The Missing Dough (13 page)

At least they wouldn’t starve, and I saw that I’d be pulling the first pizza out two minutes after they walked in the door.

I went into the dining room and clapped with delight the second I saw what Maddy had done. She’d pulled all of the tables away from the center of the restaurant until she had one place set apart from all of the rest. Instead of our standard tablecloth, she’d found something that looked elegant in its simplicity. Two new place settings were on the table, and a bud vase in the center held a single red rose.

“How did you do all of this in the time I was in back?” I asked in awe.

“Do you like it?”

“It’s amazing,” I said. “You’ve outdone yourself, Sis.”

“Thanks. I was going to return the place settings, so I already had them in my trunk, along with some fabric I was thinking about making a new dress out of. It looks stunning as a tablecloth, don’t you think?”

“And the rose?” I asked with a grin.

“We were in luck there. I found Hiram Blankenship standing on the promenade, giving them away to whoever wanted one.”

“I didn’t realize that it was his anniversary already,” I said.

“Neither did I, but the man’s like clockwork year in and year out.”

Every year on the anniversary of his wedding to his late wife, Melissa, Hiram bought twelve dozen red roses and handed them out to everyone he met that day. It was sweet, sad, romantic, and a bit tragic, all rolled up into one act of remembrance that never failed to make me cry.

“You really did great,” I said and gave my sister a big hug.

“To be honest with you, it was kind of nice to get my mind off of murder, even if it was only for half an hour. How did you do?”

“Not nearly as well as you did,” I admitted.

I was about to tell her what I’d made when there was a tap at the front door. Paul was there with Gina, and he looked so pleased to be with her that I hoped it worked out between them.

“You two shouldn’t have gone to this much trouble,” Gina said after we shared our hellos and they came into the Slice.

“For two of our dearest friends? It was our pleasure. If you’ll be seated, we’ll be serving the first course soon,” I said.

She turned and looked at Paul. “I still can’t believe that you planned all of this just for me.”

He was about to confess his part—I could see it in his eyes—so I broke in. “It didn’t surprise us one bit. Paul always has had a romantic spirit.”

He just laughed, and then he explained, “It’s true that I wanted to do something special, but these two ladies deserve all the credit for today.”

“It’s sweet of all of you, then,” Gina said.

I excused myself, pulled the pizza and the cheese sticks out of the line, and then prepped them to serve. As I walked back out, Maddy was getting them sodas, so I served them myself. “I hope you enjoy our humble offerings. Save some room for dessert. I’ve got cherry and apple dessert pizzas.”

“Thank you,” Paul said. “I mean it.”

“You’re most welcome.”

Maddy followed me back into the kitchen. “I thought I’d give them some privacy,” she said as she opened the door enough to watch them.

I grabbed her apron and pulled her backward away from the door.

“Hey, what if they need something?” she protested.

“I have a hunch that they’ll be fine on their own. This is nice, isn’t it?”

She nodded. “We should do something like this for our men when things settle down around here.”

“Do you ever think that’s even a possibility?” I asked.

“I have my hopes. After all, if we can’t solve Grant’s murder, then surely Chief Hurley can manage to do it without us.”

“I hope you’re right,” I said as I started applying icing to the dessert pizzas. I slid them both back into the fridge, and then I started cleaning up. Maddy lent a hand, and by four till noon, we were ready to face the world.

“Could you go ask them if they’re ready for dessert?” I asked.

I didn’t have to ask Maddy twice.

She came back fifteen seconds later. “They want both of us out front.”

I was curious, so I joined Maddy to find out what was going on.

Paul and Gina were both standing, and I was pleased to see that they were holding hands. “No room for dessert?” I asked.

“We’re stuffed,” Gina said, and then she hugged me. As she did, she whispered in my ear, “Thanks, Eleanor, for everything.”

“It was my pleasure,” I said before she broke free.

Paul thanked us, as well, and after they were gone, Maddy and I tackled cleaning up the table and putting everything back into order for our paying customers. She pointed to the cheesy braid of bread and asked, “Did you pull that out of some fancy cookbook?”

“Nope. I take the full blame for it,” I admitted. “I made it up on the spot.”

“Well, it looks great. I don’t suppose there are any more back there, are there?”

“Why don’t I make us another batch?” I suggested.

“That sounds wonderful,” she said.

 

Everything was finally back in order, and I had started to unlock the front door when I saw Paul hurrying over to the pizzeria.

I opened the door and asked, “Is something wrong?”

“You need to get inside,” he said as he brushed past me and went into the pizzeria. Oh, no. Had something I served them made them sick? I’d hate myself if I ruined their lovely little meal together.

Once I was back in the Slice with Maddy, Paul looked at us both and grinned. “Boy, I never would have believed that it was possible, but you both got me out of the doghouse. That was nothing short of spectacular.”

“We’re glad you’re pleased,” I said.

“That doesn’t begin to describe it. Now, what do I owe you? I walked out of here on air, and I didn’t realize that I forgot to pay you until Gina reminded me a minute ago.”

“Thanks for offering, but this one was on the house,” I said as Maddy nodded her agreement to my offer.

Paul frowned. “Hang on a second. I never meant you to do all of this for nothing.”

“Don’t you think we know that, Paul?” I asked as I hugged him. “We meant every word we said. You’re like family to Maddy and me. We won’t take your money today.”

“Okay, but this means that I can bring you treats and confections whenever I feel like it, and you’re not allowed to ever say no.”

I thought for a split second about protesting when I envisioned what my waistline might end up looking like, but I knew that I had to be careful how I responded.

Fortunately, Maddy filled the silence. “Score,” she said to me. “I told you that my little plot would work, Eleanor. Free desserts. Wee!”

“She’s just teasing,” I told Paul.

“Or am I dead serious?” Maddy asked with a grin.

Paul just shook his head. “If we really were related, I couldn’t ask for a better pair of cooks to be kin to.”

“We know exactly what you mean,” I said. “Now, don’t you have a bakery to run?”

“I closed early so I could take Gina out to lunch. There’s not much inventory left, anyway, but you’re welcome to what I’ve got.”

“Raincheck?” I asked. “We’re about to open, so we won’t have time to enjoy it.”

“Okay, I’ll accept that for now, but I’m not giving up.”

“I certainly hope not,” Maddy said.

After he was gone, my sister looked at me and said, “We did good today, Eleanor.”

“We surely did,” I said, letting the warmth of good feeling flood through me.

It wasn’t very long-lived, though.

When I looked up, I saw Rebecca Whitmore storming toward the Slice, and I doubted that she was in such a rush because she was hungry.

“I
can’t believe how reckless you are,” Rebecca said the second she spotted Maddy. “Have you completely lost your mind? You’re not going to get away with this! Do you hear me?”

“What are you talking about?” my sister asked her. At least there was no one in the restaurant at the moment. I hated it when our personal lives gave our patrons dinner
and
a show, and it happened all too often for my taste.

“Don’t play dumb with me, Maddy. You know exactly what I’m talking about. It’s gone. All of it. Every last dime,” she said.

I thought about the nearly ten thousand dollars that Maddy and I had found in Grant’s desk drawer. Had she stumbled upon it herself and then lost it again already? “Slow down, take a deep breath, and think about what you’re saying. What exactly is it that’s gone, Rebecca?”

“Mother’s money, Grant’s money, all of it,” she said, the anger seething out of her like steam. “There’s
nothing
left. You weren’t satisfied with a third of Mother’s estate, so you made sure that you got all of it, and every bit of Grant’s money, too.”

“I don’t have the slightest idea what you’re talking about,” Maddy said. “Hang on a second. I suppose that’s not strictly true. We
did
just find out that your brother’s bank account was emptied out the day he died, but we have no idea what he did with it all, or where he even got it.” Maddy looked at me as she realized something. “Eleanor,
that’s
where the money must have come from. He emptied the cash out of his mother’s estate and put it in his personal account.”

“I have to admit that it makes more sense than the blackmail angle we came up with,” I agreed.

Rebecca looked confused by our conversation. “Would one of you mind telling me what you two are talking about?”

“We heard that Grant withdrew a hundred and fifty thousand dollars in cash on the day that he died,” I explained. “You have every reason to be upset. It’s a great deal of money to lose.”

“It wasn’t lost, it was stolen, and you both know it.” Rebecca paused a second and then said, “Wait one second. How much did you say he took out of his account?”

“He cleaned it out completely. From what we’ve heard, he got one hundred and fifty thousand dollars in cash,” I repeated for her.

“You’ve got to be mistaken,” Rebecca said. “My brother never would have done that to me.”

“Well, I hate to be the one to tell you, but it looks like you’re wrong about that. If anybody stole anything from your mother’s estate, my guess is that it was Grant,” Maddy said.

“Don’t you talk about my brother that way!” Rebecca said as she tried to launch herself at Maddy.

Fortunately, I was close enough to stop her. “Do you want me to call the police chief, or are you going to calm down and get a hold of yourself so we can figure this out?”

“I’m okay,” she said after a full minute of deep breathing and, apparently, even deeper thought. “Could it be true? Would Grant really steal from our own mother?”

“Technically, it was most likely from her estate,” Maddy said. “Do you have any idea when your mom’s accounts were cleaned out?”

“No. I never thought to check,” she admitted.

“Call the bank and see,” Maddy said.

After a brief conversation, Rebecca hung up her cell phone. “The money in Mom’s accounts was transferred the day after she died.”

“Where did it end up?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

“In Grant’s private account.”

“How could he do that legally?” I asked.

“Apparently, he and Mom had a joint account. He had every right to do it, but I know that not a dime of that money was his.”

“You’re mad at the wrong person,” I said. “Maddy didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I’m not so sure,” Rebecca said, clearly searching for some way to absolve her brother of guilt. “Grant never would have been able to do it on his own. You were in on it together from the start, weren’t you? Is that why you killed him? For the cash? Where’s my money, Maddy? It’s rightfully mine.”

“Rebecca, you have completely lost your mind,” my sister said rather calmly, given the situation and the wild accusations flying around the room.

“Did I lose my mind when I looked out my window this morning and saw you drive by my mother’s house? Do you care to deny that, too?”

So, we had been caught, after all. “That was my fault,” I said quickly, before Maddy could say anything.

Rebecca looked at me with an acid glare. “Why am I not surprised that you’re in on it, too?”

“There are no conspiracies here,” I said. The only excuse for our presence that I could come up with was the one I’d used earlier with the chief of police in Cow Spots. “I lost an earring, and I was trying to find it.”

“At my mother’s house? Were
you
the ones there snooping yesterday?”

Now I was just managing to dig us a hole that was getting deeper by the second. “Not there. At Bernie Maine’s business. He was your brother’s business partner, but then you knew that already, didn’t you?”

“So what? I know that Bernie wouldn’t steal from me.”

Maddy butted in. “From what we’ve heard, he would have tried to steal the president’s pants while he was still wearing them. What makes you so special? Have you ever considered the possibility that he’s the one who killed your brother and stole all that money?”

“That’s pretty cagey, trying to blame someone else for something you probably did yourselves,” she said.

“I don’t care how it sounds to you. All I know is that you’re going to have to leave again. Rebecca, how many times am I going to have to throw you out of my restaurant before you get the hint that you’re not welcome here, at least not as long as you continue to accuse us of things we didn’t do?”

Rebecca calmed down enough to say, “If you were headed to Cow Spots looking for your earring at Bernie’s office, that still doesn’t explain why you were at my mother’s house.”

“It was on the way, and I wanted to see the place one last time,” Maddy said. I could swear a tear crept into her eye as she explained, “I just found out about her passing away, and whether you believe me or not, we
were
friends. I admired her, and what’s more, I respected her, and I can’t say that about many people these days. Your mother was a fine woman, and she’ll be missed. I know I’ve said it before, but I truly am sorry for your loss.”

“Well, it turns out that it’s your loss, too,” Rebecca said, “if what you’re telling me is the truth.”

“What are you talking about now?” Maddy asked.

“There’s nothing left for either one of us to inherit. The house has two mortgages on it, I already told you that her savings and checking accounts are both empty, and she liquidated her retirement money three months ago. Thank goodness she prepaid her funeral expenses and left enough to let me take care of Grant, too. As it is, I’m going to have to take a second job to pay off the seven thousand dollars in bills she still owed.” Rebecca started to crack a little, no doubt from the strain of losing her mother and her brother in such a short span of time. I felt sorry for her when I tried to put myself in her shoes, and I couldn’t imagine how my sister must have felt.

“Actually, you might not have to do that,” Maddy said quietly.

“What do you mean?” Rebecca asked suspiciously.

I tried to warn Maddy off of disclosing the fact that we’d found ten thousand dollars until we were ready to, but she pointedly ignored me. “Do you happen to know if Grant still had that old rolltop desk he used to love?”

“How did you know about that? He had had it since he was a teenager.”

“We were married once upon a time, remember? Did you check the lower left-hand drawer, the one with the false bottom?”

“I never knew that it had one,” she said.

“I’d advise you to go back to your mom’s place and see if anything’s tucked away in there,” Maddy said. “You might just be surprised by what you find. He always liked to keep some mad money tucked away there for a rainy day.”

“I doubt you know what you’re talking about, but even if you’re right, you’re not getting a share of whatever I find. You know that, don’t you?”

“I wouldn’t take it even if you tried to give it to me. Whatever you find there is all yours,” Maddy said.

Rebecca pointed at me. “You heard her say that. You’re my witness.” She raced out the door, and in a second she was gone.

Maddy turned to me. “Don’t even say it, Eleanor. You think I’m a sucker, don’t you? You know what? You’re probably right. I should have held out for a share of it, anyway.”

I touched my sister’s shoulder lightly. “You just don’t want anyone to know what a good heart you’ve got, do you?”

“Well, if word got out, I’d hate to ruin my reputation,” she said. “There’s only one thing that bothers me, though.”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“What if I was wrong to tell her about the stash of money we found? Did I just give a murderer enough cash to get away?”

“We’ll deal with that if it ever becomes an issue,” I answered. “Based on what you knew at the time, though, you did the right thing.”

“I hope so,” Maddy answered.

 

“Hey, stranger,” I said when Greg Hatcher came into the pizzeria’s kitchen ten minutes after Rebecca left. “It feels like you’ve been gone a month.”

“It’s been barely a week,” Greg said as he grinned at me, “but I know what you mean. I’ve missed this place.” Greg was tall and broad, a young man with a good heart, but the thing I loved most about him was his loyalty to the Slice, and to my sister and me.

“So, how bad was the exam? Was it a monster?”

“If it was, I think I managed to tame it,” he said. “I understand you’ve been going through your own set of trials and tribulations. How’s Maddy holding up?”

“Didn’t you see her when you came in?” I asked. “If she’s not waiting on customers, I can’t imagine where she might be.”

“She’s out there, all right, laughing and acting as though no one just murdered her ex-husband. That’s the brave face she shows the world, though. I want to know what’s really going on with her.”

“Honestly, I’m not sure it’s even completely sunk in yet. Right now, she’s more concerned about Bob than she is about anything else. He doesn’t have an alibi, and what’s worse, half the town saw him arguing with Grant the night he was murdered.”

“But you two are trying to find the real killer, right?”

“We are,” I admitted.

“Have you had any luck so far?” he asked as he put on his apron.

“We’ve managed to stir things up a bit, but we haven’t found the killer yet.”

“I hate to ask this, but does your sister have a good alibi for the murder?” He looked so troubled asking the question that I was touched by the display of emotion.

“She was with me the entire time, so I suppose in a very real way, we are covering for each other. Bob was by himself, though, and so was David.”

“David? Why would he want to kill Maddy’s ex?”

“He wouldn’t,” I said as I slid a pizza onto the conveyor. “But the police chief still has to consider all of the possibilities, since David was with us, too.”

“Well, it should go without saying, but if there’s anything I can do to help, don’t hesitate to ask. You know that, don’t you?”

“I do, but the reminder is always greatly appreciated. Now, you’d better get to work before my sister skins us both. Would you take this to table seven for me?”

“I’m on it,” he said.

Before Greg could get away, though, I said quickly, “Hey, I meant what I said. It’s good to have you back.”

“Believe me, it’s wonderful to be here. There’s no place I’d rather be.”

 

There was a tap on the kitchen door half an hour later, and then Chief Hurley walked into my kitchen. It was a rare moment when he crossed my threshold, and it was even less likely that he was at A Slice of Delight on a social visit, especially when there was a murderer afoot.

“What can I do for you, Chief?”

“Actually, I’d like to talk to you about something. Do you have a minute?”

“That depends,” I said as I made a calzone and put it on a pizza sheet before I sent it through the oven. “I’m kind of jammed this second, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t talk if you don’t mind me working while we do it. What’s up?”

“I came by to say that you were right and I was wrong,” he said so softly, I nearly missed it.

“Pardon me?” I asked. Did I actually hear what I thought I just heard?

“Eleanor, I won’t say it again,” he said. “You’re going to just have to be content with what you just got.”

“I’ll try,” I said.

“Don’t you want to know what it is that I’m talking about?”

“I’m not sure that I care,” I said. “Just being right is kind of cool.” I hesitated a second, and then I added, “Okay, I have to know. What exactly was I right about?”

“Bernie Maine,” he said softly.

“What about him?”

“He’s gone.”

“Gone? How can he be gone? I thought you were positive that he wouldn’t run.”

“Hold on. We don’t know that for a fact yet. I’m not even sure that he left the area. All I know is that he’s not where he’s supposed to be. The man just dropped out of sight. I’ve got my people looking everywhere for him, and Chief Hudson is doing the same in Cow Spots.”

“Do you think you’ll be able to find him?”

He nodded. “Sooner or later he’ll turn up. I’m sure of it.”

“That’s what you said before, though, wasn’t it?” I said. It was unkind, and what’s more, I knew it the second it left my lips. “Chief, I’m sorry. I had no business saying anything like that at all.”

“It’s forgotten,” Chief Hurley said.

“Is that all you came to tell me?”

“No, there’s something else,” he admitted.