by None
It looked like one of our suspects was coming to pay us a visit.
Chapter 17
“Iwasn’t going to stop, but I saw you standing there, so I thought you should know what’s happened,” Nancy Thorpe said as she got out of her car. “I’m leaving Timber Ridge, and I’m never coming back.”
“What happened?”
“She tried to kill me,” Nancy said, her voice shrill and full of fright.
“Who did?” I asked.
“Gina. Who else?”
“Take a deep breath and tell us what happened,” I said.
She took a look at our outfits, and then said, “I forgot it was Halloween, can you believe that?”
“It’s not important. What happened?”
“I was on the stairs going down when that crazy woman tried to shove me. I’m lucky to be alive.”
“Are you sure it was intentional?” I asked.
Nancy looked at me with crazy eyes. “I’m telling you, that’s what happened. Don’t tell me that you’re taking her side, too. Nathan believed her when she said it was an accident, but I felt her hand on my back, and trust me, it was no accident.”
“Do you think she was doing it to try to get rid of the baby?” I asked. I couldn’t believe anyone would be so callous, but if Gina had killed her brother, what was a little more blood on her hands?
“If that’s why she did it, the joke’s on her, then. There never was a baby.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I lied,” she said.
“About being pregnant?” Maddy asked.
“About everything. I went out with Judson twice, and we just didn’t have enough of a spark to keep it going. He was estranged from his sister at the time, so she had no idea. When I found out that he was dead, I wondered if there was an angle I could play.”
There must have been a look on my face that showed my disapproval for her, because she added, “Hey, I’m not exactly proud of myself for trying to take advantage of an opportunity like that, but it was worth a shot. Not anymore, though. I’m getting out of Timber Ridge, and I’m never coming back.”
Nancy got into her car and drove off, leaving two grooves of chewed-up grass in her wake.
I looked at Maddy and said, “Can you believe that?”
“The fact that Nancy lied, or that Gina tried to kill her imaginary baby?”
Was that what the world was coming to? “Both, I guess. What is wrong with people?”
Maddy shook her head. “That’s not the way to look at it. The question is, what’s wrong with these people? Not everybody’s like them.”
“I sincerely hope not. Is there any chance that Nancy could have been mistaken about Gina?” I asked.
“Anything’s possible, but from what I’ve seen so far, I’m willing to believe her. After all, she’s leaving town. What does she have to gain by spreading lies on her way out?”
I shook my head. “Think about it, Maddy. The woman lied about being in love with Judson, and she just admitted to us that she made up a false pregnancy. Does that really give her any credibility now? If she told me the sky was blue, I’d have to look up and see for myself.”
Maddy shrugged. “You’ve got a point. Look on the bright side, though.”
“What, that I’ve got to get someone to fix the tracks in my lawn?”
“Think about it, Eleanor. We have one less suspect now than we had before.”
“That’s true,” I said. “It is nice to eliminate one instead of adding someone new to our list.”
“Don’t get too excited. Karen’s supposed to report back today with news of her genealogy search, isn’t she?”
In all the excitement, I’d forgotten all about the job I’d given our customer. “Then it’s a wash. Come on, I need a little reality right now, and there’s nothing like burying my hands in dough to get that.”
Maddy and I parked side by side in the back and walked through the shortcut together to head for the Slice. Before we left our cars, though, my sister had taken a minute to reattach her fairy wings, and I had to admit that she looked adorable.
My costume was the best she could do on short notice, but hers was truly eye-catching.
“Let’s go see Paul,” she said as we hit the promenade.
I glanced at my watch and saw that we had a few minutes to spare. “Why not? I’m a little worried about him.”
Maddy asked, “Do you think he’d really leave Timber Ridge?”
“You saw the look on his face after Gina visited the bakery. I wasn’t sure he’d finish out the day.”
We walked toward the bakery, and soon we saw Paul through the window, behind the counter. To our delight, he was dressed as a scarecrow, complete with straw flopping out of his sleeves and a floppy hat.
“You look adorable,” I said as we walked in.
“Right back at you both. You two look great.”
“So do you,” Maddy said.
“Maybe, but to tell you the truth, this hay is driving me nuts,” he replied with a huge grin as he scratched at his sleeves.
“Are you allergic to straw?” Maddy asked.
“No, thank goodness for that, but it keeps falling out on the floor. If the health inspector comes by today, I’m doomed.”
“I think you’re safe,” I said. “If I’m not mistaken, he’s still on his honeymoon.”
“Then I hope he doesn’t get a substitute, because if he does, I’m going to get shut down.”
I looked at the array of his offerings and saw full trays of the samples he’d shared with us before. “They all look wonderful.”
“Sorry I never brought samples by to taste like I’d promised. I’ve been off my game the last few days.”
“We understand,” I said. “How are you doing?”
Paul managed a slight grin. “I’m getting better. I think I’ll live, and in all honesty, I believe that’s all I can hope for. Would either one of you care for a taste? Take whatever you want; it’s on the house.”
“No thanks,” I said as I held a hand up. “They look wonderful, but I’ve had my fill of treats for a while.”
Maddy looked at me as though I’d lost my mind. “I don’t know what she’s talking about. I’d be delighted. Thanks for offering.”
“You don’t have to,” Paul said agreeably. “It won’t hurt my feelings.”
“I’m not sure I could look myself in the mirror if I turned down one of your confections,” Maddy said. “I’ll pick from the adult menu.”
He nodded and offered the tray to her. Maddy chose a zombie head, and I changed my mind and reached for one myself since they looked so good.
“You don’t have to,” Paul said. “Really.”
“I don’t see how I can pass it up,” I said with a smile. I took a bite and tasted the delightful cherry and raspberry filling. He’d overstuffed them, and it literally oozed out onto my hand. “Everyone’s going to love you.”
“I hope so,” he said.
After Maddy and I finished eating, I said, “We’re saving two ghost pizzas for you tonight. You are coming, aren’t you?”
“I’m not sure,” he said. “You know my hours.”
Paul was up and working at a time when most folks were fast asleep, and I knew he rarely stayed up past eight at night.
“Surely you can make an exception,” Maddy said. “You were at the Blowout last year.”
“How could you possibly remember that?” he asked.
“You were a skeleton,” I said, suddenly remembering the dancing bones of his costume, perfect for his tall and lanky frame.
“Very good. And you didn’t dress up at all.”
“Guilty,” I said.
“Why the change?”
I was about to respond when Maddy waved her wand in the air, sending out little bits of glitter everywhere. “Haven’t you heard, Paul? There’s magic in the air today.”
I stared at the glitter now scattered all over the floor. “Don’t worry, we’ll clean that up.”
/> Paul just laughed. “Leave it right where it is. It complements the hay, don’t you think? Happy Halloween, ladies.”
“To you, too,” we replied, nearly in unison.
When we left him, Paul was retrieving hay and stuffing it back into his shirt, a perfect scarecrow if ever there was one.
The lunch session at the Slice went fine, and I was pleased enough with my costume to come out every now and then to show it off, and to see what my fellow residents of Timber Ridge had managed to come up with. There were a few ghosts, goblins, witches, and zombies mixed in with a politician’s mask and a few from movies I’d never seen, but I was surprised by such a light turnout. The air was festive, and I knew most folks were getting excited about the Blowout later that night. I kept watching the door, hoping that David would come through, but he must have still been interviewing candidates for the branch manager’s job.
Maddy caught me looking once and said, “You could always call him and say hi, you know.”
“Call who?”
“Don’t play dumb with me, Sis. David will be here tonight.”
“I know that,” I said, pretending to be offended by her statement, but I wasn’t fooling either one of us.
As the day went on, I realized that the lunch crowd was never going to reach our normal sales level for the day, and I knew that we’d be giving food away later by donating the proceeds to charity instead of keeping any of it for ourselves. It wouldn’t do much for my bottom line, but Halloween was one of the few days of the year that I didn’t watch my income so closely. I was in the spirit of things, and I wasn’t about to let a little slow business get to me.
At least, not until Maddy reminded me of the real reason we weren’t selling nearly as much as we were used to.
“It’s not hurting us as much as I thought it would,” she said. “At least not so far, anyway.”
“What’s that?”
“Eleanor, have you honestly forgotten? Gina is opening Italia’s today.”
It had truly slipped my mind, though I had no idea how that could have happened. “We still had our share of customers today,” I said.
“That’s because she doesn’t officially open until tonight,” Maddy said. “At least we weren’t completely deserted, which is what I’ve been afraid of since we found out she was going ahead with the grand opening.”
I glanced at the clock and saw that we still had half an hour before we were due to close the pizzeria for our break. “Maddy, this place is dead. Let’s go ahead and shut down so we can check her place out and see how things are going over there.”
“I’ve been waiting for you to suggest that for the last hour,” she said as she quickly flipped our sign to CLOSED.
“I’ll do even better than that,” I said. “Tell you what, let’s go right now. The dishes can wait until later.”
“Are the paint fumes from the swatches I brushed on your face getting to you?” Maddy asked as she stared into my eyes.
“No, I’m fine. Why do you ask?”
“It’s not like you to leave a dirty dish unwashed before you leave, let alone a sink full of them.”
“Hey, people can change.” I felt as though I’d already proved that.
“So I see,” she said.
“Do you want to go, or not?”
“I’m right behind you,” she said.
I locked the door, hoping that we weren’t alienating any of our customers. Then again, who would notice? The promenade had folks drifting around from shop to shop, and I knew that some of my fellow tenants were taking advantage of the day to offer excellent specials to their customers. I’d tried it myself years before, without a great deal of success. I supposed most folks didn’t associate Halloween with pizza.
As I thought, Gina had a crowd out in front of Italia’s, but it was smaller than I’d been expecting. I was about to resign myself to standing in line out front when she spotted Maddy and me waiting to get in.
“I’m surprised to see you here,” she said. Gina was dressed in a peasant outfit with her cleavage exaggerated outward, and so much of her left thigh showing that she had to be chilled to the bone in the brisk October breeze. It was absolutely not a kid-friendly outfit, but most of the men around us didn’t seem to mind.
“I didn’t think you were opening up until this evening,” I said.
“Midnight, as a matter of fact. Dramatic, isn’t it?” She waved a hand in the air. “This is a dry run. We’re offering some excellent deals to get the word out, and then we’re going to close from four until we open again at midnight. I’m sending everyone home to rest. We’re going to have a busy night.”
“Good for you. We thought we’d come by and show our support,” I said.
Maddy snorted beside me, but if Gina heard her, she chose to ignore it. “How sweet of you.”
I pretended to look around. “Where’s Nancy Thorpe? I haven’t seen her all day.”
Maddy took the bait. “Eleanor, we saw her leave town this morning, remember?”
Gina’s face clouded up. “That woman is delusional. Did she tell you that I tried to kill her?”
“It came up,” I said.
“Well, she tripped over those boat shoes of hers and I tried to grab her shoulder before she fell. The idiot pulled away from me, and she nearly took a tumble. It was just three steps.”
“How did Nathan react?”
Gina looked angry enough to spit. “He took her side, of course, until she started babbling about making the pregnancy up to trick him. He changed his attitude after that, believe me.”
“Then I guess she and her phantom baby are out of the will,” I said.
Gina looked smug as she admitted, “Uncle Nathan’s making the final revisions to his will even as we speak,” she said. “He’s planning on signing it either tonight or tomorrow.”
“Leaving it all to you? You must be so pleased.”
“I don’t know what he’s doing, but I’m happy that fraud was exposed for what she really was.”
An elegantly dressed man in a tuxedo called out to Gina, who held up one hand. “I’ll be there in a second.” She turned to us and added, “Sorry, but duty calls. It’s amazing how many people in Timber Ridge love pizza, isn’t it?”
Maddy started to say something nasty in reply—I could see it in her eyes—so I grabbed her arm and squeezed it. She got the signal, so I said, “Good luck.”
Gina pointed at the customers still waiting to get in as she said, “It’s sweet of you to say that, but clearly luck isn’t a factor at all.”
As she turned away, Maddy started after her, and I was glad that I’d kept a grip on her arm.
“She’s not worth it,” I said.
“I don’t know. You could be wrong about that.”
“Maybe, but it’s too late now. Gina’s already gone.”
“Fine, you can let go of me now. Is there any place in particular you’d like to go for lunch?”
“I’ve got an idea,” I said. “I’ve suddenly lost my taste for crowds. Why don’t we go back to the Slice, make something with way too many calories, and shut the rest of the world out?”
“That’s the best idea you’ve had in weeks,” Maddy answered.
It was just too bad that’s not how it ended up working out.
When we got back to the pizzeria, someone was waiting for us there. “Art, we were just about to have a quiet lunch. Would you care to join us?” I hadn’t even glanced at Maddy for her permission to make the invitation. She’d been holding Art in contempt for too long, and I had a feeling if she took the chance to know him, she might get to like him as much as I did.
“I’m sorry to say that I don’t have time for that at the moment. Eleanor, I’m afraid there’s something we need to discuss,” he said.
“I’ll go inside and get started on our pizza,” Maddy said.
“This involves you as well,” Art said. “You should hear it, too.”
“Whatever it is, Eleanor can handle it.” She di
sappeared inside before I had a chance to say anything else.
I turned to Art and said, “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s gotten into her.”
“That doesn’t matter,” he said. “You need to come with me.”
“Why? Did something happen?”
“I had someone who owes me a favor watch your pizzeria,” he said.
“Without telling me? Seriously? What happened to our trust?”
“I did it for you,” he said patiently. “And you should be glad that I did. He caught someone trying to break in the minute you left.” I felt a chill of ice run through me as he said it.
“Who was it?”
“It’s the gentleman we discussed earlier, Jack Hanks. He’s being detained in my car, and I thought you might like the opportunity to speak with him.”
I could barely contain myself as I said, “Let me at him.”
When we got to Art’s car, his driver opened the door instantly. I slid inside, and Art joined us. Jack Hanks sat there sullenly against the opposite door, and he barely glanced my way as the door shut behind us.
“Explain yourself,” Art said softly.
Jack looked as though he’d been slapped.
“I was looking for something to steal,” he said.
“From me?” I asked. “I don’t have anything of value to you.”
“You have a cash register, don’t you? I’m betting you don’t lock your money up between your lunch and dinner shifts. Am I right?”
Art coughed lightly, and the man came instantly back in line. “Sorry,” Jack said, obviously reined in.
“I never thought about it before,” I admitted. I promised myself that I’d change that habit immediately. I couldn’t afford to lose a day’s lunch receipts, especially with Italia’s off to such a good start.
“Why me, though? I’m not in your usual hunting ground, am I?”
When Jack didn’t respond, Art tapped him lightly on the knee. It was as though the touch was charged with high voltage. “Okay, there was more to it than that. You were making life unhappy for my friend.”
“Which friend is that, Gina or Lacy?”
“Trust me, Gina’s no friend of mine,” he said sullenly.