ll go from there.”

“Listen carefully, because I’m not a woman to be trifled with. I have a figure in mind, and I won’t back down from it.”

He took that declaration seriously. “Let’s hear it, then.”

“I will accept nothing for whatever help I’m able to give you,” I said, “and that’s my final offer.”

He looked bewildered by my requirement; that much was clear. “Why would you do that? What’s in it for you?”

I gave him my broadest smile. “To see another bungalow brought back to life is all the pay I need. These houses need to be preserved, not destroyed to churn out large houses that no one needs. What do you think?”

He seemed to mull that over, and then said, “Ma’am, I’m not sure I can accept that deal.”

“Then I’m afraid we’re stuck,” I said.

Again, Nathan turned to Maddy. “Is she always this stubborn?”

“You don’t know the half of it,” my sister said.

Nathan nodded, and then chewed on his lower lip for a few seconds before speaking again. “I’m a hermit, and I know how folks talk about me in town, but if I’d known you were around, I might have made more of an effort to get to know some of the people in Timber Ridge.”

“I take that as a compliment,” I said.

“Good, because that’s how I meant it.” He looked around admiringly, and then added, “You made the right decision.”

That was a real switch in attitudes. “Do you mean it’s worth more than you were offering?”

“In dollars? No, there you’re crazier than most folks think I am. But I can see this place is your home. I’m beginning to understand why you won’t sell it.” He yawned, and though the hour was still early, Nathan said, “Ladies, if you’ll excuse me, I’m bushed. Can I catch a ride back home?”

“We’d be glad to take you,” Maddy said before I could reply.

Once we were in the car, my sister asked from the back seat, “Did you hear about what happened at Italia’s today?”

“No,” he said. “I’ve been wrapping up a deal all day. Other than that snot-nosed lawyer I’ve been dealing with, you two are the first folks I’ve talked to all day.” He paused, and then added, “The past three days, as a matter of fact. I don’t exactly have a parade of folks just dropping in on me.”

“There was a murder,” Maddy said softly as we approached Nathan’s house.

He turned in his seat to look at her, and I could see worry in his expression. “What are you talking about?”

“The owner was killed sometime last night,” she said.

I pulled up in front of Nathan’s house, and without a word, he unbuckled his seat belt and stumbled out of the car.

Opening my own door, I called out, “Nathan, are you okay?”

He waved a hand in the air toward me, and as I saw him go into his house, the look of weariness and anguish on his face was nearly too much to take.

“What should we do?” I asked Maddy as I stared after him.

“There’s nothing we can do,” she said. “If he’d wanted us to follow him in, he would have invited us. One thing’s for certain. He hadn’t heard the news until I told him. If I’d known how he was going to react, I would have done it a little more delicately.”

“I wonder what his connection to Judson Sizemore is.”

“I don’t know, but it’s something we need to find out. I can’t imagine that shrewd old man willing to back Judson without a very good reason.”

“But not tonight,” I said as I stifled a yawn. “We’re not going to be able to uncover anything at the moment, and I’m completely worn out.”

Maddy nodded. “I’m exhausted myself. Why don’t you drop me off at home so I can grab a shower and go to bed early?”

My sister was known for keeping late hours, and I had to wonder if her exhaustion was because of what we’d done at the Slice today, or whether it had been brought on by her rift with Bob Lemon. “Don’t you want to go back to the Slice and get your car?”

“I forgot all about it,” she said. “I shouldn’t just leave it parked there all night. Something might happen to it.”

As we drove back to the Slice, I said, “I can’t stop thinking about how Nathan reacted back there.”

Maddy paused, and then answered, “Is there any chance he might be related to Judson? After all, they share the same last name.”

“It should be a possibility we consider. Why else would he back him in a business?” I asked. “A pizzeria doesn’t really seem like Nathan’s style.”

“After meeting the man, I can’t imagine why he’d do it.”

“He could have had lots of reasons,” I said. “For all we know, he didn’t like our pizza and wanted somebody else’s.”

Maddy looked at me as she shook her head. “That can’t be it.”

“Why not?”

“Because I can’t imagine anybody not liking what we make at the Slice,” she said with a smile. “Maybe I’ll put off going to bed and do some work on the case, instead. I need to do a little digging around on the Internet tonight and see what turns up. What are you going to do?”

I stifled another yawn as I said, “I’d planned to take a shower and go to bed.”

“Very productive. What’s your game plan for tomorrow, sleep in?”

“No,” I said as we neared her car, and stopped. “I’m going back to Nathan’s first thing in the morning and ask him directly about why he was trying to put me out of business. There’s got to be something that he’s not telling us, and I mean to find out exactly what it is, and I’m not leaving until I do.”