Read Online Killer Crust by Chris Cavender - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Chris Cavender
Ads: Link
start.”
“It might not be as hard to do as you think,” Maddy said.
“Why do you say that?” Jeff was clearly intrigued by my sister’s statement.
“Think about it. If there’s just one arbiter in the contest, what’s to keep him from picking a winner no matter what the scores end up being? You read the fine print of the contract you signed, right?”
“I glanced over it,” Jeff admitted. “Why? Did I miss something?”
“Since Luigi is the sole judge of the competition, if he decides to, he can throw out the results of the preliminary findings and pick a winner on his own at the very end.”
“That’s actually somewhere in the contract?” Sandy asked.
“It’s buried in the warranties section under completely different wording, but I spoke to an attorney about it, and it’s there, all right.”
A ray of hope broke through Sandy’s gloom as she took Maddy’s hand and squeezed it. “Thank you so much. That’s the best news that we’ve had all day.” She turned to her husband and added, “See? I told you that we still have a chance.”
“As a matter of fact, we all do,” I said. “Good luck this evening.”
“Best of luck to you, too,” Sandy said as Jeff closed the door.
As soon as we were on opposite sides of the door, I turned to Maddy and asked, “Is that the truth?”
“That I wished them luck? Sure, why not? It’s the sporting thing to do, don’t you think?”
“I’m talking about the contract,” I said.
Maddy nodded. “Bob read it again this morning, and he pointed the clause out to me. I thought it was only fair to tell them about it, too.”
“You’ve got a good heart, Maddy,” I said.
“Thanks. It matches my great legs, don’t you think? Now, which door should we knock on next?”
“Let’s just keep going down the line and see who we find on the other side,” I said.
I started to knock on the next door, but it opened before I had a chance to even touch it. The Raleigh twins, Todd and Reggie, were on their way out. As one of them double-checked the door behind him, the other looked at us and asked, “Were you looking for us?”
“We just wanted to ask you something about the competition,” I said.
“Sorry, we don’t have time right now,” the other said.
And then they were gone before we had a chance to ask a thing.
We had just one more person answer the door before we quit, but they weren’t associated with the competition at all.
We’d gained some new information in our little investigation, but we hadn’t discovered who Luigi had been threatening, and our break time was quickly running out.
I glanced at my watch and said, “Maddy, we’ve only got forty-five minutes before it’s time to go. What do you want to do in the meantime? I honestly don’t think there’s time for us take naps, do you?”
She shrugged. “Maybe not, but I’m going to rest for twenty minutes, and then grab a quick shower. It’s not ideal, but I need something to pick me up before we compete tonight. This afternoon was a complete disaster, and we can’t take the chance that Luigi’s going to suddenly lose his sense of taste again.”
“You’re right about that,” I said. “If you don’t hear from me by the time you wake up, come knock on my door and be sure that I’m awake, okay?”
“You can count on me,” she said.
The crowd was even larger this time when we walked into the auditorium three minutes before the contest was to begin again. We’d cut it closer than we’d meant to, and I made a promise to myself that Maddy and I would be on that stage a full ten minutes before each phase was to begin. I couldn’t think of much worse than being disqualified for being late. Losing outright, even coming in fourth, would be better than that.
As we hurried up onto the stage, I glanced around at the other competitors. Everyone else was there, except the Charlotte team. If Kenny and Anna didn’t make it in time, they’d be disqualified, and our
“It might not be as hard to do as you think,” Maddy said.
“Why do you say that?” Jeff was clearly intrigued by my sister’s statement.
“Think about it. If there’s just one arbiter in the contest, what’s to keep him from picking a winner no matter what the scores end up being? You read the fine print of the contract you signed, right?”
“I glanced over it,” Jeff admitted. “Why? Did I miss something?”
“Since Luigi is the sole judge of the competition, if he decides to, he can throw out the results of the preliminary findings and pick a winner on his own at the very end.”
“That’s actually somewhere in the contract?” Sandy asked.
“It’s buried in the warranties section under completely different wording, but I spoke to an attorney about it, and it’s there, all right.”
A ray of hope broke through Sandy’s gloom as she took Maddy’s hand and squeezed it. “Thank you so much. That’s the best news that we’ve had all day.” She turned to her husband and added, “See? I told you that we still have a chance.”
“As a matter of fact, we all do,” I said. “Good luck this evening.”
“Best of luck to you, too,” Sandy said as Jeff closed the door.
As soon as we were on opposite sides of the door, I turned to Maddy and asked, “Is that the truth?”
“That I wished them luck? Sure, why not? It’s the sporting thing to do, don’t you think?”
“I’m talking about the contract,” I said.
Maddy nodded. “Bob read it again this morning, and he pointed the clause out to me. I thought it was only fair to tell them about it, too.”
“You’ve got a good heart, Maddy,” I said.
“Thanks. It matches my great legs, don’t you think? Now, which door should we knock on next?”
“Let’s just keep going down the line and see who we find on the other side,” I said.
I started to knock on the next door, but it opened before I had a chance to even touch it. The Raleigh twins, Todd and Reggie, were on their way out. As one of them double-checked the door behind him, the other looked at us and asked, “Were you looking for us?”
“We just wanted to ask you something about the competition,” I said.
“Sorry, we don’t have time right now,” the other said.
And then they were gone before we had a chance to ask a thing.
We had just one more person answer the door before we quit, but they weren’t associated with the competition at all.
We’d gained some new information in our little investigation, but we hadn’t discovered who Luigi had been threatening, and our break time was quickly running out.
I glanced at my watch and said, “Maddy, we’ve only got forty-five minutes before it’s time to go. What do you want to do in the meantime? I honestly don’t think there’s time for us take naps, do you?”
She shrugged. “Maybe not, but I’m going to rest for twenty minutes, and then grab a quick shower. It’s not ideal, but I need something to pick me up before we compete tonight. This afternoon was a complete disaster, and we can’t take the chance that Luigi’s going to suddenly lose his sense of taste again.”
“You’re right about that,” I said. “If you don’t hear from me by the time you wake up, come knock on my door and be sure that I’m awake, okay?”
“You can count on me,” she said.
The crowd was even larger this time when we walked into the auditorium three minutes before the contest was to begin again. We’d cut it closer than we’d meant to, and I made a promise to myself that Maddy and I would be on that stage a full ten minutes before each phase was to begin. I couldn’t think of much worse than being disqualified for being late. Losing outright, even coming in fourth, would be better than that.
As we hurried up onto the stage, I glanced around at the other competitors. Everyone else was there, except the Charlotte team. If Kenny and Anna didn’t make it in time, they’d be disqualified, and our
Similar Books
