Killer Crust by Chris Cavender Page B

doing her a huge favor, and in a way, she was right. After all, we’re putting both our necks on the line here. Why shouldn’t we be rewarded for the chances we’re taking?”
    “When you put it that way, I have a hard time refuting it,” I said.
    “Good, that’s what I like to hear. So, let’s go grill a few fish, shall we?”
    “Lead on,” I said.
     
    When we got to the dining room, it took me a second to spot our competitors. They were deep in a discussion with Luigi’s brother, Frank Vincent. We sat down as quietly as we could near them, hoping they didn’t notice us. I doubted that Maddy and I were really all that stealthy, but their conversation was so earnest, we probably hadn’t had to be very sneaky to escape their attention. “I don’t care what arrangements or agreements you may or may not have had with my brother before he was murdered. As far as I’m concerned, the deal’s off,” Frank said. “Honestly, what did you think was going to happen?”
    “We didn’t kill him,” Kenny said. “Why would we? Anna and I had every reason in the world to want him to finish judging this contest by himself.”
    “Leave me out of it. I didn’t have anything to do with any of this,” Anna said strongly. “I just found out about what Kenny was up to an hour ago.”
    Frank looked toward her with a new softness in his eyes. “I believe you,” he said.
    “But you don’t believe me. Is that what you’re saying?” Kenny asked.
    Frank’s glance grew cold again as he looked back at Kenny. “Do you honestly think that my brother didn’t tell me about the conversation the two of you had yesterday afternoon?”
    Was that who we’d heard Luigi threatening upstairs? It was too much to believe that it was just a coincidence.
    “Kenny, you need to drop this,” Anna said.
    Kenny shot a look of anger in her direction. “Anna, if I want your opinion, I’ll ask you for it, but not until then. Understand?”
    “Sorry,” Anna said softly, but the look she gave him once he turned to Frank told me that if her boss ever turned up dead, we wouldn’t have to look far for a suspect.
    He told Frank, “You’re going to make this right.”
    “I wouldn’t if I could, but it’s out of my hands anyway. Jack Acre is in charge now. I had a little influence with George, but I don’t have any with Jack. As a matter of fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if he fired me as soon as the competition is over.”
    “What about keeping you on out of loyalty to your brother?” Anna asked.
    “What do you think? George never showed any to the rest of us, and I’m sure he would have been shocked to think that any of his employees had any for him once he was gone.”
    “So that’s it, then,” Kenny said with disgust. “We’re on our own now.”
    “You could still win this fair and square if you put your mind to it,” Frank said.
    “Yeah, like that’s going to happen.”
    “You never know,” Frank said as his phone rang. He took the call. “Yes, sir. I understand. I’ll be right there.” After Frank hung up, he said, “That was my new boss. I’m sorry, but I’ve got to go.”
    “Put in a good word for us when you see him,” Kenny said.
    Frank just laughed. “I’m not sure that would be in your best interest.”
    After he was gone, Anna said, “Kenny, I’m not about to take that kind of behavior from you. You can’t treat me that way.”
    Kenny looked surprised by her outburst. “I don’t know why not; I always have in the past. If you don’t like it, you can always quit.”
    “It’s closer to coming true than you might think,” she said.
    “You can posture all you want to, but I’m not too worried about that ever happening.” He looked past her and made eye contact with me. There was real anger in his voice as he asked me, “How long have you two been sitting there?”
    “We just got here a few seconds ago,” I said.
    “Were you eavesdropping on our private conversation?” Kenny asked