After a moment’s pause, he asked, “Might I ask why?”
“David, you were by yourself last night, just the same as Bob was. You could have had time to kill Grant and get over to my house without being seen, too.”
He looked shocked by my statement. “But why would I do that? Eleanor, surely you don’t think I’m capable of something like that.”
“I didn’t say that I thought that you did it,” I hurried to reply. “I’m just saying that if folks find out that you’re helping us, they might begin to wonder if you’re just trying to cover your own tracks in this investigation.”
“The same thing could be said of you and Maddy,” David said calmly.
“David, honestly, that’s not fair,” Bob said.
“Actually, it’s spot on,” I admitted, “but the people around Timber Ridge are getting so used to Maddy and me digging into murder that I honestly believe it would make them more suspicious of us if we didn’t look into what happened to Grant.”
David frowned at me for a moment, eased up on it a bit, and then turned to Bob. “Come on, my friend. Let’s get out of here and get a bite to eat somewhere else. It appears that our use to these ladies is strictly as ornamental arm candy.”
“I don’t know how I feel about being referred to that way,” Bob said a little reluctantly.
“Relish it,” David said with a grin. “That’s what I’m planning to do.”
“It’s not like that. Honestly, it isn’t,” I protested, but David just winked at me as he led Bob out of the kitchen.
Maddy came back a few minutes later. “What happened, Eleanor? Can’t I leave you alone for two minutes? Did you just throw them out of the Slice?”
“No, it was nothing like that,” I said. I explained to her what had transpired and the reasons behind my actions; it took her a few seconds to consider the implications.
“You’re right,” she finally said, “but I have a feeling that we’re going to have to mend some fences when this is all over.”
“Has there ever been a time when we haven’t had to do that?” I asked.
“No, we do seem to cut a wide swath on occasion, don’t we? Anyway, here are two more orders to fill.”
“Why are we suddenly so popular?” I asked as I took the slips from Maddy.
“I have no idea, but I don’t want to question it. We can use the money, right?”
I laughed. “Always. I’m afraid that we’re not going to be able to go over those papers until after work, though. Feel like another sleepover at my place tonight?”
She nodded. “It’s the best we can do. I’ll go by my apartment on the way to your place and pick up a few things.”
“Sounds good,” I said as I pulled out more dough to warm as I started making one of the deep-dish pizzas I’d neglected on my menu for so long. I’d started producing them on special order for one customer from up North, but they had caught on and were now a part of my regular menu. “In the meantime, let’s make some money.”
“You’ve got it,” she said.
Thankfully, the night shift at the pizzeria was without incident, and we managed to keep a good crowd there until the time we closed.
After we cleaned up and sent Josh on his way, Maddy and I locked up and started walking down the promenade toward the shortcut to where our cars were parked. As I turned to look at Maddy, I saw that her gaze was drawn to the crime-scene tape draped near the big bushes by the stage from the show the night before.
“I can’t believe that it all just happened yesterday,” she said as we neared the shortcut. “It feels like it was weeks ago.”
“A lot has happened since then,” I said in agreement.
At least we didn’t have to walk past the spot where the murder had occurred. I was still staring at it when I saw a flickering light coming from the dense bushes.
“What was that?” I asked as I grabbed my sister’s arm.
“What was what?”
“I swear I just saw a light on the other side of those bushes,” I said, lowering my voice as I said it.
Maddy looked where I had been staring out for a few seconds before she spoke. “Eleanor, I don’t see anything.”
“It was there. I swear it was.”
“I believe you, Sis,” she said as she started in the direction of the crime scene.
“Hang on a second,” I said. “Let’s think about this. How can this be anything but bad for us if we go back there and find someone involved with Grant’s murder?”
“You’re not losing your nerve, are you, Sis?” she asked me.