Breakfast Pizza Murder (Papa Pacelli's Pizzeria Series Book 17)

by Patti Benning

“Sure thing. This way.”

  Tai led them to a table and handed them a pair of menus. “What can I get the two of you to drink?”

  They both ordered water. Tai retreated to the kitchen, and Ellie surveyed her menu.

  “This looks like a nice place, but it’s not very busy,” Russell said. “A successful pizzeria opening across the street might be the final straw if they’re already struggling.”

  “Maybe. But wouldn’t it be a little over the top to kill someone just to shut a competing restaurant down? Even if that’s the motive, why choose the pizzeria? There are plenty of other restaurants on the street, including another little Chinese restaurant a few blocks down.”

  “You don’t seem to think that Sandra had anything to do with it, either,” Russell pointed out. “Something happened to the man, and none of the theories we have right now make much sense.”

  “I know.” She sighed, glancing down at her menu again. “What do you think you’re going order?”

  “I don’t know. It doesn’t matter, I’m not going to eat it anyway.”

  “What? Why?”

  “If they really wanted to get the pizzeria shut down and they’re willing to kill a man to do it, it wouldn’t be smart to actually eat here. I don’t want to sound paranoid, but they could easily put something in the food.”

  Ellie frowned. She didn’t know how likely it was that the man’s death was part of a plot to make the pizzeria fail, but it was probably safer not to take the chance. She knew he was right. Reluctantly, she put her menu down as well.

  “Okay, okay. I’ll just order something random, and then we’ll pretend to eat and get to-go boxes for the leftovers. I haven’t eaten since earlier this morning, and I’m starved, but I trust your judgment.”

  “We can go and get something real after this,” he said.

  “Good.” She sighed. “How is everyone else doing? I didn’t think to make any plans with Rose, Iris, and Jacob today. I hope they’ve found something to do to entertain themselves.”

  “I ran into them at the hotel’s breakfast bar this morning. They were all planning to go down to the beach for a while, then do some shopping.”

  “That sounds fun,” Ellie said. “I’m glad they’re managing to enjoy today.”

  Tai returned with their waters, and they both placed their orders. When the plates came, they smiled and thanked her.

  “It looks delicious,” Ellie said. It was the truth. The food looked amazing. She was sad that she wouldn’t get a chance to try any of it.

  “I’ll tell my aunt. She makes almost everything, other than the rice. That’s all she trusts me with. She loves what she does.”

  “That’s great,” Ellie said. “Does this place get pretty busy in the evenings?”

  Tai sighed. “I wish I could say yes, but not really. I think she makes barely enough to pay me and cover all the bills. We had one other girl helping us, but she quit. My aunt hasn’t hired anyone else yet. We’re closed Mondays and Tuesdays, so it’s doable with just the two of us, but it means a lot of long, slow hours just waiting around for someone to come in.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” Ellie said. “This really is a beautiful restaurant.”

  “Who knows, maybe the extra traffic from your pizzeria will bring more customers for us, too. We can use all of the business we can get.”

  She left, leaving Ellie and Russell alone to stare at their food. “She doesn’t seem to bear the pizzeria any ill will,” Ellie said.

  “Still, I think we should be careful. Her aunt is the one that cooks all the food, and she’s the one that you said seemed unfriendly. She was at the pizzeria yesterday too, wasn’t she? That places her near the scene of the crime.”

  Ellie sighed, knowing he was right. All of this beautiful food would have to go to waste. Maybe this whole trip had been a waste. She had hoped to hear gossip among employees or glimpse something that might incriminate someone at the restaurant, but by the sound of it, they weren’t going to have much luck. No one else was there, and Tai was the only employee. While she seemed happy enough to talk, she didn’t even seem to know about the dead man. She wouldn’t be much help.

  Ellie was just wondering how soon they could leave without seeming suspicious when Tai’s aunt came out. She walked over to the table, a tight smile on her face.

  “My niece told me that the woman from across the street came over.” She frowned at their full plates. “How do you like your food?”

  “It’s good,” Ellie said.

  “It doesn’t look like you’ve eaten much. Is there a problem?”

  “Oh, no,” Russell assured her. “I think we’re both just tired. It’s been a busy couple of days.”

  Her frown deepened. “If it’s something’s wrong with it, I can make you new dishes.”

  “Really, it’s great,” Ellie said.

  “If you say so.” The woman looked down at them for a moment longer. “Congratulations on your restaurant, by the way. It seemed busy.”

  “Thank you,” she said, feeling a little bit bad. After hearing how poorly this woman’s restaurant was doing, she didn’t want to rub it in in her face.

  “I think we had better get going,” Russell said. “We still have a lot to do today. Can we have the check?”

  “No, it’s on the house. It’s important to get off on the right foot with our neighbors, remember? I’ll get you boxes.”

  Ellie and Russell exchanged a look as she walked away. Had she been acting oddly, or were their suspicions clouding their judgment? Ellie didn’t know, but she was convinced that Russell was right. She wasn’t going to take a single bite of that food.

  CHAPTER NINE

  * * *

  Ellie still had a lot on her mind when she and Russell left for the dinner at her grandmother’s new home a few hours later. Still, it was good to see Iris, Rose, and Jacob, who had enjoyed their day in the sun. She had also invited Linda, to help take the other woman’s mind off of the death at the pizzeria.

  Nonna greeted them cheerily and rushed back into the kitchen, and Ellie smiled, glad to see her grandmother so happy, but she still felt that the place seemed a little bit empty. She was used to the Pacelli house, which held decades worth of her grandmother’s trinkets. It was strange to imagine the older woman living here without any of that.

  “This seems nice,” Russell said, sipping a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice that her grandmother had made.

  “It is,” Ellie said. “It’s just… it doesn’t seem like her.”

  “I don’t know. I think that it’s a perfect place for her to start the next chapter of her life. She can make this home into whatever she wants it to be. Besides, she’s going to be traveling back and forth every six months, she probably doesn’t want to be too loaded down with things to bring back to Kittiport.”

  “I suppose you’re right. I hadn’t thought about that. I guess the truth is that I’m the one who isn’t taking this so well. I expected her to be a lot more hesitant, but she has jumped into this move feet first. I’m the one who’s a mess. I keep thinking of all our little routines… I’m not going to be able to chat with her over tea in the evenings after work, or sit down to a nice brunch with her in the mornings anymore.”

  “You can start your own routines,” Russell said. “And remember, in a couple of months, we will be married. It will be nice to have the place to ourselves then, won’t it?”

  She smiled. That was true, it would be nice to have some time to themselves before her grandmother moved back for the summer. She still wasn’t sure how she felt about sharing a home with the older woman after she was married, but it was the only solution she could think of. Her grandmother couldn’t live all alone in the Pacelli house, and after everything she had done for Ellie, she didn’t want to put the older woman in a situation where she had to either hire help or move away permanently. They would make it work… hopefully.

  “Ellie, she’ll be fine,” her fiancé said, wrapping his arm around her
, mistaking her silence for more concern about the temporary move. “This is a wonderful place for her. They have so many amenities for the elderly here. She’s going to have a lot more freedom here than she did in Kittiport.”

  “I know. I’m happy for her. I’m going to miss her, but it’s not like I can’t visit in a couple of months.”

  “Of course. And with the pizzeria, you’ll have even more reason to fly down here. I’m happy to watch the animals whenever you want to take a trip. I need time to get them to like me more anyway, since I’m going to be living with them before long.”

  “Oh, that reminds me. I’m sorry to ask this of you, but could you take over for Shannon when you get back? I’m sure she’ll want to get back home and spend some time with James. I don’t want to take advantage of her generosity.”

  “That’s no problem,” he said. “But are you sure you don’t want me to stay here with you? I won’t feel right leaving you here with all of this going on.”

  “I don’t know how long it will be,” Ellie said. “Won’t it be difficult for you to get more time off?”

  He sighed. “Probably. I know I have responsibilities there. Are you sure you’ll be okay, though?”

  “I’ll be fine,” she said. “I’m just going to spend some time with Linda and see if the police need anything else. With any luck, we will be able to open the restaurant again soon.”

  “Okay, if you’re sure. If you’d rather I stay, I can probably get another couple of days.”

  “I am,” she said, giving him a quick kiss. “Thank you, though.”

  “It’s time to eat, you two,” her grandmother said, coming out of the kitchen to find them. “I made a lasagna, and there are brownies for dessert. We’re all waiting outside.”

  They all sat down together at the outdoor table and dug in. It was peaceful, and it would have been the perfect end to the trip if Ellie hadn’t had the weight of the man’s death on her conscience.

  They were just about to start on the brownies when Linda’s phone rang. She excused herself from the table, and returned a few minutes later, beaming. “I wonderful news,” she said. “Sandra just called me, and she’s been released. She said she’s no longer a suspect, and she wants us to come over later tonight to talk about what happened.”

  “That’s so good to hear,” Ellie said, relieved.

  They toasted, then cut into the caramel swirl brownies her grandmother had made. It really was the perfect end to the evening, all things considered. With Sandra released, things were looking up for the pizzeria. While she was still curious about what had really happened, she knew that it was probably best if she didn’t get involved in it any more than she already was. With Russell heading back to Maine, she wouldn’t have anyone to bail her out of trouble if she got in over her head.

  After dinner, she drove her fiancé to the airport, while her employees took the second rental car. She walked with him as far as she could go, then gave him a long hug goodbye. “I’m going to miss you,” she said. “I’ll be home as soon as I can.”

  “Keep me updated,” he said. “I’ll call you when I land.”

  “Thank you. Let me know how the animals are doing. I miss them.”

  “I’ll take great care of them,” he promised. “I’d better get going. I’ll see you soon. Try not to get into trouble.”

  It was hard to watch him go, especially since she didn’t know when she would be back. Did she really have to stay here in Florida? She wouldn’t feel as bad about leaving now that Sandra no longer seemed to be a suspect, but she still wanted to see things through with the pizzeria. It was her responsibility, after all.

  She drove straight from the airport to Sandra’s, where Linda was already waiting.

  “It was so frightening,” Sandra said once they were seated around her kitchen table. “I knew that I hadn’t done anything wrong, but I still felt guilty. I’m so glad they found out that one of the security cameras from one of the other shops on the street covered the pizzeria’s doors.”

  “Do they have a new suspect?”

  “No,” Sandra said. “They showed me the video, in case I could identify the person he was with, but I couldn’t. The resolution was terrible, and it was in black and white. All I could tell was that whoever walked in with him had dark hair. He seemed to be leaning on them heavily, and almost fell when they got to the door. He must have already been injured; he seemed pretty out of it.”

  Ellie frowned. Tai and her aunt both had dark hair, but then so did plenty of other people in the city. It didn’t necessarily mean anything. So did Maria. So did she, for a matter of fact.

  “Did the camera show what direction they came from?”

  “No, is just barely caught the pizzeria’s doors. It doesn’t show anything beyond that, other than the stretch of sidewalk between Papa Pacelli’s and the shop that had the camera.”

  She sighed. If the footage was as bad as Sandra said, it probably wouldn’t be much help to the police.

  “What are we going to do?” Linda asked. “Even if they let us reopen the restaurant soon, that doesn’t change the fact that someone died there, and his attacker is still walking around. I can’t go to work every day knowing that there’s a killer around somewhere.”

  “I don’t know what to tell you,” Ellie said. “I’m so sorry, both of you. I want to get this figured out just as badly as you do.”

  She shared Linda’s concern. If Russell’s theory about someone wanting to see the restaurant shut down was correct, that meant that everyone who worked there might be in danger. How could she ask them to risk coming face to face with a murderer every day, just to keep the restaurant running?

  CHAPTER TEN

  * * *

  The next morning, she woke up to an empty hotel room, and a mind full of worries. She felt deeply alone, now that Russell was gone. She picked up the phone, hesitating for a few seconds before calling her grandmother. She didn’t want to crowd the older woman, but it would be nice to spend some time with her while she tried to decide what to do about the pizzeria.

  “Hi, Nonna,” she said. “How are things going? How was your first night at your new place?”

  “It was great, I loved it,” her grandmother said. “I’m planning on getting dinner with Gerry and Anthony, but right now I’m just relaxing on the patio.”

  “Do you want to go shopping with me in a little bit? I’m sure you need some new clothes for the nice weather down here, and there are some things I need to pick up too. I still want to get a present for Shannon, as a thank you for watching Marlowe and Bunny.”

  “That sounds nice,” her grandmother said. “I’m glad you’re staying longer. I did want to spend some time with you one-on-one before you left. What time will you be here?”

  “I’ll just get dressed and head right over. It shouldn’t take me too long.”

  Within an hour, the two of them were sitting in a little breakfast diner eating the fluffiest pancakes Ellie had ever seen. The ocean was right across the street from them, though the beaches were less crowded today thanks to the encroaching clouds.

  “You know, Nonna, it really is beautiful down here. Are you even going to want to leave next April?”

  “I’m sure by the time spring comes around, I’ll be nice and homesick. It’s hard to imagine right now, though. There’s just so much to do around here.”

  Ellie smiled. Russell was right; her grandmother had much more freedom here than she had in Kittiport, where cabs were about as common as palm trees.

  “I’m so happy for you, Nonna. I’m going to miss you, though.”

  “I’ll miss you too,” her grandmother said. “Getting to know you this past year and a half has been amazing, Ellie. After your father left, I was heartbroken, and not just because I was disappointed in him. I always dreamed of having grandchildren, and I feel like I missed out on so much of your life. I want you to promise that we’ll keep in touch with each other when I’m here in Florida.”

  “We will,�
�� she said.

  “Good.” Nonna smiled at her. “Now, where do you want to start our shopping trip? I want to find a sunhat for myself. I think I’m already getting burned. Just think of that – a sunburn in October.”

  “We’ll find one for you,” Ellie said. “There was one thing in particular I wanted to look for…” She hesitated.

  “What is it?”

  “A wedding dress.”

  Nonna beamed. “Oh, Ellie. I would love to go shopping for your dress with you. Are you sure it’s not something you want to do with your mother, though?”

  “She’s too busy,” Ellie said. “I know she’d never take time off work and fly to another state just to help me find a dress. I want to do this with you.”