Tragic Toppings

by Jessica Beck

  There were over a dozen tables in the diner, and all of them were full, except for one.

  One chair sat at the table, and instead of the usual salt and pepper shakers, a paper napkin dispenser, and a ketchup bottle, there was a photograph of Tim Leander, smiling with that grin of his that he was so famous for.

  A waitress who looked as though she’d been at the job for twenty years saw us looking at the picture.

  “Did you know Tim?” she asked.

  “He was a friend of ours,” I said.

  “He was a good man,” she said. Her name tag said her name was Ruth, and she looked around the place. “Sorry, but we don’t have a table free just now.”

  An older man with a shock of white hair called out, “They can sit with me, Ruth. I’ve got room at my table.”

  She looked at us, and then said, “It doesn’t matter to me where you sit, just as long as it’s not at Tim’s table, at least not for the next few days.” She gestured toward the man who’d offered us seats, and added, “Don’t worry about Billy. For the most part, he’s harmless.”

  I looked at Grace to see what she thought, and after she nodded her acceptance, we joined Billy at his table. He stood as we approached, and I couldn’t believe it when he actually held out our chairs for us.

  As he did, Billy said, “Ladies, I’m glad you could join me. Chivalry and manners may be dying, but they are not dead, at least not yet.”

  “Thanks,” Grace and I said in unison.

  After we took our seats, Ruth handed us menus, and then left to get the two iced teas we requested.

  I looked at the menu and asked Billy, “What’s good here?”

  Before he could say a word, Ruth came back with our tea.

  Billy said, “The country-style steak plate is good. I have it with mashed potatoes, gravy, and fried apples.”

  I looked at Grace, and she said, “Why not? When in Rome and all that.”

  I told Ruth, “We’ll have two.”

  “Apiece?” she asked, one eyebrow raised slightly.

  “I think we’ll each start with one and see how it goes from there,” I answered. “After that, you never know.”

  I looked at Billy, who was smiling broadly. “A woman with beauty and a sense of humor is a rare commodity these days. If only I were thirty years younger, I might be able to do something about it besides admire your spirit.”

  I grinned back at him. “If you were thirty years younger, something tells me that you wouldn’t settle for me.”

  “My dear,” he said, “no man who could capture your heart would ever be settling for anything.”

  “Should I leave you two alone?” Grace asked.

  Billy pivoted in his seat to face her. “Forgive me. The only reason I didn’t address you directly was because I’ve been working up the nerve to approach a woman with your abundance of stunning loveliness.”

  “I thought Ruth said you were harmless,” I said with a smile.

  He shrugged. “Some say I’m all bark and no bite, but I may have a few nips left in me yet. Don’t worry, though. You two are safe with me.”

  “Did you know Tim Leander well?” I asked after taking a sip of tea so sweet my teeth started to ache from it.

  “For many years,” Billy answered. He shook his head as he continued, saying, “He was no saint, like some folks around here are saying today, but I have no interest in being friends with an angel. Tim had his flaws, though they were far outshadowed by his strengths. I’ll miss him.”

  Grace lowered her voice and asked, “Is there anyone who might feel differently?”

  Billy frowned. “Why would you want to know that?”

  “He was murdered, after all,” I said. “It just makes you wonder.”

  “It does, indeed. Let me see. Stu Mitchell comes to mind. He was always battling Tim about something or other. They never really liked each other, that much is true. Tim used to hate to smell the smoke from Stu’s cheap cigars, and he crowed about it when North Carolina banned smoking in bars and restaurants.”

  “What about Orson Blaine?” I asked.

  Billy looked at me with surprise. “I suppose that Orson had more of a right to resent Tim than Stu had, but yes, those are the only two men in the world to my knowledge who had a problem with him.”

  “How about women?” I asked.

  Billy waved a hand in the air. “I believe those are rumors, lies, and falsehoods, every last one of them. Tim liked the ladies, but he never went out with a married woman. I don’t care what folks say. He enjoyed female company, much like I do myself, and why shouldn’t he? He hadn’t had his teeth pulled yet, and he was still playing the field.” Billy smoothed his hair down, and then added, “On the other hand, I was always a one-woman type of man in my younger days. The stories I could tell you both.”

  I didn’t want to get diverted to Billy’s love life. “I heard there were three women he was dating at the same time. I know one, but not the other two.”

  Instead of answering, Billy took a sip of coffee. “May I ask why you two are so interested in Tim’s life, when I’ve never seen either one of you before today?”

  Grace blurted out, “We’re the ones who found his body.”

  I had been about to tell him that we were looking into Tim’s murder, but Grace might have been right with that approach. If we had Billy’s sympathy, he might not think we were ghoulish by trying to solve the case ourselves.

  “It’s understandable, then,” Billy said. “I can see how you both might have a stake in this.”

  Ruth came to the table with our plates, and before I could thank her, Billy asked, “Who was Tim seeing lately? Do you happen to know offhand?”

  “I might,” she said. “Why do you want to know?” She’d asked the question of him, but Ruth had taken a moment to look suspiciously at each of us as well.

  Billy looked long and hard at her before he answered. “These are the ladies who found him hanging in that tree. Isn’t it natural they’d reach out to those who loved him to ease the memory of finding him like that?”

  She nodded, and I silently thanked Billy for his help. After a moment’s thought, Ruth told me three names, and I nearly dropped my fork when I heard the last one that made her list.

  I’d already known about Gina Parsons, and I was familiar enough with her daughter, Penny, from George’s stay in the hospital, to talk to her about what had happened to Tim. I didn’t know the second name that made the list, Betsy Hanks, but the third name she mentioned gave me quite a turn.

  It was Angelica DeAngelis, a dear friend and the woman who owned Napoli’s, my favorite Italian restaurant.

  Though I managed to keep my composure, Grace choked on her tea when Ruth mentioned Angelica’s name.

  “Girl, are you all right?” she asked her.

  Grace was about to say something when I shook my head slightly. I wasn’t sure what she’d been about to say, but instead, she replied, “I swallowed a bit too much with that drink.”

  “That tea is sweet enough to chew,” Billy said chiming in. He looked at our plates, and then added, “Come now, ladies, don’t you like the food?”

  In truth, neither one of us had touched our meals. I took a dutiful bite, not expecting to like it, but if I didn’t think about how the country-style steak was made, I really found myself enjoying it. “It’s delicious,” I said.

  Billy nodded his head at the validation. “I told you so. That’s enough talk for now; eat up.”

  Grace and I both started digging in, and I sopped up some of the juice from the fried apples with one of the biscuits Ruth had brought us. It was unbelievable, good enough to qualify as a food group all on its own.

  When we were finished, I grabbed our check and Billy’s as well.

  He wasn’t all that pleased by the gesture. “Ladies, I was going to buy you both lunch,” he said. “Don’t deprive me.”

  “Please, the pleasure was all ours,” I said. “It’s only right that we treat you, since you’ve be
en so gracious to us.”

  He mulled that over, and then Grace added, “Besides, think about the bragging rights.”

  “I don’t follow you,” he answered.

  “You can always say that two young, good-looking women bought you lunch just so they could enjoy your company, and not too much of it would be a lie.”

  “None of it would, if you ask me,” he said. “Given the graciousness of your offer, I’ll leave it at saying thank you so kindly.”

  “You’re welcome,” we said in unison. I made sure to leave Ruth an especially nice tip, and then we paid the bill and left.

  “We got more than we bargained for there, didn’t we?” Grace asked once we were outside.

  I nodded. I didn’t like saying it, but there was something I had to get out in the open. “I’m not sure I like where it’s leading us, but you know that we can’t take it easy on Angelica just because she’s our friend.”

  “I couldn’t agree with you more, but I have a suggestion. Let’s go talk to her right now,” Grace said. “I don’t like the idea that we’re going to just ambush her, so I’d rather get it out of the way first.”

  I nodded. “Union Square isn’t that far away. We can speak with her, and I can still make it back to April Springs in time for my early dinner with Jake. I’m not sure how hungry I’ll be, though, after all I just ate.” I’d gotten swept up in my meal, and I was afraid I wasn’t going to be ready to eat again when Jake came by to pick me up later. I’d manage somehow, though. I still tingled a little at the thought of seeing him again.

  Grace agreed with the game plan. “Then we’d better get to Union Square so we can talk to Angelica.”

  As we drove the twenty minutes to Napoli’s, I asked, “Do you know anything about the two men we talked to Billy about?”

  “Not really. We’ll have to ask George if he knows them. As a matter of fact, one of us should call him right now and bring him up to date on what we’ve learned.”

  I reached for my cell phone, but Grace said, “Suzanna, no offense, but you have enough trouble focusing on the road without having a phone conversation about murder. Why don’t I call him?”

  She probably had a point. “Do you need his number?”

  “I’ve got it on speed dial,” Grace said. After a quick conversation where she told him all we’d learned and what we were going to do next, she hung up.

  I’d managed to hold my tongue until they’d finished their conversation. Once it was over, I asked, “How did you happen to have George’s number so handy?”

  “We talk sometimes,” Grace said, “especially when we’re working on something together with you. Are you surprised?”

  “No, when you explain it that way, it makes perfect sense. What did he say?”

  “He agreed that it’s probably a good idea if he focuses on the two men right now. That way we can focus on the women who were in Tim’s life.”

  After a few minutes, Grace turned to me and asked, “Suzanne, can you really see a woman hanging him in the tree like that?”

  I thought about it, and then answered, “Actually, I can, but it might not be the woman herself. It could have been a jealous boyfriend, or even husband, no matter what Billy said.”

  I hated saying it, and it was clear that Grace didn’t enjoy hearing it. “Do you honestly think sweet old Tim would date a married woman?”

  I considered her question, then thought about the way Tim was always so good at what he did, so friendly, and so eager to help when he was needed. Then I tried to reconcile that with the things I’d learned about the man since he’d been murdered. “Not really, but then again, I didn’t think he’d date three women at once, either. It was pretty clear from what I overheard in Gabby’s that Penny’s mother had no idea she wasn’t his only girlfriend.”

  “I wonder if Angelica knew he was dating others as well,” I asked.

  “There’s only one way to find out, but I’m not all that excited about asking her, are you?”

  “Not particularly,” I answered. Angelica was a close friend of mine, someone who had always gone out of her way to make me feel special when I visited her restaurant, and now I was going to be the bearer of some very bad tidings indeed.

  When we got to Napoli’s, the first thing I noticed was the lack of cars parked in front of the restaurant. At that time of day, I hadn’t expected their business to be booming, but I did think they’d have at least a few customers enjoying their wonderful cuisine.

  After we parked and walked to the front door, I didn’t have to wonder about it anymore.

  The sign said, “Closed today and tomorrow. Sorry for the inconvenience. The Management.”

  “What’s that all about?” Grace asked. “Could it be related to what happened to Tim?”

  “I can’t imagine it’s a coincidence,” I replied as I knocked on the door. There was no answer.

  “No one’s here,” Grace said.

  “I’m not giving up that easily. Come on,” I said.

  As I started walking toward the back of the strip mall, Grace asked excitedly, “What are we going to do, break in? You know I’m up for it if it helps us in our investigation.”

  “Stop thinking like a criminal,” I said with a laugh. “We’re just going to try to see if they’ll answer the back door. The last time we were here and ate pasta in the kitchen with Angelica and the girls, I noticed an entrance for deliveries in back.”

  “But we aren’t kicking the door in,” Grace said. If I hadn’t known better, I would have said she was disappointed by the realization that we were taking a more conventional approach.

  “Sorry, but it’s not going to be anything as dramatic as all that,” I replied. “I just want to be certain that no one is here.”

  As we came around the back, it was difficult at first to figure out which door belonged to Napoli’s, but then I noticed a small sign that had the name of the restaurant on it. It was certainly a lower-profile entrance than the front.

  I knocked with authority, waited a few seconds, and then knocked again.

  “Come on, Suzanne, no one’s here,” Grace said as she started to walk away.

  I gave it another shot, and this time, I called out Angelica’s name. A moment later, the outside door opened slightly.

  “No deliveries,” Maria DeAngelis said without looking at us. Maria was one of Angelica’s daughters, all lovely, and all employed at the restaurant in one capacity or another.

  Before she could close the door again, I said, “Maria, it’s us.”

  She looked at us then, and said, “Hi, Suzanne. I’m sorry you drove all this way for a meal, but we’re closed.”

  “We’re not here to eat; we want to talk. Please?” I asked. “I wouldn’t ask if it weren’t important.”

  “I suppose it would be okay,” she finally said as she stepped aside.

  “Thanks,” I answered. As Grace and I walked in, I saw that Maria was making homemade pasta, one of the specialties of the house.

  “Who is that for?” I asked.

  “Not for customers; just for the family. I had to get out of the house, so I made an excuse to come here instead.”

  “How’s your mother holding up?” I asked softly.

  “Momma’s fine,” she said as she looked closely at me. I knew we were friends as well, but her first loyalty was to her mother, something that didn’t surprise me at all. Every daughter openly talked about leaving Napoli’s and their mother’s domain, but I knew that it was idle talk. There was too much love there for any of them to ever go. “Why do you ask?”

  It was time to lay my cards out on the table. “You’re closed, so I know Tim Leander’s murder must have hit her pretty hard.”

  “Murder? He hanged himself,” Maria said, not disputing her mother’s involvement with the man at all.

  I didn’t like it, but I was going to have to go into more detail. “It turns out that someone killed him, and then hoisted him up into that tree.” There was no delicate way to ask, so I
took a deep breath and then added, “How long had your mother been seeing him?”

  “I’m not willing to acknowledge that she was,” Maria said, her olive-toned arms folded over her chest now.

  “Maria,” I said, keeping my voice as gentle as I could manage, “we’re not with the police. We’re just trying to find out what happened to Tim. I know your mother must have cared for him, and there’s no doubt she’s hurting right now, but he was our friend, too.”

  Grace added, “Won’t helping us find the murderer give your mother some of the comfort she needs right now? She has to want to find the killer even more than we do.”

  Maria seemed to think about that, and then said, “Excuse me for a moment. I need to make a quick call.”

  She was checking with her mother, there was no doubt in my mind about that, and I couldn’t really blame her. If the roles were reversed, I would be doing the exact same thing.

  Maria stepped through the kitchen into the dining room to make her call, and Grace asked, “Did I push her too much?”

  “No, as a matter of fact, I think you shoved her exactly the right amount.”

  “What’s Angelica going to say?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know, but I have a feeling we’re going to find out pretty quickly.”

  Maria came back out a minute later and joined us.

  “What did she say?” I asked.

  “Momma’s sleeping, and Sophia said no one wanted to wake her.”

  “So you won’t talk to us?” I asked, resigned with the answer I knew I would be getting already.

  Maria appeared to think about it, and then said, “I’ll tell you what I know, but you should realize up front that this is all new to me as well.”

  “You didn’t know that your mother was seeing someone?” Grace asked.

  Maria frowned, crinkling her nose slightly. “We knew there was someone, but up until yesterday, we didn’t realize who it was.”