A Thin Crust of Murder

by Patti Benning

  It wasn’t until the meal was nearly ready and she could take a break from watching it constantly that she felt her stomach twist with anxiety again. She needed to do one thing before the dinner began and the Ward family arrived. After everything she and her grandmother had been through together, Nonna deserved to know about the engagement before the others did.

  After tasting the alfredo sauce and determining that it was perfect, Ellie turned the heat down to low and surveyed the kitchen. There was nothing else that she had to do until it was time to serve. She couldn’t put it off any longer; it was time to have an important discussion with her grandmother.

  She untied her apron, hung it on the hook by the door, and went into the living room. Pausing only to stroke Bunny, who was curled up on her cushion on the floor, Ellie sat down next to her grandmother on the couch.

  “Nonna, there’s something I want to talk to you about,” she said.

  Her grandmother put her book down and looked at her, concern in her eyes. “Is everything okay, dear? Did something happen with the new pizzeria down in Florida? If that woman tricked you out of your money, I’ll—”

  “No, nothing like that,” Ellie said quickly. “This is good news.”

  The older woman straightened up and focused on her with sharp eyes. “I’m all ears.”

  The pizzeria owner took a deep breath. “Russell asked me to marry him,” she said. “And I said yes.”

  She saw the surprise on her grandmother’s face for an instant before she smiled and reached for her, pulling her into a tight hug. “I’m so happy for you. For both of you.”

  “Thanks, Nonna. Me too.” Ellie grinned. Now that she had told someone, she felt a lot better about it. Maybe getting engaged a year after she had broken up with her last fiancé was unusual, but so what? She felt comfortable with Russell in a way that she hadn’t felt with anyone else, certainly not whatshisname she’d been engaged to before. She could easily imagine spending the rest of her life with Russell. They still had some things to figure out, but she was certain they would make it work.

  Russell, James, and Shannon arrived not long after that. She made sure that Nonna, Shannon, and James were all seated comfortably in the dining room, then with Russell’s help began to bring out the food. They had wine, cold beer, and a pitcher of homemade lemonade to drink, something that she had made often enough over the summer that she was pretty certain she could have made with her eyes closed by now.

  “This looks amazing,” Shannon said. “What’s the occasion?”

  “You’ll find out soon,” Ellie promised. “I’ll let everyone start eating first. I don’t know about you, but I’m starved.”

  The meal tasted just as good as it looked. She waited until everyone had gotten at least part way through their plates before she met Russell’s eyes. He nodded. It was time. She cleared her throat and waited until everyone’s attention was on her. She could see her grandmother smiling, and she was glad that she had the older woman’s support.

  “Russell and I have an announcement,” she said. “A few weeks ago, he asked me to marry him, and I said yes. Our wedding will be sometime in early spring of next year, but we haven’t set the date yet.” She held up her hand to show all of them the glittering ring on her finger.

  After the congratulations were over, talk turned to the wedding and to their future together. “Where will you live?” Shannon asked.

  “Well, we’ll be staying in Kittiport, of course,” Ellie told her friend. “That’s all we really know right now.”

  “Do you think you might buy a new house? There is one for sale right down the road from James and me. It would be wonderful, especially with—well, it would be wonderful.” She glanced over her husband and smiled. James patted her hand.

  “We aren’t sure yet,” Russell said. “We’ve got a while to figure it out. Right now, I think the main concern is Ellie getting the second pizzeria up and running by October.”

  “Oh yeah,” James said. “How’s that going?”

  “There have been a few bumps along the way, but I think will be able to open on time,” Ellie said. “We’re aiming for late October right now. Renovations are going to start soon. I think the hardest thing for me has been trying to do everything over the phone. It’s a lot more difficult than doing everything in person. I really have to rely on the people down there.”

  “You’ll be traveling down there for the grand opening, right?” Shannon said.

  “Yes, definitely. It’s going to be a huge weight off my chest once that pizzeria opens and things start to run smoothly,” she admitted.

  “I’ll be going with her,” Nonna said. “Are you three able to join us?”

  “I’m hoping so,” Russell said. “It’s hard to say for sure, because if an important case comes up at the last second, I may end up having to stay here.”

  “I’d love to come, but I don’t think I’ll be able to,” Shannon said. “James and I will support you from here, though. I really hope everything goes smoothly. Do you think you can trust the woman who is going to be running the place?”

  “I think so,” Ellie said. “The restaurant was her husband’s before he passed away. Of course, it will have a different name and a different interior, but it will still be the same building. I think that she cares about it a lot and will do anything she can to keep it running. She just needed some help, which I’m giving to her. She’s already chosen her assistant manager, and I think that woman is wonderful as well. Of course, we may do everything right and still have the restaurant fail. Sometimes it’s just luck.”

  Thoughts of all the small business statistics she had learned when she first took over the pizzeria brought her back to the thought of Joanna’s hotdog shop. She wondered if the place would ever get off the ground. Even if the restaurant owner had nothing to do with the poor man’s death, could the hotdog shop survive that sort of bad publicity before it even opened its doors for the first time?

  She tried to push the thought from her mind. Now was the time to celebrate with her family. It wasn’t every day that she got engaged, and she and Russell both deserved the time to simply enjoy life with the people closest to them. She had her own business to run; worrying about someone else’s wouldn’t help any of them.

  CHAPTER SIX

  * * *

  Ellie was beaming when she walked into work the next day. It felt wonderful to wear her engagement ring openly on her finger. Clara was the first one to notice, and her reaction to the sight of the ring was gratifying.

  “Oh my goodness, Ms. P., did Sheriff Ward propose?” the young woman squealed, rushing over to her boss and grabbing her hand to examine the diamond.

  “Yes, Russell and I are engaged,” she told her employee. She held up her hand so Clara could look at the ring. “We’re planning on getting married sometime in the early spring, but we don’t have a date set yet. I’ll be inviting everyone from the pizzeria, of course.”

  “This is so exciting,” Clara exclaimed. “Will you be changing your name? Of course, you don’t have to. A lot of women aren’t doing it these days. I don’t know if I would or not. Would you have to change the name of the pizzeria? You wouldn’t be Ms. Pacelli anymore.”

  Ellie chuckled. “Yes, I’ll be changing my name, and no, the pizzeria’s name will remain the same. It’s named after my grandfather, not me, after all.”

  “Wow, you’re so lucky. I wish I was getting married, and I don’t even have a boyfriend. Weddings are just so exciting.”

  “Well, don’t rush anything. You have plenty of time left. Look at me. I’m in my forties and I’m about to start a whole new chapter of my life. Trust me when I say there’s no hurry.”

  “I can’t wait to tell Rose. She’s going to be so excited. When you first started dating the sheriff, she told me she thought the two of you would end up getting married.”

  Somehow, the news of her engagement seemed to spread through town faster than wildfire. She hadn’t thought about what being engage
d to the sheriff might mean in a town so small, but by noon, it seemed as if everyone in Kittiport had heard about their upcoming wedding. She was congratulated by people she had only met once or twice before in her life. Between her owning Papa Pacelli’s and Russell wearing the sheriff’s badge, their engagement was probably the most famous one in town.

  What am I going to do about the wedding? she wondered. Part of her wanted to keep it small, just family and close friends, but another part of her wanted to throw it open and have a huge celebration. The people of Kittiport were like her extended family. She knew that she wanted to have the wedding in town. They would likely use the community center, though she hadn’t talked to Russell about it yet. They still had so much to plan.

  She remembered Shannon’s question about where they would live, and some of her excitement died down. It wasn’t something that she had brought up with her grandmother just yet. How could she move away? Even if she only went as far as somewhere else in town, it would be difficult. Nonna was still spry for someone her age, but she needed help sometimes. If something happened to her and Ellie wasn’t there when she needed her, she would never forgive herself.

  At the same time, she wanted her and Russell to have a life of their own making. She loved being a part of her grandmother’s life, and she was beyond grateful to the older woman for everything she had done, but she couldn’t ask Russell to feel the same.

  She kept putting off the discussion that she knew she had to have, but the truth was, she needed to talk to both Russell and her grandmother to figure out what would work for all of them, and the sooner the better. Was there a workable solution? One that she just wasn’t seeing? She hoped so. She loved them both, and she didn’t want to make things more difficult for either of them.

  The bell over the door rang, and she shook herself, telling herself to focus on the task at hand. It was still early in the day, so the pizzeria wasn’t as busy as it would be later in the evening, and it was easy to get lost in thought and forget where she was. Clara was in the back, making pizzas and servicing the drive-up window, while Jacob made deliveries. With the children out of school for the summer, they were busier than they would be when classes started up again.

  When she looked up to greet her newest customer, she was surprised to see Joanna, the owner of the hotdog shop. With her puffy eyes and her smeared makeup, it was obvious that the woman had been crying.

  “Can I talk to you?” she asked Ellie, coming up to the counter and speaking in a low voice.

  “Okay,” Ellie said, hesitantly. “Do you want to come back into the kitchen for privacy? I can send my employee up front.”

  “That would be perfect, thank you,” Joanna said.

  Ellie slipped into the back and explained the situation to Clara, who was happy enough to take over the register. Ellie felt the skin on the back of her neck prickle as Joanna followed her into the now empty kitchen. It was eerily reminiscent of what had happened a couple of days ago, except for their positions were switched. What did the woman want? Had she made a mistake by agreeing to speak to the woman privately? If Joanna was the killer, then maybe she was here to get rid of her only witness.

  Don’t be ridiculous, she told herself. She hadn’t actually witnessed anything, she had just discovered the body, and Joanna had to be smart enough to realize how suspicious it would look if Ellie turned up dead just days later.

  “I’m sorry to come to you like this, but I didn’t have your phone number. I know you’re close to the sheriff, and I need to know, people don’t really think I did this… do they?” the woman asked once the door had shut behind them.

  The pizzeria owner bit her lip, not sure what to say. She decided that honesty was the best way to go. “I don’t know,” she said. “And even if I did, I probably wouldn’t be able to say anything to you. I’m sure that if you were an official suspect, you would know.”

  “I didn’t have anything to do with it. Please, you’ve got to believe me. Jeb has worked for us for years, I have no reason to want to hurt him. If people think I’m a murderer, there’s no way that Hot Diggity Dog will ever be successful.”

  “I don’t think I can help you,” Ellie said. “But listen, Russell is really good at his job. The people in town trust him. When he finds out who the culprit is, there won’t be any question about whether he’s right, and any suspicions anyone might have had about you will be forgotten. Look, Joanna, I’m really sorry that you have to go through this, but right now there really isn’t anything you can do other than wait.”

  “I feel so bad. It’s not just my reputation. Jeb had a family. I met his wife at a Christmas party. He has kids. I just can’t believe that he died like this. I can’t even imagine what it must have been like for whoever had to make that call to his wife.”

  “It’s a terrible situation for everyone,” Ellie managed at last. “Trust me when I say that it isn’t too late for your restaurant. I know people in this town can be kind of, well, withdrawn from outsiders, but once you get to know them, they really do warm up. Once Russell finds the killer, people will forget that you were ever a suspect. I know it probably seems impossible now, but in a few months, one way or another, this will all be over.”

  It will be over for us, at least, she thought. For that poor man’s family, this nightmare would never end. Thinking of her own soon-to-be husband, she felt a surge of sadness. How terrible must it be to find your life mate, only to lose them to something like this? Then, with a shock, she realized that was exactly what had happened to Russell. His first wife had been murdered. She didn’t know the details, and she wasn’t sure that she wanted to. She was so used to witnessing other people’s grief, that sometimes she forgot that both her fiancé and her grandmother—the two people closest to her—had lost their own spouses.

  “I hope so.” The other woman sniffled. “I’m sorry for coming to you like this. I really need to make some friends in town. You’re the only person that actually reached out to me.”

  “It’s okay. Here, I’ll give you my phone number. Feel free to call me if you need someone to talk to.”

  She scribbled down her number and handed it to the other woman, then led her back through to the front of the restaurant and watched as she walked away. She was glad that she had reached out to Joanna, and hoped that she didn’t come to regret it later.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  * * *

  Since the dinner where they had announced their engagement, something had been resting heavily on Ellie’s mind: where would she and Russell live after they got married? No matter how hard she tried, finding a solution that would be good for everyone seemed impossible.

  Today, she was planning on bringing it up with him for the first time. He didn’t seem to be in a big hurry to get it figured out, but she would feel much better when she knew that they had a solution. Besides, it gave her a good excuse to grab a couple of coffees and stop in to see him in the middle of a work day. With the electrician’s murder, he was busier than ever.

  “Congratulations, by the way,” Gina said as she put the top on Ellie’s mocha latte. “I heard about the engagement. We all knew it was coming, of course. The two of you make such a perfect couple.”

  “Thank you,” Ellie said, giving her a warm smile. “I feel so lucky. I couldn’t have asked for a better man in my life.”

  “Now, I don’t know how much you’ve thought about the wedding, but my sister-in-law is a wedding planner, and I’m sure I could get her to give you a great deal.”

  “Thank you. I may take you up on that offer. I haven’t decided what I want to do yet.”

  “She’s another one that might be interested in that small business club that we were talking about. Have you thought any more about it?”

  “I haven’t. Things have been so busy lately, what with the murder at the new hotdog shop and everything.”

  “I heard about that,” Gina said. “What a shame. Have they found out what happened yet?”

  “I don’t think
so.”

  “Any suspects?”

  “I really can’t say,” she replied. “Besides, Russell doesn’t really tell me that stuff anyway, not until it’s okay for the public to know.”

  “That’s too bad. There’s got to be some benefit to marrying the man.” Gina grinned at her. “My money’s on the new woman, for what it’s worth. Who else could have done it?”

  “I don’t know,” Ellie said. “I don’t see why she would kill her electrician.”

  “Maybe he discovered that the building wasn’t up to code,” Gina suggested. “Her type is all about money. She wouldn’t want to wait weeks or months to get renovations done, not when she’s this close to the grand opening.”

  Ellie frowned. She supposed it was a possible motive. It was true that Joanna cared a lot about the hotdog shop, but would she really have killed someone over the news that the opening would have to be delayed? It was an idea that she would have to bounce off Russell later.

  At the sheriff’s department, she greeted Mrs. Lafferre and dropped off the chocolate chip croissant that she had picked up for the older woman at the coffee shop. She was surprised when the secretary rose and walked around the counter to give her a big hug. “Congratulations, Eleanora, my dear. I was so happy when I heard.”

  “Oh, thank you so much, Mrs. Lafferre.”

  “You’re going to be part of the family now,” she said. “That’s what this department is you know, a big family. I’m so glad that Russell found someone like you. He deserves all of the happiness in the world.”

  Ellie was touched by the woman’s words. It was wonderful to see how loved Russell was around town. She wondered how he was holding up under all the congratulations from the news of their engagement. She didn’t think that he would be thrilled with all the attention, but she knew that it would blow over eventually. The town had plenty of other things to gossip about, and a wedding wouldn’t be a big deal for long.