Hearty Homestyle Murder: Book 9 in The Darling Deli Series Read online

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  HEARTY HOMESTYLE 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

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Hearty Homestyle Murder

  Book Nine in the Darling Deli Series

  By

  Patti Benning

  Copyright 2016 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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  HEARTY HOMESTYLE

  MURDER

  Book nine of The Darling Deli Series

  CHAPTER ONE

  “Are you sure you don’t want to participate?” Moira Darling asked Dante Williams. “Besides the chance to have your soup represent Darling’s DELIcious Delights in the county fair, our little store contest should be fun.”

  “I’m sure,” her employee said. “With classes starting up again, I’m busier than ever. Plus, I don’t want to compete against Meg. I’m happy to stick to making the quiches.”

  Moira smiled. Meg Brownell was a spunky young woman she’d hired a few months back. Outgoing and confident, she couldn’t have been more different from shy, hesitant Dante, but in this case opposites certainly had attracted each other. The two had started dating shortly after Meg had started working at the deli, and had been inseparable ever since.

  “All right, if you’re sure,” she told him. “But I hope you’ll still join us tomorrow. David, Candice, and Eli will be the judges, but there will be enough soup for everyone to have a taste.”

  “I wouldn’t miss it,” he said with a grin. “I can’t wait to see what everybody comes up with.”

  The county fair was in just under a week, and Moira had already rented a booth for the deli. Though she was looking forward to spending a few days selling fresh soup, sandwiches, and salads on the fairgrounds instead of being cooped up in the deli, it was the soup competition that had her most excited. The fair’s soup competition was one of many food-related contests, which included a cupcake competition and a contest to see who could make the stretchiest taffy. The competitions were usually lighthearted and all of the contestants had fun; nevertheless, the stakes were real. The winner of each competition got a ribbon, a mention in the local newspaper, their picture hung in the town hall, and a hundred dollars donated to the charity of their choice. Such good publicity could be pivotal for a business, and Moira hoped that the deli would win this year.

  We almost won last year, she thought. If it wasn’t for the Soup Shoppe, we would have. She shook her head, refusing to think ill of the dead. The past was past, and this was a new year.

  Moira greeted her other male employee, Darrin, as she walked into the kitchen. Darrin had been working for her for nearly as long as the deli had existed, and she often depended on him to take over when she couldn’t be there. He could practically run the deli on his own by now, and she sometimes wondered what she would do without him.

  “Hey, Ms. D,” he said with a nod. “Heading out?”

  “I’d better be. I want to stop at the candy shop before it closes. I still don’t know if Candice is renting a booth at the fair or not.”

  “I hope she is. I bet she would get a lot of new customers if she did.”

  Candice, Moira’s twenty-year-old daughter, had opened her own business just over a month ago. The candy shop had a steady stream of customers and was getting new ones all the time, but the deli owner knew that the real test would begin during the long, snowy northern Michigan winter. It was essential for local businesses to have the support of local residents during that time; businesses that depended too much on the summer tourists tended to fail when the snow started to fall.

  She said a final goodbye to Darrin, who got back to scrubbing the soapy dishes in the sink with good cheer. It was the tail end of summer, and they had the side door propped open with cinder blocks to allow the warm breeze into the kitchen. The scent of freshly cut grass wrapped around Moira as she stepped outside. She paused and tilted her face up to the sun, determined to enjoy the peace while it lasted. Lately it seemed like one crisis after another had been popping up. She really wished every day could be like this.

  The drive from the deli, which was in her hometown of Maple Creek, to Candice’s Candies in Lake Marion was a short one. She had made the drive countless times over the past year, and sometimes thought she could do it with her eyes closed. On a nice day like today she envied Candice her sleek silver convertible; what could be better than driving down the twisty, tree-lined roads with the top down? As it was, Moira had to make do with putting all of the windows down and wishing, once again, that she could justify getting a new car for herself.

  “Maybe next year,” she said to herself as she pulled her car into the parking lot behind the building that Candice owned. “If the deli does as well next summer as it has so far this summer, I should be able to afford at least a nice used car.”

  Knowing that Candice now kept the candy shop’s back door locked, Moira walked around to the front of the building. She paused outside for a moment, watching her daughter through the glass shop window. The girl was chatting animatedly with an older woman while two children eagerly examined the plentiful selection of candies, chocolates, and other sweets. Most of the hard candies were made by Candice herself in the store, and Moira knew that she had recently branched out into fudge, peanut brittle, and saltwater taffy.

  She felt a swell of pride at how well her daughter was doing. After her divorce ten years ago, it had just been the two of them. Candice was the most important thing in her life, and sometimes she couldn’t believe just how much her little girl
had grown up. No longer the wild teenager of just a few years ago, her daughter was now a responsible, outgoing young woman who had directed her future by striking out on her own. The day that her daughter had moved out for good had been bittersweet for Moira, but now, watching her daughter in her element, she couldn’t be happier.

  Letting herself in through the candy shop’s front door, she examined the shelves and bowls of candy, wondering what new flavors her daughter had come up with since she had last visited the store. The shop was air-conditioned, and the cool air felt good on her skin after the heaviness of the hot weather outside.

  “Hey, Mom,” Candice said, coming around the register to greet her mother with a hug once her customers had left with their purchases. “How are you?”

  “I’m doing pretty well,” Moira told her. “You?”

  “Never better.” Candice grinned, and Moira was glad to see that entrepreneurship seemed to be a good fit for her.

  “That’s good. How is the shop doing?” she asked.

  “Well, it was pretty busy this morning. It seems to be slowing down right now, though. All in all, these last few weeks have been going better than I expected. Oh, I have something neat to show you.”

  Amused by the young woman’s seemingly boundless energy, Moira followed her through the door in the back of the store that led to the kitchen. Candice opened a cupboard and pulled out a box of silicone molds in various shapes.

  “Eli knows a guy who does 3-D printing. He agreed to make custom molds for my store, so now I can offer people chocolate, fudge, and hard candy in whatever shapes they want. I think it will be great for things like birthday parties. In fact, I already have my first order.” She beamed. “Do you want me to make something for the deli? The guy who makes these can do any shape you can think of - he just puts it into his machine and about six hours later it finishes up the new mold.”

  “That is really neat,” Moira said, taking one of the silicone molds in her hand. She examined it closely, wondering exactly how the 3-D printer that Candice mentioned worked. The concept sounded familiar, but she had never seen one in action. “I’ll have to think about what I want for the deli.”

  Impressed, she placed the butterfly mold back in the box. Candice seemed to have a better grip on some of the newer technologies than she did, which was a good thing. She could barely figure out how to make a regular printer work.

  “I’m glad to hear you’re finding your niche,” she added. “Remember, if you ever need any help, let me know and I’ll figure something out. You must get tired, working every day like you do.”

  “Oh, it’s not so bad. I mean, I live right upstairs, and I usually take an hour lunch break or so. And the store is only open for three hours on Sunday. Plus, Eli helps out a lot.”

  “It’s wonderful that he’s so helpful. He must like you quite a lot.” Moira hid a smile. Eli Rothberg was Candice’s newest boyfriend. He managed an ice cream parlor for his grandfather just a few blocks away from the candy shop. Stable and grounded, yet optimistic, the young man seemed to be a perfect match for her daughter. She could tell that Candice liked him a lot, and hoped that their relationship was a lasting one.

  “I think he’s just a nice person,” said Candice with a blush. “We’re still coming over to the deli tomorrow evening after close, right? He’s eager to be a judge in the contest you set up. Who do you think will win?”

  “Yes, everyone will be meeting at the deli at eight. And I really don’t know whose soup will win.” Moira cocked her head as she considered her employees’ cooking abilities. Both Meg and Allison Byrd, her newest employee, had little experience in a professional kitchen. Although Darrin often helped out in the deli’s kitchen, she didn’t think she had ever seen him come up with a recipe of his own, aside from his hot sauce. She didn’t know what to expect from any of them, but was certain that at the very least the casual competition would be fun.

  “I bet they’ll all be good though,” she added. “That reminds me… I wanted to ask you if you rented a booth yet for the fair? The price goes up a few days beforehand, so I wouldn’t wait too long if I were you.”

  “I already did, don’t worry,” Candice assured her. “Well, actually Eli and I are renting one together. Ice Cream Dream and Candice’s Candies will be teaming up for the fair. He’s even got a few new sundaes planned that have gummy worms and jelly beans instead of fruit.”

  “That sounds like a bit too much sugar for me,” Moira said with a laugh. “But I bet you two will have fun.”

  She gave her daughter a quick hug goodbye and left, forcing herself to ignore the call of the delicious-looking squares of fudge that sat temptingly under a glass bell on the counter. The fair meant a whole week of deep-fried mushrooms, onion rings, chili fries, elephant ears, and cotton candy coming up, and her pants were already feeling a little bit too tight.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Moira woke up the next morning to the sound of ferocious barking. With a groan she sat up, glanced at her clock—it was not quite seven, still almost an hour before her alarm was supposed to go off—then hurried downstairs to see what all the ruckus was about. What she found was Maverick, the normally sweet black and tan German shepherd that she had adopted a few months ago, standing by the picture window in the living room with his hackles up and his ears pricked forward as his eyes scanned the tree line. Still rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Moira walked over to him and laid her hand on his back.

  “What is it, Mav?” she asked as she looked out the window herself. She didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Certainly he hadn’t been barking at the songbirds that had just begun to flock around the bird feeder for an early start at breakfast; he had taken very well to their move from town out into the woods between Maple Creek and Lake Marion, and didn’t even seem to mind the deer that frequented the yard in the evenings.

  She glanced down to see if she could follow his gaze, but he seemed to have lost interest in whatever had been outdoors. He twisted his head to look up at her, and she found herself gazing into a pair of hopeful brown eyes.

  “It’s a bit early for breakfast, isn’t it?”

  She chuckled when he spun on the spot and dashed for the kitchen. Maverick never seemed to think it was too early or late for any meal. She found him sitting patiently by his stainless steel bowl next to the fridge, his eyes darting between her and the cupboard where she kept his food.

  By the time she had fed him, completed her own morning bathroom routine, and made her coffee, it was nearly seven-thirty—the time that she normally started her day. She was glad that Dante, Meg, Allison, and Darrin were happy to rotate opening the deli for breakfast among themselves for the most part; she had never been much of a morning person herself, and usually needed a cup or two of coffee in her before she really started to feel human.

  She settled herself in the rocking chair on the back porch only to stand right back up again when she heard her cell phone begin ringing inside. Chances were it was important because she rarely got calls this early. Most likely something had gone wrong at the deli, but it could also be Candice or David, her private investigator boyfriend, needing something urgent. With a sigh she set her coffee down on the small wooden table next to the rocking chair and headed back inside, shooting Maverick a stern glance on her way in just in case he got it into his mind to try to taste her coffee. A large dog hyped up on caffeine was something that she definitely did not need right now.

  The name that came up on her phone’s screen surprised her; what was Martha calling this early for? Her friend was supposed to be flying out of the Traverse City airport at noon. She hoped that nothing had come up. Martha worked hard, and her job was significantly more stressful than Moira’s; she deserved a vacation, that was for sure.

  “I’m sorry for calling you so early. I hope I didn’t wake you up,” the other woman said as soon as Moira answered the call. “I just didn’t know who else to turn to, and I have to leave by eight if I want to make it to the airport on t
ime.”

  “Don’t worry about it, I was already up,” she reassured her friend. “What’s going on? You know I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

  “It’s Diamond,” Martha began. The deli owner’s heart skipped a beat. Diamond was her friend’s little black-and-white dog, a mixed breed that occasionally came over to play with Maverick in the backyard. The shepherd was smitten with her, and Moira knew the other woman would be crushed if something had happened to her beloved pet.

  “Oh no, is she okay?” she asked.

  “Nothing like that,” Martha said quickly. “It’s just that my pet sitter canceled on me last minute. She had a family emergency, so I’m trying my best not to be mad, but if I can’t find someone to watch Diamond, I can’t go on my trip…”

  “Oh. Well, I guess I could take her.” Moira bit her lip as soon as the words came out of her mouth. Some days she felt as if she barely had time for Maverick. How would she make time for her friend’s dog too?

  “Thank you so much,” the other woman said, obviously relieved. “I can drop her off in about fifteen minutes, if that works for you. I’ve already got all of her things packed. I’ll pay you the same amount I was going to pay the pet sitter.”

  “Fifteen minutes is fine. And don’t worry about paying me. Keep the money and enjoy something extra on your vacation. You’ve earned it.”

  She hung up the phone and slid it into her pocket in case her friend called again, then went back outside to enjoy her coffee before Martha and Diamond arrived. This might be fun, she told herself as she watched Maverick race around the fenced-in portion of her yard. Mav will enjoy having her here. And how much extra work can a second dog be?

  ***

  “Here’s her food. She gets one scoop in the morning and one in the evening. There’s also a bag of her favorite treats in there, and her food and water bowls. And then of course her dog bed and her crate for when you’re not home. She’s learned how to open the cupboards in my kitchen, so I can’t let her be free when I’m not there.”