“You slammed the door open in my face and I thought you were going to attack me! And I would have shared the money with you even if I had it,” Jessie snapped at him. “You’re the selfish one, Mark. You’re the one who drove Mom and Iggy and me away. Maybe she spoiled Iggy a bit, but he was always a good son and a good brother. You were just a jerk who didn’t care about anyone but yourself. You never even visited Mom when she got sick. Why would she leave you anything? You should have been the one to die, not Iggy.”
“You know what? I’m done with this.”
Mark pulled the slide back on the hand gun. Before Ellie could think her plan through, she called his name and tossed the vase toward him when he glanced at her. “Catch!”
Just as she hoped, he dropped the gun in order to catch the vase. Jessie scrambled to retrieve the weapon and aimed it at him, backing away until she was safely out of reach. In the distance, Ellie heard the sirens. She breathed out a sigh of relief. No one was dead, and the police would be there soon. She considered it a good day.
Epilogue
So, what’s the verdict?” Ellie asked. “Do we have a ghost? Should I invite Jessie back for a seance?”
“Not unless she wants to talk to the leak in our master bathroom,” Russell said, turning off his flashlight and coming into the hallway. “Because that’s what’s been causing all of this trouble. It’s situated right above the guest bathroom — it made installing the plumbing simpler — and one of the pipes is leaking. I’m guessing it corroded some wires, which is why the lights kept going out. We’re lucky it didn’t start a fire or blow a fuse to this whole part of the house.”
“That’s it? Really?” Ellie groaned and shook her head. “I can’t believe I thought a leaky pipe was a ghost. I must be going crazy.”
“Not crazy,” Russell said, stopping to kiss her. “Just stressed. From the sound of it, you’ve had quite the week.”
“Never go away again,” she said. “You keep things sane around here.”
He chuckled. “I’m not planning on it, not anytime soon, at least. It’s good to be back, even if I missed all of the action.”
“I’m sorry you had to miss the rest of your conference,” she said, following him into the kitchen. He pulled out the phonebook and began flipping through it.
“I don’t care about missing the conference as much as I care about missing everything that happened here.” He looked up from the book and frowned at her. “Bethany told me all about it. He had a gun, Ellie. He had a gun and you threw a vase at him.”
“A twenty thousand dollar vase,” she said. “He killed for it. He wasn’t about to let it fall.”
Russell shook his head. “You drive me crazy, did you know that?”
“But you love me in spite of it.”
“I don’t love you in spite of anything,” he said, perusing the phone book again. “I love you because of everything. Ah, there’s the electrician. We used this guy when we had some wiring problems at the sheriff’s department. He’s reliable. I’ll get him out to fit the lights in the guest bathroom as soon as possible.”
“And maybe we should get a heater for that room too. It is kind of chilly in there.”
“Really?” He furrowed his brows. “I thought it was too warm, if anything.”
“There’s a draft,” Ellie insisted.
“Coming from where? There are no windows.”
The pizzeria owner felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise. Russell was right, there was nowhere for a draft to be coming from. But she knew she had felt a chill, and Jessie had felt it too —
No. She forced her mind away from that train of thought. Ghost or no ghost, it didn’t really matter. It was silly to be afraid of spirits when the living were so much more dangerous.
“You know, I still have the rest of the week off,” Russell said. “Do you want to do something together? Just the two of us?”
She smiled, feeling herself relax. No matter what life threw at her, she knew she could handle it with her husband at her side. They were partners, and there was nothing wrong with wanting him there to face life’s trials beside her.
“Sure,” she said. “That would be nice.”
Also by Patti Benning
Papa Pacelli’s Series
Book 1: Pall Bearers and Pepperoni
Book 2: Bacon Cheddar Murder
Book 3: Very Veggie Murder
Book 4: Italian Wedding Murder
Book 5: Smoked Gouda Murder
Book 6: Gourmet Holiday Murder
Book 7: Four Cheese Murder
Book 8: Hand Tossed Murder
Book 9: Exotic Pizza Murder
Book 10: Fiesta Pizza Murder
Book 11: Garlic Artichoke Murder
Book 12: On the Wings of Murder
Book 13: Mozzarella and Murder
Book 14: A Thin Crust of Murder
Book 15: Pretzel Pizza Murder
Book 16: Parmesan Pizza Murder
Book 17: Breakfast Pizza Murder
Book 18: Halloween Pizza Murder
Book 19: Thanksgiving Pizza Murder
Book 20: Christmas Pizza Murder
Book 21: A Crispy Slice of Murder
Book 22: Lobster Pizza Murder
Book 23: Pizza, Weddings, and Murder
Book 24: Pizza, Paradise, and Murder
Book 25: Meat Lovers and Murder
Book 26: Classic Crust Murder
Book 27: Hot, Spicy Murder
Book 28: Pork, Pizza, and Murder
Book 29: Chicken Alfredo Murder
Book 30: Jalapeño Pizza Murder
Darling Deli Series
Book 1: Pastrami Murder
Book 2: Corned Beef Murder
Book 4: Grilled Cheese Murder
Book 5: Chicken Pesto Murder
Book 6: Thai Coconut Murder
Book 7: Tomato Basil Murder
Book 8: Salami Murder
Book 9: Hearty Homestyle Murder
Book 10: Honey BBQ Murder
Book 11: Beef Brisket Murder
Book 12: Garden Vegetable Murder
Book 13: Spicy Lasagna Murder
Book 14: Curried Lobster Murder
Book 15: Creamy Casserole Murder
Book 16: Grilled Rye Murder
Book 17: A Quiche to Die For
Book 18: A Side of Murder
Book 19: Wrapped in Murder
Book 20: Glazed Ham Murder
Book 21: Chicken Club Murder
Book 22: Pies, Lies and Murder
Book 23: Mountains, Marriage and Murder
Book 24: Shrimply Murder
Book 25: Gazpacho Murder
Book 26: Peppered with Murder
Book 27: Ravioli Soup Murder
Book 28: Thanksgiving Deli Murder
Book 29: A Season of Murder
Book 30: Valentines and Murder
Book 31: Shamrocks and Murder
Book 32: Sugar Coated Murder
Book 33: Murder, My Darling
Killer Cookie Series
Book 1: Killer Caramel Cookies
Book 2: Killer Halloween Cookies
Book 3: Killer Maple Cookies
Book 4: Crunchy Christmas Murder
Book 5: Killer Valentine Cookies
Asheville Meadows Series
Book 1: Small Town Murder
Book 2: Murder on Aisle Three
Book 3: The Heart of Murder
Book 4: Dating is Murder
Book 5: Dying to Cook
Book 6: Food, Family and Murder
Book 7: Fish, Chips and Murder
Book 8: Deathly Ever After
Author’s Note
I’d love to hear your thoughts on my books, the storylines, and anything else that you’d like to comment on—reader feedback is very important to me. My contact information, along with some other helpful links, is listed below. If you’d like to be on my list of “folks to contact” with updates, release and
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