Pies, Lies and Murder (The Darling Deli Series Book 22) Read online

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  PIES, LIES, AND MURDER

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  EPILOGUE

  Pies,

  Lies,

  and

  Murder

  Book Twenty-Two

  in

  The Darling Deli Series

  By

  Patti Benning

  Copyright 2017 Summer Prescott Books

  All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication nor any of the information herein may be quoted from, nor reproduced, in any form, including but not limited to: printing, scanning, photocopying or any other printed, digital, or audio formats, without prior express written consent of the copyright holder.

  **This book is a work of fiction. Any similarities to persons, living or dead, places of business, or situations past or present, is completely unintentional.

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  PIES, LIES, AND

  MURDER

  Book Twenty-Two in The Darling Deli Series

  CHAPTER ONE

  * * *

  Moira Darling sprinkled paprika over the bowl of potato salad, then stepped back to admire her work. Satisfied, she grabbed the bowl and carried it towards the front door. As she turned the knob, her German shepherd, Maverick, pushed through from behind her. Knowing what to expect, she stepped aside and let Keeva, her giant grey wolfhound, follow.

  She paused to watch as both dogs ran in a big loop through the front yard before returning to the deck to sniff at the smoking barbecue. Smiling, Moira set the bowl on the table before turning to go back inside to grab the next dish. When she returned with a bowl of homemade coleslaw, she saw Diamond, her friend Martha’s black and white little dog, chasing Maverick, who was carrying a huge stick in his mouth. The little dog was yapping with frustration as the German shepherd ran circles around her.

  “Look at him teasing her,” Martha said, laughing. She was leaning against the deck’s railing. A tall man with long, wavy blonde hair, was standing with his arm around her.

  “It can’t be easy to be such a small dog,” the man said. “Especially not when her two best friends are about ten times her weight.”

  Dominic Welch was Martha’s newest boyfriend. This was the first time that Moira had met him; in fact, she had hosted this barbecue in part as an excuse to finally see the man. She knew that her friend was completely smitten with him. She might have just been being an overprotective best friend, but she thought that there was something off about him. Until she could figure out exactly what it was though, she wouldn’t say anything. Martha seemed happy, and she supposed that was what mattered.

  She placed the coleslaw on the table, then sat down next to her other friend. Denise was staring at the top of the table, seemingly lost in thought. The redhaired woman didn’t even look up when Moira’s arm brushed her shoulder.

  Denise had been unusually quiet that day, and Moira was worried about her. Just a few weeks ago her nephew, who had come to live with her after her sister died, had been sent to prison. He had an appeal in a couple of weeks, and she knew that Denise was waiting nervously for the decision that would be made then.

  Logan had killed a man. From everything that Moira understood, it had been in self-defense, but after he had lied about it and tried to hide what had really happened for weeks, the judge hadn’t been eager to go easy on him. She hoped that he was able to get his freedom back; he was a good kid, and might well have saved her life. Still, it was hard for her to imagine the nice young man that she had known killing someone. For Denise, it must be even more difficult.

  “How are you doing?” she asked her friend

  Denise gave her a weak smile. “Worried,” she said. “But you know that. Thanks for inviting me today. I’m sure it’s good for me to get out of the house.”

  “Well, I’m glad you came. It’s nice to have everyone together.”

  Everyone at the barbecue, other than Dominic, were either family or close friends. Her daughter Candice was there with her fiancé Eli, who was laughing as he watched her try to get Keeva to play fetch. The wolfhound would walk a few steps towards the ball, then look back at them doubtfully, as if she didn’t understand why they didn’t just go and pick it up themselves.

  Eli and Candice were getting married next month. Moira felt bittersweet about the upcoming wedding. She liked Eli a lot. He seemed like a good man, and she knew that he cared deeply about her daughter.

  Both of them were successful and busy young people. Eli had some family money in addition to the ice cream shop that he ran for his elderly grandfather, and Candice had her own candy shop. They had recently bought a farm at a hugely discounted price after the previous owner had been arrested, and were now leasing land to David for his microbrewery.

  Part of her was concerned that her daughter was in over her head – she had a lot going on in her life for someone who was barely out of her teenage years. On the other hand, her daughter was more successful than many people her age were. Moira knew that she had to simply trust that she had raised the young woman well, and that her daughter would continue to make smart choices.

  “That potato salad looks great,” Martha said, joining her and Denise at the table. Dominic had gone over to the grill and was talking with David as he turned the steaks. “Is that bacon I see in it?”

  “Yes.” Moira smiled. “I know it’s not the healthiest, but today’s for fun, not dieting. The coleslaw should be pretty healthy, at least. I got most of the ingredients from the farmers market the other day.”

  “Homemade potato salad and coleslaw, bratwurst, steak, and chicken,” Martha said. “This is fun. It’s been a while since I’ve had a barbecue. I’m terrible at grilling myself. I own a gas grill, but I haven’t used it once. I’m pretty sure some birds made a nest in it last year.”

  “At least they’re using it,” Moira said, laughing. “By the way, there are brownies for dessert. Made from scratch, with salted caramel swirls. Oh, that reminds me, there is a bowl of fruit inside as well. I cut it up and put it in the fridge yesterday. I’ll go get it.”

  Moira got up and walked back into the house, shutting the front door behind her. It was nice and cool inside, and the entire house smelled like the brownies that were in the oven. She smiled to herself, feeling unusually happy and at peace with the world. Could her life get any b
etter? She didn’t think so. She didn’t think that she’d ever been happier, not even back when she had been married to her first husband and Candice had been a young child, and the three of them had had their futures stretched out in front of them.

  She was so thankful for the friends and the family that she had built for herself in this town. They had been through a lot together, and in the end, they always supported each other. Even though what Denise and Logan were going through now was difficult, that she had to believe that things would turn out all right for them in the end as well. Logan was a good kid, and she likely owed her life to him. She had to believe that there would be justice for him, and her fingers were crossed for things to go well during his appeal.

  She pulled the bowl of fruit out of the fridge and took the off the plastic wrap, popping a piece of pineapple into her mouth. She grabbed a couple of condiments and a serving spoon for the fruit, then took everything back outside. Denise, who owned the Redwood Grill, the nicest restaurant in town, was now standing at the barbecue talking to the men. Moira grinned. She was likely giving them both a lesson on cooking steak. David was smiling, but Dominic looked annoyed. She felt a small tug of trepidation, but pushed it away. Her friend was happy with the man, and that was what mattered as long as he treated her well.

  Martha was now watching the three dogs playing again. “Are you still planning on bringing them up north with you?” her friend asked.

  “Yes, we are. It’s actually one of the reasons that we chose the cottage that we’ll be staying at. It’s dog friendly, and a lot of them aren’t. I think that the dogs are going to love it. They will get to go to the beach, they’ll be coming hiking with us, and we’re even going to be renting a boat, so they can come along when we go fishing too.”

  “You’re all going to have so much fun. I’m just a little bit jealous.” Her friend smiled.

  “I’m sorry, I know how busy work has been keeping you. Maybe next year we can all go together. It would be nice if all of us went and we rented a bunch of cabins.”

  “I’d love to go, but I think it’s good that it’s just the three of you this year. After this, Candice is going to start her own family, most likely.” Martha glanced at her friend, then quickly spoke again. “Not that she’ll stop wanting to do things with you, of course. You have such a wonderful relationship with your daughter, and I didn’t mean to make it sound like I thought that might change.

  Moira laughed. “I know, don’t worry. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that my daughter is growing up. It’s hard, but nonetheless, I’m proud of her. She’s become such a wonderful young

  woman, and she’s been so successful so far. And I love that she’s following her dreams this early in her life. I almost waited until it was too late.”

  “Yeah, her candy shop is doing pretty well. I have seen some of those custom chocolates of hers in stores as far south as Traverse City. It’s impressive. Whatever her secret recipe is, it’s working. It almost makes me want to start my own business, but I have no idea what I would sell. Even if I did manage to come up with something, I doubt it would be as successful as the candy shop is – or the deli, for that matter.”

  “There is no harm in trying as long as you’re careful about it. Do what makes you happy. As long as you can pay the bills at the end of the day, there is no reason not to have a job that you enjoy.”

  “Maybe I’ll think about the change of career in a couple of years.” Martha’s eyes slid across to Dominic, who was still working at the grill with David. “You never know, by then things may be very different for me.”

  “What does Dominic do?” Moira asked. “I think I remember you mentioning something about teaching.”

  “He’s a life coach,” Martha said. “He sets his own hours and works over the phone.”

  “Oh, I see. That’s… neat.”

  “It is. He’s got a very flexible schedule, unlike me.” Her friend sighed.

  Moira thought that she knew what was going on. Martha wasn’t happy about where she was in life, and wanted a change of some sort. Being with Dominic must be making her feel better about her own future. She was glad her friend seemed to be happier with him, but still she couldn’t shake the feeling that something about the man was off. She was probably just being pessimistic; she had certainly seen enough of the bad parts of humanity in the past couple of years to no longer look at the world through rose-colored glasses.

  Her phone buzzed, and she excused herself to check the email that had just come through. It was from the man that they were renting the cottage from, Grant Feldman, confirming their stay. She sent back a quick confirmation email, feeling her excitement about the trip return full force. In the morning, the three of them would leave on their family vacation, and she was determined to make it perfect.

  CHAPTER TWO

  * * *

  Moira woke with the dawn the next morning to her alarm clock’s incessant beeping. She groaned, rolled over, and shut the clock off. David stirred next to her. She considered waking him up, but decided to let him sleep a little while longer. He would be driving most of the way up north, so he should get his rest now.

  She had most of her clothes, books, and toiletries already packed and ready to go. It didn’t take her long to pack the few last-minute items that she needed. Once she was completely ready to go, she turned her attention to the dogs. They had bought a small bag of dog food just for this trip, thinking that it would be easier to transport than the large one that was already opened in the mud room. Two large dogs could eat a lot of food over five days.

  The food wasn’t all that they needed. She was bringing extra leashes and collars just in case the ones they were wearing got lost or dirty. Keeva was especially skilled at finding things to roll in, and her nylon collar held the scent all too well, even after being washed. She also had a large dog bed for each of them, along with collapsible food and water dishes and a bag of treats.

  Then there were the dogs themselves. She had given them both baths and nail trims the day before, since neither she nor David were eager to spend half the day in a car with a pair of smelly dogs. They were clean, but they were still big, and fitting the dogs plus three people in addition to all of their luggage into the car would be like playing a very difficult game of Tetris.

  By the time she was ready to start packing the vehicle, David was up. With his help, they loaded the luggage into the back of the car, and put two of the back seats down for the dogs, leaving Candice the seat by the window behind the driver. The dogs wouldn’t have a ton of room, but they should at least be able to lay down.

  “What about the cooler?” David asked after they had stepped back to admire their work. The cooler was sitting on the hood of the vehicle, completely forgotten by both of them until that moment.

  With a sigh, Moira stepped forward to help him begin moving the luggage around. It took them another fifteen minutes to get the cooler settled snugly into a spot where Candice would be able to open it on the trip.

  Then, it was time to load up the dogs and go. Keeva and Maverick seemed to sense that something out of the ordinary was going on, and they were both bursting with excitement. Moira had the feeling that her daughter might get stepped on a couple of times until they settled down, but she would just have to handle it. The SUV had seemed like a big jump in space from the little passenger car that she used to drive, but seeing how squished they would all be with the dogs and the luggage, she was beginning to think that she should have gotten something even bigger, like a van. Or maybe a semi-truck.

  She double checked that she had her phone and charger, then waited for David to do one last walk through of the house to make sure they hadn’t forgotten anything. He flicked on the porch light and locked the door, and then they were finally on their way.

  Moira took one last look back at their little stone house as David pulled the metallic green SUV out of the driveway. She was excited for their vacation, but she could already tell that she was going to miss th
eir home, not to mention the deli.

  Darling’s DELIcious Delights was her pride and joy. She had opened the deli just over three years ago, shortly after her daughter left for college. At first, she had planned for it to be nothing more than a hobby for her, but it had quickly grown past that. Last year she had made the leap and had expanded their hours to include breakfast, which meant that even if she had wanted to, she wouldn’t have been able to run the store by herself, not with the deli being open twelve hours a day during the weekdays.

  Thankfully, she had Darrin, her manager, to rely on. He would be working each of the five days that she was gone, and she trusted him to handle anything that might come up. The deli was her baby however, and even though she trusted Darrin, it wouldn’t be easy being away from it for so long.

  Darling’s DELIcious Delights served soups, sandwiches, salads, and in the morning, crepes and quiches. In addition to the fresh foods, they also had a variety of cured meats and cheeses, and also sold cold soda and beer; namely, the drafts from David’s microbrewery. The fourth of July week was one of the busiest weeks of the entire year, but Darrin had convinced her that they would manage without her. She had promised to try her best not to worry about the deli too much while she was gone, so she forced herself to think instead about their trip and how much she was looking forward to the next few days.