Bacon Cheddar Murder: Book 2 in Papa Pacelli's Pizzeria Series Page 2

  “I’ll go back home and call the sheriff’s station, okay?” she said at last. “You just… wait here.”

  She considered leaving Shannon the flashlight, but knew that she would need it if she had any hope of getting back through the woods alone. Instead, she gave the woman back her phone, then set off alone.

  The walk back through the forest was even more nerve-wracking than the journey in had been. She jumped at every sound, and nearly screamed when her pants snared on some thorns. She kept wondering what Shannon had meant by ‘attacker.’ Had some sort of animal killed Anthony? What could even do that to someone… were there bears in Maine?

  Something about the way she said it makes me think that she wasn’t talking about an animal when she said that she was worried that the attacker would return, she thought. And if they were attacked by a person… then he could still be around here somewhere.

  She shuddered and quickened her pace. None of this felt real to her yet. Half an hour ago, she had been napping in her grandfather’s study. Was she still dreaming? Was all of this—Shannon appearing at her door covered in blood, the dead man, all of it—just some sort of nightmare?

  A branch slipped away from her raised arm and sprang back into her face, whipping her painfully across the cheek. She winced. Definitely not a dream, she thought. It can’t be too much further now, can it? I should be out of the forest soon.

  Sure enough, within moments she found herself out of the trees and back in her grandmother’s yard. The house looked peaceful, completely at odds with the horror she had just experienced in the forest. Feeling relieved, she made her way through the grass and into the kitchen, blinking in the bright artificial light.

  Her cellphone was sitting on the counter next to her purse, where she’d left it when she got home. She grabbed it and, ignoring Bunny, who was sniffing her shoes intently, called the emergency number.

  Within an hour, the house was a bustle of activity. After calling the police, Ellie had woken her grandmother to give the woman a chance to get dressed before people began showing up. Sheriff Ward and his two deputies showed up only minutes later, along with an ambulance and a team of paramedics. Ellie did her best to describe the exact spot where she had left Shannon and the dead man, and was relieved when she was told that she should stay in the house. There was no way that she wanted to go back out in that forest.

  Then came the waiting. Her grandmother made tea, and the paramedics hovered near the ambulance with their walkie-talkies out. After a few minutes, one of them approached the house and told Ellie that a couple of people from the local search and rescue team were on their way.

  “What do you mean?” Ellie asked. “Wasn’t Sheriff Ward able to find them? The place where I left Shannon is only a few minutes’ walk into the forest, right where those two trails meet. I told him.”

  “He found the spot, ma’am,” the paramedic told her. “But there was no one there.”

  She felt her stomach drop. Had the person that had attacked Shannon and her friend returned to finish the job? Had he killed Shannon too? But how would one person have had the time to move both bodies?

  “They’ll find them, ma’am,” the paramedic told her, reading the concern on her face. “The local search and rescue group has good dogs. They’ll find your friend.”

  Ellie believed him. She just hoped that they found her alive.

  She watched from the window as cars began pulling into her yard. Three different vehicles showed up, and two of them were carrying dogs. Ellie saw a German shepherd and some sort of floppy-eared hound dog get unloaded. Then the three people gathered in a small circle for a moment. Eventually they separated, the two dog-and-handler teams heading towards the forest while the third person approached the front stoop.

  “My name is Olivia Malone,” she said as they shook hands. She was a serious-looking woman, maybe a decade younger than Ellie, with long black hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and a walkie-talkie clipped to her belt. She looked tired. “I’m the local search and rescue coordinator and trainer. We have two of our best teams out there right now. They’ll find Shannon.”

  “Thanks so much for coming out here,” Ellie said. “Come in, you can wait inside. Do you know her?”

  “Shannon? She’s done a few pieces about my team for the paper. We’re acquaintances. She seems like a wonderful woman. Very kind and positive-minded.”

  “She is,” Ellie agreed as Olivia came inside. “She’s one of the nicest people I know. I feel so terrible about leaving her out there by herself… but she wouldn’t come with me. I didn’t know what to do.”

  “Don’t blame yourself. I’m sure you did everything you could. Coming back here and calling the police was the right thing to do. At least we’re prepared in case someone is hurt. With two dogs, the sheriff, and two deputies out there searching, it shouldn’t take long.”

  It didn’t. Within ten minutes, Olivia’s walkie-talkie crackled to life.

  “…found…oman,” a voice said through the static. “Code green.”

  “Code green? What does that mean?” Ellie asked. She saw the relief on the other woman’s face.

  “It means she’s alive.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  An Search and Rescue team had found Shannon wandering deeper into the woods, confused and lost. There was still no sign of Anthony’s body, and even when Shannon had calmed down enough to tell her story to the sheriff, she couldn’t shed any light on that particular mystery.

  “I was waiting with him for you to come back,” she said with a glance at Ellie. They were gathered in the kitchen while the search for the body continued. “And then I heard something… footsteps… I was terrified that it was the same person that attacked us before. I ran away without even thinking about where I was going. After a little bit, I began trying to make my way back here, but by then my phone had died and I couldn’t see anything at all. It was terrible.”

  “I’m going to need you to come down to the station with me, Shannon,” the sheriff said. “I need to take an official statement, and get a swab of the blood that’s on your clothes. Are you sure you aren’t injured? Do you want to go to the hospital first?”

  The woman shook her head. “All of the blood is Anthony’s. I have some scratches from running through the woods, but that’s it. I’m ready to go now. The sooner I’m at home with James, the better. Has he been called yet?”

  “I let him know as soon as we found you,” Russell said. “He’ll be waiting at the station.”

  “All right. Let’s get going. Thank you so much, Ellie. I’m sorry for the trouble. I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

  “Don’t worry about it, Shannon. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

  “Do you think it would be all right if I thanked the lady whose dog found me?” Shannon asked, directing this question towards Olivia. “Seeing them come out of the darkness towards me… I can’t even begin to describe the relief that I felt.”

  “Of course,” Olivia said, smiling. “Her name’s Beth, and her dog’s name is Niko. They should still be outside. Follow me; I’ll introduce you.”

  Ellie watched out the window as the sheriff, her friend, and Olivia left. The three of them paused next to a woman who was standing by her car with the German shepherd. Shannon shook the woman’s hand, then crouched down to pet the dog. Even from this distance, Ellie could see the tears on her friend’s face. It had been a crazy night for all of them, but it would have been the worst by far for Shannon—she had witnessed her friend’s death, after all. There were still so many mysteries. Who had attacked them? What had happened to that Tony’s body? Why hadn’t the dogs found him?

  She’s safe, Ellie thought. That’s the most important thing. Everything else can wait until morning.

  The daylight didn’t bring any more answers, however. Ellie, who had suffered through a fitful few hours of sleep after the long and intense night, woke with a pounding headache. She had overslept and was greeted by the screeching of an upset macaw, w
hich didn’t help matters any. Marlowe never liked changes of the routine that Ellie had set up over the past few weeks, and the bird, of course, had no idea that there had been a murder.

  “I think we still have some of those cinnamon oat muffins that Nonna made the other day,” Ellie told the parrot with a sigh as she rubbed her temples. “I’ll give you part of one if you promise not to yell anymore.”

  Marlowe, who knew that word ‘muffin,’ made a quiet and content squawk and perched next to her food bowl to wait. Bunny followed Ellie into the kitchen, her nails pitter-pattering on the hard floor as she danced around, waiting for muffin crumbs to fall as Ellie broke a piece off for the bird. Deciding that the muffin actually looked pretty good, she stuck the rest of it in the microwave for a few seconds, spread a dollop of butter on top, and ate it standing over the sink. It wasn’t the most well-rounded breakfast in the world, but it beat having to cook while she was so out of it.

  Still groggy, she brought the piece of muffin back to the bird cage, slipped it through the bars, then started back upstairs to get dressed for the day. She was halfway up when the landline began to ring.

  She hesitated, tempted to let the call go to voicemail, but concern for her grandmother got the better of her. The elderly woman was already awake and had gone to water therapy, and Ellie didn’t want to chance missing a call from her. With a sigh, she hurried back down the stairs and into the kitchen.

  “Hello?”

  “Ms. Pacelli?” a male voice asked.

  “Yes.” Realizing that Ms. Pacelli could mean either her or her grandmother, she quickly added, “This is Eleanora.”

  “This is Sheriff Ward. I hope I’m not calling too early, but I wanted to catch you before you left for the pizzeria. I’d like to ask you some questions about what happened last night. Do you think you could swing by the station on your way in to work?”

  “Oh… sure.” She glanced at the stove clock. “How long should it take?”

  “Not too long. Plan on about half an hour,” he told her.

  “All right. I should be there at about ten.”

  “Perfect. Thank you for your cooperation, Ms. Pacelli.”

  He hung up, and Ellie slowly put the phone back in its cradle. She should have expected something like this; she had been at the scene of the murder, after all. It was natural for the police to want to ask her some questions. The only problem was that the events of the night before seemed all jumbled up to her now. Her memories of it were a mess of flashing lights and dark trees. It seemed more like a nightmare than like something that had really happened to her. Would she be able to get her thoughts in order in time to give the sheriff the answers he wanted?

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Kittiport’s sheriff’s department was located right across from the marina. It was a small building, with none of the security that Ellie had grown used to in the big city. She walked in the door and told the woman behind the desk that she was there to see Sheriff Ward. The woman, Carilyn, asked her to take a seat.

  While she was waiting, Ellie checked her phone. She had sent Shannon a text message shortly before heading out the door, asking how she was doing. She had yet to receive an answer.

  Though she knew that her friend was likely still recovering from the events of the night before, she couldn’t help but feel worried. Shannon was always on her phone, and to go this long without a reply from her felt odd. Was it possible that she had been hurt worse than she’d let on the night before? The thought sent a new spike of anxiety through Ellie. Shannon had been absolutely covered in blood when she saw her. The other woman had insisted that it was all her friend’s, but what if she had been lying?

  Why would she lie about something like that? Ellie thought. If she was hurt, why wouldn’t she tell me? She sighed. There were still so many questions she had about the previous night. If luck was with her, Sheriff Ward might be able to answer some of them today.

  It wasn’t long before a door opened and she was summoned back. The sheriff looked tired, and she suspected that he was wearing the same clothes that he had been wearing last night. Did he get any sleep? she wondered.

  “Ms. Pacelli. Thanks for stopping in. Will you take a seat?”

  She settled herself into one of the worn leather armchairs across the desk from the sheriff’s seat. The window behind him looked out into the sheriff’s department parking lot, and beyond that the brick side of a dry cleaner’s building. It was a bleak view, and she didn’t blame him for setting up his office so his back would be to it.

  “What can I help you with?” she asked, wondering why she felt nervous. It wasn’t like she was a suspect here. “Did you find the body?”

  “No,” he said. “We’re still searching. But if there’s a body to be found, we’ll find it.”

  If there’s a body to be found? Does he think we’re lying about Anthony? She frowned, and was about to ask him aloud when her spoke again.

  “Right now I just want you to go over the evening again. Don’t leave out any detail, no matter how small. What you saw, what you heard… everything. I’ll save my questions until the end—I won’t interrupt you unless I need you to repeat something or go deeper into detail about something. Can you do that for me?”

  She nodded, then fell silent for a moment to gather her thoughts. At last she began with the moment that she woke up in her grandfather’s study and heard the scream.

  Telling the story took a while, but Russell remained true to his word and did not interrupt her until she reached the part where she and Shannon found Anthony’s body. There he held up a hand to pause the story and asked her questions about the scene. Ellie struggled to remember what the dead man had been wearing, or if there had been any footprints around the body. In the end she answered the questions as best she could, but mentally kicked herself for not remembering more. It was mostly a blur to her now.

  Once she had finished telling the story up to the point where he arrived, he began asking her more direct questions. These were easier to answer, and she felt herself relax a bit. It seemed like the worst of it was out of the way.

  “Were you aware that Shannon was planning on meeting somebody near your home?”

  “What? No, of course not. I had no idea,” she said.

  “Did you know Anthony Reeves personally?”

  “No. I have no idea who he is… or was.”

  “Why did you leave Shannon at the crime scene when you returned home to call the ambulance?”

  “I told you. She was hysterical and wouldn’t leave him.”

  “According to your story, she had already mentioned the attacker at that point. Weren’t you worried for her safety?”

  “Of course I was,” Ellie said, stung. Maybe she hadn’t made the smartest decisions last night, but at least she had tried. From the moment she had seen Shannon at her doorway, covered in blood, she had gone into panic mode. Did he really expect her to be thinking clearly? “But she wouldn’t leave Anthony, and the cellphone didn’t have any service out there. All I could think was that I needed to call an ambulance, or the police… or somebody. Anybody.”

  He nodded and made a note. “Did you see anybody suspicious on your street earlier that day, or see any signs of anyone else while you were in the woods?”

  “No. The only other person I saw was Anthony, and he… well, he had already passed away by the time I got there.”

  “I see.” He made another scribble on his notepad, his brow furrowed. Ellie searched her memory for any other tidbits that might be helpful, but she couldn’t think of anything. A glance at her phone showed her that she had to be at the pizzeria in ten minutes. She was just about to ask him if she could take off when she heard raised voices in the hall.

  She craned her head around to look towards the door to Russell’s office just as it banged open. Standing in the hall was James Ward, Russell’s brother and Shannon’s husband. His face was beet red, and his fists were clenched.

  “What’s your problem?” he said, his
voice loud. “What’re you going after my wife for, Russ?”

  “James, calm down,” Russell said. His tone was mild, but Ellie could see the muscles in his jaw tense. “I’m not going after anyone. I’m just doing my job.”

  “She told me the sorts of questions you were asking her. I may not have a degree in criminal justice like you do, but I’m not an idiot. You’re treating her like a suspect. My wife, Russ, and your sister-in-law.”

  “I have to look at her just like I would look at anyone else in this situation. She was the last one to see the body. If there’s any chance that she moved it—”

  “Shannon can barely lift a bag of dog food on her own! How the heck is she supposed to carry a body?” James slammed his fist into the wall, his teeth gritted. “My wife is innocent, Russell. You’d best quit wasting your time with her and start looking for the real culprit before they come back to finish the job. If she gets hurt, it’s on you.”

  With that, he turned and strode out of the room. Ellie was stunned into silence. She gave Sheriff Ward a wide-eyed look. The few times she had met James since moving back, he had seemed nice and soft-spoken. It was amazing to see the change that came out in him when he was trying to protect his wife.

  “He’s a good husband,” Russell said at last, his eyes on the hallway where his brother had been just moments ago. “That, however, was a conversation that should have been held in private. I’m sorry you had to see that.” He heaved a sigh, looking more tired than ever. “You’re free to leave, Ms. Pacelli. I’ll give you a call if I have any more questions.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  Ellie was running a few minutes behind when she pulled into the lot behind the pizzeria. Despite the fact that she was late, she let the car idle in the parking spot for a few moments while she thought about everything she had heard at the sheriff’s department. Did Russell really think his sister-in-law had something to do with the murder? It seemed absurd. Shannon wouldn’t hurt a fly, she thought. That wasn’t even hyperbole—Ellie had actually seen her friend open the door to shoo a fly out instead of swatting it.