Disclaimer: I don't own Pushing Daisies.
Before We Say Goodbye-
-Chapter Ten: Pie Squared
"We'll call it 'Pie Squared'," Olive Snook said.
The Pie Maker leaned against the counter, rubbing his forehead. "Pie Squared?"
"Yeah, you know. Like in math. Two slices of pie for the price of one."
"I'm not exactly sure how that works in math."
"It's a metaphor, Ned."
"I'm not exactly sure that's what it is, either."
Olive and The Pie Maker stared at each other across the counter. The open sign swung in the doorway, welcoming all of the customers that they did not have.
After a moment of silence, Ned spoke. "I don't know, Olive. Do you think it will really work?"
Olive sighed, wishing Ned would work with her a little more. "We might as well try. If it doesn't work, we'll try something else."
"I still don't know."
"Then, why don't you come up with a better idea?" Olive said, heatedly, becoming frustrated with The Pie Maker for the first time since she had known him.
"I don't have any," Ned said, defeated. He and Olive had been trying to come up with ways to bring in more customers for the past two hours, ever since they had opened shop for the day. Two hours of business and no business to speak of. The Pie Maker was debating closing early for the day; surely running the electricity would be far more costly, when no one came in, than just closing and not giving anyone a chance to come in at all.
Suddenly, Olive slapped The Pie Maker's shoulder, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"You going to work with me here?" Olive asked, looking annoyed.
"I just—maybe I should just close," Ned said miserably. "For good."
"No," Olive said firmly. "You are not going to just give him. You have to fight, Ned. You fight until the very end so you can lave with some dignity instead of walking away with your tail between your legs."
From his spot on the floor, Digby barked.
The Pie Maker groaned, burying his head in his hands.
Olive huffed. "As your best, and only, employee I think that leaves me to second in command when it comes to the chain of command. And as your second in command I'm putting into effect the Pie Squared sale."
Olive grabbed the many papers and pens in front of her and stormed towards the kitchen.
"Where are you going?" Ned called after her.
Olive stopped and turned. "To make a sign."
The Pie Maker piled piece after piece of garbage into the trash, cleaning up his kitchen.
He paused and looked into dining area to see Olive pouring coffee for the few customers they had. She turned and spotted him, waving at him with a bright smile. Unable to help himself, Ned smiled and waved back; despite his dire economic situation Olive Snook was capable of making The Pie Maker smile with the simplest of gestures.
Ned placed the last of the garbage in the bin and grabbed the ends of the bag. He tied the garbage bag and pulled it out.
"Olive! I'll be right back!" He called into the other room.
"Sure thing!" He heard Olive reply as he walked out the back door.
The sun was bright, temporarily blinding the Pie Maker as he walked outside. Squinting his eyes to save himself from the glare, he walked around the corner of the alley to the large city garbage can. There was a light scuffling sound and Ned paused, looking around for the source of the sound. Seeing nothing he shrugged and continued towards the garbage.
And then, before The Pie Maker could realize what was happening, a strange and unexpected series of events occurred. Events, that he was certain, he would never be able to explain.
A body fell from the sky, or more realistically the roof top, landing squarely on the edge of the garbage can; a fall that would most certainly result in the death. But the body bounced back, just as Ned reached the can and The Pie Maker was overcome with an all too familiar feeling of bringing the dead back to life as the falling man's hand touched his forehead.
The Pie Maker stared in shock at the man before him, unable to believe that what had just happened actually had happened. The man stared back at him, equally as shocked to realize that he was alive again after having just died. And realizing that he was indeed, alive again, the man ran.
Without thinking The Pie Maker chased after the man, his long legs allowing him to catch the man just as he reached the street. Ned reached out, grabbing the man's collar and pulling him back until his was able to touch his face, instantly deading the man again—forever.
The Pie Maker shook out his entire body, not able to believe what he had just been forced to do. He quickly ran back to the garbage, throwing away the bag he and brought out and then ran back to The Pie Hole; never knowing that high from the roof top, someone else had been watching.
Olive looked up when the back door opened and Ned came running inside.
"Hey, do you think that—."
"Not now," The Pie Maker said, pushing back Olive and running to the sink. He quickly splashed cold water on his face.
"Are you alright?" Olive asked, concerned etched in her features and voice.
The Pie Maker moved his head, somehow managing to nod and shakes his head at the same time.
"Garbage smell that bad, huh?" Olive asked.
Despite himself The Pie Maker laughed. He shook his head.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Olive asked, her voice quiet. She placed her hand on The Pie Maker's shoulder in support.
Ned sighed. "Just—give me a minute?" He finally said.
Olive smiled sadly but nodded. She walked away.
The Pie Maker exhaled slowly, trying to calm himself down. He did not like to bring the dead back to life. Nor did he like deading them again. At first, when discovering his unique gift, The Pie Maker had been intrigued. But as he grew and paid the consequences of his actions, he quickly learned that the gift of life was not one to be played with. So he made a silent vow. He would not use his gift to bring people back. He would simply stick to fruit, to ensure that his pies were baked with the freshest of fresh fruit. But people---never would he use the gift to bring a person back again.
But now he had. Even though it had been an accident, the Pie Maker was still shaken up. For the fact that it was an accident, seemed to make it all the worst, as that meant he had no control over it happening. A fact The Pie Maker was not pleased with.
There was a small tap on his shoulder and her turned to see Olive standing before him once again, a damp rag in her hand.
"I thought you might want this to cool down," she said, handing the rag to him.
The Pie Maker smiled shyly and took the rag, brushing his fingers against Olive's has he did so. "Thank you," he said.
Olive smiled.
Olive Snook flipped the open sign to closed.
Another night of closing duties, Olive turned and began to stack the chairs on top of the tables so she could sweep the floor. From her spot she could see The Pie Maker in the kitchen, working to clean up the small mess they had made that day.
Olive sighed.
Ever since he had come back from the alley earlier that day Ned had been out of sorts. He hadn't spoken much and was skittish. She had consistently asked him what was wrong, but every time he would shrug his shoulders. Must be coming down with a twenty-four hour bug, he had said. But despite his reassurance Olive didn't believe him.
Olive sighed again.
She had hoped that after their resent encounter with Billy Bodsworth they relationship would be different. Olive could have sworn she felt a change in it. But apparently she had been wrong. She had opened up to Ned about Billy and yet, despite all of her best efforts, The Pie Maker was still unwilling to share with her.
And that upset her more than the fact that Ned seemed to be hurting in the first place.
The bell above the door rang.
"We're closed," Olive said without missing a beat.
"Obviously."
Olive turned, surprised, to see Sam Spade standing before her.
"Then you'll forgive me for asking you to leave."
Sam Spade waved his hand, brushing away Olive's comment. "Where's the tall guy?"
Olive cocked her head to the side. "You mean Ned?"
Sam Spade sighed. "If I had known his name I would have called him by his name."
"Well now you know."
"Perfect," Sam Spade replied. "Now where is he?"
"Why do you want to know?" Olive asked, narrowing her eyes.
"It's a matter of business."
"I already told you we were closed."
"My matter of business has nothing to do with your pie business," Sam Spade said. "Now where is he?"
"Olive is everything alright?" The Pie Maker said, walking into the dining area. He looked from the man he recognized as a customer to his waitress; brow knitted.
"Yes," Sam Spade said, stepping forward. "I was wondering if I could have a word."
"About?" Ned asked, looking to Olive. She shrugged.
"A certain matter regarding something I saw in your alley earlier today," Sam Spade explained, his tone and eyes leaving no doubt as to what he was referring to.
Olive's ears perked at the mention of the alley and she turned her full attention to Sam Spade, wondering what he would say next. Her attention was so focused that she missed the Pie Maker's face turning a deadly pale.
Ned coughed. "Right," he said. "Uh—Olive? Why don't you take off early tonight."
Olive quickly turned to The Pie Maker, surprised by his sudden offer to let her leave. "I don't mind Ned, I can stay," she quickly reassured, wanting nothing more than to listen to what this man had to say to her boss.
The Pie Maker quickly shook his head. "Really. I think you should take off. Don't worry about it," he said, his eyes pleading with Olive to take leave.
Olive held her ground, not wanting to back down. But then she saw the imploring look The Pie Maker was giving her and knew she would not be able to deny him.
Sam Spade coughed.
"Okay," Olive said, untying her apron and handing it to The Pie Maker. "Good night," she said to him. She turned to Sam Spade. "Bye." Sam Spade nodded in response.
With a sigh Olive walked to the kitchen, grabbed her purse and left, leaving the two men alone.
Introductions were made and The Pie Maker poured coffee.
Now the two men sat across from one another in a booth, both ignoring their cups of coffee.
"What can I help you with?" Ned asked, knowing what was about to him and wondering how he would get through it.
"I'll cut to the chase. I saw the little magic trick you did in the alley earlier today."
The Pie Maker gulped nervously and his eye twitched. "I-I don't know what you're talking about."
"Please, you know exactly what I'm taking about. I saw a man fall off a rooftop and die. But he bounces into you and the next thing I know he's running down the street. Until you catch him and somehow dead him again. And don't deny it. I know dead, and that man is deader than I've ever seen."
The Pie Maker groaned, burying his face in his hands. This was the moment he had always feared. Someone finding out about what he could do. He would be branded a freak and now he was just a hop, skip, and a jump away from the side show at the circus.
"What do you want?" The Pie Maker muttered, knowing that denying what he was just accused of would have been fruitless. He had been caught, there was no mistaking it.
"I want to make you a proposition. I'm a private investigator and a damned good one, don't get me wrong. But my job would be a hell of a lot easier if I had someone like you."
The Pie Maker's head snapped up. "Wha-what?" he asked, stunned at what he had just heard. Blackmail, he would have expected. Not a business proposition. "What kind of business?"
"You tell me. What's the extent of your little trick?"
The Pie Maker stared at the man across from him. Unsure what he should do. This man knew something was different about Ned. But he didn't seem to be threatening. Curious yes. Intrigued. And even interested. But threatening, no. "Hold on," Ned said, standing and walking into the kitchen. He returned a minute later with a bowl of dead fruit. He set the bowl on the table and sat down.
He took in a deep breath and touched one of the rotten fruits. It instantly ripened, blossoming into a color that fresh fruits would be jealous of. Waiting just long enough for his companion to see what had happened, he touched the fruit again and it withered to what it had been before.
"Can you do that again?"
Ned shook his head. "Not to this one," he picked up the fruit he had touched and then touched again and tossed it to the other man. "Second touch, dead again. Forever. Now what kind of business proposition are you talking about."
"Murders are much easier to solve when you ask the victims who killed them."
The Pie Maker's eyes widened. "You want me to touch victims so you can find out who killed them?"
"It would be a lot easier that way."
"I don't know…"
"Oh come one, what have you got to lose?"
"Didn't you say you were good at what you did?"
"Hell yeah I am. But why stick to that way when I've got a sure fire guarantee as to finding out who done it before someone else?"
The Pie Maker sighed. "I still don't know if I can do that."
"I'll give you fifty percent of all of reward money for each case. And believe you me, fifty percent is a nice chunk o' cash."
The Pie Maker shook his head. "I just—I don't think I can. I don't like…touching things."
The other man sighed and stood up, placing his hand on his head. "You don't want in? Fine, I'll keep your talent a little secret in case you change your mind. But I thought I'd be doing you and I a favor." With a nod, he turned towards the door.
The Pie Maker gulped, not knowing what to do. He watched the other man ready himself to leave and slowly walk towards the door. He looked around his Pie Hole, just as empty closed has it had been open. Believe you me, fifty percent is a nice chunk o' cash.
"Fifty percent?" Ned said, standing up.
The man turned and smirked. "Fifty percent."
The Pie Maker stepped forward, his hand extended. They shook hands. "Then you should know," he said, his voice wavering. "There are some rules."
Olive Snook waited by her door, periodically looking through the peephole.
At nine-thirty she finally saw what she had been waiting for, as The Pie Maker walked by, slowly making his way to his door.
Slowly, so as not to startle him, Olive opened her door. She frowned when she noticed that Ned was having problems getting his key into the lock.
"Everything okay?" Olive asked quietly.
Ned jumped slightly and turned, offering Olive a small smile. "Sure."
Olive wanted to ask what had happened with Sam Spade. She wanted to know if it was bad or good. But the weary look in Ned's eyes kept her mouth closed. She knew he wouldn't want to talk about it. He would simply want to go to bed and sleep the rest of the night away.
Without a word, Olive stepped forward and took the key from Ned's hand; surprised to find that he was shaking slightly. She unlocked his apartment and opened before turning back and handing the key over.
"Thanks, Olive," The Pie Maker said, taking the key with a smile.
"Sure thing," Olive replied.
"Good night." The Pie Maker reached out and grabbed Olive's hand, squeezing it slightly.
Olive blinked and opened her to see the door close. "Good night," she whispered to no one but the night.
The next morning Olive was scrubbing down the counter, having just made a pie she hoped turned out decent.
"Hey Olive?" The Pie Maker asked, walking into the kitchen.
"Hm?" Olive inquired, not looking up from her task.
"There's someone I want you to meet."
Olive paused and turned, surprised to see that Ned was not alone, but accompanied by Sam Spade.
"This," The Pie Maker said, "Is Emerson Cod. And from now on, he eats for free."
Author's Note: Well there's the next chapter. Hope you liked this chapter! I don't know when I'll be updating again.
Thanks for reading and a reviewing.
Until next time!
Kate.