Free Pepperoni Pizza Can Be Murder by Chris Cavender

to give him fair warning that we weren’t carrying any cash on us.”
    Just then, someone stepped out of the shadows, and I felt my heart drop to my knees.
    Maddy’s hand dove into her purse, but I stopped her before she could pull out her stun gun.
    “It’s okay,” I told her. Turning to the uniformed officer I’d met the night before, I said, “Good evening, Officer Garvin. Thanks for coming by to check on us.”
    He nodded. “I’m supposed to make sure you get to your car safely.”
    “We’re fine,” Maddy said.
    “I can see that, but it’s the chief’s orders, and I’m not about to ignore them.”
    As the three of us walked toward the back parking lot together, I said to him, “I’m sorry if you got in trouble last night. It’s not fair, the chief putting you on the graveyard shift just for standing up for me.” As I said the last part, a shiver ran down my back. “Graveyard” probably wasn’t the best choice of words.
    “It’s absolutely not a problem,” he said. “To be honest with you, I kind of like working this time of night. Everything’s quiet, you know?” He paused, then added, “Well, at least it usually is.”
    We were finally at our cars, and after I thanked him for the escort, the officer nodded his head toward us and walked away.
    “He’s nice,” Maddy said. She’d been oddly quiet during our walk.
    “He seems to be.”
    Maddy added thoughtfully, “I wonder if he’s single?”
    “He’s not exactly your type, is he?”
    Maddy said, “He’s not too young for me, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
    “No, but I can’t imagine that he’s rich enough.”
    “That’s not fair,” Maddy said. “My first husband didn’t have much money.”
    “And less by the time you were finished with him,” I said.
    “You’ve got a point.” She yawned, and then said, “I’m going home. It was a long day, wasn’t it?”
    “They get that way sometimes. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
    We got into our cars and drove away in different directions. I’d half-expected her to follow me home, and I was gratified to see her drive toward her apartment, instead. I was a grown woman, perfectly able to take care of myself.
    But I had to admit that I’d felt better walking to my car with a police escort. I had to give Kevin Hurley credit for that. He took his job seriously, no matter how he was feeling about me at the moment.
    I’d been in my house that morning just long enough to shower and change clothes after staying all night with Maddy, so it was good to be home for the night. Whenever I was away from it, I missed it, and not just because of the comfort I felt being around my own things.
    No, there was more to it than that. I could sense Joe’s presence there more than anywhere else in the world, including the pizzeria. He’d poured his heart and soul into our house renovation, and I could swear there was still a part of him there in it. I was glad I had that. There was no gravestone marking my husband’s passing, no monument or memorial. Per his wishes, I’d had him cremated, and his ashes were spread in the Appalachian Mountains, tenderly poured into a stream, where they’d be among some of the places he loved best. It was a fitting end, and one I’d arranged to share with him someday.
    But for now, I had him all around me.
    I took a quick shower, then headed off for bed. Usually, I needed to read at least a little every night before going to sleep, but Maddy had been right. For some reason, the day had been particularly trying, and I felt as though my energy had been drained from me by more than just work.
     
    At two minutes after three, I was jolted awake by the telephone. The only thing I could think of was that Greg had finally decided to take me up on my offer to talk.
    How I wish that was what the phone call had been about.

Chapter 4
    “G reg?” I asked as I rubbed my eyes with my free hand after grabbing my telephone. “Is that you?”
    “Now why would you say