Murder Sliced to Perfection Read online

  “I’m late for my hair appointment,” Greta said, reaching for her purse. “I need to look my best for the service tonight.” She patted Gia’s cheek, then left.

  Gia started replenishing the refrigerated toppings station, but soon stopped to turn to Julian who was replenishing the soda machine’s carbonated water.

  “Do you think the killer will be in attendance?” she asked.

  “They just might! That’s what always happens in TV shows.” Julian finished what he was doing and stepped over to Gia with a gossip-hungry look in his eye. “Freya from The Book Nook came in earlier and said she heard that Olivia Duncan is going to be there. By the way, your cousin Jennie voted for Tony’s crab cake. I didn’t want to tell you earlier—”

  “Hold on.” Gia stopped. “Olivia is going to the service?”

  “It appears so.”

  “Interesting.” She chewed her full bottom lip.

  Gia’s phone dinged for the second time that night. It was Jennie. Did you win? she asked.

  No, Gia replied. It was a tie.

  No thanks to you, she wanted to add, recalling Julian’s gossip, but was interrupted by another ding. Jennie had typed, Come outside. To your right! Hurry!

  “I’m done with my shift, Julian,” Gia said, hurrying for the door. “See you tomorrow!”

  “Tsk, you’re forgetting something,” Julian said with a dry, chastising tone.

  “Huh?” Gia whipped around. “What is it?”

  Julian tapped at his name badge showcasing a piece of masking tape with a new name written over it.

  “I’m sorry, Midnight Shimmer,” she replied without batting an eye. “See you tomorrow!”

  “Ciao!” Julian resumed work.

  Outside, Gia’s eyes darted all around, wondering if her cousin were in danger. Or maybe she simply had some juicy new detail about the murder case from Detective Evans.

  Gia soon spotted Jennie, however, looking carefree, talking with a man other than Evans. They were exiting a coffee shop and holding hands. Jennie looked gorgeous in her red little dress that slinked over her statuesque body.

  With her best acting abilities, Jennie pretended to look up and run into Gia by accident. “Gia! Oh, Mark, that’s my cousin. Come meet her.” They quickened their pace.

  Gia touched her curls, making sure she had taking off the hairnet she had worn during the cooking competition. This was not the best moment for making good impressions.

  “Gia, this is Mark. Mark, this is Gia.” Jennie introduced. Mark was a dark-haired man dressed in a stylish suit. Gia was blinded by his white teeth, even in the dark of night. He was a handsome man, who—from what Jennie had told her—hid a six-pack of abs under his expensive dress shirt.

  Gia shook Mark’s smooth hand.

  “I’m sorry we haven’t met sooner,” he said. “My schedule has been a little hectic.” He smiled apologetically , then added, “You’ve got quite the food blog. Scarlett very much enjoyed the tortellini spinach soup recipe you posted last week.”

  Gia’s jaw dropped. Jennie’s expression matched hers.

  “The Scarlett Bloomfield?” Jennie looked faint. “Ate Gia’s tortellini soup?”

  Mark laughed at Jennie’s dramatics.

  “Yes. Scarlett’s fitness trainer had her on a thirteen-day Brussels sprouts juicing detox. And when it ended yesterday, she demanded something that was creamy and soul-hugging.” Mark shrugged. “Her exact words. And that’s what her personal assistant searched for.”

  “Wow.” Gia was thrilled her blog was reaching people far and wide. “I credit my mom,” she said. “It was her recipe—”

  “Do you know what this means?” Jennie practically shouted. “Scarlett could tell some popular magazine or reporter about how awesome your blog is. You could be famous!”

  Gia grimaced. Fame wasn’t what she was after. Through In The Box bistro’s windows, Tony appeared next to the three wiping tables. With a flick of his tan, muscular wrist, he put chairs upside down on those tables. His movements were fluid and swift. In seconds more, chairs went up without a struggle, like feathers in the air. Gia noticed she was a part of three pairs of eyes watching him.

  “Beautiful,” Jennie whispered.

  “Specimen,” Mark finished.

  As if hearing them, Tony furrowed his brow and glanced up. Jennie quickly spun away. Mark began examining his nails. Gia was caught. Tony winked at her, then swung the soiled rag over his shoulder before sauntering into the kitchen.

  “He’s got it bad,” Jennie said, giving Gia a knowing look.

  She rolled her eyes and untied her apron. “I’ll see you later,” she said as she walked past them, headed in the opposite direction.

  “She’s got it bad,” she heard Jennie say.

  <<<>>>

  After a shower, Gia braided her wet hair into a French twist. She’d take it out before meeting Tony for dinner. Having it dry in a twisted braid made her mid-length hair wavy and bouncy.

  For the service, she shimmed into a sleeveless black shift dress that stopped mid-thigh, and slipped on a pair of black ballet flats.

  “I’ll be back to change for dinner tonight with Tony and Jade,” she told Petey.

  Hearing his best friend’s name, Petey’s ears perked up. Gia filled his water and food bowl, then put on the Animal Channel. She checked to make sure there weren’t any lion documentaries coming on while she’d be gone. Not that Petey was frightened by the big cats. It was just, after an hour of watching the feline beasts, Petey started to act like them, pretending Gia’s fluffy striped slippers were zebras. He would stalk her feet the whole night before pouncing on them.

  It was cute. Kinda scary.

  Stonevich and Son funeral home was packed. Gia had to park across the street. She merged into the large crowd walking into the two-story building. Inside, it smelled of too many bodies (live ones) and perfumed flowers. She stood in a corner in the carpeted foyer, hoping to catch someone she knew.

  Jennie and Mark caught her attention, waving at her. Jennie was standing with her mom, Aunt Kendra, dad, and older brothers. Aunt Kendra was yapping away to Jennie, who looked distressed.

  Jennie noticed Gia and pulled out her cell phone. S. O. S.

  Gia thought it would be the right thing to save her cousin from her mother. There were times in Gia’s life when she needed someone to shield her from her own mom.

  In this case...

  Gia texted back:

  Should have voted for my cod sandwich

  The back of Gia’s neck burned from the lasers her cousin shot as she headed towards Brad.

  Mean? Sure. Wrong? No doubt.

  Would it come back to bite her in the butt? Oh, absolutely. But her cousin’s vote would have won her the competition.

  Brad and Mark managed to snag a spot to sit at the back. Along the walls of the large viewing room, long covered tables held dozens of trays of sandwiches. Friends of Gordy had made their own deli-styled sandwiches and brought platters to pay tribute to him.

  “Hey,” said a deep voice. Gia smiled up at Tony and managed to scoot over enough to give him a seat. His trouser-clad thigh and jacket-sleeved arm pressed against Gia’s bare skin. She willed the frantic butterflies in her stomach to stop freaking out, and grabbed Brad’s service pamphlet, fanning her heated face. Tony shifted and tightened his jaw. He was well aware of the reaction to his close proximity.

  Does she realize I feel the same? he thought.

  “Full house,” he stated, scanning the room. Gia nodded and craned her neck to see the front. People were packed into pews; others stood in the sides.

  The middle aisle remained clear.

  Not ten minutes later, Jennie had managed to escape her family and tapped Gia’s elbow. “Olivia Duncan just walked in.”

  7

  Gia—and, it seemed, everyone—pivoted their heads and watched a mousy, pale woman with long brown hair take a spot beside a sandwich table. She wore a black ankle skirt and a thick black knitted poncho.
She faced the front of the room, eyes partially curtained by straggly uneven bangs, not making contact with anyone.

  “Creeeeepy,” Jennie said out of the corner of his mouth.

  Reverend Billings gave a brief, heartwarming eulogy, and Gordy’s old high school friends shared good times. They got everyone laughing and wiping away tears of sadness, replacing them with joy. Gordy lived a simple but fulfilled life. He graced the town with fresh, Grade- A quality meat—carving each hunk of pork, beef, chicken, or turkey like a sculptor. Behind the counter each day of the week, he served deliciously layered sandwiches, premium cut cheeses, and damn good diced ham-macaroni salad.

  “Gordy was a superb employee. He never slacked off. He wasn’t lazy when it came time to replacing spoiled supplies with new ones. He never mouthed off to authority figures or customers. He was a small-town boy, born and raised, who was polite and treated everyone with respect.” This came from the deli owner himself, Danny Mendoza. Stating that the deli would live on, and in memory of Gordy, Danny named the famously colossal four-and-a-half-pound skyscraper-high roast beef, turkey, salami, and lettuce sandwich after Gordy. The Gordzilla. The deli had lost a valuable soldier.

  And so had the town’s backgammon club.

  Apparently, Gordy was a phenomenal player.

  Brian Fitzgerald walked to the podium.

  “Um... I-I’d like to thank everybody f-for coming out this evening to honor mm-my brother.” He paused to clear his throat and run a shaky hand through his thinning blond hair. Though Gia sat several rows back, Brian’s red-rimmed eyes and disheveled appearance weren’t hard to miss.

  The death of his younger brother had rocked him to the core. Gia let out a shaky breath, thinking she wouldn’t—no, couldn’t—do what Brian was doing. If she lost a family member, she’d take residence in her closet and be in a fetal position around Petey’s furry body. The sun would never shine the same for her. Tony reached over and entwined his fingers through hers, lightly rubbing his thumb along her skin.

  He always knew what she was thinking. She was grateful to have him in her life. She squeezed his hand, thinking his last funeral was that of his mother, Rose.

  “I... Guh-Gordy—” Brian gazed at a large closeup photo of his younger brother encircled by flowers. He choked on a sob.

  “This is brutal,” Brad whispered. Reverend Billings placed a hand on Brian’s shoulder and said something in his ear. Brian shook his head. “I-I can’t. I’m sorry.” He stepped away from the podium and walked through a side door leading out to the parking lot.

  Stonevich senior followed him. Low murmurs clouded the room. Gia glanced at Olivia. At one point during the service, she had pushed aside her bangs. Her eyes openly glared at a red-haired woman, wearing a maroon wrap-around scarf, sitting a few feet away who silently wept into a handkerchief.

  What was that about?

  Stonevich senior returned without Brian. Everyone grew silent as Stonevich waited behind the podium.

  “Mr. Fitzgerald would like us to continue the service while he mourns in private. In honor of his wishes, please help yourselves to food and drinks provided.”

  Tony, Gia, Jennie, and Mark filed out of their row, as did everyone else. In no time, lines formed at the tables. Heads bent close to each other. Low mumbles and shifting of eyes commenced. Jennie, with Mark in tow, left to go show her date. Tony placed a hand on the small of Gia’s back and asked if she would like anything to drink.

  “Yes, thank you.” She saw Danny Mendoza looking grim, talking to Detective Evans in a secluded corner.

  “The missing knife is one of his,” Molly Anderson said, coming up to stand beside Gia, swaying a little. Polly and Dolly joined, frowning at their sister. Molly’s face was flushed, and she kept squinting as if to regain focus.

  “Mrs. Robinson slipped something fierce into several punch bowls.” Polly scrunched her nose. The goofy grin on Molly’s face proved she had dipped into her fair share. Molly was the rebel of the Anderson trio. While Polly acted as mother hen, Dolly liked to stay out of the spotlight.

  “Good evening, Gia.” Polly pulled her attention away from her tipsy sister and smiled.

  “Good evening, Ms. Anderson.” Gia went back to Molly’s comment. “How does Danny know one of his knives was used?” A knife is a knife, she thought. Were they labeled with little stickers with his name on it?

  “Danny had his name specially engraved into each handle.” Polly explained.

  Oh.

  “Mr. Mendoza also has them numbered and documented into a system,” Dolly nodded. “Checks them every night before he locks up.”

  “Could one of the deli’s employees be the killer?” Gia asked. Dolly pursed her lips in thought.

  “I don’t think so. Everyone knows Mr. Mendoza treats those knives like they’re the wings of an angel,” she said. “Stealing one of them would cause him to cry out to the heavens, and if an employee did kill Gordy and take the knife—this puts heat on the deli and, eventually, on the killer himself.”

  “Certainly, the killer doesn’t want that type of attention,” Gia mused.

  Molly hiccupped loudly and stumbled away, nearly taking down a young couple and an elderly woman. Polly and Dolly quickly scurried after her. Tony came back, plastic cups in hand.

  “Is she...?” He arched a brow and handed Gia a cup with bright red liquid.

  “Yep,” she chuckled.

  “Nice,” Tony grinned. Gia cautiously sniffed her potentially tampered drink, only smelling fruitiness. She took a sip.

  Olivia stormed past, heading towards the door. Discreetly, Gia took out her phone and texted Jennie.

  I think Olivia is leaving. I want to talk to her. She’s headed your way.

  Jennie responded: No problem. I’m in pursuit.

  Gia watched Jennie follow Olivia out the double doors and into the funeral home’s foyer.

  “I’ll be right back.” She handed Tony her cup.

  “Wait, G—”

  She managed to intercept Jennie before he caught up with Olivia. “Hold on, I don’t want to ambush and scare her,” she said. “I just want to simply ask her a few questions regarding Gordy.”

  “Me, too. You’re not the only one that can pretend to be an incompetent sleuth.”

  Incompetent? “I thought I was doing well,” Gia huffed.

  Jennie lifted a shoulder. “Meh.”

  “Well, then. What are you going to ask her?”

  “If she killed Gordy.” Her eyes searched for Olivia. “In fact, I’m pretty sure she did it.”

  “What makes you think that? There’s no tangible evidence indicating Olivia did do it,” Gia explained. “Just because she left a creepy note and a knife at Gordy’s house doesn’t mean she killed him—”

  “Exactly!” Jennie pointed a finger at Gia’s nose, making her eyes go cross. “What if Olivia’s actions were just that? An act. I was talking to Mark about it and he agrees. He’s got enough experience to know what’s real and what’s fake.”

  “He’s a coffee runner!”

  “For actors. My point—”

  “Oh, so you do have one” Gia crossed her arms “—is, now people will just write her off as an attention seeker and will never question her again. In truth, Olivia really did kill Gordy. Meanwhile, months have passed, and the cops are still scratching their heads while Olivia is sittin’ pretty in a seaside bungalow in JewelCove drinking pig’s blood from a coconut.”

  WHAT?!

  Gia glanced back into the viewing room. She did a double take when she spotted the red-haired woman whom Olivia was glaring at earlier, talking with Tony in a corner, her hand on his arm. Seconds ticked by, and she still hadn’t removed it. Facing Gia, Red was an attractive woman with strikingly bright blue eyes and full, painted lips.

  Gia felt her scalp itch. She continued to watch—her gut clenching—when Tony bowed his head closer to the attractive woman.

  “Come on, before she gets away!” Jennie grabbed Gia’s arm, tearing her
away from the scene and out into the parking lot where Olivia was getting into a dark vehicle.

  “Excuse us. Hi! Olivia, right?” Jennie flashed a charming smile.

  Olivia looked suspicious, glancing back and forth between Jennie and Gia.

  “Do I know you?” she asked.

  Without missing a beat, Brad answered, “No, we just wanted to give our condolences.”

  “Okaaay.” Olivia still looked unsure.

  “We heard you and Gordy were an item,” Jennie clarified.

  Gia bit down hard on the inside of her cheek. Where was Jennie going with this?

  Olivia swallowed, looking down at her feet. She was quiet for a long moment.

  Gia thought the small woman was going to start crying but was mistaken when Olivia whipped her head back up, eyes blazing.

  “Gordy and I weren’t an item,” she snapped. “He never had eyes for me.” Olivia’s bottom lip trembled. “Gordy may have been the humble and nice man everyone claims he was, but deep down he was just a pig.”

  Gia heard Jennie snort and elbowed him in his side.

  “How so?” Gia’s curiosity meter blew through the roof. This was the first time anyone had spoken ill of Gordy.

  “He was a superficial and selfish jerk! Just like every other man walking on the planet. I mean, look at me!” Olivia gestured to herself. “He never wanted a woman like me.”

  Brad frowned, clearly confused. “What type of woman did Gordy want?”

  Olivia banged her hand on the car door, causing Gia and Jennie to jump.

  “A supermodel. A full-figured woman.” Her face twisted in disgust. “A woman like Honey Tucker,” Olivia spat out.

  “Who?”

  “Gordy’s girlfriend.” Olivia got into her car and zoomed out of the parking lot, nearly clipping several vehicles on the way out. Brad rocked on his heels.

  “I told you there was going to be drama.” Gia rolled her eyes. She could safely assume Honey Tucker was the woman Olivia had been shooting daggers at during the service.