Thanksgiving Pizza Murder

by Patti Benning

  “You don’t even know Russell,” she said.

  “No, but I know you. You were always so emotional. Instead of working through your problems with Kenneth, you just ran away. I know you’re not happy with me right now, but you’re my daughter. I don’t want to see you spend the rest of your life in some tiny town, working in some greasy little pizza joint.”

  A knock sounded at the front door. Ellie looked between the door and her mother, too stunned for words. She should kick them both out. Tell them that they needed to find a place to stay in town, then drive home tomorrow.

  Instead, she sighed. Knowing that she would regret it, she said, “Fine. You can stay one night. Then I want you both gone.”

  She reached over and opened the door. Kenneth was standing outside, as handsome as ever. He had their luggage on the stoop next to him. Before he could open his mouth, Ellie turned on her heel and stalked away. She was going to ask Darlene to move to the spare room upstairs, her mother could take her grandmother’s room, and Kenneth could sleep in the guest bedroom on the first floor. As far as she was concerned, the further away from her the two of them were, the better.

  She couldn’t avoid them forever, no matter how much she wanted to. Once Darlene’s things had been moved, she reluctantly went back downstairs. Her cousin had commiserated with her, but was now watching things with an amused look in her eye. Ellie didn’t blame her; it was probably nice for her to have a break from her own dramas and watch someone else’s for a change.

  “Ellie…”

  “I don’t want to talk to either of you,” she said to Kenneth. “I’m going to get started on dinner. Alone, thanks.”

  Still fuming, she began looking through the freezer for something that could feed all of them. She ended up deciding to make a frozen lasagna, and some dinner rolls that had been in there for who knew how long. No matter how unwelcome they were, she knew that her grandmother would never approve of letting houseguests go hungry.

  She preheated the oven and got the lasagna in, then, not wanting to leave the solitude of the kitchen just yet, searched the pantry for some sort of dessert. Ten minutes later, she slid a pan of brownie batter into the oven beneath the lasagna. She couldn’t delay any longer. She would have to go out and face them.

  Someone knocked at the door, a very welcome distraction. She hurried out of the kitchen, telling her guests to stay where they were in the living room, and answered the door. At first, she was surprised to see Russell, then realized that she had completely forgotten that he was supposed to come over for dinner.

  “Who’s here?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder at where her mother’s car was parked in the driveway.

  She groaned. “I’m sorry, Russell. Tonight really isn’t the best night. My mom showed up unexpectedly, and…”

  “Your mom is here?” he said. “That’s wonderful, Ellie. I’m glad you are finally getting a chance to talk to her. What did she say when you told her about our engagement?”

  She made a face. “I didn’t tell her about it, my aunt did. That’s why she’s here. She’s not happy at all. I should probably deal with this on my own.”

  She saw the hurt on his face, but he didn’t press the matter. “Okay, if you think it’s best. If you need anything, just give me a call.”

  “I will,” she said. “I told them they have to leave tomorrow.”

  She was about to shut the door in his face when she heard someone come up behind her.

  “Do you need help with anything?”

  She closed her eyes, wondering if this day could have gotten any worse.

  “No, Ken, please just go back in the living room.”

  “Is this guy bothering you?”

  “This is my fiancé,” she snapped. “You’re the one that’s bothering me.” She turned back to Russell, who was frowning now. “As you can see, I’ve got my hands full tonight.”

  “What’s going on, Ellie?”

  She gazed at him for a long moment, then sighed. “You might as well come in,” she said reluctantly. “Russell, this is Kenneth Aubrey. Ken, this is my fiancé, Russell Ward.”

  The two of them stared at each other. Ellie knew that Russell would have recognized the name. She had been hoping that the two of them would never meet; somehow this disastrous day just kept getting worse.

  After a tense moment, Russell extended his hand, and Ken shook it. Her ex took a step backward, and Russell came through the door, shutting it behind him. After he hung up his coat and took off his boots, Ellie led the two of them back toward the living room. She saw Darlene’s eyes widen as they came through the door.

  Gritting her teeth, Ellie introduced Russell to her mother, hoping that the older woman would be nice. To her relief, her mother was perfectly civil to him.

  “Call me Donna,” she said. “It’s nice to meet you at last. Unfortunately, my daughter has told me almost nothing about you. I didn’t even hear about your engagement from her, can you believe that?”

  “I know she’s been very busy recently,” he said. “It took a lot for her to open the second pizzeria.”

  “The second pizzeria?” her mother said, turning to her. “When were you going to tell me about that?”

  Ellie felt a headache coming on. “I’m going to go get some drinks. What would you all like?”

  “I’ll do that for you,” Russell said. He walked over to her and kissed her on the forehead. “You look tired. You should sit down.”

  Tired of arguing, she sat on the couch next to Darlene while Russell went to the kitchen to bring back drinks. After a moment, Ken followed him. Russell can handle himself, Ellie thought. I’m done dealing with my mom and Ken. All I have to do is get through this evening, then they’ll be gone.

  When she heard breaking glass a couple of minutes later, she shot up. She hurried into the kitchen, with her mother and her cousin hot on her heels, to find Russell holding a bloody dish towel to his hand.

  “I’m alright,” he said. “Just some broken glass.” He glanced toward Ken, and Ellie saw a sullen look on her ex’s face. Something must have happened, but by the looks of things, neither of the men were about to say what.

  CHAPTER SIX

  * * *

  Ellie woke up the next morning with a pounding headache, and a heavy feeling on her chest. Sleep had been a welcome escape from her family drama, but now she would have to go back downstairs and talk to her mother and Ken again while they packed their things.

  She just hoped that her mother wouldn’t put up too much of a fuss when she left. Their visit had been a disaster, and she just wanted it to be over. She was aware that her relationship with her mother was worse than it had ever been before, but now wasn’t the time to deal with it. Her mother needed time to come to terms with the fact that her daughter was engaged, and Ken… Ken needed to go back to Chicago and forget about her.

  She got dressed and headed downstairs, wondering for a moment if they were still asleep and she might have another hour to herself before they got up. No such luck; she found her mother in the kitchen, making a pot of coffee.

  “Good morning, dear,” her mother said, giving her a sly smile. “How was your night?”

  “Fine,” Ellie said. “Yours?”

  “It was a bit chilly. I forgot how cold winters could be here. Those wood floors are really something in the morning, aren’t they? I should have brought slippers.”

  “Well, at least you only had to deal with it for one night. When do you think you and Ken will leave this morning?”

  Her mother put the coffee pot down. “You weren’t serious about that, were you? I was hoping to spend the holiday here. Now that you and Ken have had some time to catch up…”

  “I hardly talked to Ken last night, and I don’t plan on changing that today. In fact, I would be perfectly happy if he doesn’t say a word to me at all this morning. Mom, I get that this isn’t the life that you wanted for me, but it’s the one that I want. I wish you would give Russell a chance. You were rude
to him last night, and I’m not happy about it.”

  Her mother, who seem to have only heard about half of what she had just said, was frowning. “If Ken isn’t with you, then where is he?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, I knocked on his bedroom door when I got up this morning – I wanted to see if he would help make a nice big breakfast to surprise you – but he never answered. I figured that he had gone upstairs to see you.”

  “I haven’t seen him since after dinner last night,” Ellie said. “I’m sure he’s around somewhere. He’s probably just sleeping late.”

  She followed her mother to the guest room, and waited while the older woman knocked on Ken’s door. They both fell silent, listening. There was no response. Beginning to get worried despite herself, Ellie reached around her mother to knock on the door as well.

  “Ken? Are you in there?” No answer. “I’m going to open the door. I hope you’re dressed.”

  She turned the handle and pushed the door open. The bedroom was empty, and the bed was still made. It looked like Ken hadn’t slept in it at all.

  Ellie hurried upstairs and woke up her cousin. Darlene had drunk quite a bit of wine the night before, and wasn’t easy to raise.

  “What is it?” she asked blearily, blinking at Ellie above her.

  “Ken is missing. Do you have any idea where he went last night?”

  “No, I went to bed just after you. He was still up, watching television in the living room.”

  Ellie frowned. She had retreated to her room as soon as Russell had left after dinner. She had no idea where Ken might have gone. Had he decided to stay at a hotel after all? No, that didn’t make sense; his luggage had still been in the room.

  She hurried back downstairs and opened the front door. Her mother’s car was gone.

  The three women gathered in the kitchen, trying to puzzle out the mystery together. Ellie was more annoyed than concerned. What had happened to her nice, quiet weekend?

  “I left my keys in my coat pocket, I think. They are gone now. He must’ve taken them. Why wouldn’t he have asked me to borrow them?” Ellie’s mother shook her head. They had tried calling Ken, but his phone simply rang through to voicemail.

  “Where would he have gone?” Darlene asked, massaging her temples. “Does he know anyone around here?”

  “No,” Ellie said. “He never visited Kittiport. I have no idea where he would go.”

  “The bar?” her cousin asked.

  “I doubt it, unless he has changed a lot since I left. He has never been a heavy drinker.”

  “What if he crashed the car somewhere?” Ellie’s mother asked. “Oh dear, what if he’s hurt? This is all my fault, I’m the one that tracked him down and convinced him to come and try to talk you out of this.”

  Ellie glared at her mother, but knew that this wasn’t the time to bring up that argument again. As much as she hated to admit it, she was worried about Kenneth too. It had dropped below freezing the night before, and the roads would have been slick. It was one of the reasons that she had given in and let the two of them stay at the Pacelli house for the night.

  “I’ll call Russell,” she said. “If anyone can find a missing person, it’s him.”

  She took the call into another room, uncomfortable with the prospect of talking to Russell with her mother watching her. She didn’t want to deal with her mother’s snide comments any longer.

  “Hey,” she said when he answered. “Is this a good time? I can make it quick.”

  “Not really,” he said. “I just got a call about a body found in the Marina. I’ve got to head over there now.”

  Ellie felt her breath catch. It had to be a coincidence, didn’t it? The body that had been found probably wasn’t Kenneth’s.

  “Ellie?” he said. “Are you all right?”

  “Do you know who it is?” she asked.

  “I’m not sure yet,” he said. “The caller didn’t give much of a description. I know the victim is male, but that’s about it.”

  She felt her breath whoosh out of her. There was still a chance that it wasn’t him, but something told her that Ken had been found.

  “Ellie, what’s going on? You are worrying me.”

  “Kenneth is missing,” she told him. “He’s been gone all night, as far as we can tell. Russell, what if the body in the Marina is him?”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  * * *

  Russell wanted her to wait at the Pacelli house while he identified the body, but she couldn’t stomach the thought of sitting on the couch and waiting for his call. Instead, she, Darlene, and her mother all clambered into Ellie’s car and drove into town together.

  Ellie parked at the Marina, as close to the flashing lights of the police vehicles that she could get. She sat at the steering wheel, her gaze searching the cars until she saw Russell’s truck. She shut off the engine, then on second thought, handed the keys over to her mother.

  “The two of you should wait here,” she said. “Turn the heat on if it gets too cold. I’ll be back soon.”

  “Don’t you want us to come with you?”

  “No, I want to do this by myself,” she said. “I won’t be gone long.”

  She got out, slamming the car door behind her, and walked towards Russell’s truck. She couldn’t see him, but she recognized Liam, one of the deputies.

  “Where’s Russell?” she asked, approaching him.

  “He’s with the body now,” he said. “I’m guessing that’s what you’re here about?”

  She nodded. “I think… I think I might know who it is. Can you let me through?”

  He hesitated. “I’m really not supposed to let anyone by…”

  “It’s me,” she said. “Russell won’t mind.”

  Frowning, he gestured for her to follow him. She trailed along half a step behind him, biting the inside of her lip. No matter how displeased she was with her ex-fiancé, she didn’t want him to be dead.

  “There he is,” Liam said. “Do you want to wait here while I…”

  “Russell,” she called, cutting Liam off. He looked up, frowning when he saw her, then got to his feet. He had been kneeling next to a form on the dock that Ellie realized was the body. It was too far away for her to be able to tell whether or not it was Kenneth.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked when he reached them.

  “I’m sorry, she said it would be okay,” Liam said.

  Russell waved him off. “Go back to your post and make sure no one else comes near here. Ellie, you should have waited for me.”

  “I have to know,” she said. “Is it him?”

  She saw the answer in his eyes even before he nodded. “It is,” he said. “I’m sorry, Ellie.”

  “Are you sure?” she said.

  “Yes. He had his ID on him. There’s no question about it. He’s still wearing the same clothes that he had on at dinner last night.”

  Ellie felt her knees weaken. Russell reached out a hand and steadied her.

  “Are you okay?”

  “No, I need to go back to the car,” she said, shrugging his hand off. “I have to tell the others.”

  She turned and walked away. After a moment, she heard footsteps behind her. Catching up, Russell grasped her elbow and walked with her.

  “You should return to the body,” she said.

  “No. You’re more important.”

  He helped her back to the car. She met her mother’s eyes through the window, and knew that the other woman had gotten all the answer that she needed. She saw her mother’s hands go to her mouth. Russell opened the driver side door and steered Ellie into the seat.

  “What happened?” her mother whispered.

  “I don’t know yet,” Russell said. “I’m sorry. I will work around the clock until this gets figured out.”

  Darlene looked like she was about to say something, but she was interrupted by Liam, who had approached Russell.

  “We need you, Sheriff,” he said. “We need to ge
t the body to the coroner. It looks like foul play, and you know that time is important in cases like these. Whoever did it might be on his way out of town already.”

  “Can you handle it?” Russell said. “Ellie knew him. They used to be engaged. I should stay with her.”

  “That’s him?” Liam said. “The guy who came to see you last night?”

  Ellie looked at Russell in surprise. He sighed.