“Greg’s a big boy. He can take care of himself.”
I looked hard at her. “Just like Wade did?”
She didn’t answer, but the creases around her mouth deepened.
Greg came back in a minute later. “Would one of you let us out? We’re going to take off.”
“So, you’re not working, after all.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be back before we open,” he said. Lowering his voice, he added, “I think she’s ready to tell me something, and I don’t want to lose this chance.”
“Go, then,” I said.
I let them out, and then I came back into the kitchen. Maddy moved aside when I came through the door, and it was clear that she’d been watching us.
“I don’t like it,” she said.
“Neither do I, but there’s not much we can do about it.”
It seemed to take forever, but true to his word, Greg came back a few minutes before we were set to open.
Before I could even ask, he shook his head. “Sorry, I didn’t have any luck with her. She clammed up the second we left, and I couldn’t get another word out of her. It’s so frustrating, I could scream.”
“We’ll join you,” I said.
“What do we do now?”
“We make pizza,” I said, “and try to figure out what our next move is going to be.”
Maddy came back with an order, and as I prepared the two panini sandwiches and put them on the press, she said, “I told you they were for takeout, right?”
“No, but that’s not a problem.”
“They’re for Roger Henderson,” she said, “and he’s acting odd.”
“What do you mean?”
She shrugged. “He kept asking me about this morning. He wanted to know if we’d told anyone about the cash we found him counting. I told him we hadn’t, but I’m beginning to think I should have said we took an ad out in the paper.”
“Why would we do that?”
“If he thinks he can shut us both up, he might just believe that he’s going to get away with something. Is that a chance we want to take?”
The kitchen door opened, and I saw Roger himself walk in, with Greg on his heels. Greg explained, “I told him he couldn’t come back here, but he wouldn’t listen to me.”
“That’s fine. It’s okay.”
“Are you sure?” Greg asked as he scowled at Roger.
“I told you, I just want a word with Eleanor,” Roger said.
I motioned for Greg to go, and though he didn’t look happy about it, he did as I asked. After he was back out front, Roger said, “I didn’t realize he was so protective of you.”
“Greg’s a good man to have around.”
“Then he’s nothing like his brother, is he?”
I wasn’t about to defend Greg’s honor any more than I had to, and certainly not to Roger Henderson. “What can I do for you?”
“It’s about this morning,” he said.
“I told him we didn’t discuss it with anyone, but I didn’t realize you’d already told the police chief,” Maddy said.
“You told Hurley?” he asked me.
“It came up in our conversation,” I lied.
Roger seemed to lose some of his urgency. “I just want you to know that I’m doing everything I can to pay back the people who lost money because of what happened.”
“You already told us that,” I said.
He nodded, and as he started to go, I asked, “Is that what you were doing this morning in the parking lot out in front of your business? Paying back one of your customers? I didn’t realize any of your clients could afford their own limousine.”
That stopped him in his tracks. “What are you talking about?”
Maddy said, “Come on, Roger. We saw the envelope, and I’m betting it wasn’t full of coupons or trading stamps.”
“It was part of my restitution,” he insisted.
“Then you won’t mind telling us who you were repaying, would you?”
“I’m afraid that’s confidential.” He glanced over at the sandwiches I’d been making. “I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want those anymore.”
“That’s fine. Just pay me the twenty dollars you owe me and we’ll call it even.”
He raised an eyebrow, but Roger dug into his wallet and pulled out a twenty. As he laid it on the counter, he said, “If I were you, I’d forget about what you saw this morning outside my office, and I wouldn’t share anything else with your police friend.”
“Is that a threat, Roger?” Maddy asked.
“No, but not everyone in this world is as nice as I am.”
“Yes, my sister and I were just saying what a prince you were.”
He looked at us both a second longer, then shrugged. “Fine. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“We won’t,” I said as he left.
Greg came back instantly. “Is everything okay?”
“We’re fine,” I said. “Would you like a couple of sandwiches? They’re on the house.”
He nodded. “Sure thing.”
“Don’t you want to know what kind they are?” Maddy asked.
“Not necessary. If Eleanor made them, I’m sure they’re great.” He added with a grin, “Besides, I skipped breakfast. Anybody mind if I take my break now?”
“Go on,” Maddy said. “Find a table and I’ll bring them out to you.”
“You don’t have to do that,” he said.
“I don’t mind waiting on you after the time you’ve been having lately.”
“Cool,” Greg said.
As I plated the sandwiches, Maddy asked, “What do you suppose that was about? I can’t believe Roger tried to warn us off digging into the limo’s owner.”
“To be honest with you, it makes me ten times more curious about who was in that car.”
“But how do we find out?” Maddy asked as I handed the sandwiches to her.
“I’ll check around,” I said. “Hey, I just had a thought. Maybe Bob would know.”
“I’ll ask him tonight,” Maddy said as she started to walk away.
“Hang on a second. Since when did you have a date tonight?”
Maddy smiled. “Since about ten minutes ago. He came by to ask me in person. You don’t mind if I cut out a little early, do you? Greg said he’d stay behind and help you clean up after closing time.”
“Go. Have fun. You have my blessing.”
“Thanks, Eleanor,” she said with a smile.
I was happy for my sister, and hoped that maybe she was finally on the right track with her love life. Goodness knows she deserved it. But where did that leave me? The only man I’d had even the slightest interest in since my husband, Joe, had died was probably going to move away, and I had to wonder if at least part of the reason was my fault. If David left Timber Ridge, would he be taking my last chance at love with him?
I honestly didn’t know, and with Wade’s murder weighing heavy on my mind, I wasn’t sure I wanted to. I had enough to think about at the moment without dragging my heart into it.
Our customers were getting used to our closing time between lunch and dinner, and I was starting to enjoy it myself. It was nice to have a break during the middle of the day, and most folks took theirs for granted.
Maddy came into the kitchen as I stored the last of the pizza and sandwich toppings into the refrigerator. “We’re all set. Greg just took off.”
“He’s coming back, though, right?”
“He told me he was,” Maddy said. “He wants to go to his place and talk with Katy again on his break.”
“Does he really think she’s going to admit anything to him?”
Maddy shrugged. “He has hopes, and I wasn’t about to say anything to him. I still think he’s taking his life in his hands.”
“I know, but we can’t keep him from doing whatever he wants, can we?”
She grabbed the house phone. “I know one way. We can tell Kevin Hurley what’s going on. Maybe then he’ll step in.”
&
nbsp; Maddy handed me the telephone, but I didn’t take it. “Do you honestly think he’ll listen to me?”
“There’s more of a chance of it than him listening to me,” she said.
“I guess you’re right there. Fine, I’ll try.”
Kevin wasn’t in his office, though. When his voice mail came on, I left a message to call me.
“What do we do now?”
Maddy said, “I think we should find Clara and poke her a little more.”
“Do you honestly think there’s something she’s not telling us?”
“I don’t know, but I just feel like giving her a hard time. Who knows? Maybe if we ask her enough times, she’ll actually tell us something.”
“I guess it’s worth trying,” I said, “though I’d rather not see her again if I had the choice. There’s just something wrong with that woman.”
“Wrong enough for her to kill her own child?”
I bit my lip, and then I said, “I have no idea, but I have to admit, she could be capable of it.”
“That alone earns her a spot on the list.”
As we walked out front, I turned to lock the door when I realized someone was walking toward us.
I could imagine a hundred different people in Timber Ridge who might like to chat with me, but I never would have picked Sandi Meadows out of the hat as one of them.
“Eleanor, can we talk?” she asked softly.
“Sure, what’s up?”
She looked at Maddy, and then asked my sister, “I don’t mean any offense, but would you mind if I spoke with Eleanor alone?”
Maddy looked at me for a clue as to what to do, but I didn’t know what to tell her.
I finally nodded. “Why don’t you go over to Paul’s? I’ll catch up with you there.” We hadn’t made plans to go to the bakery, but I hoped she’d take the hint and stay where she could see me. Not that I thought Sandi would do anything in broad daylight on the promenade, but I decided I couldn’t be too careful.
Maddy caught on immediately. “Sure thing. I’ll go ahead and order you an éclair and a coffee.”
“I didn’t think the pastry shop was still open,” Sandi said.
I glanced at my watch, and saw that we still had seven minutes before Paul officially closed. “We’ve got just enough time, if we make this quick,” I said.
Maddy walked toward the pastry shop, and I asked Sandi, “What was it you wanted to talk to me about?”
“It’s about Wade,” she said. She looked around the promenade. “Can we go somewhere? I feel kind of exposed standing here.”
Going somewhere with her alone was the last thing I wanted to do. “Let’s sit at this bench. That way, we’ll be comfortable.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to go back into your restaurant?”
“I’m positive,” I said. “Now, what is it you want to tell me?”
“Jamie believes that Katy killed Wade,” she said, the words tumbling out of her like a floodgate released.
“What? Why?”
“There’s something I have to confess right up front,” Sandi said. “He wasn’t with me the night Wade was killed, at least not all of the time. I was so upset that he offered to go get me some mint chocolate-chip ice cream. He knows it’s my favorite thing in the world, and he told me it would calm my nerves. I’ve got to tell you, I was a real wreck after I heard about Wade and Katy.”
“That still doesn’t explain why he thinks Katy did it.”
She lowered her voice as she explained, “Jamie was passing by the promenade on his way to the grocery store, and he saw Katy go into the pizzeria after it was closed for the night. She had a Drake’s pizza box with her.”
“He knows all of this, and he hasn’t gone to the police?”
Sandi said, “Don’t you see why he doesn’t? If he admits that we weren’t together every minute that night, the police might think he’s lying to protect me. Jamie’s afraid to say anything, but I’m getting worried about Katy. I wanted someone to know what really happened, in case something bad happens to us.”
“Why tell me?”
Sandi shrugged. “I didn’t know who else to go to. I know you’re digging into the murder. I’m really frightened, Eleanor.”
“You’ve got to tell Kevin Hurley,” I said.
“I can’t.”
“Then I will,” I said. “The police chief needs to know what really happened that night, Sandi.”
“Don’t tell him. Please,” Sandi asked, pleading with me.
“If you won’t do it yourself, I have to.”
Sandi fought back the tears, then said, “At least give me until tomorrow to convince Jamie that telling the police is the right thing to do. If the chief of police comes to him with this, he’ll deny it to protect me. The only way anybody’s going to believe it is if he comes forward himself. Will you do that for me, Eleanor? All I’m asking for is twenty-four hours.”
She had a point. I knew Kevin Hurley, and if I came to him with this story, he’d tend to think I was lying to protect Greg, or at the very least I was mistaken.
Still, I couldn’t let her take the risk. “I don’t like it. It’s too dangerous.”
Sandi touched my hand. “Please, Eleanor, I’m begging you not to say anything. Katy doesn’t know that Jamie saw her, and she won’t know about it until the police come to talk to her. I just need some time to convince him to come forward.”
I really didn’t have any choice. “Okay, but first thing tomorrow, I’m calling Kevin Hurley, whether Jamie’s ready to admit what he saw or not.”
“Thanks so much,” she said, the relief flooding her face. “I won’t forget this kindness you’re doing me.”
“I just hope I don’t live to regret it,” I said.
“You won’t. I promise.”
She suddenly stiffened, and I saw Jamie Lowder hurrying toward us. Sandi whispered, “Don’t say a thing. He doesn’t know that I was going to tell you.”
I nodded in his direction as Jamie approached, but it was as though I wasn’t there. He looked hard at Sandy as he said, “There you are. Don’t take off like that, okay?” There was an edge to his voice that gave me a start. It wasn’t a request; it was clearly an order he expected to be followed.
“I’m sorry, Jamie,” Sandi said. “Eleanor and I were just chatting.”
“About what?” he asked, finally looking at me.
“The Strawberry Festival,” I said. It was the first thing that came to me after spotting a tattered banner from the event.
“What about it?” Jamie asked.
“I told her she should run for Strawberry Queen next year,” I lied. “She’s certainly pretty enough, don’t you think?”
“If she wants to enter, she’ll win,” Jamie said. “But we’re running late. Come on, Sandi, let’s go.”
As she stood, she reached out a hand and gently squeezed my shoulder. Sandi mouthed the words, “Thank you,” and then they were gone.
I’d promised not to say anything to Kevin Hurley about what Jamie had seen, but that didn’t mean I had to ignore it completely, either. If what Jamie had told Sandi was true, that meant that Greg Hatcher was harboring a murderer, and I wasn’t about to let her strike again. At the very least, I had to get him away from Katy. If she snapped again and something happened to him, I’d never be able to live with myself.
Maddy met me halfway between the bakery and the pizzeria, and I saw she was holding a bag from Paul’s shop. “I caught him just in time. Éclairs sounded good, so I got us a couple.” She took one look at my face and asked, “What’s wrong, Eleanor?”
“We have to go to Greg’s apartment.”
She looked at her watch. “What’s the rush? He’ll be back at work in thirty minutes, or maybe a little less.” Maddy smiled. “That’s pretty funny, given our line of work. Greg will be back in thirty minutes or less, or his pizza’s free.”
“Sorry. I can’t appreciate your little joke at the moment. We need to go get him now.”
“I think Katy killed Wade, and I don’t want her to make it a clean sweep with the Hatcher brothers. We have to warn him before it’s too late.”
As we drove to Greg’s apartment, I brought my sister up to date on what Sandi had told me.
Maddy asked, “I still say we should tell Kevin Hurley about this. We’re in a little over our heads, don’t you think?”
“Sandi said she’d deny it, and even if she didn’t, the police wouldn’t believe me. You know what? She’s probably right. Kevin thinks I’d say anything to protect Greg. No, this has to come from Jamie, since he’s the one who saw Katy going into the Slice around the time that Wade was murdered.”
“It’s too important to keep to ourselves,” Maddy said as she drove way too fast to Greg’s place. For once, I was happy that she had a lead foot behind the wheel. I just hoped we weren’t too late.
“I gave her until tomorrow morning to convince him to come forward,” I said. “It will have a lot more credence if Jamie volunteers the information himself. Trust me, I know Kevin Hurley. It’s true.”
“We’re still taking a chance,” Maddy said.
“As long as we get Greg away from Katy, we should be fine. I don’t think she suspects anybody saw her going into the pizzeria after hours.”
“Then how are we going to get Greg away without alerting her that we know what happened?”
As I thought about that, Maddy said, “If you’re going to come up with something, you’d better do it fast. We’re almost there.”
“We’ll tell Greg there’s an emergency, and we need him at the Slice.”
“What are we going to say? That there’s a fire or something?”
I shook my head. “No, nothing as dramatic as that. I’m going to make up a giant pizza order.”
“We’ve never made a giant pizza before,” Maddy said as she pulled up in front of Greg’s apartment.
“It’s not one big pizza—it’s a lot of little ones.”
“We haven’t made tiny ones before, either.”
“Maddy, are you seriously jerking me around at a time like this? The pizzas aren’t small, they’re normal-sized. It’s the order that’s big.”
Pepperoni Pizza Can Be Murder Page 24