The Missing Dough (A Pizza Lovers Mystery) Read online

  “Don’t try to act stupid, Maddy. It doesn’t become you.”

  “I just wish I was acting,” my sister said, the exasperation thick in her voice. “Rebecca, I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “My mother, either through coercion on your part or senility in her old age, left you a third of everything she owned. Now that Grant’s dead, I guess it’s half.” Rebecca took a step back as she asked, “Do I have something to worry about now? Are you after all of it?”

  “All of what?” Maddy shouted.

  “We’ve all known for years that there’s over a quarter of a million dollars in all of my mother’s holdings,” Rebecca said, “but don’t think for one second that you’re ever going to see one penny of any of it.”

  “That is so utterly ridiculous that I don’t even know how to respond to it,” Maddy said.

  “Then sign this, and I’ll get out of your life forever. Put your signature where your mouth is.”

  “I won’t give you the satisfaction,” Maddy said.

  Rebecca rolled her eyes. “Why am I not surprised that you’d say that? That’s a nice little righteous indignation you’ve got going there, Maddy. Too bad it’s not going to do you any good. You’re nothing but some kind of worthless scavenger.”

  “You’re the only vulture I see in this room,” Maddy said, finally letting her temper loose completely. “If she wanted me to have something, then I’m going to see that I get it.”

  “I won’t take that, especially not from you!” Rebecca yelled as she reached for the nearest weapon in sight, which happened to be a full napkin holder. The weight of it was bad enough, but it also had several sharp edges, and I knew that if she hit my sister with it, it could do some real damage.

  “What’s going on here?” Kevin Hurley asked as he burst through the door. He looked at Rebecca and saw her makeshift weapon. “Put that down, and I mean right now.”

  Rebecca seemed to fold under the police chief’s stinging words, and she put the napkin holder back on the tabletop where it belonged. “I wasn’t going to do anything with it.”

  “Sure you weren’t,” Maddy said.

  “Chief, I’d appreciate it if you’d do us a favor and escort Ms. Whitmore off the property,” I said.

  “Hang on a second,” Rebecca said. “She can’t just throw me out, no matter what that sign says.”

  “Ma’am, maybe it would be for the best if you came with me,” Chief Hurley said as he gently put his arm in Rebecca’s. “There are a few things we need to go over at the police station, and I know that you want to take care of them as soon as possible.”

  “What kind of things?” she asked.

  “There’s paperwork to be filled out, and you’ll need to contact a funeral home to take charge of your brother,” Kevin said, his words both soft and urging at the same time. I forgot sometimes just what a charmer our police chief could be when it suited him.

  “Fine. I’ll come with you,” she said, and I thought for a second that we were going to get rid of her without any more commotion. But, of course, that wasn’t about to happen. Rebecca hesitated at the door of the pizzeria and then turned back to face Maddy. “This isn’t over, not by a long shot.”

  “I’m here every day we’re open,” Maddy replied, “so you always know where to find me.”

  “Go on,” I said, urging her to get out before things turned nasty again.

  Rebecca clearly didn’t appreciate that, though. “I’m not about to forget the way you’ve treated me, too, Eleanor. You’d both better be careful.”

  “Come on,” Chief Hurley said, this time putting a little more force into his voice.

  “No need to push. I’m leaving,” she said, and the two of them walked out together.

  “We’d better be careful,” Maddy said as she shook her head. “That threat sounded pretty serious. I’m not usually worried about people like Rebecca, but there was a crazy glint in her eyes.”

  “We’ll be extra careful from now on,” I answered, thinking about what Art had said.

  “Can you believe that woman?” Maddy asked as she straightened the skewed napkin holder.

  “Was she serious about the inheritance? Could Sharon have really left you an equal share of all that money?”

  “I honestly don’t know,” Maddy said. “She always told me that I was the perfect daughter. It was something that used to steam Rebecca to no end. I didn’t do anything to encourage it, but Rebecca always thought I was behind it. I could maybe understand it if Grant and I were still married, but you know as well as anybody how ugly our divorce was. What was she thinking, leaving me anything that substantial?”

  “Maybe she just never got around to changing her will,” I suggested.

  Maddy smiled at me briefly. “Does that mean that you don’t think she was that enamored with me, either? Why not? I’m adorable.”

  “Of course you are,” I said, “but it could explain why she kept you in her will after all these years. Were you serious about what you said to Rebecca?”

  “Which part?” she asked.

  “That you are going to fight for what is rightfully yours. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve got your back either way. I’m just curious, I guess.”

  “I guess that depends,” Maddy said. “If Sharon wanted me to have such a healthy chunk of what she had, I’d be betraying her by refusing it, at least in my mind. On the other hand, if she simply forgot to change her will and take me out of it, how can I accept anything in good conscience?”

  “I totally get what you’re saying, but how can you possibly ever know?”

  “I have no idea,” she said as she shook her head. “But I’m not touching a dime of any of it until I can figure it out one way or the other.”

  “Are you open?” a man asked as he and his teenage daughter came into the Slice.

  “Come on in,” I said. “Welcome to the Slice.”

  “Thanks,” he answered, though he looked a little shaky as he did so.

  Maddy seated them, but before I could make it into the kitchen, he rushed over to me. “I understand that you’re the owner.”

  “I am,” I said.

  “Listen,” he said, his voice softened so that his daughter couldn’t hear, “I was wondering if you had anything a little stronger than soda that you could slip into my Coke.”

  I’d heard the request before, though not often. “I’m sorry, sir, but we don’t serve mixed drinks here.”

  He frowned a little and then asked, “Is there any place around here that does?”

  “Not at this time of day,” I replied. There was a bar on the outskirts of town, but I knew from general knowledge that they didn’t open until three. This guy had to be some kind of alcoholic. “Excuse me for saying so, but should you really be drinking with your daughter in the car?”

  “Why do you think I need one?” he asked. “I’ve never had a drink in my life, but I’ve been teaching her to drive for the past two days, and suddenly I’ve never wanted anything more in my life.” He glanced back at his daughter, gave her a little wave, and then said to me, “Look at her, sitting there all innocent.”

  I glanced in his daughter’s direction and saw a petite brunette who still had braces shining from her smile. “She’s adorable,” I said.

  “You’d think so, but the truth is, she’s trying to kill me.” He said it with such complete sincerity that I had a hard time not believing him.

  “Are you sure you’re not just exaggerating?”

  “I’m positive. At first she was going for a heart attack, tailgating other drivers, running red lights, and generally being a hazard on the road, but when that didn’t work, she became a little more proactive. I swear, she claims she didn’t see the bulldozer, but it was clear enough to me to read the T-shirt on the guy who was driving it. If I hadn’t screamed in time, I’d be on the side of his blade instead of here with you.”

  “Maybe someone else could teach her?” I suggested.

  “Woul
d you?” he asked as I saw a flicker of hope come across his terrified face. “I’d pay you, and I mean well. How much is it worth to you?”

  “I didn’t mean me,” I said hastily. “But surely there are instructors at her school.”

  He shook his head sadly. “None of them will ride with her. And before you suggest it, I tried private lessons, too. The word is out in this part of the state to watch out for her, and I can’t blame them one bit.”

  “How about her mother, then?”

  He looked visibly shaken by the suggestion. “Are you kidding? Where do you think she gets it? If one of them doesn’t get me, the other one will. Are you sure you don’t have anything strong to drink?”

  “Sorry I can’t help you,” I said.

  “That’s okay. I was foolish enough to believe that I might have a chance at all.”

  Josh came in as we were talking, and the man focused sharply on him. “Could he teach her, do you think?”

  “I don’t know,” I said, “but maybe you should . . .”

  He never waited to find out what I was going to suggest, but he probably wouldn’t have liked it, anyway. I was going to say that it might do to wait a year or two, but it was clear by his daughter’s intent expression that she wasn’t about to take no for an answer.

  “How would you like to make a hundred bucks?” the man asked as he approached Josh.

  “Who do I have to kill?” Josh asked with a smile.

  “Nobody. At least I hope not. Come over here. I’d like you to meet my daughter.”

  Josh took a step back. “Mister, I don’t know what you have in mind, but I don’t want to be any part of it. I’m not going to date your daughter for money.”

  “Date? Who said anything about dating? She’s too young for that.”

  Maybe in her dad’s eyes, but it was clear that the young lady was instantly smitten with Josh, if the way she was looking at him was any indication.

  “What do I have to do, then?”

  “Can you drive?”

  “Like a pro,” Josh said proudly.

  “Then teach her.”

  Josh looked at me and asked, “Is he serious?”

  “He is, but you might want to think about it before you say yes.”

  Josh turned back to the man. “You don’t even know me. Why are you willing to entrust your daughter to me?”

  “I recognized you the second you walked through the door. You’re the police chief’s son,” the man said quickly. “I’ve heard good things about you.”

  I was willing to bet that he would have let Rasputin teach his daughter if it meant that he didn’t have to. “You can always say no,” I told Josh.

  “I don’t think so.” He stuck a hand toward the man and said, “Mister, you’ve got yourself a deal.”

  “Excellent. Here are the keys. Don’t worry about me. I’ll get a ride back home on my own.”

  Josh was clearly puzzled by this reaction. “I’d like to help you out, Sir, but I’ve got to work my shift. Sorry.”

  The man wasn’t about to accept that, though. He looked at me and said, “I’ll pay you for an hour of his time. Please don’t say no. If you want me to, I’ll wait tables and wash dishes while they’re gone. I’m begging you. I’m desperate.”

  I just couldn’t bring myself to say no. I nodded, and Josh walked over to the young woman. “How would you like a driving lesson?”

  “With you? Absolutely,” she said. “Thanks, Daddy,” she said quickly as she and Josh left.

  Maddy had been listening to the whole exchange. “Well done, Eleanor. You just blew a sale for us.”

  “I’ll cover it gladly,” the man said as he pulled out his wallet. He gave me two twenties and then put a hundred on top of them. “That will cover the lesson, the bill, and his wages. Are we square?”

  “We are,” I said as I collected the money. “Can one of us at least give you a ride home?”

  “Are you kidding? I’m walking. Ha ha ha ha. Walking. How wonderful.”

  Once he was gone, I started having second thoughts about the arrangement. “Do you think Josh is going to be okay?”

  “From the way that girl was looking at him, I think he’ll be fine. What an odd dad he was.”

  “Remember Dad teaching us how to drive?” I reminded my sister.

  “He thought we were trying to give him a heart attack,” Maddy said.

  “Then you’ve heard his song before, too.”

  I kept watching the door of the pizzeria as the hour nearly ended, and once, when I heard an ambulance in the distance, I nearly jumped out of my skin. Ten minutes after the hour lapsed, I was about to call Kevin Hurley and admit what I’d done, but just then Josh walked into the pizzeria with a grin on his face. “That was the easiest hundred I’ve ever made. He said you were holding it for me.”

  I slipped him the hundred and then added a twenty, as well.

  He looked at the money and asked, “Hey, what’s the bonus for?”

  “Hazard pay,” I said with a smile. “How bad was she?”

  “I don’t know what he was talking about. She’s really very good. I even let her drive to her house, and I caught a ride back here with her dad. He was falling all over himself, he was so happy.”

  “Do you have any more lessons planned?” Maddy asked.

  “First thing Saturday morning, we’re going out for three hours. Wow, I never dreamed that making money could be this easy.”

  “You’re not gouging him, are you?” I asked.

  “I tried to tell him he was paying me too much, but the man wouldn’t listen. He’s really an odd bird.” Josh spotted a table that needed to be cleaned. “Well, I’d better get to work. Thanks for the job, Eleanor.”

  “You’re welcome, I think,” I said.

  I didn’t know why I was always surprised when unusual things happened at my pizza place, but I was.

  At least this one had ended well for Josh, the man, and his daughter.

  It wasn’t always that things worked out so nicely for everyone.

  Chapter 8

  We were nearing the end of our afternoon lunch shift and approaching our own break for a meal, and I was up front, discussing with Maddy what we were going to do with our time off, when I looked up to see a familiar couple walk into the Slice, though it was the first time they’d ever been in my pizza place to my knowledge. They were in their civilian clothes now, and the woman’s makeup was toned down quite a bit, but I had no trouble recognizing the Stouts, two of the performers we’d seen onstage the night before at the Founders Day Festival.

  The woman approached me first. “Are you Eleanor Swift?”

  “I am,” I said. “I’ve got to say, you made yourself a fan last night. You all were really good onstage.”

  Samantha grinned a little at the compliment. “Thanks. We’re still working on it, but I think we’re finally getting there. Listen, Kenny and I were wondering if you had time to have a little chat.”

  Maddy wanted to stay, but a man at one of her tables was making writing signs in the air and looking frantic about it. “Would you mind taking care of that?” I asked her.

  My sister wasn’t all that pleased about it, but she still managed to smile. “Of course.”

  After she was gone, I said, “We’ve still got ten minutes before we close up shop for the afternoon, so if you’re willing to hang around, we can talk as soon as we lock up.”

  “We’ll make it easy on you. How about if we order a medium pie with the works and a couple of beers, and we can talk while we eat?”

  “Sorry, but we don’t sell beer,” I said. “We have underage employees working here.”

  “Fine,” she said, clearly trying to keep her smile. “Bring us some sodas, then. I’ve heard wonderful things about your food, and I’m dying to try some of your pizza.”

  “Are you kidding me? What’s pizza without beer? This is a joke,” Kenny said.

  The woman turned to her ex-husband and said, “They don’t have to talk to
us at all. We’re asking them for a favor, remember? Try to be civilized for once in your life and stop insulting them, would you?”

  “Sam, give me a break.”

  Her expression iced over. “I told you that my name is now Samantha to you, and I expect you to use it. You’re not entitled to give me pet names anymore.”

  She held his stare, and I wondered which one would back down. To no great surprise, Kenny dropped his gaze first.

  “Okay, I got it. I’m sorry,” he said.

  “Good,” she said. “Now, why don’t you find us a table so I can talk to Eleanor alone for a second?”

  He didn’t like it, that much was clear, but he did as he was told.

  Once he was out of hearing range, Samantha told me, “I could never train him like that when we were married. Maybe if I had, it would have lasted longer than it did. Are you married, Eleanor?”

  “I was,” I answered simply.

  “Got rid of him too, did you? That’s the only smart thing to do when one won’t obey you.”

  I wasn’t about to let her talk about Joe like that. “Actually, he died. I would give anything I possess to have him back.” It was the complete truth, too. Sure, David was becoming more and more important to me every day, but no matter how close we got, it would be nearly impossible for me to love him as much as I had cared for Joe. That might not be fair to David, but I’d pretty much told him the same thing when we first got together, and he’d been willing to accept it. I knew that David hoped that I’d change my mind someday, and I was certainly willing to try, but it was hard to give up the past and focus on the future instead.

  “I’m so sorry,” Samantha said, the glibness now gone. “I get so full of myself sometimes that I forget that other people have had their share of woes, too. Can you forgive me?”

  Wow, when this woman turned on the charm, it was palpable. “You’re forgiven. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go make that pizza.”

  “We truly appreciate it,” Samantha said and then joined her ex-husband.