Parmesan Pizza Murder (Papa Pacelli's Pizzeria Series Book 16)

by Patti Benning

  “Do you have to go?” her fiancé asked.

  “It’s your sister-in-law,” she said. “I should probably take it. I’m sure she’ll want to talk about all of this, I haven’t spoken to her since it happened.”

  “Okay. I’ll try to call you this evening when I get home. I’ll let you know if I learn anything new,” he said. “I love you.”

  “I love you too,” she said. “Good luck. I hope you find something solid soon.”

  “Me too.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  * * *

  “Do you think I made the right decision?” she asked.

  “If it’s what you want to do, then yes,” Shannon said. “I think it’s a very kind gesture.”

  “Thank you for putting me in contact with them. I wouldn’t have known how to do it myself.”

  “I don’t usually use my contacts from the paper for personal reasons, but I figured with everything they’ve been going through, they would appreciate the help.”

  “It’s the least I could do. I feel so bad about —”

  “Ellie.” Shannon grabbed her by the arm and turned her around. “Stop blaming yourself. What happened isn’t your fault at all. You had no way to know what was going to happen to her.”

  “But if I hadn’t sent her —”

  “Then it would have been Jacob, or Rose, Iris, or Pete, or some random late-night jogger that got attacked. James told me that Russell said that there’s no reason to think that whoever did this was targeting Sabrina, which means that it was just plain chance that she was there. If it wasn’t her, it would have been someone else.”

  Ellie sighed. “I know you’re right, at least in my mind, but I still feel like I could have done something differently. I just feel so guilty about all of this.”

  “I know.” Her friend gave her a sad smile. “It’s a terrible situation all the way around. I usually love my job, but interviewing a couple of bereaved parents because my boss wants to run a news story on their deceased daughter, isn’t exactly my idea of a great time either. The whole town is shocked by this, you know.”

  “I know. Everyone is going to be eager for the killer to get caught. Hopefully that will make things harder for whoever it is to hide. I hate the fact that while Sabrina’s dead, the person who killed her is out there living their life like normal.”

  “That’s what Russell’s here for,” Shannon said. “He’ll do his job, don’t worry.”

  She patted Ellie on the arm, then turned and pulled open the door to the community center. Inside, Ellie saw two people a little bit older than her who were talking to an official looking man in a suit. When she and Shannon came in, all three of them looked around. Shannon waved and headed towards them, with Ellie following behind her.

  “Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Williams,” Shannon said. “This is the woman I was telling you about, Eleanora Pacelli. She goes by Ellie.”

  “Hello, Ellie,” the woman said. “When Shannon told us about your generous offer, I was so grateful. My name is Georgia. Georgia Williams. This is my husband, Manny. It’s so nice to meet you.”

  Ellie shook hands with the woman, unprepared for how similar she looked to Sabrina. She looked just like the young woman, but aged thirty years. She felt a pang as she realized that Sabrina would never get to that age.

  “I’m so sorry about your daughter,” she said.

  The other woman took a deep breath. “It still doesn’t feel real,” she said. “There are these moments where I forget that she’s gone, and when I remember it’s like finding out all over again…” Without warning, she began to sob. Her husband took her into his arms, and Ellie looked away, embarrassed. She shouldn’t have mentioned anything. These people had just lost their daughter; of course they would be fragile.

  “Like I said, Mr. and Mrs. Williams, there’s no rush,” the other man said. He turned Ellie. “I’m Dan Asado. I’m in charge of renting out the community center. I think we met before.”

  “I’m sure we have,” the pizzeria owner replied. “I helped out during that snowstorm earlier this year.”

  He nodded. “I’m sure we’ve seen each other around. This was a nice offer for you to make. Like I told them, we’ll do anything they need to make their daughter’s memorial perfect.”

  “I think we should get going,” Manny said. “I made you a list of some of her favorite things… her favorite colors, music, that sort of stuff. There are also some photos of her in this folder. We just want a nice, simple, memorial, something that she would appreciate if she were here to see it.” He closed his eyes. “I can’t believe I’m talking about this,” he said through gritted teeth. “My baby girl –”

  He broke off and now it was his wife’s turned to comfort him. Ellie turned away, not wanting to intrude on their grief. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what they were going through, and it brought a lump to her throat. None of this was fair. Sabrina had had her whole life in front of her, and no one had the right to take that away.

  “Thank you,” Georgia said again. “You don’t know what this means to us. Having her gone is bad enough, but planning her memorial, I don’t know if I could have done it alone.”

  Ellie turned back to her. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Williams. I’ll take care of everything I can. The team at the pizzeria will help too. Sabrina was a special girl, and we all miss her. You and your husband just worry about taking care of yourselves.”

  She watched as the couple left the building, leaning on each other for support. She was glad that she had made the offer to pay for Sabrina’s memorial, and help her family however she could. At least she felt like she was doing something.

  Dan cleared his throat. “So, it sounds like they’ve settled on the main room as the space for the memorial. I told them I’d waive the normal rental fee, considering the, er, the circumstances. However, we don’t handle catering or decorations, so that will still have to be paid for…”

  “I’ll handle it,” Ellie said. “Thank you. It’s good to see the town pulling together for her.”

  “It’s the least we could do. A tragedy like this…” He shook his head. “It never should have happened.”

  After leaving their short meeting with Sabrina’s parents, Ellie and Shannon went out for lunch. It was a clear day, too nice to spend inside, so they grabbed a pair of sandwiches from the little shop by the marina and strolled along the docks until they reached the Eleanora, the Pacelli family’s boat. The two of them set their sandwiches and soda on the table in the cabin, and settled down for a nice oceanside lunch together.

  “I bet the waves are pretty strong out there today,” Shannon said. “I even saw some whitecaps further out in the harbor.”

  “It would be a fun day to go out,” Ellie said. “Too bad James and Russell are both busy working.”

  “Yeah.” Her friend sighed. “I wouldn’t be comfortable taking the boat out on rough seas myself. I can putter around the harbor, but I don’t want to test my luck.”

  “I don’t even know if I would be able to get it out of the marina without bumping into another boat,” Ellie said. “I keep meaning to have Russell teach me how to navigate on the water, but I always forget whenever we’re actually out here.”

  “Maybe next summer we can practice more,” her friend said. “It would be nice to be able to go out just the two of us.” Shannon frowned and placed a hand over her abdomen. “Well, it wouldn’t be just the two of us, would it? I almost forgot about this little guy. I can still hardly believe it.”

  “How’s James doing with it?”

  “He’s thrilled,” Shannon said with a grin. “He’s wanted kids forever. We tried for a long time, and gave up years ago. This really is a miracle. It’s just also a shock. I was ready for a baby ten years ago. It’s the last thing I expected to happen now. Don’t get me wrong — it’s a good thing. I’m excited. Just… also terrified.”

  Ellie wondered if her friend had spoken to her husband about all of this. “You know I’m here for you, right?”
she said. “If you ever need anything, I’ll do what I can to help.”

  “I know,” Shannon said. “That’s one reason James and I decided to stay in town. It may be a small community, but it is a community, which I love. We have you and Russell, and all of our other friends, and, well, you’ve seen how much the town has come together for Sabrina’s death. I want my son or daughter to grow up in that sort of community. Yes, there are downsides to growing up in such a small town, but I think the positives outweigh the negatives.”

  “I’m glad you’re staying,” Ellie said. “This place wouldn’t be the same without you.”

  The two women smiled at each other, then Shannon’s eyes went wide. “Oh! I almost forgot. I found something odd the other day. One of the other ladies at the paper had a business card on her desk. It said it was for Papa Pacelli’s, but the number was wrong, and it didn’t have the store’s email or website on it. It was really weird. I think I have it in here somewhere…” She pulled her purse onto the table and began digging through it. “Dang it, I must have left it at home.”

  Ellie frowned. “A Papa Pacelli’s business card? I don’t understand.”

  “It looked just like the cards you have at the pizzeria, but the contact info didn’t match up,” her friend said. “Maybe it was just an old card? Did you guys change your phone number recently?”

  “No,” the pizzeria owner said. “We didn’t even have business cards until I took over, and we’re still on the first printing, so it can’t have been an old card. Something weird is definitely going on.” She told her friend about the second pizza box she had seen at the scene of Sabrina’s murder.

  “That’s odd,” Shannon said. “Do you think there’s someone out there poaching your business?”

  “Maybe. I think I need to tell Russell about the card. Sorry to cut our lunch short, but it’s going to bother me. Maybe he will have some ideas about what’s going on.”

  “Let me know if the two of you come up with anything,” her friend replied. “I’ll keep an eye out for that card, and if I see anything suspicious, you’ll be the first one to know.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  * * *

  “What is a cauliflower and parmesan crust pizza?”

  “It’s a low-carb pizza crust,” Ellie said. She had been answering the question all day, but the reviews from those who tried the pizza were positive. “It’s made with cauliflower, cheese, eggs, and a few spices. You can order it with any combination of toppings you would like.”

  “How is it different than your gluten free crust?” the customer asked.

  “The gluten free crust is made with rice flour, which still has carbs in it,” Ellie said. “The cauliflower crust is friendlier to people on a low-carb diet or those that have diabetes and have to watch their blood sugar.”

  “Does it still taste like a normal pizza?”

  “It takes a little bit different, but it’s still quite good. If you want to try it and you don’t like it, we can offer you a full refund.”

  “Well… okay,” woman said. “I always like to try new specials, so I suppose I’ll give this one a try too. Can I get it with cheddar, mozzarella, mushrooms, peppers, and onions on it?”

  “Sure thing. What size would you like?”

  “I’ll just take the medium, thanks,” the woman said. “I’ll tell my daughter about it too. She’s trying that low-carb diet, and I’m sure it will make her happy to know that she can still eat pizza.”

  “Definitely,” Ellie replied with a grin. “This is a test run to see how people like it, but if it’s popular, we will keep offering it. I enjoy being able to offer people healthy choices, even at a little pizza joint like this. There’s no reason that good food has to be synonymous with unhealthy food.”

  It felt good to be back at work, even though she was still mourning Sabrina’s passing. It was the first time that the restaurant had been open since her death, and it was busier than ever. She wasn’t comfortable with the idea of the pizzeria benefiting from her employee’s death, but at the same time she knew that the townspeople meant well. They were here to show their support, and that meant a lot to her.

  Armed with the new order, she went into the kitchen. It was time for her and Rose to switch places anyway, and she enjoyed making the new cauliflower pizza crusts. It was a major step away from her grandfather’s old recipe, but she knew that it would never place the good old-fashioned pizza that everyone loved. She had tried the recipe at home the evening before, and had fallen in love with it. It was a great, healthy alternative to a regular pizza that would hopefully enable people to eat at the restaurant while still making healthy choices if they were on a diet or had medical needs.

  One problem with the pizza was that they had to start fresh every day. With the normal pizza crusts, she usually pre-made them on the slower days, and let them chill in the fridge until they were needed. They couldn’t do the same with the cauliflower crust, not with the raw eggs in the mix.

  Not that it was that much work. Once the cauliflower had been run through a food processor, cooked, and left to chill for a couple of hours, it was simple enough to mix it up with the cheese, eggs, and spices each time someone ordered the crust. She had pre-processed a couple of heads of cauliflower that morning, and they were ready to go.

  She took one of the pre-measured bowls of shredded cauliflower out of the fridge and brought it over to the crust making station in the kitchen. She cracked a couple of eggs, measured the scoops of cheese, and tossed in the seasoning before stirring the mixture with a wooden spoon. Once it was ready, she dumped it onto a baking sheet that had been lined with parchment paper and pressed it into the shape of a pizza crust. She put the pan into the oven so it could begin cooking, then got the other ingredients for the veggie pizza out of the refrigerator. When the timer dinged, she pulled the lightly browned cauliflower crust out of the oven and spread the sauce, cheese, and veggies over top of it. She put it back in the oven for another few minutes while the toppings cooked, washed her hands, and started folding up the box. It was a little bit more involved than making regular pizza, but it really didn’t take much once she got the hang of it.

  A few minutes later, she returned to the front with the woman’s pizza box. She handed it over with a smile, then returned to the kitchen to begin work on the next couple of orders. She was surprised when a little bit later, someone walked through the door to the kitchen – and it wasn’t one of her employees. It was the young man that had been interested in working at the pizzeria, Kyle.

  “Shoot,” she muttered. She’d completely forgotten that she had promised to see him on Monday.

  “Sorry, is it a bad time?” he asked. “Rose sent me back here.”

  “No,” she said. “It’s fine as long as you don’t mind doing the interview while I’m working.”

  “Not at all,” he said. “What should I do to help?”

  “Oh, nothing,” she said. “Take a seat if you’d like. Let me finish washing the dishes, then we can get started.”

  Feeling frazzled, she joined him at the table a couple of minutes later. He had a folder in front of him, and was wearing a button up shirt and slacks. He had certainly dressed for the interview. She forced herself to smile and tried to relax. It wasn’t his fault that he had interrupted her at a busy time. She had told him to come in anytime on Monday, and couldn’t be upset that he had taken her up on the offer.

  “So, why are you interested in working here?” she asked.

  “Well, I eat here a lot,” he said, chuckling. “No, the truth is, I’ve always been interested in working in a restaurant. Most places require experience prior to hiring you, at least if you want to work with food, which, I’ll be honest, I don’t have. I mean, I cook a lot at home, but I haven’t ever been paid to work in the kitchen before.”

  “So, you’d be interested primarily in a kitchen position?” she asked. The truth was that they needed another delivery driver – Jacob had been interested in driving less and spe
nding more time working in the restaurant itself, and Pete couldn’t handle all the deliveries on his own. Rose and Iris could do deliveries occasionally, but their vehicles weren’t really well-suited to the amount of driving around that a dedicated delivery driver would need to do. However, she didn’t want to overlook Kyle if he was serious about his passion for cooking. They would be able to make do, and could hire another employee in a couple of months if they were still having issues with getting all of the deliveries done.

  “Yes, though I can start in delivery or something if that’s what you need right now,” he said, as if he had read her mind. “I’m hoping to get experience in a kitchen and maybe one day open my own restaurant.” He backpedaled quickly. “I don’t mean I want to compete directly with you guys. No, I’d go to another town and open it there.”