A CRISPY SLICE OF MURDER (Papa Pacelli's Pizzeria Series Book 21)

by Patti Benning

  “I’ll be right there,” he said. “You and Shannon lock the doors and stay alert. If someone did something to my brother, they might still be in the area.”

  Ellie did as he said, making sure both the front and back doors were locked, and taking two knives out of the knife block. Shannon gripped hers tightly, her knuckles almost as pale as her face.

  “We have to find him, Ellie.”

  “We will.”

  They sat in silence for the next few minutes. Ellie wanted desperately to get outside and look for James, but she couldn’t very well leave her pregnant best friend alone in the house when someone dangerous might be nearby. Is this Clark? She wondered. Is he really trying to hurt people Russell cares about? She didn’t know what to say to Shannon. That James would be okay? She didn’t know if he would or not. Her friend would know that she was just trying to make her feel better. Both of them knew that whatever had happened to James, it was serious.

  Someone knocked at the front door, making them both jump.

  “It’s me!”

  Ellie relaxed slightly at the sound of Russell’s shout. One way or another, they would get some answers soon. She got up to go unlock the door. She could tell that the sheriff had just woken up, and felt a surge of pity for what he must be going through. First, he had lost a prisoner, and now his brother was missing. When would it end?

  “The blood’s in the kitchen,” she said. “I looked outside and didn’t see him, but I didn’t go far. I don’t have a flashlight, and I didn’t want to leave Shannon here alone without knowing what’s out there.”

  He nodded. “I understand. I’ll go look for him. You two sit tight. Be ready to call 911.”

  Waiting in the house while Russell searched outside for his brother was one of the most difficult things Ellie had ever done. She desperately wanted to be out there looking for him herself, but she just couldn’t leave Shannon alone. Her friend was silent, but Ellie could see the panic on her face. Every time she thought about getting up and going outside to help Russell, the fear in Shannon’s eyes was what kept her sitting at the table.

  After what seemed like an eternity, Russell returned. He stomped the snow off his boots and shut the kitchen door behind him, being careful not to disturb the blood on the outside. “This wasn’t an accident,” he said, his voice grim. “He was taken.”

  “Taken?” Shannon asked. “What do you mean?”

  “There is more than one set of tracks in the snow on the patio. It looks like someone came up to the back door. I’m not sure if they came in or not. Was there any melted snow on the floor when you got back?”

  “I don’t remember,” she replied. “What happened to James, Russ?”

  “I don’t know for sure. Besides the blood on the windowpane, there is a track of it through the snow.” Seeing Shannon’s terrified expression, he held up a hand. “Don’t worry. There isn’t much. I don’t think we have to worry about him bleeding out. I followed the tracks around the side of the house and to the road. That’s where they vanish. I couldn’t pick up any tracks on the other side of the road, so I think whoever took him got into a car and drove away.”

  “Are you saying… James has been kidnapped?”

  “That’s what it looks like,” Russell said grimly. “I’m going to call this in. Sorry, Shan, but I don’t think you’re going to get much sleep tonight. I want you to listen to me, though; we’re going to find him, no matter what it takes.”

  Shannon met his eyes. Ellie saw her expression harden. She nodded. “Yes, we will,” she said. “James, wherever you are… we’re coming for you.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  * * *

  Ellie stayed by Shannon’s side for the rest of the night as the police came and went. Russell was right; it was a long night, with intervals of painful waiting between visits from the police and the local search and rescue team. Shannon did her part by calling all of the nearby hospitals just in case James had been taken to one of them. Every one of them gave her the same answer; no one of his description had come in that evening.

  Ellie did what she could to help: making coffee for the people helping the search, talking to Shannon in an effort to calm her down while they were waiting, and trying to think up new ideas of where he might have been taken. The one thing that she kept coming back to was that this had something to do with Clark Mackley. The missing prisoner was the only suspect that any of them had, but he hadn’t been seen by anyone since he had left the pizzeria the day before.

  It wasn’t until the early hours of the morning that she and Shannon managed to get some sleep. They both passed out in the living room, with the hum of conversation in the kitchen as Russell spoke with everyone that had come to help with the search. So far everything had been a dead end, but Ellie refused to give up hope. James was still out there, somewhere. She was sure of it.

  When she woke the next morning, the first thing she saw was Shannon sleeping in the armchair, her face relaxed and peaceful. Ellie rose silently, unwilling to wake her friend just yet. She made her way to the kitchen where she found Russell slouched over the table, his head in his hands. He straightened up as she approached, struggling to cover a yawn.

  “Any news?” she whispered, taking the seat across from him.

  He shook his head. “Nothing. It’s like he just vanished.”

  “I don’t understand. Why would someone kidnap him without leaving a note or anything? What’s the point?”

  Russell looked down at his half-empty mug of coffee and shrugged. She had never seen him look so defeated. “I don’t know, Ellie. I don’t know why any of this happened, or what to do next. I’m… I’m lost.”

  She reached across the table and grabbed his hand, squeezing it reassuringly. “We’ll figure this out,” she said. “Me, and you, and Shannon, and all of the other people that are out there looking for him. James is smart. I’m sure he’ll be doing everything he can to help us.”

  Her fiancé took a deep breath. “I know he is. We’ve got to get a break in the case soon. People don’t just vanish. Can you do me a favor?”

  “Anything.”

  “Can Shannon stay with you for a few days? I’m not comfortable with her being here alone after what happened.”

  “Of course. You don’t even have to ask. When she wakes up, I’ll help her pack an overnight bag. Then I think the three of us should go out to eat. We’ll all feel better with some breakfast in our stomachs.”

  “I’ll help make sure Shannon is packed up, but then I’ve got to go. I’m meeting Liam at the sheriff’s department soon. We’re going to go over everything we have on Clark. If he did this… well, he’s our best hope of finding James right now. Thankfully I’ve already got an old friend out looking for him. His name’s Danny. I think you’d like him. He does freelance work as a bounty hunter and as a process server, so he’s good at finding people.”

  “I really hope you find Clark. Why would he kidnap James, though? I just don’t understand. I mean, I know you arrested him, but you’d think he’d be more focused on getting far away from here than on getting revenge by kidnapping your brother.”

  “I don’t know. It’s all we have right now, though.”

  She nodded. She understood that he was helping in the only way that he could. Clark might not be the best lead, but he was the only one they had.

  “I wish I could help more,” she said.

  “You keeping Shannon and yourself safe will help tremendously. I’m going to ask Bethany to drive by your house whenever she gets the chance today. If anything seems off, call her phone directly. I don’t know where Danny and I will end up going, but I’ll make sure she stays close.”

  “Okay,” she said. “You be careful too, okay?”

  “I always am.”

  He gave her a grim smile. From the other room, Ellie heard Shannon call out her name. She rose, but hesitated. “Russell… do you think he’s alive?”

  “I think so. If the kidnapper wanted to kill him, he would have d
one it here. He wanted James alive for some reason. If I can figure out why, maybe I’ll be able to find my brother.”

  Shannon packed her bags quickly. Ellie sat on her friend’s bed, trying to think of something to say that would be comforting. She came up blank. What could possibly be said in this sort of situation?

  “Thanks for letting me stay with you,” Shannon said. “I don’t know what I’d do here alone.”

  “You’re always welcome at my place. I just wish there was more that I could do.”

  “Would it be okay if we drove around for a bit before we go to your house? I know we probably aren’t going to find him like that, but it would make me feel better. I want to do something, even if it’s not much.”

  “Of course. Whatever you want. I’ll call in at work. I think Pete is scheduled for today, and Iris is supposed to come in this evening if she’s feeling better. I’ll let them know I’ll be out for the next couple of days. They may have to rearrange the schedule a bit, but they’ll manage. You won’t have to be alone until we find him.”

  Half an hour later, the three of them left. Shannon locked up behind them, and Ellie caught her friend staring sadly back at the house as they walked down the steps to the driveway. Ellie wondered if all of her happy memories with her husband were rushing through her mind. They will make more happy memories there, she told herself. She had to stay positive. Shannon was a wreck, and she knew Russell was suffering too even if he showed it less than his sister-in-law did. She was the one who had to keep them all moving forward. If she let herself fall apart too, it would just make things worse.

  “I’ll call you when we have something,” Russell said to her and Shannon when they reached the cars. “I’m going to do everything I can to bring him home safely.”

  “I know you will,” Ellie said. She gave her fiancé a hug, and felt him squeeze her tightly. She could tell that he was worried, but was trying not to show it for Shannon’s sake.

  “What should we be doing?” Shannon asked. “Should we make flyers?”

  Russell nodded. “That’s a good idea. Put photos of him up around town. There’s a chance that someone might have seen something. Everything helps.”

  “If you can think of anything else, let us know,” Ellie said. “I know we’ll both feel better with a job to do.”

  He nodded. “I’ll keep you updated.”

  With that, he got into his truck. Ellie helped Shannon put her bag in the back seat of her car, then they both got into her vehicle.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to bring your own car?” Ellie asked her friend.

  “I might pick it up later, but I don’t want to drive on my own right now. My mind is all over the place, and I just don’t think I could focus.”

  “All right. Well, if you’re ready, let’s get going. We’ll stop by the copy shop and make up some posters, then put them up around town. After that, we’ll grab breakfast and head to my house. I need to let Bunny out.”

  “Will she be okay for that long?”

  “I’m usually not up this early, so I think she and Marlowe will be fine as long as we aren’t out for too long.”

  It took them a couple of hours to print up the flyers and hang them up around town. They stopped at the diner to eat a late breakfast, but neither of them did much more than pick at their food.

  “Let’s just head home,” Ellie said. “I need to let Bunny outside anyway.”

  They paid their bill and left. Ellie drove slowly through town, looking at every pedestrian they passed. Even though she knew it wasn’t logical, part of her expected to see James just walking down the road. She glanced over to see Shannon looking out the window, and knew her friend was hoping for the same thing.

  She reached her house and turned into the driveway. At the bottom of it, she pushed down on the brakes. The flag was up on her mailbox, and she knew for a fact that she hadn’t put anything in the mail the day before.

  “Hold on,” she said to Shannon. “Let me check this.”

  She got out of the car and pulled open the mailbox. Inside, there was nothing but a single, folded square of lined paper.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  * * *

  “What does it say?” Shannon said, her voice barely above a whisper. The two of them were inside, and Ellie was holding the paper gingerly in her hands.

  She unfolded the note, her stomach twisting. Taking a deep breath, she began to read out loud. “I have James. He is alive as I write this, but won’t be for long unless you follow my instructions. Stay away from Russell Ward. The sheriff is being watched. If you are seen within fifty feet of him, James will die. I will know if you attempt to contact him another way. Wait twenty-four hours for my next set of instructions. Remember; avoid the sheriff, or your friend becomes a widow.”

  “Oh, my goodness.” Shannon reached for the wall, leaning on it heavily for support. “He’s alive. All we have to do is avoid Russell for a day?”

  “That’s not all. There’s something else written at the bottom of the note. It looks like a link to a website.”

  Her friend reached for the note with shaking hands. “We have to see what it is.”

  “Shannon, I don’t know if you should see it… what if —”

  “This is my husband we’re talking about. You better believe me when I say I’m going to be involved with every step of this.”

  Ellie knew that she didn’t have a choice. There would be no convincing Shannon to wait in the other room. They were in this together. Taking the note back from her friend, she led them into the study, ignoring Bunny who was dancing around at her feet. The dog needed to be cared for, but this was far more urgent.

  She opened her laptop and waited for it to boot up. It seemed to take forever, but at long last she was logged in. She pulled up the internet browser and painstakingly typed the website link into the address bar. After double checking to make sure she had put it in correctly, she pressed enter. They held their breaths as the page loaded. Even Bunny seemed to sense that something was going on; the little dog had fallen silent.

  “It’s a video,” Shannon said. “Play it.”

  Ellie clicked the triangle in the middle of the screen, and a loading indicator appeared. Finally, the video began playing.

  “James,” her friend breathed.

  James was tied to a chair. The chair was in a corner against two white walls, and there was nothing to hint at where he was. He was awake and ungagged. Even though it was wonderful to see him alive, Ellie felt her heart clench. Who could have done this to him?

  Suddenly, he began to speak. “If you don’t do everything I’m about to say, they’ll kill me,” he said. Ellie could see his eyes moving, as if he was reading from something behind the camera. “At three this afternoon, go to the marina and stand on the deck of the Eleanora. Wait there for five minutes, then leave. After that, wait in front of the dance studio until the three-thirty class gets out. Then go to the hot dog shop and order a New York style hot dog each. Eat them there, then return home. Don’t leave until tomorrow morning. At nine o’clock in the morning, return to each of these places. Check under the benches on the Eleanora, check in the mailbox at the dance studio, and check under the table you sat at in Hot Diggity Dog. In one of these locations will be your next set of instructions. Do not go to the police, and do not speak to Russell. If you do either, they will kill me. Tell no one else about this, or I die.” He blinked and refocused on the camera. “Shannon, I love you. Don’t —”

  The video went black. Shannon reached for the mouse and frantically clicked the play button, but that was all there was.

  “Ellie… what do we do?” Her friend was taking short, harsh breaths. Ellie put a hand on her shoulder, worried that she was going to make herself sick with panic.

  “We need to tell Russell —”

  “No! You heard what he said. He’s going to kill James if we do that.”

  “We can send him an email. There’s no way he could possibly know if we did that.�
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  “What if he has one of the computers bugged? Or what if the person who took James is on the police force? He did say someone was watching Russell.”

  “How could he have people watching Russell, as well as all of the places we’re supposed to go? He probably doesn’t have eyes everywhere he says he does. If we don’t go to the police, I don’t know how we’re going to rescue James. We can’t do much just the two of us.”

  “We have to do what the kidnapper says,” her friend said. “It’s my husband’s life on the line. We can’t take chances.”

  Ellie bit her lip. Keeping something of this magnitude from her fiancé didn’t feel right, but what if the kidnapper really did have a way to know whether they reached out to Russell or not? Could she live with herself if she was wrong?