Killer Crust (A Pizza Lovers Mystery)

by Chris Cavender

  “Now you’re afraid when there’s nothing there but shadows?” Maddy asked with a laugh. “I thought you were going to deck that twin on stage when he tried to intimidate Sandy. What were you thinking?”

  “That nobody was going to get away with that kind of behavior while I was around,” I admitted. “Thankfully, it didn’t come to blows. I’m just glad that Frank finally decided to step in and stop it.”

  “All in all, I think that he’s got a pretty firm hand on things. Am I the only one surprised by how well he’s taken to his new role?”

  “No, I noticed it, too,” I said. “We can talk about it after we both take our showers and change.”

  “You bet we will,” she said. “You can have the bathroom first this time.”

  “That’s gracious of you, and I accept,” I said with a smile.

  After we’d both showered and changed into the nicest clothes we’d brought with us, Maddy and I still had some time to chat as we applied our makeup and finished getting ready. There was something on my mind, but I hadn’t spoken it aloud yet. “Do you think that Frank could have really killed his own brother for control of Luigi’s?” I asked her.

  “I have to admit that I’ve been wondering the same thing,” Maddy said. “Does that part really even matter? If Frank knew about the million bucks he was getting when Luigi died, I would think that might be reason enough for some people. Remind me never to be worth more to you dead than alive.”

  “I just can’t see him as a murderer,” I admitted.

  Maddy shrugged. “If you would have asked me before, I would have said no way myself, but we’re certainly starting to see a different side of the man, aren’t we?”

  “I don’t know how anyone could kill their sibling for personal gain,” I said.

  Maddy laughed as she replied, “As your only sibling, I have to say that I heartily approve of your attitude.”

  “You know what I meant,” I said, smiling in return.

  “I’d love to know if Frank had any idea that his brother left so much to him,” Maddy said.

  “Knowing Luigi, I kind of doubt it. The man always struck me as someone who wasn’t big on keeping folks around him informed about what he was up to. I have no problem imagining that he’d drastically changed how his company was going to be run after he was gone without bothering to tell anyone else about it.”

  My sister nodded. “You’re right; I can completely see that happening. We don’t have much choice but to keep Frank on our list, do we?”

  “Unless he can convince us or the police that he wasn’t involved in the murder, he has to be near the top of everyone’s suspect list.” I couldn’t believe how hard a time we were having eliminating people, but how easy new possibilities seemed to keep popping up. “We still have way too many potential candidates, don’t we?”

  “Why don’t you write them all down so we can discuss each one while we’re waiting?” Maddy asked.

  “That’s not a bad idea.” I took some of the stationery and the pen that the hotel complex provided, and started writing. “Let’s see. First up, we should start with the contestants,” I said as I listed the pizza makers from Asheville, Raleigh, and Charlotte.

  “And we’ve also got Frank Vincent and Jack Acre from the company,” Maddy added.

  “Anyone else?” I asked.

  “Since Kevin gave us Mrs. Ford’s alibi, she’s excluded, no matter how she felt about him. I can’t think of anyone else off the top of my head,” she said.

  “That gives us eight suspects then, if we don’t count ourselves.”

  “Well, I know I didn’t do it,” Maddy said with the whisper of a smile.

  “And neither did I. Okay, eight is our working number. Now, why don’t we look at what we have for motives?” As I went down the list, I said, “Jeff and Sandy had problems with Luigi making a pretty aggressive pass at her.”

  “I know, but was that enough to kill someone over?” Maddy asked.

  “Jeff is a pretty jealous guy, and if Sandy thought she was protecting her marriage, she might kill him herself. I have a pretty good hunch that she wanted to tell Kevin about the altercation they had with Luigi, but Jeff must have persuaded her not to mention it.” Those two believed that their bond of matrimony was the most important thing in the world, and though I didn’t want to think about it, if they felt their marriage was being threatened by someone outside, either scenario could happen.

  “How about Kenny and Anna?” Maddy asked.

  “Kenny could have killed Luigi for reneging on their arrangement if everything Tina Lance told us was completely true. Remember, we’ve got some confirmation of that story, too.”

  “What about Anna?”

  “You saw her backing Luigi into the corner after the cocktail party,” I said. “I’d love to know what they were talking about.”

  “If we have any hope of finding out, we’re going to have to come right out and ask her,” Maddy said. “Do we even need much of a motive for the Raleigh twins? They could have done it just out of spite.”

  “I’ve been thinking about that, and I’ve got a feeling that they could have gotten rid of Luigi if they thought that Jack Acre was next in line to take over the company and the competition. Why not? If they’re as desperate for money as they told us they were, they might do it if they thought they would have better luck buying Acre off.”

  “How do we know for sure that they needed money?” Maddy asked.

  “Think about it. Their alibi for having an envelope full of cash was so that they could pay off a bookie. Who comes up with an excuse like that off the top of their head?”

  “People do worse things for less, don’t they?”

  I looked at my list, and then said, “That leaves Frank Vincent and Jack Acre. Either one could have killed Luigi because of greed since they both thought they’d profit from his death, so they both have to stay on our list, too.”

  “So let me get this straight. In two days of hard work, extensive questioning, and an enormous amount of legwork, we haven’t been able to eliminate a single suspect,” Maddy said. “Does that about sum it up?”

  “Sadly, yes,” I said. “That doesn’t mean that we should just stop trying to solve the murder, though. I’d love to compare notes with Kevin.”

  “Call him,” Maddy suggested.

  “Seriously?”

  “Why not? We’re ready for the party, and we still have eighteen minutes before it gets started. Why don’t you invite him up here and we can tell him what we’ve uncovered, and then ask him to do the same? What’s the worst thing that could happen? If he refuses, we’re no worse off than we were before.”

  “Okay, it’s just crazy enough to work,” I said as I dialed Kevin’s cell number.

  He answered on the second ring. “Hurley.”

  “This is Eleanor Swift. Are you at Tree-Line?”

  “As a matter of fact, I am.”

  “Do you have a few minutes to come upstairs to Maddy’s room? We’d like to share what we’ve uncovered so far.” There was a knock on the door, and as Maddy went to answer it, I asked, “What do you think?”

  “It’s a great idea,” Kevin said as she opened the door and Maddy let him in. “I was just thinking the same thing. What have you two got?”

  I handed Kevin my list. “We can fill in any gaps you might see on some of these entries,” I said.

  He nodded as he scanned my notes. “This is good,” he said as he tapped the paper. “You two are getting better at this.”

  “Was that an actual compliment?” Maddy asked with a smile.

  “Don’t get too swelled with pride,” he added. “I didn’t say it was great, just that it’s getting better than it was.”

  “Hey, you just told us we were improving and you can’t take it back,” Maddy said with a grin. “We’ll take any compliment that comes our way. Thanks.”

  Kevin shook his head, and I could see him trying to hide a smile with his hand. “I didn’t find out about these i
nstructions Luigi left about who runs the company until Frank took the stage tonight. When did you two find out?”

  “Not long before you did,” I admitted. “We were going to tell you, but we had the competition and all to worry about.” It was stretching things a little, but mostly it was true.

  “That’s fine. I get it; it’s why you’re here.” He looked at my notes again, and then added, “I can work with this. May I take it with me?”

  It appeared that Maddy was about to protest when I cut her off before she could speak. “Absolutely. Now that we’ve shared our information, can you strike any names off that list, just so we won’t keep hounding people who are innocent?”

  He considered it, and then said, “That’s fair enough. Can I borrow that pen of yours for a second?” I knew that he always carried a notebook and pen with him, but he must have reserved that for his official police business.

  I handed mine to him, and the police chief put the paper on the desk and crossed through one name. Well, sort of, because he attached a question mark to the end of his strike. I looked at the list to see which suspect he’d eliminated, and then I asked, “Why one of the twins and not the other, and how can you tell?”

  “I admit I’m guessing as to which one has an alibi, because I can’t tell them apart any more than anyone else can. All I know is that one of them was seen hitting on a waitress when Luigi was murdered.”

  “But we don’t know which one it was,” Maddy said.

  “No, and I’m not certain we ever will. As alibis go, it’s pretty clever if they planned it that way. Talk about reasonable doubt.”

  “It’s not much, is it?” I asked.

  “You know how this goes. You just keep digging, and see what you can find out.”

  There was a knock on the door, and I saw Kevin’s hand go straight to his handgun.

  “Should I see who it is first before you start shooting?” Maddy asked.

  “Check, but don’t open it until you tell me.”

  Maddy looked in through the peephole, and then turned to us. “It’s Anna from Charlotte.”

  “I’ll be just inside the bathroom,” Kevin said.

  “Should I go, too?” I asked. “After all, this is Maddy’s room.”

  “You have every right to be here. Stay,” Kevin said as Anna knocked on the door again.

  He ducked into the bathroom, and Maddy opened the door.

  “Hey, Anna. What can I do for you?”

  “Do you know where your sister is?” she asked, and then spotted me. “Good, you’re here. I’ve been looking all over for you.”

  “Should I leave you two alone and give you some privacy?” Maddy asked, though I knew she had no intention of actually doing it.

  “No, honestly, I was hoping to find you both together.”

  “What’s this about?” I asked.

  She looked at me firmly as she said, “I know you’re trying to find George’s—I mean Luigi’s—killer, and I want to help.”

  “What makes you think that?” I asked her.

  “It wasn’t all that hard to figure out. You’ve both been asking a lot of questions around the complex,” she said. “Word gets around pretty quickly.”

  “I hate to bring this up, but you know that you’re on our suspect list right along with your boss, don’t you?” I asked.

  “He’s not my boss anymore, as a matter of fact,” she said. “I just quit.”

  “That’s going to make it hard on you, especially after you’ve been sleeping with him,” Maddy piped up.

  “What? Where did you hear that? Whoever told you that is lying,” she said as her head pivoted quickly toward my sister.

  I had to stop Maddy before she revealed the name of our source. It wouldn’t help Gina, or Helen, to bandy their names about. “We overheard something at the first cocktail party,” I said quickly.

  “No doubt spread by Kenny himself. I wouldn’t dream of letting that man touch me. Besides, I’m engaged.”

  “Congratulations,” I said. “Is it anyone that we might know?”

  “Actually, it’s Frank Vincent,” she said, blushing slightly.

  “Isn’t that a conflict of interest if he’s judging the contest?” Maddy asked, though I was thinking it as well.

  Anna smiled. “Oh, we’re not going to win. That’s already been settled.”

  “Does Kenny know yet?” I asked.

  “He doesn’t have a clue,” she admitted, “and Frank and I would appreciate it if you didn’t say anything to him about it, or to anyone, actually.”

  “Just out of curiosity, how long have you two been a ‘we’?” I asked.

  “Six months,” she said proudly. “I’ve been pregnant for the last eight weeks, and this was the weekend we’d decided to tell George about our engagement.”

  “Is that what you were arguing with him about when we saw you two together after the cocktail party?”

  She nodded. “He thought that I was trapping Frank into marriage. I told him that we didn’t need his blessing or his money, but he just laughed at me.”

  “That must have made you furious,” I said softly.

  “I was angry, but I wasn’t mad enough to kill him,” she said.

  “So you say,” Maddy added.

  “It doesn’t really matter, though. We have an alibi,” she said.

  “Did anyone ask you for one yet?” I asked loudly, knowing that Kevin could hear me anyway.

  “A deputy came by our room yesterday, but we didn’t answer. We were otherwise engaged.”

  “ ‘Our’ room?” I asked.

  “I have a room here for the competition, but I’ve been staying with Frank since we got here,” she admitted. That explained Helen’s report that Anna hadn’t been sleeping in her own bed. The maid had just gotten the wrong room number where Anna had ended up.

  “So, no one has asked you for your alibi,” I repeated, louder this time so Kevin could hear it in the bathroom.

  “No, but if they do, they can check with the front desk clerk when George was murdered. We left the contest, came straight into the lobby, and then spent the rest of the time sitting by the fireplace discussing our plans. There wasn’t the time, or the opportunity, for either one of us to kill George. We weren’t happy that he didn’t embrace the idea of our upcoming marriage, but it wasn’t reason enough to kill for it.”

  “What if he threatened to fire your fiancé once he heard the news? That might be reason enough,” Maddy said.

  Anna shook her head. “It wasn’t anything like that. George would have warmed up to the idea sooner or later.”

  “I notice that you call him George now that he’s gone,” I said.

  “I have a hard time bringing myself to call him Luigi after Frank asked me to use his real name,” she admitted. “So, is there anything we can do to help?”

  “No, not right offhand,” I said. “We’ll let you know if we think of something. By the way, congratulations again, on everything.”

  “Thanks so much,” she said. “I doubt I could be any happier. Well, that’s not true. I’m sorry that Frank lost his brother, but he’ll have a new family soon enough.”

  Maddy showed her out, and once she was gone, Kevin came out of the bathroom. “If you two will excuse me, I’ve got a deputy to fire for incompetence. He was supposed to question two of my suspects, but clearly he didn’t.”

  “Don’t be so hard on him,” I said. “I figure it was important enough for you to ask them yourself, but you didn’t get around to it, either. That’s not a slam on you. There hasn’t been enough time to do everything you’ve had to take care of.”

  “That’s true, and there have been distractions all the way around. I can’t deny that. Maybe I’ll just chew him out a little.”

  “Much more satisfying,” Maddy said. “At least we can cross two names off our list. Whoever poisoned George—I can’t call him that, it’s got to be Luigi. Anyway, since they had to poison Luigi after everyone else was gone, there’s no wa
y Frank and Anna could have done it.”

  “Maybe,” Kevin said as he pulled out his cell phone. After a brief conversation, he hung up and then turned to us and said, “I was in luck. The same clerk is on duty right now. He confirms what Anna just told you. They’re in the clear.”

  “Are you telling me that he watched them both the entire time?” I asked. “I find that a little hard to believe.”

  “It was a slow time at the front desk, and he didn’t have anything else to do. He was pretty emphatic about it.”

  “Then we can finally cross two names off that list,” I said.

  “It appears so,” Kevin said as he did the honors. “That still leaves us with a pretty long list of suspects, and I can’t keep them all here indefinitely. We’d better ramp things up.”

  “We couldn’t agree with you more,” I said.

  After Kevin was gone, I looked at Maddy. “So, are you ready to step on a few more toes?”

  “I was born ready to do that,” she answered with a smile.

  We were leaving Maddy’s room and walking toward the elevator when I heard footsteps behind us.

  Bracing myself, I whirled around, ready to face any attacker who came my way.

  Chapter 16

  “Hey, take it easy. I’m on your side, remember?” Hank White said as he held up his hands, his palms thrust out toward us.

  “You startled me,” I said, lowering my hands. I wasn’t sure what I’d planned to do, but that didn’t matter now. “What’s going on?”

  “I still feel bad about the way I acted before,” he said.

  “I told you, it’s fine,” I said.

  “Yeah, but I need to redeem myself. How would an alibi for two of your suspects do to make up for how I behaved?”

  “I’d say we’d be even,” I said. “What have you got?”

  “Just an alibi for the team from Asheville,” he said with a grin. “Interested?”

  “You bet we are,” I said. “Should we go back into Maddy’s room and talk about it?”

  “No, we have to go to my office.”

  I glanced at my watch. “Hank, I hate to say it, but we don’t have a lot of time.”