Pepperoni Pizza Can Be Murder (4 page)

“Why on earth would I want you to do that?” I asked.

David picked up on the first ring, and before I could even say hello, he asked, “Eleanor? Are you all right?”

“I’m fine, David, but I can’t really talk. I’m up to my elbows in dough right now.” That wasn’t strictly the truth, but I had work to do.

“You never came home last night,” he said, an undertone of accusation in his voice. “I waited until one
A.M
.”

“You shouldn’t have done that,” I said.

“I didn’t mind. As soon as I heard about what happened, I needed to see you. I had to make sure you were okay.”

“I stayed with Maddy last night,” I said, cradling the telephone between my shoulder and my neck so I could check on the dough, steadily stirring away in the floor stand mixer.

“Of course you did, that makes sense. I should have looked for you there.”

“No, you shouldn’t have,” I said. My patience was just about worn out with him, and I couldn’t keep from letting it show in my voice.

“Are you seriously going to act like you’re the one who’s hurt? I’m really surprised you didn’t call me after what happened to you, and more than a little disappointed. Eleanor, I have a right to know how you are.”

“And tell me, why is that, David?” I saw Maddy warning me off, but I was on a roll and wasn’t about to stop. She’d wanted me to make this telephone call, so she was going to have to live with the consequences of it. I didn’t even try to ease the anger in my voice as I said, “We’re not dating, as I’ve told you a hundred times before. We have a meal together once a week, but if you think that gives you some kind of proprietary interest in my well-being, then you’re mistaken.”

“Sorry,” he said, the hurt clear in his voice. “I was just concerned about you.”

“You needn’t be. I’m fine, which I believe we already established. Is that all you wanted to talk to me about? I can’t really talk. I’m busy right now. I have to get the Slice ready to open.”

He paused a moment, then said softly, “The reason I was looking for you last night was that I wanted to tell you that I won’t be able to make dinner this week. Something came up at the last minute.”

He hung up before I had a chance to say anything else to him.

“How do you like that? He just canceled on me,” I said as I hung the telephone back into its cradle.

“Are you honestly surprised?” Maddy asked. “What’s gotten into you? You just treated him like caring about you was something criminal.”

“He doesn’t have the right to worry about me,” I said, getting back to my dough. “We’re just friends.” It was time to turn off the mixer and take the mixture out so I could knead the dough on the counter.

“You didn’t have to stomp on him so hard,” she said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you drove him off for good.”

“I can’t do anything about that now, can I?” I said, trying to keep my voice confident as I spoke. I’d been frustrated with David—there was no doubt about that—but I hadn’t meant to be so mean to him. It generally wasn’t in my nature, but I was still upset about being robbed the night before, and his implication that I should have come running to him didn’t sit well with me. I was a little too old to have to check in with someone whenever something went wrong in my life, even him.

Maddy bit her lip; then she said softly, “Eleanor, I wonder if you should call him back and apologize.”

I’d had enough of this particular conversation, from just about every angle. “If you want to chat with him, just hit redial. Me, I’m done talking to him at the moment.”

“I think I’ll work out front a little,” Maddy said, even though she still had vegetables to prep for the day.

“You know what? That’s just a swell idea,” I said, making sure she caught the sarcasm in my voice. As close as we were, there were sometimes when I needed space away from my sister.

After Maddy left the kitchen, I started working the dough. It felt good kneading the soft mass, folding and refolding it again and again. I got out a lot of frustrations that way most mornings, but today it was a little less than satisfying. I felt rotten, and I knew exactly why. Maddy was right. I’d been far too short-tempered with David, and while I didn’t need to check in with him every hour on the hour, I did owe him more respectful treatment than I’d just given him. I hated when she was right, especially when it meant that I was wrong. It was pretty clear that David wasn’t the only one who merited one of my apologies.

I put the well-kneaded dough in a bowl coated with oil, lightly brushed the top, then covered the whole thing and put it under the proofing lamp to give the yeast a chance to kick in. I had an hour before I had to touch it again, which gave me plenty of time to make that telephone call.

David didn’t answer, though I suspected he was listening as I left my message. “Listen, I’m sorry I was so abrupt with you. It was nice of you to worry about me, but I meant what I said. I’m fine. Call me later if you feel like it.”

Leaving a message wasn’t nearly as satisfying as making the apology to him directly. It somehow felt like I was taking the coward’s way out.

That left one more apology I needed to make.

I was getting ready to head out front to take care of it when Maddy started to come into the kitchen.

She stopped short and peeked in through the door. “Is it safe to come in?”

I grabbed the cleaver we used to chop the meat for our steak pizza special. “Sure, I’m just fooling around with this big knife.”

“I thought I heard you on the phone,” she said as she edged in. “Did you call someone?”

“You have the ears of a bat,” I said. “If you must know, I called David.”

“You didn’t chew him out again, did you?”

“No,” I said, putting the cleaver down. “I called him to apologize.”

“That’s wonderful,” she said with a smile.

“He wasn’t home. At least he didn’t pick up.” Maddy frowned, and before she could say anything, I added, “I left him a message, so don’t say anything else about it. I was wrong, and I admit it. I apologized to him, and this is about the only apology you’re going to get from me about this. Can we just move on?”

To my surprise, she agreed. “The front’s all set up now, so I’m ready to get the toppings going.” As she started pulling peppers out of the refrigerator, she asked, “Is Greg coming by today?”

“I’m not sure. He’s got class this afternoon,” I said.

“So it’s just the two of us.”

“No, Josh Hurley is coming in sometime. I’m just not sure when.” I’d chatted with him briefly on the telephone after his father had come by the Slice, and he’d promised to come by as soon as he could.

“That’s great. We can handle things until school’s out,” Maddy said. “I’m surprised Marybeth and Kevin are letting him come back to work.”

“From the sound of it, he’s driving them both crazy pacing around the house. Kevin made it sound like I was doing him a favor when I agreed to let Josh come back.”

“It will be good seeing him again,” Maddy said. “I’ve missed his odd sense of humor, haven’t you?”

“Let’s just say I won’t mind
not
being spread so thin.” Josh and my sister had the same skewed sense of humor, one that I didn’t always get. They seemed to find the oddest things hilarious, leaving me in the dark about why some of the moments that sparked spontaneous laughter worked for them and not for me.

Bob Lemon stuck his head into the kitchen an hour after we opened. “You doing okay?” he asked as I was making a specialty pizza–club sandwich.

“I’m fine. How are you?”

I’d already had four telephone calls and two visits, all with the express purpose of checking up on me. It was one of the good things about living in a small town, and one of the bad ones, too. Most folks knew what was going on before the newspaper printed it, and all in all, they were supportive of me, which was a nice feeling indeed, but sometimes it felt like we were all living just a little too close.

“Oh, I’m just dandy, but then again, I didn’t get robbed last night,” he said.

“Don’t feel left out. Maybe he’ll get around to you tonight.”

Bob laughed. “Lawyers are notorious for not carrying much cash on them. I doubt I’d be worth the bother.”

“You and I both know that, but does he?” I asked. I liked that Bob had allowed me to keep the conversation playful. There had been enough hand-wringing to suit me for a long time.

“If he still comes after me, then I’ll have to overwhelm him with my skills,” Bob said.

I looked him over. “Don’t tell me you’d challenge him with your fists.”

Bob laughed at that. “Trust me, the last thing in the world you ever want to do is get into a fistfight with a lawyer.”

“I didn’t realize attorneys were that tough.”

“It’s not the fight that hurts, it’s the years you end up in court afterward being sued. No, my main talent is talking. I’d have him handing me his wallet before the whole thing was over.”

“I don’t doubt that for an instant,” I said. I slid the sandwich I’d been preparing onto the conveyor, and then I asked, “Is there something I can get you?”

“No, I already ate at my desk. I just came by to check on you.”

I made a big checkmark in the air. “You can cross that off your list, then.”

Maddy came back with an order, and then she said to Bob, “Don’t you have better things to do than harass my chef? We’re working here.”

“Sorry,” Bob said, though it was clear he wasn’t remorseful at all. He glanced at our clock, then added, “I have to run, anyway. I’m due in court in seven minutes.”

Since it was a brisk walk from the pizzeria, I knew he wouldn’t have any trouble making it in time. That was another good thing about living in Timber Ridge. Most places were just a stroll away.

After he was gone, Maddy said, “Nancy Taylor and Emily Haynes both wanted me to tell you that they’re glad you’re okay.”

Nancy was our postmistress, while Emily was Dr. Patrick’s dental hygienist.

“You know,” Maddy said, “maybe it would be easier if you worked the front today and I made the food. It would save everyone a lot of trouble sending you messages through me.”

“I probably should do exactly that,” I said as I wiped my hands on my apron. I knew my friends were there to support me, and it wasn’t fair of me to hide in my own kitchen, no matter how uncomfortable the attention they gave made me feel.

“Funny, I was kind of hoping you’d say no,” Maddy said. My sister made it clear that she was most at ease working the front, though she was perfectly capable of preparing everything we offered on our menu. I’d made sure of it right after she’d come to work with me, and while I’d been grieving over losing Joe, Maddy had held the Slice together with all she had. It was something I would be forever grateful to her for doing.

“I really don’t have much choice,” I said. “We’re both going to have to grin and bear it for now, aren’t we?”

“I suppose,” she said as she put on her apron.

I grabbed an order pad and said, “Thanks, Maddy. I know I don’t tell you enough, but I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“I’m not sure either, but I’m absolutely positive that it would include great amounts of suffering on your part.”

I laughed at her as I checked my appearance in a small mirror before I started waiting on tables.

Maddy smiled. “Don’t worry, you’re pretty enough.”

“I just wanted to make sure I didn’t have any flour on my forehead.”

My sister laughed at that. “It only happened once. I know I should have said something, but it was hilarious watching you waiting on tables with a white streak on your forehead. You looked like some kind of deranged unicorn.”

“Funny for you, humiliating for me,” I said.

I walked out front, thinking that I was prepared for the barrage of well-wishers.

I was wrong.

They nearly mugged me before I could refill the first soda.

And for just a second, I found myself wishing that I didn’t live in such a small town after all.

“Is school out already?” I asked Josh Hurley as he walked into the Slice a few minutes later. Tall like his father, he’d inherited his brooding good looks as well.

“I ducked out early,” he said. He must have seen my face clouding up, so he added quickly, “We were having an assembly, so I didn’t miss anything.”

“I’m not sure your father would agree with that.”

Josh flashed me a quick grin. “Then maybe we shouldn’t tell him.” He looked around at the tables I’d been meaning to clean, and quickly grabbed a rag. “It looks like I got here just in time. Where’s Maddy, by the way?”

“She’s working in the kitchen this afternoon,” I said.

Since there were still a few late lunch diners at the restaurant, Josh came close and whispered, “Are you sure that’s such a good idea? Nothing against your sister or anything, but she doesn’t have your touch in the kitchen.”

“We only have another ten minutes,” I said.

“Why’s that? You’re not closing early today, are you?”

I didn’t get it at first, but then I realized that he hadn’t worked since we’d instituted our two o’clock breaks. “We close every day now from two to three.”

He looked so disappointed, I added, “Sometimes Greg stays here and cleans or organizes the inventory. I suppose I could leave you here today by yourself.”

“That would be great,” he said. “I really need the hours.”

“Saving up to buy a new car?” I asked, just joking with him.

“As a matter of fact, I am.”

“What happened to your MINI Cooper?” Josh had loved the car his folks had bought for him on his sixteenth birthday, and I couldn’t imagine him driving anything else.

“Mom took it back,” Josh said with his trademark scowl.

“Why would she do that? Not that it’s any of my business,” I added quickly.

“I don’t care who knows it. When I ran away, she decided that I wasn’t mature enough for the responsibility, so she parked it in the garage and hid the keys.” With a scoff, he added, “Not that I’d ever drive it again now—not after what happened. I’m saving up to buy my own car, and if all I can afford is a beat-up old Ford pickup, then I’ll take it.”

It was an awkward situation that I had somehow compounded with my joke. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry,” I said.