Murder Sliced to Perfection Page 6

  At night.

  During the day.

  In her car.

  In the middle of a tornado...

  “If you’re thinking I invited Honey, you’re dead wrong,” Tony hissed.

  “Actually, I wasn’t.” Gia shrugged. “It’s none of my business.”

  “Come on, G. You know I would never let anyone come between what we have here,” he said.

  The spot above Gia’s eyebrow began to throb again. What exactly do we have? she thought. It sure as hell didn’t feel like just a couple of plain-Jane friends shooting’ the breeze while their dogs played Let’s See Who Assassinates the Most Frogs!

  “Friends” didn’t try to kiss each other.

  To Gia’s horror, she hadn’t realized what she was thinking was actually coming out of her mouth. They both stared wide-eyed, chests heaving, standing frozen in place. She couldn’t read Tony’s expression. He completely shut her out.

  “Maybe we shouldn’t be friends,” he said quietly. “Maybe we— G!”

  Gia had whipped away, refusing to stop, heading for the door. Outside, she scooped up Petey, brushing past Tucker. She almost gagged, going through a cloud of perfume the woman was wearing.

  Tears threatened to spill. Gia wanted to believe it was because of Tucker’s harsh chemical odor.

  Goodbye, beautiful homemade gelato. Hello, cheap store-bought vanilla ice cream.

  <<<>>>

  The next day at In the Box, Gia remained outside at the bistro’s cobblestone patio, refilling customers’ cups with lemonade and limeade. When her pitchers ran dry, she breezed through the restaurant to the fridge, head down, not looking in the direction of the long front serving counter where Tony was fulfilling orders. She did the same on the way out.

  “New girl, I don’t know what’s going on with you,” Julian said, handing out food to a large family with three small adorable kids. Gia smiled and chuckled when they clapped and cheered as baskets of mini hot dogs and grapes were placed in front of them.

  Food got people excited.

  Nothing wrong with that.

  “What do you mean?” she asked.

  Julian guided her away. “You tell me,” he said, tilting his head. “And don’t feign ignorance. It’s not attractive.”

  When she didn’t immediately answer, he asked, “Is this about Tony?”

  “Uh…Yes?” she said, even though Julian wasn’t the best person to confide in. And that was an understatement.

  “New girl.” He cupped her face, surprising Gia, but she went with it. “If something is bothering you, don’t be afraid to lay it on me.”

  Gia bit her lip, a natural tell of hers when she was either nervous or troubled. She didn’t want to divulge anything more, but it was like a weird cosmic moment was happening between her and the Brony. His eyes looked big and sympathetic. Doe-like. Or was that pony-like? She felt she could see her soul reflecting back in them, staring at her.

  “You have feelings for him, don’t you?”

  10

  “I KNEW IT!” Julian jumped up and down, drawing attention.

  “Quit it! People are staring.” Gia tugged at his shirt.

  “The second I saw you two together, here at the bistro, having an awkward moment, I knew you were a goner.” Julian grinned. “At first I wasn’t too sure about him—granted, he was suspected of murder at the time! And he was obviously interested in you. I wanted to protect you.”

  “I remember,” Gia said dryly through clenched teeth.

  Now people were definitely listening. Gia dragged the small man inside and through the kitchen’s swinging door.

  “Uh-huh! Watch it, you two!” Greta warned, taking out a fresh batch of oven fries. “I’m on a roll here. Don’t mess me up. But if you’re talking about something juicy then be sure to speak loud and clear. I don’t wanna miss anything.”

  “Gia’s in love!”

  “JULIAN!” Gia spat, then corrected with a growl, “I mean Midnight Shimmer.”

  He and Greta fist-pumped the air and shook their bottoms. Gia pinched her arm and counted to ten...

  ...Nope. She wasn’t still in bed, wallowing in this year’s number-one-ranked weirdest dream.

  “I didn’t say that,” she snapped. Her jumping-flea-circus feelings confused her, but in love? She was not. That was for certain... Right?

  “I hear no denying it, girlie.” Greta waved a pair of tongs.

  “She and Tony haven’t talked all morning,” Julian said. “They’ve been walking on eggshells around each other. Something happened,” he mused, “that I so sadly wasn’t there to witness.”

  “There wasn’t anything to watch to begin with,” Gia muttered.

  Julian continued, ignoring her. “If you ask me, you both need to stop fighting your true feelings for one another and let it out.”

  The word “uncomfortable” was now Gia’s new middle name.

  And zodiac sign.

  “Keeping things bottled up isn’t healthy. Take my word,” Greta said. “One day I ate a whole pan of extra- extra cheesy baked ziti—”

  “Oh, jeez.” Gia looked to the ceiling.

  “Boy, were the ladies in my pottery class in for a surprise when I leaned over to rinse my hands.” Greta snickered. “The air that came out of me could have re-fired Mrs. Robinson’s clay bowl.” Greta’s snickering turned into a fit of laughter. Julian joined in. “Being lactose-intolerant is a terrible thing, I tell ya.” The kitchen door swung open.

  “Hey, Greta, I need another—” Tony stopped short, seeing Gia. “Um, never mind. I’ll get it myself,” he mumbled before disappearing. Awkward silence dawned upon the small kitchen. Gia stared a hole through the floor’s tile.

  “What did happen between the two of you?” Julian asked her. “We must know.”

  “It’s complicated.”

  “So is life, girlie,” Greta said as she wiped her hands and put them on her hips. “The best way to handle it is to just knock it back like a shot of whiskey.”

  Gia twisted her face. According to her mom, life should be taken by the horns with a belly full of banana-topped French toast, a fresh coat of lipstick, and pair of clean panties.

  “Sooo, what I’m hearing is, we’re all getting fuzzy at Triple B’s tonight?” Julian asked, looking hopeful.

  Greta patted his cheek. “Smart boy.”

  The three B’s: Burgers, bacon, and beer, each crafted and served in unique ways. Gia set down Triple B’s menu and gazed around the low-lit, cozy restaurant.

  Comfortable red-cushioned booths lined the sides. Tables in the middle. Neon pink pigs with angel wings hung on the walls. A complete circular bar stood in the center.

  The aroma: grilled burgers and sizzling bacon. It was a Saturday night, so the restaurant was alive with locals, young and old, alone or in a group, crowding the popular burger joint.

  Two bartenders served drinks behind the bar. Julian had a cocktail called Unicorn Kisses. Gia nibbled on a sweet potato fry and sipped her strawberry lemonade. Jennie joined them too, but remembering she had a late-night date with Mark that night, and not wanting to be down for the count, she settled on a lite beer. Greta was on her second whiskey sour.

  “Y’all ready to order?” their waitress asked.

  Jennie ordered her usual, a double mushroom Swiss burger with extra mushrooms. Greta, saying lactose intolerance could kiss her... bottom, asked for a four-cheese Angus bacon burger with lettuce and pickles. Julian ordered grilled cheese and garlic French fries. Gia took a break from her go-to fried egg and bacon burger, instead trying the sundried tomato Caprese hamburger with balsamic caramelized onions.

  Minutes later, their waitress returned, balancing baskets of food on a tray.

  Visually, Gia’s burger was a work of art. The balsamic glistened under the booth’s overhead light. The dressing wasn’t drizzled over the burger but had been added to the onions during cooking. Melted white mozzarella oozed down the side of the sandwich, while creamy avocado peeked from under the
patty.

  Lately, on her blog, Gia had shared her exploration of Danny’s Deli and the charming Sweeny’s Café. The café graced the town with variations of muffins, coffee, and oatmeal with dried fruit. In The Box bistro’s gourmet hot dogs were a main highlight, too. But readers had wondered if she would do another post on Triple B’s.

  Tonight, she would grant their wishes.

  “Let’s hear it.” Greta lifted her glass. “I want to know what’s going on with you and young Santino.”

  “Or we can just enjoy our meal.... in silence,” Gia proposed. Jennie flung a fry at her and raised an eyebrow.

  She sighed. “Fine.” She explained how lovely Friday’s dinner began, how Honey Tucker made an unexpected—and rather irritating— appearance, interrupting potentially the best romantic moment Gia had had...ever.

  “Wait a sec, you were about to kiss Tony?” Julian leaned in.

  “I already said that.” Gia rolled her eyes.

  “Yeah, yeah. But you didn’t say whether you wanted to,” Jennie said.

  Gia shrugged, opened her mouth, and then closed it. Then opened it again. “I—Maybe. Probably....yes.”

  “Yes?” Greta cupped a hand over her ear. “I’m old, speak up.” She smirked, clearly fibbing. Well, not about being old.

  “Yes.” Gia deflated.

  Julian patted her hand. “Don’t fight it. Tell Tony how you feel,” he said. “It’s never too late.”

  Gia and Jennie nodded, hoping he was right. Julian was right. If she and Tony were to remain close friends, then vacancy for secrets was unavailable. Being open was the way to go. Her palms dampened at the image of her fessing up to him.

  What happens after?

  Would Tony even feel the same?

  “Speaking of boytoys,” Greta said to Jennie with a grin, “I saw Detective Evans come in.”

  “He must have just been stopping by. I’ve been a little preoccupied the last couple of nights with other… plans, and so has he, but he called to say hi. He’s staying late at the station tonight,” she explained. “Get this.” She squeezed in closer to Gia, and the other tablemates lowered their heads closer to her. “He’s waiting for a warrant to arrest Brian.”

  “No way!” they all said.

  “Way. But you didn’t hear it from me.” Jennie pointed. “Caleb said he interviewed Gordy’s lawyer.”

  “Gordy had a lawyer? What for?” Gia asked.

  “Well, since his mother’s death, Gordy apparently was on and off about wanting to run the Fitz and Glitz. The hotel his mother had owned. Then recently he decided not to, so he hired a lawyer to sign everything over to Brian.”

  “That’s why Brian came to Greenville,” Gia said.

  Jennie nodded. “All three were to meet the morning of Gordy’s death. But Gordy called his lawyer Sunday night and said he completely changed his mind and wanted to keep the hotel in his name.” She lifted her shoulders. “Caleb thinks Gordy waited until the last minute for Brian to arrive in town to finally tell him.”

  “Which no doubt angered Brian.” It was all starting to make sense for Gia. “Brian needed the job and money.” She briefed the group on what Reese had dug up about Brian’s unemployment.

  “Add on decade after decade of mistreatment he had to endure from his mother,” Jennie said. “He was probably jealous of Gordy’s relationship with their mother,”

  Gia gnawed on a cold fry.

  “True. He must have felt entitled to have the hotel after everything she put him through,” Gia put together. “I bet Gordy asked Brian to come to the deli and explained how he changed his mind.”

  “Brian’s pissed,” Julian followed Gia’s train of thought. “His gut reaction was to grab a knife and—”

  “WHAM!” Greta stabbed a fork in her half-eaten burger, causing everyone to jump a few inches into the air.

  Gia warily eyed the woman.

  So did Julian, who scooted three more inches away from the woman. He mouthed to Jennie “No more whisky.”

  A familiar nose-clogging perfume descended upon their booth. Gia smelled Tucker before she saw her.

  “Um, hi?” Tucker waved. “I’m glad I found you,” she said to Gia.

  Jennie glared. “Why?” she asked. “So you can ruin yet another evening for my cousin?”

  “Stop it,” Gia fiercely whispered to Jennie. But Jennie continued to glare at Tucker, who took a step back.

  “Uh, can I talk to you for a minute?” Tucker directed to Gia again. This was strange. Odd. Peculiar. Gia could go on and on thinking up more synonyms. She definitely wanted to know what Tucker had to say.

  They certainly weren’t aquainted, so what did Gordy’s former girlfriend want with her? Gia deduced the talk was most likely about Tony. Her stomach flipped at the thought of Tucker and Tony dating, and now Tucker was here to tell her to stop seeing him.

  If so, Tucker had another thing coming.

  11

  “Sure.” Gia followed Tucker into the ladies’ restroom, which was clean and empty. Gia licked her lips and waited.

  Tucker wrung her hands, then nervously twirled a strand of hair. “I just want to say sorry for intruding last night.”

  Gia, taken aback, wasn’t expecting the apology.

  “It was wrong for me to just show up.” Tucker frowned. “I just figured Tony was alone...” She trailed off.

  “Well, after I left, I’m sure you had plenty of alone time,” Gia pointed out.

  “After you left, Tony asked me to leave.” Tucker chuckled. “He was polite about it, but I could tell he wanted to ring my neck.” This was interesting.

  “I hadn’t realized he was involved,” Tucker said.

  “Oh.” Not knowing how to respond, Gia instead asked, “Why did you go to his house?”

  “I wanted to thank him again for offering me a ride from the funeral.” The reason for their leaving early.

  And somehow this required a bottle of wine, a plunging-neckline dress and a “Come hither” gleam in her eyes?

  Yeah, right.

  “Tony listened to me blubber about Gordy.” Tucker grew silent, and her eyes moistened. “Gordy and I....” She choked on a sob. Gia softened.

  “I’m so sorry,” Gia reached over, ripping off a paper towel, handing it to Tucker.

  “Thanks,” she said, dabbing her tears, makeup still flawless. How is that possible? Gia thought.

  “How long were you and Gordy together?” she asked.

  “Six months.” Tucker blew her nose. “We were going to have lunch the day he-he...He wanted to celebrate good news.”

  “If you don’t mind me asking,” Gia knew the answer, “what was the good news?”

  “He inherited his mother’s hotel in West Emily.” She wiped away a tear. “He wasn’t too thrilled about it at first. But he finally decided it was the change he needed in his life. He told Danny Mendoza that Monday was his last day working at the deli.”

  “Was Gordy excited?” Gia asked.

  Tucker smiled wide for the first time. “He was. He wanted me to move in with him in West Emily. Somewhere close to the hotel so he could focus all his attention on it.” Tucker tossed the soiled towel into the trash. “Anyway, I better get going. Again, I’m sorry.” She opened the door, then stopped to look back over her shoulder. “Tony’s a wonderful man. You’re lucky to have him,” she said, then left.

  Gia faced her reflection in the large mirror. She pursed her lips and frowned.

  Her spirits down. She didn’t dare imagine being in Tucker’s shoes and Tony being Gordy. Her heart ached for the new start in life Gordy had missed. It hadn’t been long ago when Gia herself moved to Greenville to begin her own.

  “You know what you need?” she asked her mirroring image. “A pretzel stick that’s covered in chocolate and wrapped with bacon.” Jennie had told her Triple B’s easily ended up serving five hundred deliciously salty desserts a night.

  Here came Number 506.

  She and Jennie parted ways with Greta
, who was snoring loudly in a pile of sweet potato fries. Julian headed home, and the cousins headed to Gia’s apartment.

  It was a decent walk, but the warm night air made it comfortable. Jennie, who still had her date later with Mark, said she’d just accompany Gia to her door.

  They walked silently side by side, taking in the cozy town’s surroundings. It was ten o’clock and shop owners were leading out their last few customers. In the town of Greenville, shops were known to close around this hour. Restaurants and bars would soon do the same in the next hour or so. Gia and Jennie passed Danny’s deli.

  Through the large wall of windows, it was completely dark.

  “It’s sad,” Jennie said. “Gordy’s life began and ended here.” The large windows showed a view of the whole deli. Small tables, the large and long counter, and the door to the kitchen. A small circular window on the door looked into the cooking area.

  That, too, pitch black but for a single dot of light. Gia squinted, stepping closer to the window.

  “Do you see that?” Jennie joined her.

  “Yeah, it’s just a light.” The light they were staring at moved away from the small window.

  “Is someone in there?” Jennie wondered.

  “Danny, maybe?” The light appeared again. Suddenly they heard a booming crash.

  “That doesn’t sound good,” Jennie commented, eyes wide.

  “Do you think he’s hurt?” Gia worried, moving towards the side of the building. “Let’s go see if he needs help.”

  Knowing that the front door would be locked, they walked to the back alley behind the deli. There, the back entrance was strangely open.

  “Danny?” she called into the darkness.

  Behind her, Jennie gripped Gia’s hem of her shirt. “What sane person works with all the lights off?” Jennie whispered close to her cousin’s ear.

  She has a point.

  Gia stepped forward into the kitchen. Her fingers touched the edge of a stainless-steel working table. She made out the silhouette of the walk-in freezer. By another preparation table stood a large figure. Whoever it was remained still, a small pen light in one hand. It reflected off the object in his other hand.