The Pizza Mystery (8 page)

“What's the matter, Violet?” Henry asked when he saw her standing so still. “You look as if you just saw a ghost.”

Violet shook her head sadly. “Not a ghost, Henry. About an hour ago when I was taking an order, I saw Nick looking through the window. But when I went out to talk to him, he was gone.”

Jessie didn't want to believe this. “Are you sure, Violet? There were so many people going in and out. We had to turn some old customers away. Maybe one of them looked inside and decided not to come in.”

Violet wanted to believe this too, but she couldn't. The face in the window
was
Nick's. Had he been the one to hand out the coupons? Had he come by to see if this terrible plan had worked? Violet shivered. Then she put on her jacket. She wanted to go to the factory with Henry and Jessie. Maybe they would find out something that would explain what was going on with Nick.

“We'll be back in a while,” Jessie told Laurie and Benny as they stacked up dishes next to the sink.

When Jessie, Violet, and Henry reached the front gate of the factory, Henry said: “It's almost time for the night shift to come in. Maybe we can blend in with the crowd then look around for Nick.”

But Henry didn't need to go inside the factory to find Nick. Just as the children reached the front gate, they spotted the young man. He wasn't alone. He was walking out of the building with a young woman and someone else. As they got closer, the children recognized the third person—Mr. Irons, the factory manager.

The Aldens stepped away from the streetlight into the shadows of the parking lot so they wouldn't be spotted. Mr. Irons, Nick, and the young woman headed toward Mr. Irons' fancy car.

“I have to go out and check on a few things,” Mr. Irons told Nick and the woman. “I'll drop you both off. Don't keep my secretary out too late. She has to be at work first thing tomorrow morning.”

Even in the dark, the Aldens could see that Nick and the young woman didn't look too happy when they heard this. But they got in the car with Mr. Irons anyway.

The children didn't say anything. After Mr. Irons drove off, they walked back to the restaurant slowly. Seeing Nick with Mr. Irons upset them more than anything else that had happened.

Finally Violet spoke up. “I guess I was wrong about Nick. Maybe Nick isn't just working on mufflers. Maybe Mr. Irons hired him because he knows all about Piccolos' Pizza.”

“There's
one
thing about Piccolos' Pizza he doesn't know,” said Jessie. “But I have an idea about how we can fix that.”

CHAPTER 10

Surprises for Everyone

S
orry, Henry, don't take your jacket off,” Laurie said when Henry came through the back door of the restaurant the next day at lunchtime. “Jessie just gave me one more delivery order. It's for a Pizza Supreme.”

“I know all about it,” Henry said with a smile. “It's a surprise delivery.”

Laurie was puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“What Henry means is that we have a new plan,” Jessie told Laurie. “We've been trying to get Mr. Irons on the phone, but he won't talk to us. Today, we're going to deliver a pizza right to his office.”

Laurie couldn't help laughing. These Aldens just never gave up!

Benny sniffed at the big pizza box. “Mmm. We think Mr. Irons doesn't know how good this pizza is. If he is the one who's trying to hurt Piccolos', maybe he'll stop once he knows he can get this good pizza every day if he wants!”

“If he gets one bite of this,” Violet said, “he'll be glad, not mad, that Piccolos' is right next door.”

Jessie headed toward the apartment upstairs. “I'm just going to make sure he's in his office. I can sometimes see him from the apartment window.”

When Jessie bounded back down into the kitchen, she cried: “Everything's a-okay. Let's go!”

The children were out the door before Laurie could stop them. They were sure their plan was going to work.

“Okay, ready everyone?” Henry said when they reached the factory gate. “Now let's just stroll in like all these other people.”

The four friendly, polite children had no trouble getting into the building.

“Pizza delivery for Mr. Irons,” Jessie said to the woman at the front desk.

“Hmm, I guess Mr. Irons is getting tired of deli sandwiches,” the woman said with a smile. “Sixth floor, then down the hall to the right. His secretary is out now, but I'll let him know his lunch is here.”

The children hadn't counted on anyone telling Mr. Irons he was getting a pizza. They crossed their fingers.

“Mr. Irons, your lunch is on its way up,” the woman said. Luckily for the Aldens she didn't say what that lunch was going to be!

The children stepped into the elevator with several other people. They noticed some of them sniffing the good pizza smell.

“I just had lunch,” one nice businesswoman told Jessie, who was carrying the Pizza Supreme. “But I must say that pizza you have there smells mighty good.”

“It
is
good,” Benny said. “It's from Piccolos' Pizza right down the street. Here's one of our flyers.”

“I'll be sure to get over there soon,” the woman said. She gave all the children a big smile. “Or maybe you can deliver one right to me next time!”

“Just call,” Benny cried when he and the children reached the sixth floor.

“Whew, I was a little worried there,” Jessie said. “After all, Mr. Irons told Henry over the phone that Mighty Mufflers wouldn't accept any deliveries from Piccolos'.”

Henry laughed. “He'll have to accept this. It's free.”

The children went down the hall. They were a bit nervous but not
too
nervous. After all, how could anyone, even Mr. Irons, resist Piccolos' Pizza Supreme?

“Here's his office,” Violet said before she opened the door. “His secretary still isn't back, so I guess we should just go in.”

The children approached the door that said:
MAXWELL IRONS, MANAGER.
They nearly dropped the pizza when they heard a loud crackling noise. It was the intercom on the secretary's desk.

A voice boomed out: “Ms. Donella! Call the deli and find out what on earth happened to my lunch. A man could starve in here waiting for them to deliver it!”

Benny knocked on the door and pushed it open when he heard Mr. Irons say: “Come in, for heavens sakes, come in!”

“Here's your lunch,” Benny piped up.

“Whaaat!” Mr. Irons yelled. “What are you doing here? And where's my turkey sandwich?”

The children were too busy to answer his question. Jessie whisked out a placemat and put it in front of Mr. Irons along with a knife, fork, and a big checked napkin from the restaurant. Meanwhile, Violet and Henry expertly cut a huge steaming slice of pizza and placed it on a large white plate.

“Just what is going on here?” Mr. Irons bellowed. He yelled into his intercom: “Ms. Donella, Ms. Donella, who let these kids in here?”

No one answered at the other end. The man tried not to sniff the delicious warm smell of tomato, dough, and mozzarella cheese.

“I told my secretary I wanted a turkey sandwich. She can't even get a simple lunch order straight,” Mr. Irons said.

It was clear that Mr. Irons was hungry. But it was also clear that he was very angry and was not going to cut into the big slice on his plate. Jessie took the pizza cutter and cut a much smaller piece. She lifted it onto a paper napkin and handed it to Mr. Irons so fast he couldn't refuse it.

When he opened his mouth to say something, Jessie said: “Take a bite. Go ahead.”

Without thinking, that's just what Maxwell Irons did. Then he took a second bite and a third.

“Isn't it good?” Violet said.

“Isn't it the best pizza you ever had?” Benny added.

Mr. Irons was too busy tasting, chewing, and swallowing to say anything, which gave Henry a chance to speak first. “Mr. Irons, you don't seem to know it, but you have the best pizza place in Silver Falls right next door. Why do you want to hurt their business?”

Mr. Irons stopped eating. Angrily, he pointed a finger at the Aldens. “Now you kids listen to me! That tumbledown place has caused me nothing but headaches. I want that space for a factory cafeteria. The factory is busier than ever, and I can't have my people running over there for pizza! Understand? Now tell that Mr. Whatever-His-Name-Is that I'm going to make him an offer to buy that place or else he's going to have even more than a broken gas line or a blackout or a bunch of kids wanting a cheap meal.”

“So it
was
you!” Jessie said.

“The Piccolos have owned that restaurant for over thirty years,” Violet said sadly. “It was busy until you got here.”

“Why couldn't you have just talked to the Piccolos?” Henry asked Mr. Irons. “You could have worked together.”

“Work with a couple of pizza bakers who should be retired?” Mr. Irons said in a cruel voice. “I want a company cafeteria on that spot, and I'm going to get it no matter what other stunts I have to pull.”

The children moved to gather up the pizza and dishes when they saw a woman standing in the doorway.

“It's the lady I gave a flyer to,” Benny whispered to Jessie.

“Uh, I'm sorry about these kids, Mrs. Sturgis,” Mr. Irons said as he grabbed for his phone. “I'll call Security to get them out of here.”

The woman stepped forward. “You will do nothing of the kind, Mr. Irons. I over-heard everything you told these children over the intercom on Ms. Donella's desk.”

“Uh . . . oh . . . well, these kids sneaked in here without permission.”

“Only because they wanted to help out some people who have done business in Silver Falls for many years,” Mrs. Sturgis said. “I am horrified by the way you have managed my business while I was away. You certainly did not have my permission to harm my neighbors. You are fired!”

Mr. Irons glared at the children. “You, you nosy kids. I knew you were trouble the day I saw you at the gas station.”

“That's quite enough, Mr. Irons,” Mrs. Sturgis said. “You can come back for your things after hours. I do not wish to see you again.”

On his way out the door, Mr. Irons nearly ran down a young woman who was coming into the outer office.

“Mr. Irons,” the young woman said. “Are you leaving?”

“For good, Ms. Donella,” Mrs. Sturgis said. “Perhaps you can work as my secretary now that I'm back at the office.”

The young woman blushed. The Aldens knew they had seen her before.

“Are you a friend of Nick Marra's?” Violet asked.

The young woman looked down. “Why, yes, I am,” she said. “He should be here any minute. We went out to get Mr. Irons his lunch.”

“So Nick does work for Mr. Irons?” Violet asked.

“Oh no,” the young woman answered. “You see, Nick and I are engaged to be married. He comes by for me at lunch. Sometimes Mr. Irons makes me run errands on my lunch hour, so Nick helps me out.”

Right then, Nick Marra appeared in the doorway. He was holding a large brown bag from the deli. He looked completely confused when he saw Mrs. Sturgis, Ms. Donella, and all the Aldens standing there.

“How do you do, Nick?” Mrs. Sturgis said, as she put out her hand to him. “I'm Lydia Sturgis, the owner of Mighty Mufflers. I don't think Mr. Irons will be needing that lunch today since he just ate an excellent pizza.”

Nick shook his head. “What's going on? Why are all of you here?”

Violet spoke up. “We came here to see who was trying to hurt Piccolos' Pizza. And we just found out why we saw you around the factory so much,” Violet said with a huge smile. “Ms. Donella told us everything. Now we know it wasn't you causing problems at the restaurant, but Mr. Irons.”

Nick looked terrible. “I had to leave the restaurant. I saw how Mr. Irons felt about Piccolos', and I was afraid he'd fire Marie—Ms. Donella—if he knew I worked at Piccolos'. And I was afraid that if the Piccolos found out I was engaged to Mr. Irons's secretary, they'd think I was against them, too.”

Mrs. Sturgis took Nick's hand. “Well, I may have to fire Ms. Donella if you
don't
go back and work there! My employees need a good restaurant nearby, and I plan to send a lot of business over to Piccolos', starting today. They are going to need a strong young man like you.”

The children waved out the window of Grandfather Alden's car. “Good-bye Mrs. Piccolo! Good-bye Mr. Piccolo! 'Bye Laurie! 'Bye Nick!” they called out as Mr. Alden pulled away.

As they passed the huge Mighty Mufflers billboard, the children could see a half dozen work people moving the big sign to the side. Slowly, the Piccolos' Pizza sign painted on the side of the building came into view.

“Next time, we'll find it on our first try,” Henry said.

Benny sniffed the air. “I guess I've been around pizzas too much lately. I can still smell pizza.”