Pepperoni Pizza Can Be Murder Read Online Free PDF Page A

have a crack at it.
    But I couldn’t help feeling nauseous when I realized that someone I knew had threatened me with a gun and had taken all my cash.
     
    Maddy was waiting by the front door of her apartment, and as I got out of the car, she flashed her lights for me.
    I walked up the stairs, fighting the irrational urge to run. Until that moment, I hadn’t fully realized just how terrified I was. Stress was like that for me sometimes, hitting me with a delayed reaction long after I was out of danger. It took everything I had not to keep looking behind me, afraid I might see that masked gunman again.
    My sister didn’t say a word; she just wrapped me in an embrace the second I reached her. “I’m so glad you’re all right. We’ve got to come up with a better way to handle our money.”
    “I know,” I said as I disengaged myself from her grasp. “Kevin suggested we buy a safe, and said that we should make afternoon deposits instead of night drops. For once, I have to agree with him.”
    “Hey, even a broken clock is right twice a day,” she said with a smile. “Why should the chief of police be wrong every time he says something? Come on in, I’ve got some hot chocolate simmering on the stovetop.”
    “I said I wasn’t in the mood for a party, and that includes those famous chocolate bombardment bashes you’re so famous for.”
    “This is just a little toddy to help you sleep,” she said. “Hot cocoa always did have that effect on you.”
    “Sure, okay, that sounds good.”
    I took the mug she offered and sipped it gratefully. It was warm, but not too hot to savor, and just holding the toasty mug in my hand made me feel better.
    “Was it horrible?” Maddy asked softly.
    “It was pretty scary,” I admitted.
    She nodded, as if that was enough. “Then there’s no reason to talk about it. Let’s change the subject, shall we?”
    “I’m all out of topics of conversation,” I said.
    “That’s all right,” she said with a laugh. “We both know that I can more than monopolize any conversation.”
    I laughed along with her, and realized that coming to her place had been the perfect decision. Maddy had her faults—I knew them more than anyone else, even her ex-husbands—but she loved me, and she could nearly always make me smile, a rare enough event on days like today.
    After the hot chocolate was gone, I stifled a yawn, then excused myself and made my way to her guest bedroom. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to sleep after what had happened, but to my surprise, I was out before my head hit the pillow.
     
    There was a note on the door of the Slice when we opened the next morning. My hands shook a little as I opened it, but I was relieved to see that it was from David Quinton: Eleanor. You weren’t home last night. Call me as soon as you get this. David.
    Maddy asked, “Who is that from?”
    “Nobody,” I said as I started to crumple it up and put it in my pocket.
    “Come on, don’t hold out on me,” she said, and snatched it out of my hand.
    She read the note aloud as I unlocked the door. “I think it’s sweet.”
    “You would,” I said as I started to lock up behind us.
    She followed me to the kitchen, where I immediately started making our dough for the day. As I got out the ingredients, she asked, “What are you doing?”
    “I don’t know. I figure there’s a good chance that somebody’s going to want pizza today, so I figured I’d better make some dough. I’m kind of crazy that way sometimes.”
    She shook her head. “You know what I mean. Before you do anything else, you need to call David.”
    I ignored her suggestion and continued working on the dough. “You can call him if you want to, but I’ve got work to do.”
    “Eleanor, it’s clear that he’s worried about you.” She grabbed the telephone and shoved it toward me. “It will just take two seconds.”
    “You don’t honestly think that, do you? Even if it were true, it’s two seconds I don’t want to