Pepperoni Pizza Can Be Murder (13 page)

I hoped she did, and there was even a possibility that maybe she was on her way tonight.

There was one thing I knew for sure. I couldn’t spend my life looking back. Joe wouldn’t have wanted me to live that way, and I knew in my heart that it wasn’t fair to me, or my memories of him. I would have to move on.

Just not today.

My science teacher was asking me why I couldn’t understand my test, and I had trouble explaining to him that I didn’t read German. He told me his exams were always in German, news to me, because I’d taken French. Everyone in class was laughing at me, and I kept wondering why no one was answering the phone when I woke up.

That’s when I realized that I had dreamed all of it, except the ringing of the telephone.

“Hello,” I said, barely awake. I’d fallen asleep on the couch watching a movie, which I could see was over when I glanced at the screen.

“Stop digging around, or you’re next,” a voice whispered on the other end before the phone hung up.

I hit *69, wondering who had called, but it was blocked, and I didn’t have the resources to trace it, anyway. Kevin Hurley might be able to track it down, but I wasn’t exactly in a position to ask him for any favors at the moment.

Someone Maddy and I had spoken with over the past few days was clearly upset by our meddling, but I didn’t have the slightest idea who it might have been. The quality of the call had been so poor that I couldn’t even tell if it had been a man or a woman on the other end.

But their intent was clear. We’d gotten close to someone who was clearly upset by our investigation. But just as obvious, the caller didn’t know me very well, or my sister. A warning wasn’t a red flag to us; it was a green light. If pushing a little got this kind of response, I was all for shoving harder still.

I thought about calling Maddy and telling her about it, but then I remembered that she was probably still out on her date, and knowing my sister, I doubted she’d welcome the interruption.

I got up, turned off the television, and double-checked all of the doors and windows to make sure that they were locked. I felt safe after I did, but just in case, I wedged a chair under my bedroom door and somehow managed to fall asleep.

“I
can’t believe you didn’t call me the second it happened,” Maddy said the next morning as we sat in my kitchen, eating the donuts she’d bought and brought over to the house. “This is really serious.”

“Come on, there’s a good chance that it was just a prank,” I said. Given the light of day, I had begun to doubt whether the threat had even been real.

“You and I both know better than that.” She grabbed the phone and pushed it at me. “Call him.”

“Bob? Why? Did something happen on your date last night? I’m still waiting for a report from you, and I’m not sure it’s all that appropriate to call him for an update, if you’re not willing to tell me about it yourself.”

“You can keep on waiting,” she said, “because I’m not giving you one. You need to get the police chief to track that call.”

“I don’t want to any more than you want to tell me what happened on your date last night.”

Maddy frowned, and then she finally nodded. “I’ll make you a deal. You call Kevin Hurley, and I’ll tell you all about my date.”

“Do you mean that?”

Maddy said, “Every last detail. Go on.”

I dialed Kevin’s number at the office—doubting he’d be in yet—but to my surprise, he answered almost immediately.

“You’re working some long hours these days,” I said.

“Better here than at home,” he said.

“Is there trouble in paradise?” I knew that Kevin and his wife had more than their share of problems, but it was odd that he’d tell me about them.

“It’s never been paradise, and we both know it,” Kevin said with an inordinate amount of frankness. “What can I do for you today, Eleanor?”

“I don’t think it’s anything, but someone called my house last night and threatened me. Maddy thought I should give you a call.”

“For once, I agree with your sister,” he said. “About what time was it?”

“It was a little after eleven,” I admitted. “Listen, I don’t want to keep you from your work.”

“I’ll call you right back,” he said, and then the police chief hung up before I could say anything else.

“What did he say?” Maddy asked.

“Believe it or not, he agreed with you.”

She looked genuinely shocked by the declaration. “Well, I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later. Is he looking into it?”

“If I had to guess, I’d say he was checking telephone records. That’s probably going to take some time, so tell me about your date.”

Maddy shrugged. “You’re right—a deal’s a deal. Bob picked me up, we ate, and I was back home snug in my living room in time for the eleven o’clock news.”

“The question is, were you alone when you watched?”

“Of course I was,” Maddy said. Her nose crinkled for a second, and then she added, “I invited him in, but he had an early day today.”

She might have been satisfied with that weak rendition of her evening, but I wasn’t about to let her get away with that.

“I want details,” I said. It wasn’t like Maddy to be reticent about anything, and I was guessing that she either had a wonderful time, or it was too dreadful for her to talk about.

Just as she started to speak, the telephone rang.

Maddy grinned. “Saved by the bell.”

“Not saved, delayed,” I explained as I picked up the phone.

It was Kevin Hurley.

“That was fast,” I said.

“It’s not as complicated as the movies would make you think,” he said. “We might not have state-of-the-art everything, but we’ve got a crackerjack phone company that does. The call to your house came from a pay phone.”

“So we’ll never have any idea who made that call.”

“Eleanor, don’t you want to know where the telephone is located?” he asked.

“Does it really matter?”

“I think so,” he said. “Whoever called you used the one on the promenade near your pizzeria. I’m guessing they came by to catch you alone at night so they could give you that warning in person, but when you weren’t working, they decided to call you at home.”

“You’re giving me the creeps,” I said.

“Good. If it makes you more cautious, then I’m all for it.”

I was about to thank him for his quick work, when he added, “Enough of this foolishness. You’ve got to tell me where Greg is hiding.”

“I told you before, and it’s still true. I don’t know where he is.”

“Eleanor, I could arrest you for obstruction—you know that, don’t you?”

“Hey, you know where to find me. I’m not exactly ducking you. I seem to be getting a lot of threats over the telephone lately.”

He clearly didn’t like that at all. In a cold voice, he said, “That wasn’t a threat, it was a promise.”

“I’ll see you when I see you,” I said, then hung up.

Maddy was studying me as I turned to her. “What was that all about?”

“He thinks I know where Greg’s hiding. It wouldn’t surprise me if he has the house staked out watching for him.”

Maddy peeked out the window. “I don’t see anybody, but maybe his deputies are just that good.”

“I don’t know how I keep getting myself into these jams,” I said.

“You’re just talented that way, I guess. Did he tell you to back off?”

“Of course he did.”

“And are we?”

I looked at her. “What do you think?”

Maddy smiled. “I think it’s time we hit the streets again. I’ve been thinking about what you said, and you’re right. We need to talk to Katy Johnson.”

“I’m ready if you are.”

“I’ll drive,” Maddy said as we walked out front. “I know where she lives.”

“Then maybe you should be the navigator,” I said. “You usually seem to be the one who drives us places.”

Maddy shrugged. “Fine, I don’t care. You drive.”

“That’s better,” I said.

We got into my car, and then I asked, “Where exactly am I going?”

“The apartment complex in back of Bleeker Street,” she said. “I just found out that Katy’s in 14A.”

As I drove to the other side of town, I said, “You know, I’d hate to live in an apartment again.”

“Some of them are really nice,” Maddy said. “I always stay in one after I get divorced. It makes the transition a lot easier.”

“I didn’t mean anything by it,” I said. “Joe and I lived in an apartment until the house was in good enough shape for us to move in. I just never felt like I was putting down any real roots until we got the house.”

Maddy looked out the window instead of at me. “Some of us don’t like roots. They keep us too tethered to a particular place for too long.”

“But you always come back to Timber Ridge, don’t you?” I asked. I’d never really thought about it before, but it was true. While Maddy’s marriages had taken her all over the United States, whenever she divorced, she always came home to our little part of North Carolina.

“It’s just a coincidence,” she said.

I didn’t believe it for a second, and I was pretty sure she didn’t, either. But if my sister didn’t want to talk about it, I’d respect that, at least for the moment.

We drove in silence until the brick apartment complex came into view. It was named Oakcrest, though I couldn’t see an oak tree anywhere, and the place had been built on the flattest part of Timber Ridge, so that took care of the crest.

“This isn’t so bad,” Maddy said as we got out. “It’s not as nice as my place, but for the money, it’s a decent deal.”

“Did you think about living here when you came back home the last time?” I asked as we walked in. When she’d first come back to town—soon after her latest divorce, and Joe’s untimely death—I’d offered her a room in my house, as much for her benefit as mine, but she’d turned me down. It was a wise decision. As much as I loved my sister, we couldn’t live together and work side by side at the Slice, certainly not as adults. Whenever one of us was lonely, or just felt like getting away, we’d have a sleepover at one place or the other, but the uniqueness of it was what made it fun.

“No, but I looked at it. It’s a different kind of place than where I am now.”

“Less upscale, maybe?” I asked as we walked toward the front open-air stairway.

“No, more transient,” she said. “These places are rented month to month. Mine is a yearly lease.”

We walked up to 14A, and as I knocked on the door, it swung open.

The place was empty, cleaned out of all personal possessions.

“She’s not here,” I said.

“That’s pretty obvious,” Maddy answered.

“So you got some bad information.”

She raised an eyebrow at that. “It was good as of last night.”

“Are you trying to tell me that she moved out this morning?”

“How should I know?” Maddy asked.

As we were talking, a thin, sallow man in his forties walked into the apartment.

He smiled at us, and then said, “Ladies, we’re not ready to show this unit yet, but we’ve got a lovely two bedroom on the other end of the building that just opened up. Why don’t you let me take care of a few things here, and I’ll meet you there. I’m the building manager.”

“Isn’t this where Katy Johnson lives?”

“Lived,” he said. “She moved out this morning, after being here eight months. Funny thing, though, she still had fourteen days of rent she’s already paid. I’ve had plenty of folks sneak out a few days past their lease, but not many who go with money still on the books.”

“Did you happen to see her?”

He nodded. “I was taking out some trash and found her by the Dumpster. She was in a hurry to get out of here, let me tell you. I started to tell her that she could have her security deposit back after I checked her place over, but she told me to keep it. That girl was in some kind of hurry to get away.” He looked around the place, and then said, “It needs a coat of paint, but that’s not her fault. I’ve been meaning to get around to it, but I never seem to have the time. Now, this unit on the end I was telling you about would be perfect for you two.”

“We’re not looking for a place to rent,” I said.

“Then why am I standing here talking to you when there’s work to be done?” he asked with a smile. “If you’ll excuse me,” he said, “I’ve got to get this place ready to rent.”

“Do you mind if we look around anyway?”

“Suit yourself,” he said. “I’ve got to go get my painting supplies.”

When he was gone, I looked at Maddy, then studied the abandoned apartment and said, “This doesn’t look good for Katy.”

“Maybe she just needed a change of scenery.”

“And maybe she’s on the run.”

Maddy frowned as she looked around. “Come on, Eleanor, would you live here if you had any other options in the world? This place is more than a little depressing.”

“Apparently, it didn’t bother her that much for the past eight months. There had to be another, more compelling reason for her to leave so abruptly.”

“The timing is a little off, I’ve got to give you that.” Maddy started digging through a box of Katy’s discards.

“What are you doing?”

“Looking for a clue about where she might have gone,” Maddy said. “Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty, princess. Dig in.”

I chose another box near the front door. “While we’re at it, let’s keep our eyes open for a motive to murder.”

“We don’t have all day,” Maddy said. “The manager will be back any second, and I’m not sure he’d appreciate us pawing through this.”

She was right. There were too many discarded papers in the boxes. I took everything but paperwork out of mine, then dumped Maddy’s box inside, too. It was so full I could barely close the cardboard flaps, and on an impulse, I threw the old telephone book on top of all of it.

“And how are we going to get that past the building super? I don’t think this guy misses much.”

I shoved her toward the door. “That’s where you come in. Go charm him while I smuggle this to the car.”

She started to protest when the manager came back into view.

I shoved the box behind the door as my sister told the manager, “I never got your name.”

“It’s William Stratford,” he said. “And you are?”

“Single, William,” my sister replied. “How about you?”

The poor man actually blushed. “I never had time for a wife, what with my career and all.”

It was all I could do not to laugh out loud at that, but Maddy never even skipped a beat. “Business is important, but you must be awfully lonely.”

He couldn’t even look her in the eye. “I get that way from time to time.”

Maddy threaded her arm into his. “Why don’t you tell me about it while you show me this apartment vacancy you’ve got? I can suddenly see some real advantages to living here.”

If she batted her eyes any harder, I was afraid she was going to take off like a helicopter.

He bought every bit of it, though, and when they left, I doubted that he even remembered I’d come with her.

Once they were gone, I did one last check of the place, but if there were any clues to Katy’s sudden disappearance that weren’t in the box, I’d have been surprised. I carried the whole thing outside, nearly tripping over the paint cans in the outdoor hallway where the super had abandoned them.

I put the box in my car, and then waited impatiently for my sister to come back so we could leave. It was almost time for us to get to the Slice, and I didn’t want to be late. There wasn’t going to be any rushed dough today. We’d been closed—through no fault of our own—and I wanted everyone who came in to remember why they bought their pizzas and subs at our place, and not somewhere else.

I was about to give up on her when Maddy came tearing down the sidewalk. She got into the car, and then said in a panting voice, “Let’s go.”

“What happened? Did the shy Mr. Stratford get a little fresh with you?”

“It turns out that he isn’t all that shy when no one else is around.”

I laughed loudly. “You can’t be serious.”

“Trust me, I wouldn’t lie about that. I wonder if that’s why Katy left. With that masher for an apartment manager, I doubt she felt very safe.”

“I still can’t believe it,” I said.

At that moment, I saw William Stratford come around the corner, so before he could get any closer to the car, I put it in gear and drove off.

I looked back in my rearview mirror, and then told Maddy, “Turn around.”

“Why?” She did as I asked, and no doubt saw Mr. Stratford standing in the middle of the parking lot, waving frantically at us, or, more likely, at my sister.