Killer Crust by Chris Cavender Page A

started to leave, he turned to Bob and asked, “Are you coming?”
    “I might as well,” Bob replied. “It’s clear that I’m not needed here.”
    Maddy stopped him, spun him around, and planted a solid kiss on his lips.
    “What was that for?” Bob asked as they finally broke apart.
    “I just wanted to show you that you might not be needed in our investigation, but you’re always wanted. Is that something you can live with?”
    Bob dabbed at his lips with his pristine handkerchief. “I suppose I can find a way to manage it,” he said with a grin.
    “Good. Now you two go on and take off. My sister and I have some sleuthing to do.”

Chapter 8
    “W here should we get started?” I asked Maddy. “It’s all well and good to say that we’re going to help Kevin solve this murder, but we have so many suspects that I’m not sure where we should begin. Did he tell you how Luigi died?”
    Maddy shuddered a little. “Choking to death on a pizza jammed down your throat cannot be a pleasant way to go. I hope it wasn’t one of ours,” she added.
    “How could it be? We threw our slices away after that round was over, didn’t we?”
    “I honestly don’t remember, but Eleanor, if someone could stoop to murder, how hard would it be for them to grab a piece of pizza from the trash even if we did throw it away?”
    “You’ve got a point,” I said. There’d been something pressing on my mind the second I realized that Luigi had been murdered at the hotel, and I wanted to ask Maddy before we went any further with our investigation. “Maddy, I was wondering if I could ask you for a favor.”
    Maddy looked surprised by the request. “Just name it, and if I can grant it, it’s yours.”
    I felt a little like an idiot asking, but I went ahead anyway. “As much as I love having a luxury suite all to myself, is there any chance we could share yours? There are two bedrooms in each suite, and I’d feel a lot safer knowing that you were right there with me in the other room.”
    Maddy grinned. “I was thinking the exact same thing, but I felt kind of silly asking you about it. Do you want to move into my room, or should I come over and join you?”
    “I’ll be happy to move. Thanks, Sis.”
    “You bet,” she said. “Tell you what. Why don’t we do it now and get it out of the way? That way we can focus on who we should talk to first while you pack.”
    “It’s a deal,” I said.
    It didn’t take me long to grab my things, and as much as I’d enjoyed staying in such an elegant suite by myself, I’d meant what I’d said. Having Maddy nearby was more important than having a place like that alone. I would have shared a single bed with her if it meant that she’d be near, but in truth, I wasn’t really sacrificing much at all. One room was still plenty big enough for the two of us, and I doubted we’d be bumping into each other too much while sharing the space.
    Once I was settled into Maddy’s other bedroom, I immediately felt better. As I put the last pair of socks away, I turned to her and said, “I’m ready to get started if you are. Should we just start knocking on doors again like we did before, or should we try a more subtle approach this time?”
    “As hard as it’s going to be for you to believe, I think we should go for subtle, at least for now,” Maddy said. “While you were unpacking, I called Gina and asked her if any of the contestants were currently in the restaurant. She told me that the Charlotte team had just gotten there, so I asked her to save us a table beside them. What do you say to a little dining and sleuthing at the same time?”
    “It sounds as though we’re taking advantage of Gina’s good nature by eating in the restaurant every chance we get,” I said with a grin.
    “Hey, she asked us for our help, and we still have those Golden Tickets whether we’re snooping or not, right?”
    “Right,” I admitted.
    “Believe me, when I asked her, she sounded as though we were