Sweet Chili Murder

by Patti Benning

  Ellie hesitated for only an instant before pocketing the phone and scrambling for the gun. The police needed to be called, yes, but it would take the police time to get there. In those precious minutes, who knew what could happen?

  “Stop!” she shouted once she had the firearm in her grip. She had gone to the range with Russell a couple times over the years, and had enough presence of mind to make sure her finger was off the trigger. She didn’t want to shoot anyone, but they didn’t need to know that. “Stop right now! I’ll shoot!”

  That made the men look up. When they saw what she was holding, they both stopped fighting. Johnathan had a bloody nose, and Trevor had a scrape on his cheek.

  The lull lasted for only a moment. Then, Trevor shot to his feet and Johnathan followed suit, grabbing him by the shoulder as he started to run away.

  “Call the cops, now,” he said to Ellie, his voice rough as he tried to keep a grip on his cousin.

  “Yes, call them,” Trevor said, eyes frantic. “Tell them what happened. Johnathan tried to kill me! He killed Mike! He’s crazy!”

  “Stop, both of you,” Ellie said. Her mind was racing. “Just… tell me what happened.”

  Both men started speaking at once, and it was impossible to make anything out. Ellie was frustrated and frightened. All she wanted to do was reach into her pocket and grab the phone to call the police, but she was afraid that if she took her attention off the men for even an instant, they would take advantage of it.

  “Ellie?”

  She jumped slightly at the voice, her eyes darting to its source. Linda was standing in front of the van, her eyes wide as she tried to figure out the situation in front of her.

  “Linda, do you have your phone?” Ellie asked, snapping her gaze back to the men.

  “It’s in the pizzeria. You made all of us leave our phones in the kitchen, on silent.”

  She winced. She was regretting that now.

  “There’s a phone in my pants pocket. Can you get it and call the police?”

  Eyes wide, Linda nodded and took a hesitant step forward. Johnathan was watching her, and his cousin took advantage of that, choosing that moment to try to break free. Linda had to jump back to avoid the ensuing struggle. Ellie stepped back quickly as well, but not quickly enough. The men knocked into her, slamming her back against the brick wall of the abandoned building behind her and making her drop the gun. Panicked, she dropped to her knees to reach for it, only to feel someone’s elbow connect sharply with her temple. The pain was enough to daze her, and when she looked up, somehow Linda had managed to get the gun and was now pointing it at all of them.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Johnathan.” Linda’s voice was a mix of emotions; terrified, angry, betrayed.

  “Linda, I can explain,” Johnathan said.

  “Then you’d better start.”

  “Trevor killed his brother,” he said. “I confronted him about it. I wasn’t certain at first, but the way he reacted told me the truth.”

  “How do I know you’re not lying?” she asked.

  He glanced at Ellie. “The lipstick.”

  “What?”

  “Francis kept going on about lipstick the police had found in his car. She was convinced it was Ellie’s. The police confirmed it. I couldn’t think of why her lipstick would be in his car. Why would they meet up again after she walked out? He was ready to throw the contract in the garbage, he wouldn’t have gone to meet her somewhere. From what you told me about her, she didn’t seem like the kind of person to commit murder. It was a puzzle, and I’ve been thinking about it for days.” He frowned at his cousin. “Then Trevor said something while we were filming today, something about how this was so much better than anything Mike could have done, and it clicked. You’ve been acting so strangely, Trevor, and I only just realized what it was. You were acting relieved. You’ve been happier these past few days than you had been in weeks.” He turned his attention back to Linda. “So, I made up some excuse to bring him out here so I could confront him about it. It was stupid to do it alone, but I had to know. It made me sick to think that he killed his own brother. I couldn’t concentrate, I couldn’t think of anything but learning whether it was true or not. So, I asked him about it, and he attacked me. You’ll find a knife under the van. I knocked it out of his hand, then I drew the gun I had taken to carrying after my cousin was murdered in front of my place of employment.”

  Linda looked at Ellie and tilted her head toward the van. “Can you see if the knife’s there?”

  Ellie nodded, glad for an excuse to finally move away from the two men. For a long, tense moment she had been worried that Linda had stopped trusting her as well, and she was glad that wasn’t the case.

  She edged away from the men and approached the van. Getting onto her hands and knees, she looked under it. Sure enough, a hunting knife was laying on the asphalt. She reached for it, then thought better of it. The police would want to get fingerprints.

  “It’s there,” she said.

  “That’s his knife, not mine,” Trevor said, speaking up for the first time since Linda had come onto the scene. “He’s lying. He killed Mike because he was jealous, now he’s trying to kill me too. He wants the company for himself. He’s crazy.”

  Ellie stood up, standing next to Linda and taking the cell phone out of her pocket. She didn’t know how long Linda would be able to hold the two men at gunpoint before the guilty one decided to try to make a break for it — or attack them. The sooner the police got there, the better.

  As she raised the phone to her ear, she saw Trevor begin to edge to the side, away from Johnathan. Linda seemed unsure, the gun’s muzzle wavering between the two men. Ellie tensed, only half listening as the dispatcher spoke into her ear. If one of them ran, what would her friend do?

  “Linda,” Johnathan said, his voice soothing. “Let me restrain Trevor. I swear to you, I’m not lying. I didn’t kill Mike. You know me.”

  “He’s lying,” Trevor insisted. “He’s a genius at film, I know you know it. He always wanted to be a director. He wanted to be in charge. He wants the business for himself.”

  To Ellie’s surprise, Linda lowered the gun. Trevor’s lips curled up in a smile. He looked like he was about to say something when Linda spoke.

  “Go ahead and restrain him, Johnathan. I trust you.”

  Trevor’s eyes widened, and he turned to run, but before he could move Johnathan had tackled him. He struggled to keep the other man on the ground.

  “Zip ties,” he panted. “In the toolbox. Get his wrists.”

  Linda climbed into the van, brushing past Ellie, who tore her gaze away from the men. She realized a tinny voice was speaking in her ear.

  “Hello? What’s your emergency?”

  Taking a deep breath, Ellie gave the dispatcher their address.

  Epilogue

  How did you know?”

  Linda straightened up, taking the pizza out of the oven. She frowned at Ellie.

  “Know what?”

  “How did you know Johnathan was innocent?” the pizzeria owner asked. “He didn’t even defend himself after Trevor spoke that last time. You just… knew.”

  “Oh.” Linda put the pizza on a cooling rack and shut the oven door. “On our first date, he told me that he hated the film business. He was good at it, but he hated it. He wanted to save up money to go to culinary school. There’s no way he was lying about that, not with all of the cookbooks he has, and not with how happy he always was to listen to me talk about the pizzeria. There’s no way he would have killed Mike to take over a business that he hated.”

  “I see,” Ellie said. “Well, I’m glad that you were there. It’s so frustrating, having all of this happen down here. At home, Russell would be able to fill in the blanks for me. I still don’t know about the lipstick, for example. How on earth did it get in the car?”

  To her surprise, Linda smiled. “I can actually answer that. Johnathan told me when he picked me up that Trevor ended up confessing
everything as soon as they got to the police station. He’d been planning on removing Mike from the scene for a while, but knew he had to frame someone else. The police would probably be able to track everything right back to him unless he led them on a wild goose chase. I guess he would have been a lead suspect, since they were business partners and he got everything after Mike’s death. Anyway, he told the police that he made the split-second decision to try to frame you when you started arguing with his brother. He stole your lipstick out of your purse, knowing that there would be DNA on it. Before leaving the studio that evening, he asked his brother to meet him early the next morning. He ambushed him, and once he was dead, he dropped the lipstick in the car. Then he just waited. I guess Francis remembering your lipstick color was just bad luck, since that led them straight to you right away.”

  Ellie shook her head. “All that planning, and he still got caught in less than a week.”

  “I guess he shouldn’t have messed with you,” her friend said, giving her a smile.

  “Or you. He made a mistake when he assumed you didn’t know Johnathan that well.”

  Linda nodded. “Yes, he did.”

  Ellie maneuvered the cooling pizza onto a plate and followed her friend outside. It was a sunny day, and they were taking full advantage of the weather. Johnathan and Nonna were outside already, chatting over ice cold lemonade. Ellie placed the pizza in the center of the table and sat down.

  “Dig in,” she said. “Consider this our celebratory meal. Not only did we catch a killer, but thanks to Johnathan, we’ve got usable footage for the advertisement.”

  Nonna raised her glass and they all toasted. “Thank goodness for that,” she said. “The film industry is killer.”

  They all chuckled at that, then claimed their slices of pizza. Ellie leaned back in her chair, enjoying the sun, and knowing that it was the last warm day she would experience in quite a while. All in all, it had been a good vacation. She couldn’t wait for the next one.

  Also by Patti Benning

  Papa Pacelli’s Series

  Book 1: Pall Bearers and Pepperoni

  Book 2: Bacon Cheddar Murder

  Book 3: Very Veggie Murder

  Book 4: Italian Wedding Murder

  Book 5: Smoked Gouda Murder

  Book 6: Gourmet Holiday Murder

  Book 7: Four Cheese Murder

  Book 8: Hand Tossed Murder

  Book 9: Exotic Pizza Murder

  Book 10: Fiesta Pizza Murder

  Book 11: Garlic Artichoke Murder

  Book 12: On the Wings of Murder

  Book 13: Mozzarella and Murder

  Book 14: A Thin Crust of Murder

  Book 15: Pretzel Pizza Murder

  Book 16: Parmesan Pizza Murder

  Book 17: Breakfast Pizza Murder

  Book 18: Halloween Pizza Murder

  Book 19: Thanksgiving Pizza Murder

  Book 20: Christmas Pizza Murder

  Book 21: A Crispy Slice of Murder

  Book 22: Lobster Pizza Murder

  Book 23: Pizza, Weddings, and Murder

  Book 24: Pizza, Paradise, and Murder

  Book 25: Meat Lovers and Murder

  Book 26: Classic Crust Murder

  Book 27: Hot, Spicy Murder

  Book 28: Pork, Pizza, and Murder

  Book 29: Chicken Alfredo Murder

  Book 30: Jalapeño Pizza Murder

  Book 31: Pesto Pizza Murder

  Darling Deli Series

  Book 1: Pastrami Murder

  Book 2: Corned Beef Murder

  Book 3: Cold Cut Murder

  Book 4: Grilled Cheese Murder

  Book 5: Chicken Pesto Murder

  Book 6: Thai Coconut Murder

  Book 7: Tomato Basil Murder

  Book 8: Salami Murder

  Book 9: Hearty Homestyle Murder

  Book 10: Honey BBQ Murder

  Book 11: Beef Brisket Murder

  Book 12: Garden Vegetable Murder

  Book 13: Spicy Lasagna Murder

  Book 14: Curried Lobster Murder

  Book 15: Creamy Casserole Murder

  Book 16: Grilled Rye Murder

  Book 17: A Quiche to Die For

  Book 18: A Side of Murder

  Book 19: Wrapped in Murder

  Book 20: Glazed Ham Murder

  Book 21: Chicken Club Murder

  Book 22: Pies, Lies and Murder

  Book 23: Mountains, Marriage and Murder

  Book 24: Shrimply Murder

  Book 25: Gazpacho Murder

  Book 26: Peppered with Murder

  Book 27: Ravioli Soup Murder

  Book 28: Thanksgiving Deli Murder

  Book 29: A Season of Murder

  Book 30: Valentines and Murder

  Book 31: Shamrocks and Murder

  Book 32: Sugar Coated Murder

  Book 33: Murder, My Darling

  Killer Cookie Series

  Book 1: Killer Caramel Cookies

  Book 2: Killer Halloween Cookies

  Book 3: Killer Maple Cookies

  Book 4: Crunchy Christmas Murder

  Book 5: Killer Valentine Cookies

  Asheville Meadows Series

  Book 1: Small Town Murder

  Book 2: Murder on Aisle Three

  Book 3: The Heart of Murder

  Book 4: Dating is Murder

  Book 5: Dying to Cook

  Book 6: Food, Family and Murder

  Book 7: Fish, Chips and Murder

  Book 8: Deathly Ever After

  Tails of Alaska

  Book 1: Mushing is Murder

  Author’s Note

  I’d love to hear your thoughts on my books, the storylines, and anything else that you’d like to comment on—reader feedback is very important to me. My contact information, along with some other helpful links, is listed below. If you’d like to be on my list of “folks to contact” with updates, release and sales notifications, etc.… just shoot me an email and let me know. Thanks for reading!

  Also…

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