“How would you like to make a hundred bucks?” the man asked as he approached Josh.
“Who do I have to kill?” Josh asked with a smile.
“Nobody. At least I hope not. Come over here. I’d like you to meet my daughter.”
Josh took a step back. “Mister, I don’t know what you have in mind, but I don’t want to be any part of it. I’m not going to date your daughter for money.”
“Date? Who said anything about dating? She’s too young for that.”
Maybe in her dad’s eyes, but it was clear that the young lady was instantly smitten with Josh, if the way she was looking at him was any indication.
“What do I have to do, then?”
“Can you drive?”
“Like a pro,” Josh said proudly.
“Then teach her.”
Josh looked at me and asked, “Is he serious?”
“He is, but you might want to think about it before you say yes.”
Josh turned back to the man. “You don’t even know me. Why are you willing to entrust your daughter to me?”
“I recognized you the second you walked through the door. You’re the police chief’s son,” the man said quickly. “I’ve heard good things about you.”
I was willing to bet that he would have let Rasputin teach his daughter if it meant that he didn’t have to. “You can always say no,” I told Josh.
“I don’t think so.” He stuck a hand toward the man and said, “Mister, you’ve got yourself a deal.”
“Excellent. Here are the keys. Don’t worry about me. I’ll get a ride back home on my own.”
Josh was clearly puzzled by this reaction. “I’d like to help you out, Sir, but I’ve got to work my shift. Sorry.”
The man wasn’t about to accept that, though. He looked at me and said, “I’ll pay you for an hour of his time. Please don’t say no. If you want me to, I’ll wait tables and wash dishes while they’re gone. I’m begging you. I’m desperate.”
I just couldn’t bring myself to say no. I nodded, and Josh walked over to the young woman. “How would you like a driving lesson?”
“With you? Absolutely,” she said. “Thanks, Daddy,” she said quickly as she and Josh left.
Maddy had been listening to the whole exchange. “Well done, Eleanor. You just blew a sale for us.”
“I’ll cover it gladly,” the man said as he pulled out his wallet. He gave me two twenties and then put a hundred on top of them. “That will cover the lesson, the bill, and his wages. Are we square?”
“We are,” I said as I collected the money. “Can one of us at least give you a ride home?”
“Are you kidding? I’m walking. Ha ha ha ha. Walking. How wonderful.”
Once he was gone, I started having second thoughts about the arrangement. “Do you think Josh is going to be okay?”
“From the way that girl was looking at him, I think he’ll be fine. What an odd dad he was.”
“Remember Dad teaching us how to drive?” I reminded my sister.
“He thought we were trying to give him a heart attack,” Maddy said.
“Then you’ve heard his song before, too.”
I kept watching the door of the pizzeria as the hour nearly ended, and once, when I heard an ambulance in the distance, I nearly jumped out of my skin. Ten minutes after the hour lapsed, I was about to call Kevin Hurley and admit what I’d done, but just then Josh walked into the pizzeria with a grin on his face. “That was the easiest hundred I’ve ever made. He said you were holding it for me.”
I slipped him the hundred and then added a twenty, as well.
He looked at the money and asked, “Hey, what’s the bonus for?”
“Hazard pay,” I said with a smile. “How bad was she?”
“I don’t know what he was talking about. She’s really very good. I even let her drive to her house, and I caught a ride back here with her dad. He was falling all over himself, he was so happy.”
“Do you have any more lessons planned?” Maddy asked.
“First thing Saturday morning, we’re going out for three hours. Wow, I never dreamed that making money could be this easy.”
“You’re not gouging him, are you?” I asked.
“I tried to tell him he was paying me too much, but the man wouldn’t listen. He’s really an odd bird.” Josh spotted a table that needed to be cleaned. “Well, I’d better get to work. Thanks for the job, Eleanor.”
“You’re welcome, I think,” I said.
I didn’t know why I was always surprised when unusual things happened at my pizza place, but I was.