Murder, My Darling Read online

  “I’m impressed by their dedication,” her husband said. “It will be great publicity for the deli, and of course it will help the charity as well. Since the event will be televised, it’s practically free advertising. You’ve got some great employees.”

  “They’re not in their right minds,” she said, but she was smiling. She knew as well as David did that she had lucked out. All of her employees were wonderful, but Allison and Darrin were practically family. She was sad that Allison would be leaving to go work for Candice once the candy shop opened up, but she was also glad to know that her daughter would have her half-sister there to support her.

  Despite the cold, she was looking forward to the event at the lake. After the participants jumped into the lake, warm drinks and food would be provided to everyone, along with games, a snowman building contest, and a gift giveaway. As a sponsor, part of Moira’s job was to provide some hot soup for everyone. The night before, she had made a large pot of rice and tomato soup, and a second one of creamy chicken dumpling soup. Her employees would be bringing the containers along with the catering supplies to the lake. It felt good to give back to the community, and she would have been happy to donate food even if the deli didn’t benefit from the free advertising, though of course she wasn’t about to turn down the chance to get her deli on the statewide news station.

  As they drew nearer to town, the roads became busier than Moira had ever seen them in winter before. Lake Marion was a small town, even smaller than Maple Creek, but people had come from all over to watch and even participate in the ice dive. David joined the slow procession that was making its way toward the lake. Knowing that all of the closer spots would have long since been taken, he turned onto Main Street and parked in front of his office. Moira saw him shoot a glance at the truck that belonged to the man from the furnace company, and knew that he would want to stop in and check on the progress after the ice dive. She touched his arm reassuringly, knowing that even though he had taken a step back from his work as a private investigator, he still cared about the business very much. A broken furnace might not hurt much right away, but it could lead to frozen pipes, which in turn could lead to water damage, which could make for some very expensive repairs.

  As they made their way down the sidewalk after locking the car behind them, the deli owner kept her eyes peeled for her daughter’s vehicle. Finding Candice in this mess would be difficult, even with the help of their cell phones. Though she wasn’t participating in the jump, she was joining them to watch it and to cheer Allison on when it was her turn.

  After a cold walk through town, they finally reached the area of the beach where the event was taking place. A lone dock jutted out into the lake. It hadn’t been cold for long enough to cause the lake to completely freeze over, but there was ice near the shore and the water looked freezing. Moira shivered in sympathy for the people who would soon be plunging into the water, and was glad that she was wearing her warmest down coat.

  She felt, rather than heard, her phone ring as it buzzed in her pocket. Pulling it out, she saw Candice’s number and answered it.

  “We’re on the beach toward the north part of the lake,” her daughter said. “We’re walking toward the place where the dock is, but it’ll be a couple of minutes. Are you there yet? It looks like there’s already a pretty big crowd.

  “We just got here,” Moira said. “I have to go find Allison and Darrin and do the interview with the news crew, but David will find you two.”

  “Wish them both good luck for me,” Candice said. She chuckled. “Tell Allison that if she chickens out, I’ll never let her forget it.”

  “Neither will I,” Moira said, grinning. She said her goodbyes and hung up the phone, pausing to let David know where Candice and Eli were before shoving her way through the crowd toward the dock. It was time to make sure both of her employees were ready to jump into the freezing cold water, all in the name of charity.

  Half an hour later, beginning to feel the chill even through her warm coat, Moira found her family standing at the edge of the crowd, warm cups of hot chocolate in their hands. She was grateful when David handed her one.

  “How did it go?” he asked.

  “I found them, and we spoke to the news lady. All of the teams are getting a few minutes to say their bit before the event starts. The charity organization helps people all over the northern part of the state, and the more publicity the event gets, the better for them.”

  “How are Darrin and Allison doing?”

  “They both seem excited.” She made a face. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt so old before. Just the thought of jumping into that water makes my bones hurt.”

  “You’re not old, you’re just sane, Mom,” Candice said with a smile. “I’m not doing it either. I told Allison she’s crazy. She doesn’t even get anything out of jumping into the water. She could have just donated something to the charity instead.”

  “I’d do it, if I had known about it sooner,” Eli said. “It would make a good story to tell down the road. Besides, it’s fun to push yourself to go the extra mile sometimes. I bet the jumpers are all going to feel a lot more satisfied with themselves than we are at the end of the day.”

  “I’m going to have the satisfaction of getting a video of them jumping off the dock,” Moira said. “That’s not nothing.”

  She made sure her phone was easy to reach, then settled in to wait. The other teams were still talking to the news lady, and Darrin and Allison wouldn’t be jumping for a while yet. The event was due to start in another twenty minutes, and until then, there wasn’t much to do but sip her hot chocolate and talk with her family.

  Chapter Four

  Spending time with her mother again was nice. Candice couldn’t remember the last time she had been with her entire family like this, all together at an event in public. There was a sort of vicious glee in the crowd. They were all gathered there to watch other people do something silly and brave, and Candice knew that most of them couldn’t care less that it was for charity. Still, they had shown up, and that was what counted. She and Eli had donated a couple of gifts at the drop box near the entrance to the park, and she had been glad to see that plenty of other people had as well.

  Of course, just like everyone else, she was waiting eagerly to see the people jump into the icy water of Lake Marion. Allison, especially. Her half-sister was also her best friend, but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t dying to watch the other young woman leap into the frozen lake. She would be impressed if Allison went through with it, and would tease her forever if she didn’t. Though, knowing Allison, she would go through with it.

  She stood on her tiptoes, searching the crowd of people near the dock for her friend. She thought she caught a glimpse of Allison’s blonde hair vanishing into the warming tent the people putting on the event had set up. Darrin was nowhere to be seen. He was probably inside the tent, staying warm until the last second. She didn’t blame him.

  Someone in the crowd behind her bumped into her, nearly sending her off balance. She jolted forward and barely managed to keep from falling thanks to her husband. Eli reached out reflexively and caught her shoulder. They both teetered on the icy ground for a moment before catching their balance.

  “Thanks,” she said, shooting him a bright smile. She still could hardly believe that they were actually married. Something dropped into her boot and she looked down. “Ergh, my hot chocolate.”

  She had managed to spill the entire cup on herself, and it was soaking into her coat and her scarf.

  “You should rinse it off before it soaks in even more and stains,” Eli said. “Do you want me to go with you and find a bathroom?”

  “I think I’m just going to head to that tent they have set up for the divers,” she said. “The park’s bathrooms will all probably be closed for the season, and I’m sure they have water. I’ll be right back, it won’t take long.”

  She leaned forward to give him a kiss. He shot her a look that was half annoyed, and she kn
ew that he knew why she didn’t want him to come with her. Ever since the fire, she had been overprotective of him. Of course, he hardly even limped now, but she was still terrified that he would lose his balance and fall, getting hurt again and losing all of the progress he had made over the months.

  She knew that she tended to hover, but she couldn’t help it. Besides, the ground was icy, and no matter what he said, she knew his balance wasn’t as good now, so instead of waiting around for him to argue, she quickly told her mother what she was doing and then set off in the direction of the tent.

  Sure enough, they had a station with water, and she was welcomed in. Candice sighed as she scrubbed at the chocolate stain on her coat and scarf. The coat was water resistant, but the scarf was new and made out of wool, and she had a bad feeling it would stain permanently. It was a shame, she had really liked it.

  With a final sigh, she tossed the empty water bottle and wad of dirty napkins into the nearby trash can and patted her scarf and jacket as dry as she could with fresh napkins. Tossing the damp napkins into the trash can, she turned to leave just as someone with blonde hair nearly collided with her. Candice put her hands up to steady the familiar woman.

  “Allison, what’s wrong?” she asked.

  “I can’t find Darrin anywhere, and we’re supposed to jump in twenty minutes,” her friend said. “Have you seen him? I thought he might have gone to talk with Ms. D.”

  “I haven’t seen him, but he could have gone to see her after I got to the tent. What did he want to talk to her about?”

  “I don’t know. He’s been acting really weird and distracted all morning. I thought it was just because he and Jade broke up, but now I think there’s something else going on. I heard him telling someone else that he needed to tell his boss something.”

  “Who was he talking to?”

  “I don’t know!” Allison’s voice rose with frustration. “They were standing near the back of the tent. I didn’t want to eavesdrop, so I walked away. I didn’t know he was going to disappear after that. He better not leave me to jump alone.”

  “It’s Darrin, I’m sure he’ll show up,” Candice said. She had known him for years, and he was one of the most responsible people she knew. Though, she supposed if she was in Allison’s shoes, she might be a little bit stressed too. She was secretly just as much of a wimp as her mom was when it came to the prospect of jumping into a frigid lake in the middle of winter. “I can go look for him, if you want. He probably just had to step out to make a call or something.”

  “Thanks,” Allison said, relief showing in her eyes. “I’d go myself, but I don’t want to risk missing our turn to jump. Your mom would be so disappointed if neither of us showed up.”

  “I’ll find him,” Candice promised. “You stay here and just… think warm thoughts. You’re going to need them soon enough.”

  Grinning, Candice pushed her way through the back flap of the large tent, half expecting to find Darrin standing just outside of it. He wasn’t there, and she chided herself for thinking it would be that easy. Maybe he had gone to see her mom.

  She pulled her cell phone out of her coat pocket and was about to make the call when something caught her eye. There were footprints all over, but only two sets that led around the side of the tent, toward the closed-up restroom building a few yards away. She took a step forward, then nearly jumped out of her skin as a gunshot rang out. It took her a moment to realize it was the starting pistol for the lake jump. She could hear the crowd out front cheer, and loud music started playing.

  Another shot echoed through the din. She blinked and looked around. At first, she thought it must have been a second shot from the starting pistol, but it seemed to come from the wrong direction. It was hard to be sure, with the noise from the crowd and the loud music, but she thought it came from the direction that the footprints led.

  A quick glance back at the tent showed her that no one else seemed to have noticed the noise. At least, no one was coming to check. Biting her lip, she decided to do what her mother would have done and investigate the sound herself.

  She followed the prints to the small building, and paused before going around behind it. She heard something that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up; a quiet, gurgling cry that sounded too human for comfort. With a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, Candice took a hesitant step toward the sound. The cheering of the crowd increased several decibels, and she knew someone must have just jumped into the water. Even though there were hundreds of people just meters away on the beach, she felt completely alone. No one would hear her over the noise if she called for help.

  “Hello?” she called out softly, inching toward the corner of the building. It really wasn’t more than a shed that housed the park’s bathroom, now closed for the winter. “Is anyone there?”

  A rustling sound reached her ears, but nothing more.

  I should go find Allison, or my mom, she thought. Still, something kept her moving forward. She flashed back to the fire that had nearly killed Eli, and remembered how closely his life had hung in the balance. If the onlookers had been any slower to call an ambulance, he might not be here with her today. Complacency wouldn’t save any lives, but it very well might cost someone else theirs. She knew what she heard had been a second gunshot, and not just an echo of the starting pistol.

  “Hello?” she called again as she neared the edge of the small building.

  Her heart in her throat, she took one more step forward, then found herself frozen, unable to move, or even breathe, as she took in the scene in front of her.

  Darrin was lying on the ground, perfectly still but for a twitching of his fingers. She could see a dark pool beneath him, staining the snow. The blood seemed to be everywhere. She couldn’t tell where he was injured, but she knew it must be bad.

  Inhaling sharply, she ran forward and knelt beside him, her eyes on his chest, which was where most of the blood seemed to be coming from. Her hands fluttered as she tried to figure out what to do.

  “Are you…” she broke off, knowing that Are you okay? was a stupid question. Darrin was still alive. His eyes were closed, and if he was breathing, it was too shallow to see. The only thing she could think of was to put pressure on the wound, but there was so much blood, she didn’t know where to begin.

  She patted helplessly at his clothes, trying to figure out where she should press down to try to stem the flow of blood. It was hopeless. His coat was too thick, and everything was already stained red. She just couldn’t tell where it was coming from.

  She became aware of the sound of the crowd cheering again, which brought her back to reality. She had her cell phone in her pocket, and she desperately needed to get help. Rocking back on her heels, she pulled the device out of her pocket and dialed the familiar three numbers. The dispatcher answered, and she choked out everything that had happened, stammering through the name of the park.

  “Ma’am, can you update us on the condition of the victim?”

  “I don’t know,” she said, her voice frantic. “I can’t find a pulse. I don’t know what to do.”

  She knelt next to Darrin again and grabbed his wrist, trying to feel for his heart beat, but without any luck. She moved her fingers up to his neck, searching frantically for any sign that he was alive. She didn’t realize that she was hyperventilating until she became dizzy and had to steady herself with her hand on the ground.

  The wait for the paramedics seemed to take forever. When the flashing lights and the sound of whooping sirens finally caught her attention, she had no idea how long it had been since she had first made the call. She knew she was on the verge of a panic attack, and couldn’t seem to tear her eyes from Darrin’s still form. She was relieved when she saw the paramedics rushing toward them. It was out of her hands now.

  Only moments after she had been shooed away by the paramedics, who were rushing Darrin to the ambulance, she felt a hand grab her wrist, and was pulled unexpectedly into a tight hug.

  “Oh, m
y goodness, sweetie, we were so worried. We couldn’t find you, then when we saw the ambulance –”

  Her mother broke off, hugging her even tighter. When she was finally released, Candice saw her husband’s worried face right next to her mother’s shoulder. Eli didn’t say anything, but he pulled her into a much gentler hug, brushing his lips across her temple. David was there too, looking grimly after the paramedics as they hurried away.

  “What happened?” Eli asked quietly, his eyes flitting over her shoulder to where the snow was still stained red. “When we saw Allison do the jump on her own, your mom knew something was wrong. When you didn’t come back, we all started to get worried.”

  “It’s Darrin,” Candice choked out. “He’s… he’s been shot. I don’t even know if he’s alive.” Her voice broke on the last word, and Eli pulled her close again. She closed her eyes, leaning her head against his chest. She felt tears prick the backs of her lids. She and her family were safe, but she knew things had changed forever nonetheless.