“You sound happy,” her grandmother said as she walked into the room and set her purse down on the table. “What are you cooking? Is that for lunch, because I’m starved.”
“This is the dip for tonight,” Ellie told her. “I’ll make extra for you, though. How was your hair appointment?”
“Good, as always. I’ve got my curls for another week. You know, I bet Darshan could do something with your hair if you wanted.”
“I don’t think I’m a curly-haired sort of woman,” Ellie said with a chuckle. “I’ll make do with my straight hair. It certainly doesn’t require much maintenance.”
“Well, whatever you think is best, dear. Just let me know if you want to set up an appointment. She doesn’t just do curls, you know. You could just go in for a trim and some layering.”
“I’ll think about it, Nonna. Right now I want to focus on cooking. I don’t want to mess this up.”
“You spend all day cooking, don’t you? You should be a pro by now.”
Ellie laughed as she put the chicken breasts into the pot of boiling water. “Making dip is a bit different from making pizzas. And I’m nowhere near being an expert at that. Papa had years of experience. I’ve got less than two months.”
“Well, I think you do a marvelous job, dear.” Her grandma gave her a whiskery kiss on the cheek, then opened the fridge to grab an iced tea. “I’ll let you work in peace. In an hour or so I’ll come out and make sandwiches for us—and get a taste of some of that dip you’re making.”
By the time evening rolled around, Ellie was beginning to get a flutter of anxiety in her stomach whenever she looked at the clock. The dip was finished and in the fridge; it would be easy enough to heat it up on the stove at Shannon’s house. The bags of chips were sitting on the counter, ready to go. She was wearing her favorite pair of jeans and a black blouse, both of which smelled fresh and flowery from the laundry detergent. All she had to do when it was time to leave would be to slip on her shoes and put everything in the car. So why did she keep pacing from room to room and double-checking her makeup in the mirror?
Is this because Shannon told me two of the men that will be there are single? she wondered. I don’t even want to date right now, so why on earth am I checking my lipstick for the third time in a row?
“You look fine, my dear,” her grandmother said from the hallway as she walked back towards the kitchen to begin putting the food in the car. “Sheriff Ward won’t be able to take his eyes off of you.”
“What?” Ellie squeaked, stopping in her tracks. “What are you talking about?”
“Well you’re going to dinner with him, aren’t you?” the old woman asked.
“No, no, I’m just going to hang out with Shannon while her husband and some of his friends watch a game on TV,” she told her grandmother.
“Okay, if you say so,” Ann said with a mischievous grin. “Though I can’t remember the last time I kept checking my makeup every ten minutes before spending time with my girlfriends.”
“I just want to make a good impression,” Ellie said. “I’ll be meeting some of James’s friends, and if they’re friends with Jeffrey too, then they probably already have a poor idea of me.”
Jeffrey Dunham was the owner of Cheesaroni Calzones, Papa Pacelli’s main competitor. He had taken an instant dislike to Ellie, and the feeling was mutual. She felt a stab of panic as she realized that he might be there. She most definitely did not want to spend the night trying to ignore barbed comments from him.
“Oh, they’ll all love you, dear. That man’s just jealous that you did such a good job with your grandfather’s restaurant. Don’t give him a second thought.”
Ellie smiled, thankful for the kind words, and gave her grandmother a hug goodbye. With her purse over her shoulder and her arms full of food, she walked towards the front door, saying goodbye to Marlowe as she passed her cage and gently nudging Bunny back inside when she tried to slip out behind her. The little dog had made a full recovery from her spill in the harbor a few days ago, and seemed eager to go on her next adventure.
“I’ll see all of you later,” she said as she shut the door behind her. “Don’t wait up for me, Nonna. And can you lock the door after I’m gone? My hands are too full.”
Shannon greeted her at the door, looking happier than she had since the night of the murder. She helped Ellie carry the chips and dip inside, then handed her a glass of wine.
“Dinner is still on the grill, but we should be ready to eat soon,” she said. “The guys are all outside. Do you want to join them?”
“Might as well,” Ellie said, taking a sip from the wine glass. “We should at least get the introductions out of the way.”
She followed her friend outside and waited while the other woman introduced her to the three men that she didn’t know. Harris was about her age and balding; he was quick to smile, and was happily married. His wife, Ellie gathered, usually watched the game with them, but was out of town at the moment. Carter and Isaac were the two single men that Shannon had told her about earlier in the week. As she greeted them, Ellie wondered whether Shannon had set this whole thing up on purpose to try to find her a date. Her friend was well meaning, but a bit too nosy for her own good. No wonder she ended up being a journalist, she thought. It’s the perfect job for her.
“And of course you know James and Russell,” Shannon finished.
“Hey Ellie, glad you could make it,” James said. He was standing at an expensive-looking grill which was loaded with hamburgers, bratwurst, and chicken breasts.
“Thanks for inviting me,” Ellie said. “The barbecue smells great.”
“And it’ll taste even better,” he said. “I don’t want to sound full of myself, but the Ward family secret sauce is to die for.”
“And very secret,” Shannon added with a laugh. “He won’t even tell me how he makes it.”
“I told you I’d give you the recipe if you learned how to grill without burning everything,” he said, giving her a fond grin. “It’s a sauce that’s supposed to go on meat—not charcoal.”
Ellie took another sip of her wine as everyone laughed and felt herself relax. No Jeffrey, and everyone seemed nice. This was turning out to be a great night.
CHAPTER NINE
Dinner was a casual affair. James brought in all of the grilled meat from outside and put it on big platters while Shannon got the potato salad, watermelon, and condiments out of the fridge and Ellie began heating the dip up on the stove. The gooey, cheesy concoction smelled delicious, and she couldn’t wait for people to try it. She had used some of the bacon-flavored cheddar from the cheese shipment, along with cream cheese, shredded chicken, a dab of hot sauce, and green onions. She had tried some earlier, and it had been scrumptious.
Once all of the food was ready, people grabbed plates and served themselves, all sitting around the big table. Ellie ended up between Russell and Shannon, and was interested to see a new side to the usually serious sheriff as he laughed with his brother.
“Great dip, Ellie,” he said partway through the meal, turning to her. “How’s that little dog of yours doing?”
“She’s great,” she told him. “Thank you again. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t come along.”
“I’m sure you would have figured something out,” he said. “Glad to hear she’s doing well, though.”
Ellie was itching to ask him about the case. Had they found the body yet? Did they have any idea who the killer was? It had happened practically in her backyard, after all. She knew that it wasn’t exactly a polite conversation to have at the dinner table, however, and forced herself to wait. She would try asking Shannon about it after dinner instead.
Once the meal was finished, the guys helped clear the table before heading into the living room to watch the game. Ellie followed Shannon into the kitchen, where she was getting started on the dishes.
“Need help?” she asked.
“Nah, I’m just soaking them. James will help me was
h everything in the morning. He always says he feels bad if I do them on my own, since they’re his friends.”
“He seems like a great guy,” Ellie said, a touch wistfully. “You’re lucky.”
“He really is.” She looked up, a smile on her face. “I love him just as much now as I did on the day we got married. Maybe even more, after all we’ve been through together. I really hope you can find someone like that one day, Ellie. Not all guys are jerks.”
Ellie knew that her friend was referencing Kenneth Aubrey, her fiancé. She had found out that he was having an affair a few months ago, and had called off their engagement. He had been her boss as well as the man that she was going to marry, and had taken full advantage of his position by firing her the day after she gave him back his ring. It had been the worst, most humiliating week of Ellie’s life, and she still winced whenever she thought back on it.
“What do you think about Carter and Isaac?” her friend asked after a moment.
“Well, they both seem nice. I haven’t really gotten much of a chance to talk to either of them.” She hesitated. “Shannon… I’ve been wondering some things about, you know, that night.”
Her friend paused for a moment, then continued scraping the dishes into the garbage can. “Go ahead. But I haven’t remembered anything new.”
“It’s nothing like that. I guess the main thing I’ve been wondering is who exactly was Anthony? Why were you meeting him there, in the woods behind my house? I know you said it was for a story, but what sort of story?”
Shannon sighed. “All of this started before you even moved here. A couple of months back, some people got pretty sick from eating bad fish served at a few restaurants around town. One older man actually died from it. There was a big outcry, and all of the restaurants were inspected. Some of us at the Kittiport Times have been investigating up the supply chain, trying to figure out what happened and call the people out. No one really made much progress, and I had pretty much given up on finding anything out until Anthony Reeves stepped forward. We were friends back in school—I don’t know if you remember him, he was in the band and played the drums—anyway, he told me he knew what happened. I guess he knows the person responsible for it personally, and had a falling out with them or something. He was just about to tell me who it was when we got attacked.” She grimaced. “I feel horrible saying it, but I can’t stop thinking about how I’ll probably never know what happened now that he’s dead. I think I’ll give things some time to settle down, then start digging around in his employment history. Maybe someone he worked for was involved.”
“Wow,” Ellie said. “Someone died from bad fish? That’s a pretty big deal. I mean, it could wreck someone’s business if it got out that they were responsible. Do you think that whoever he was about to betray is the one that killed him?”
“I’m sure of it,” Shannon said. “What other motive could there be?”
“Does the sheriff know about all of this?” she asked, glancing towards the living room.
“Yeah. I told him about it as soon as I calmed down enough to gather my thoughts.” The other woman sighed. “I know it sounds stupid, but I keep going through my notes to see if there’s any clue about who was behind the fish incident. I feel like if I can solve that, then I can solve the murder and Anthony’s family will finally get some peace.”
“Was he married?” Ellie asked.
Shannon nodded. “He had a wife and two kids. Young girls, if I remember right.”
“Wow,” Ellie said, feeling sick. “I can’t imagine what this is like for them.”
“Me either,” her friend said, looking sad. “Anthony was a good guy. The world is worse off without him.”
Ellie and Shannon went outside after that, drinking wine and talking about happier things. It’s nice to have someone to reminisce with, she thought as she gazed up at the stars with her friend. Back in Chicago, she had never really found the time to do this—to just kick back and relax. She wanted to make a habit of it now that she had the time.
The two women were interrupted in their conversation when the back door slid open and Russell stepped out onto the porch. He was holding his cellphone at his side, and looked grim.
“There you are,” he said to them. “I’ve been looking for you. I’ve got news.”
“What is it?” Shannon asked, setting her glass of wine down and turning in her seat. Ellie followed suit, feeling an anxious flutter in her stomach. Whatever it was, it couldn’t be good.
“The body’s been found,” he said. “In the river, by a high schooler walking her dog.”
She winced. That poor girl’s going to have nightmares for a long time, she thought.
“Oh my goodness,” her friend said, clapping a hand over her mouth. “How did the body get to the river?”
“The killer probably came back and moved it in an effort to cover his or her tracks,” the sheriff said. He shoved the cellphone back into his pocket. “I’ve got to head to the station. If either of you remember anything more, please give me a call. The killer would have had to move the body between when Shannon got lost in the woods and when we got there. That’s only about a fifteen-minute span, and there can’t have been many people nearby at the time. Someone has to have seen the killer. We just have to find out who and get them to come in and report it.”
He went back inside, leaving Ellie and Shannon alone on the porch. The two women exchanged a glance. Their mellow good mood was wrecked.
“I should get going, too,” Ellie said after a moment. “It’s late, and I’m getting tired. I had a nice time, though.”
“Me too,” Shannon sighed. “I know it’s good that they found the body, but I kind of wish it could have waited until morning. Now I’m going to be thinking about it all night.”
“Me too. I hope the killer gets caught soon. It’s weird to think all of this happened right behind my grandmother’s house.” She stood up and stretched, then looked down at her friend. Something that she sheriff had said struck her. The killer would have had only a short span of time to move the body—just minutes, really. What were the chances that he had come back at just the right time to avoid running into Shannon? Was it possible that her friend knew more than she was saying?
CHAPTER TEN
After a restless Sunday at home waiting for more news about the murder, Ellie decided to head into the pizzeria early on Monday. Work, she decided, was the best way to take her mind off of things. Besides, she wanted to experiment with some new toppings before her employees got there for the day. The bacon-flavored cheese had tasted wonderful in the dip; she wondered how it would work on pizza.
She fired up the ovens when she got to the pizzeria and started work immediately. She began by getting a ball of thick-crust dough out of the fridge and kneading and spinning it out like Xavier had shown her all those weeks ago when she first moved back. After putting it in the oven to pre-bake she began preparing the toppings: bacon bits, mushroom, and green peppers. For the cheese she decided to go mostly with the normal mozzarella, with a little of the shredded smoky bacon cheddar cheese. By the time she got everything ready, the crust had baked long enough to be ready for the sauce and toppings.
She dolloped the sauce on first, smoothing it out with the back of a spoon, then added a generous amount of shredded cheese. Next she tossed the toppings on, doing her best to spread them evenly over the cheese. She finished by taking a handful of the shredded bacon cheddar and sprinkling it on the crust, hoping that it would bake in and give the pizza crust a nice, smoky flavor.
“If you taste as good as you look, I’ll add you to the menu,” she said. Then she realized she was talking to a pizza, and pressed her lips together. Talking to pets is one thing, she thought as she put the pizza in the oven, amused at herself. Talking to your food is a whole different ballgame.
She made a few more pizzas for the early lunch crowd. Then, while the pizzas cooked, she puttered around the restaurant, dusting the corners and performing the small chor
es that needed to be done every day before opening. She finished just as the pizza was ready to come out of the oven and smiled, proud of herself. She was getting so much better at all of this.
This pizza looked and smelled good, which was promising. The cheese on the edges of the crust was a nice golden brown, and she felt her stomach growl at the sight of it. She had skipped lunch purposefully for this—hopefully it was worth the wait. If the flavors ended up going together well, she would add a larger amount of the bacon cheddar cheese to their next order, and Clayton and his uncle would be happy.
“Time to slice you,” she said, before realizing that she was talking to food once again. I’ve really got to stop that, she thought as she grabbed the pizza cutter. It’s a bit creepy, really. I clearly need to get out more.
At long last she sat down at the employees’ table in the back of the kitchen with a slice of the ooey, gooey cheese-smothered pizza. She blew cautiously on it before taking a bite, having burnt her tongue on hot pizza one too many times to be reckless when it came to eating a slice right out of the oven.
Once she deemed it was cool enough to bite safely, she tasted it. As she chewed, she smiled. It was tasty. More than tasty, really. It was delicious. The only problem with it was that it was slightly too salty, but in retrospect, that was to be expected of a pizza with bacon as a topping and bacon-flavored cheese. She would have to change that next time, but with a few tweaks she was certain that she could put this pizza on the menu after their next cheese order.
“Good job, Clayton,” she said softly, just as the employee door opened and Jacob came in.
“Hey, Ms. Pacelli,” he said. “Am I late? It smells amazing in here.”
“No, you’re not late. I’m early. I wanted to try out something new. Here, grab a slice if you want and tell me what you think.”
Bacon Cheddar Murder: Book 2 in Papa Pacelli's Pizzeria Series Page 4