Ned was inspired to open the Pie Hole by what the Narrator terms an "obsession" with pies that he inherited from his pie-baking mother. Although the restaurant normally boasts good numbers of customers, the Pie Hole faced financial difficulties shortly after opening, and was in danger of closing before private investigator Emerson Cod started a business partnership with Ned, in which the two use his gift to question dead victims, solve their murders and collect the reward money. The arrangement provided Ned with the much-needed income to continue to operate his restaurant. Emerson also became a regular customer at the Pie Hole.