Pepperoni Pizza Can Be Murder

by Chris Cavender

  “I’ll be there in ten minutes,” I said.

  I hung up the phone and called Maddy. I’d expected to wake her up, but I was surprised to hear music playing in the background when she answered.

  “You’re not even asleep yet?” I asked.

  “I tried, but it wasn’t working out, so I decided to make myself a pitcher of margaritas, instead. Come on over, we’ll make it a party.”

  “Not tonight,” I said. “Somebody killed Greg Hatcher’s brother, and the police can’t find Greg.”

  “Hang on a second,” she said. I heard the telephone clatter to the floor, and the music died abruptly. “That’s better. Why did the chief call you?”

  “He wants me to identify the murder weapon. Someone used a rolling pin on Wade.”

  “And he thinks you know who owns all the rolling pins in town?”

  “Did I forget to tell you? It happened in the pizzeria’s kitchen, and Kevin thinks the pin belongs to me.”

  Without a moment’s hesitation, Maddy said, “Swing by and get me on your way. I’m going with you.”

  “I’d hate to interrupt your party,” I said, though I’d been hoping that would be my sister’s reaction to the news.

  “I can’t drive myself, I’ve had a bit too much to drink, but if you don’t pick me up, I’m going to risk it anyway.”

  “I’ll be there in six minutes,” I said, hanging up as I reached for a pair of blue jeans and a T-shirt.

  I made it in five, and Maddy was out front waiting for me.

  “What took you so long?” she asked as she got into the Subaru.

  “I had to get dressed first, unlike some people,” I said.

  As I drove to the pizzeria, Maddy said, “It’s just awful about what happened, isn’t it? I can’t believe Greg’s brother is dead.”

  “From what I’ve been hearing about the guy lately, I’m a little surprised that it took someone this long to get rid of him.” I immediately regretted my flip choice of words. I didn’t even know the young man, and here I was slamming his memory. “Strike that,” I said. “My only excuse is that I’m still half-asleep and completely exhausted. I hated the way Wade jerked Greg around, but that’s no excuse for being so callous about his death.”

  “It’s okay if you talk that way to me, goodness knows I’ve said plenty of worse things about our fellow citizens, but I wouldn’t say anything like that to the police chief.”

  “I’m not that crazy,” I said. “I just wish I knew where Greg was.”

  “It doesn’t look good for him, does it?”

  I glanced over at Maddy, who was watching the road as intently as I had just been. Somehow she had managed to sober up from her party night. Finding out about a murder had probably done the trick, and if that hadn’t been enough, having Greg as the number one suspect was probably enough to manage it. “Maddy, you don’t actually think Greg had anything to do with this, do you?”

  “Come on, Eleanor, we both like him, but we have to face facts. First there’s the dispute over his grandparents’ estate, and then Katy gets caught with Wade on the couch, and that all just happened this evening. Who knows what any of us would do when we’re pushed that hard?”

  “I don’t believe it,” I said. “Greg wouldn’t kill anybody.”

  Maddy stroked my arm. “In my heart I don’t believe it either, but we have to tell Kevin what we know.”

  I slowed the car so I could look at her. “Why should we tell him anything? He prides himself on his great detecting skills. Let him figure it out for himself.”

  “If we’re the ones who tell him, we can try to give it a little positive spin. If he finds out on his own, it could be much worse.”

  “I don’t see how,” I said as I resumed driving.

  “Really? Tell me you can’t see Katy Johnson blubbering all over Kevin about how this whole thing is her fault. She’ll make this all about her, that Greg killed Wade out of his love for her. Is that a notion we want the police entertaining for one second?”

  “No, I guess you’re right. It just feels like I’m being disloyal to Greg,” I said.

  “When in fact, it’s just the opposite.”

  I parked in front of the shop, despite my ingrained routine of parking in back, and saw that three police cruisers had ignored the parking lot completely and were on the brick promenade itself. There was plenty of room there, since the space had originally been a road before the city fathers had covered it with pavers and converted it into a parklike atmosphere.

  “This isn’t going to be pretty,” I said as Maddy and I approached the rest of the way on foot.

  “At least we’ve got each other,” she said.

  Officer Garvin was out front, evidently waiting for us. “The chief wants to see you inside,” he said.

  “Thanks,” I said as Maddy and I walked into the pizzeria.

  Kevin was standing by the door, examining the wooden frame. “Did you lock up tonight?”

  “I’m sure I did,” I said. “Why?”

  “There’s no sign of forced entry,” he said flatly.

  Maddy said, “You were distracted tonight, Eleanor, remember? I’m not at all sure you locked the door when we left.”

  I looked at her quizzically as Kevin said, “Nice try, but it’s too late to cover for your boy. Greg has a key to the place, doesn’t he?”

  “Not that I know of,” I said.

  “Are you trying to tell me that a store employee doesn’t have a key to your pizzeria? Think hard before you answer. This is an official police inquiry.”

  “Not specifically,” I said. “There’s a key on a hook by the kitchen door, in case someone besides Maddy or me has to open.”

  “What about locking the door when you left here tonight? Do you remember doing it?”

  I tried to think back to that evening. “You’re not going to like my answer, but I honestly don’t know. Maddy might be right. I remember getting my key out, but then we were interrupted, and I can’t be sure I locked it.” I saw thunderclouds roll across his brow, so I added, “It’s the truth, Kevin. I’m not covering for anyone.”

  “Who interrupted you?” Kevin asked.

  “Officer Garvin,” I admitted.

  “Stay right here.” Kevin walked outside, and I glanced back toward my kitchen. Someone had propped the door open, and I could see the body still lying there, a rolling pin—my rolling pin—on the floor beside it, along with a thin-crust pizza. I could tell that pin from thirty paces, since it had a stain on it from an earlier disastrous attempt to roll out a dessert crust with blueberries embedded in it.

  Kevin came back in. “He doesn’t remember seeing you lock the door, but that doesn’t mean you didn’t do it.”

  “Even if we had,” Maddy said, “someone could have snagged that key, made a copy, and put it back without either one of us noticing it.”

  “Anything’s possible,” he said, then softened his next words. “I hate to ask you this, but I need you to identify—”

  I cut him off. “The rolling pin’s mine. I can see the blueberry stains on it from here.”

  He nodded, at least satisfied with that part of our conversation. “We’ll need it for evidence, but you’ll get it back eventually.”

  “Forget it. I’m going to go out and buy another one. Have you had any luck finding Greg?”

  The chief shook his head. “I’ve checked his apartment, his folks’ house, and his girlfriend’s place, but he’s officially a missing person of interest right now.”

  “You didn’t actually talk to Katy, did you?” I blurted out.

  “No, she wasn’t there. Why? Should I?”

  “There’s something you should know,” I said. “It doesn’t mean anything, but if you hear it first from her, it’s going to sound a lot worse than it is.”

  “I’m listening,” he said.

  I took a deep breath, then said, “Katy was at Wade’s this evening, and Greg caught them together.”

  “Were they in bed?”
>
  “Of course not,” I said, though I wouldn’t have put it past Katy. “They were on the couch, kissing. Greg broke up with her earlier, and she was trying to get back at him.”

  “How’d he know she’d be there?” Kevin asked, his gaze piercing mine.

  I reluctantly admitted, “Wade called him. Greg was upset, but not enough to hurt his brother.”

  Kevin rubbed his chin. “I don’t know. That added to the fight over the grandparents’ will are both pretty good reasons.”

  “But he didn’t do it,” I said.

  “If he didn’t, why can’t we find him, then?” Kevin asked softly.

  Maddy butted in. “He probably doesn’t even know you’re looking for him. It’s not against the law to go off by yourself without telling anyone where you’re headed, is it?”

  Kevin took a few deep breaths; then he said, “Come on, ladies, even you two have to admit that it looks bad for the kid. I like him too, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to wear blinders on this case. If he did it, I need to catch him, and the sooner I do that, the better off he’ll be.”

  “I’m not sure of the logic of that,” I said, “but think about it. If I knew where he was, would I have mistaken your telephone call for his?”

  “Why did you think he was calling you at three in the morning?” Kevin asked. “There’s not something going on there I should know about, is there?”

  “Kevin Hurley, you should wash your mind out with soap. He’s young enough to be my nephew. When Katy came by and told us what she’d done, I thought Greg might need someone to talk to, so I called and left him a message that he could phone me, any time of day or night.”

  He seemed to take that in, and then finally said, “If you hear from him, find out where he is. Better yet, urge him to turn himself in.”

  “I’ll think about it,” I said.

  “Eleanor, that wasn’t a request—it was an order.”

  It was all I could do not to salute him, but I managed to keep still. “Understood.” I looked back toward the kitchen, not able to make myself stare at the body again. “When can I have my restaurant back? I know it sounds cold, but I can’t afford to just shut down.”

  “I should be able to let you have it tomorrow,” he said. “I’d suggest that you take a day off and enjoy it.”

  “I can’t see that happening. Are you certain I can’t have it back any sooner?”

  “It might even be later if you keep talking to me while I should be working. I’ll call you when I’ve got a better idea of where we stand on the investigation.”

  I was about to lash out at him when Maddy grabbed my arm hard enough to hurt. “Thanks, Chief.”

  She was practically shoving me back to my car.

  “Why exactly did we just give up so easily?” I asked.

  “Have you ever won an argument like that with him in your life?”

  “No, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t at least try,” I said.

  “Agreed, but let’s save our battles for another day. Right now, we both need some sleep. In the morning, we’ll be able to think about this with clearer heads.”

  “I’m too wired up to rest,” I said.

  “Then come in when we get to my place. I’ve got half a pitcher of margaritas left, and I can’t think of a better late-night drink than that. It surely beats the daylights out of warm milk for a bedtime toddy. Come on, what do you say?”

  “Why not?”

  “That’s the spirit.”

  I didn’t think I’d ever get to sleep once we got back to her apartment, but by four A.M., I was curled up in Maddy’s spare pajamas, and drifting slowly off to sleep in her guest bedroom.

  At least I didn’t have to get up early, since I clearly wasn’t going to be making any pizzas that day.

  I had a hard time sleeping in past nine, no matter how late Maddy and I had stayed up. On the other hand, she’d probably sleep until four this afternoon, since she didn’t have to go into work.

  I got dressed quietly, left her a note, and headed back to my place. I was glad I’d been the designated driver the night before. A hot shower helped perk me up, though I still felt a little groggy from not enough sleep. It was funny, but in college I’d been able to stay up all night without any discernable ill effects the next day. Now, if I didn’t get at least seven hours of rest a night, I’d feel it for days afterward. The coffee I always set the timer for the night before was waiting patiently for me in the kitchen, and by the time I finished my first cup, I was as good as I was going to get.

  As I sat at the counter trying to figure out what to do next, there was a tapping on my kitchen window.

  It was Greg Hatcher, and from the look of him, he’d gotten even less sleep than I had.

  I opened the window and looked down at him. “Greg, what are you doing here? Chief Hurley is looking all over town for you.”

  “That’s why I cut through your backyard to get here. I need to talk to you, Eleanor.”

  I looked around outside to see if any of my neighbors were watching us. Mrs. Huffline, on one side would be fine, but Mr. Harpold, on the other, was born to gossip. Since he’d retired from teaching school, he’d become a one-man Neighborhood Watch program.

  Fortunately, no one was looking at the moment.

  “Come on, you might as well come in,” I said.

  He started to climb in through the window when I stopped him.

  “Through the back door,” I said.

  “Somebody might see me,” he said. “Move over.”

  I did as he asked, and Greg surprised me by leaping up and catching the windowsill, then hoisting himself into my kitchen.

  “Is that coffee?” he asked as he spotted my mug on the countertop. I noticed that he’d stepped in the dark soil under the window and was tracking up my kitchen floor, but I couldn’t very well ask him to clean up after himself.

  “It is,” I said. “Would you like some?”

  “More than anything else I can think of at the moment.”

  I poured him a cup, which he thankfully downed in quick gulps.

  While he started on his refill, I said, “Greg, I don’t know how to break it to you, but you’re in more trouble than you can even imagine.”

  “I know,” he said as he took another swallow. “I’m trying not to think about it.”

  “I’m guessing you heard what happened to your brother, then,” I said.

  “It’s all over the radio,” he admitted. “Thanks for that.”

  “The coffee?”

  “No, for believing in me. You didn’t ask the question that’s been hanging in the air since I got here, but I’m going to answer it, anyway. Eleanor, I didn’t kill my brother. I wasn’t all that fond of him, and he’s been driving me crazy the past few days, but I wouldn’t hurt him.”

  “I never thought you would,” I said. Maddy’s musings didn’t need to be voiced during this particular conversation.

  “You’re going to be in the lone minority, then,” he said.

  I could see that Greg was a wreck, nearly falling over from his tough night, but I couldn’t let him stay there with me.

  “I believe you,” I said. “Have you thought about turning yourself in? It’s too dangerous with everyone out looking for you.”

  “They can just keep looking,” he said. “There’s no way I’m going in willingly. If Hurley wants me, he’s going to have to find me.”

  “It might not be that bad, Greg. Kevin might just want to question you so he can eliminate you as a suspect.”

  “Yeah, and I’m going to win the lottery, too. On second thought, I quit believing in fairy tales a long time ago. I’m going to find out who killed Wade on my own. He was a skunk of a brother, but I owe him that much. At least that much.”

  “I spoke with Katy last night,” I said, trying to be as delicate as I could. “I’m sure the police know what happened with her by now as well.”

  Greg frowned. “She did something stupid, but she just wasn’t thinking
. Wade took advantage of that. I wonder if Sandi had any idea what he was doing.”

  “Sandi?” I asked.

  “Sandi Meadows. Wade’s been dating her for six months, and, let me tell you, she’s one girl I wouldn’t dream of getting mad at me. She has the disposition of a hungry grizzly bear, and I don’t care how pretty she is, she isn’t worth it.”

  “Oh, I know her. Do you think she might have killed him?”

  “That depends,” Greg asked. “Do you know how Wade died? They didn’t say on the radio, and I couldn’t exactly call up the chief of police and ask him.”

  I searched his eyes, and it was clear to me that he was telling the truth. “Someone hit him over the head with my maple rolling pin,” I said.

  Greg’s face fell. “I hope he didn’t suffer. He was a rat, but even he deserved better than that.”

  “It looked like all it took was one blow,” I said. “He didn’t even get to taste the pizza on the floor beside him.”

  “You saw him?”

  I nodded. “Kevin asked me to come down to the pizzeria to identify the murder weapon this morning. You don’t have a key to the Slice, do you?”

  “You know I don’t,” Greg said. “Why? Did someone say I did?”

  “No, but Kevin asked me, and that’s what I told him, so we’re good there.”

  He drained his coffee, but he wouldn’t take another refill.

  I stared at him a few seconds, then asked, “Greg, who would want to see your brother dead?”

  “Do you mean besides me?” he asked.

  “Let’s just assume for the moment that you didn’t do it.”

  “It’s the truth, so we don’t have to assume anything,” Greg snapped at me.

  “Hey, I’m on your side, remember?”

  “Sorry,” he said, his expression immediately softening. “I know you’re one of the good guys.”

  “So, who makes the ‘bad guy’ list?”

  Greg thought about it, then after thirty seconds, he said, “I’d have to say Sandi’s right up there, and if I’m being honest about it, you have to include Katy, too.”

  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “You actually think your ex-girlfriend could have done it?”