Creamy Casserole Murder: Book 15 in The Darling Deli Series (6 page)

“But don’t you want one too?” she asked as she picked up a cookie.

The deli owner gave her a sheepish grin. “I’ve been eating them all morning,” she admitted.

“They must be good,” the other woman said with a chuckle. “I’ve been meaning to thank you personally for catering that event at Misty Pines a couple of months ago. The food was absolutely delicious. If you ever want a different job, I’d be happy to send our current chef packing.”

“While it’s tempting, my heart’s with the deli,” Moira said, smiling. “Thank you, though. I love hearing compliments like that.”

“What was it you wanted to talk about?” the other woman asked. She took a bite of the breakfast cookie and added, “This is really good, by the way.”

“It’s a new flavor. I’m glad you like it.” The deli owner took a sip of her own coffee, trying to decide how to broach the subject of Reggie and Beatrice. She decided to start with the phone call that she had gotten from the elderly man in the middle of the night, and go from there.

“I’m not sure what I think about all of this,” she finished. “I didn’t think there was anything to it at first, but after speaking to Danny… well, he doesn’t seem a model son, exactly.”

Alberta, who was on her second cookie, nodded. “He definitely wasn’t. He had a very strained relationship with his mother—something about money, I think. He had a better relationship with his aunt, but I have the suspicion that she regularly loaned him large amounts of cash.”

“Wow,” the deli owner said, shaking her head. “He sounds like a real winner. Do you think he actually could have done it?”

“It’s a possibility,” the director said. “Thank you for telling me all of this. I knew about Reggie’s concerns, but I didn’t know the full story. I’ll do what I can to reopen the investigation into Beatrice’s death, but it might be hard since Danny has her power of attorney; without any evidence, I might have a hard time getting him to sign the morgue release. If he did kill her for her money, he’s in for a nasty surprise, though. Beatrice made a new will shortly before she passed, and I can tell you that her son wasn’t in it.”

For the next few days, Moira mulled over what Alberta had told her. The more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed that Beatrice’s death wasn’t from natural causes after all. What if Danny had heard that his mother had removed him from the will? He might have been so angry that he had decided to end her life then and there. It was a chilling thought, but it made a horrible sort of sense.

David, when she told him, didn’t say much. Danny had never been in trouble with the law, as far as his background check said, anyway. He had one eviction under his belt, and had had credit collectors sent after him twice.

“I’m still not convinced,” her told Moira over the phone Tuesday evening. “I know he
looks
guilty, but the fact is, her death was determined to be from natural causes. Wasn’t her funeral today? She’s probably long since been cremated, as I highly doubt that Danny would have made it easy for any sort of autopsy to be done. The police aren’t going to listen to you without some sort of real evidence—can you imagine the chaos if they arrested someone whenever a rich old person with a bad relationship with their children died? They would never be able to get anything done at Misty Pines, because it would always be crawling with police.”

“Well, how do I get evidence?” the deli owner asked, annoyed. “They’ve already cleaned out her room and given it to someone else, and I doubt Danny will let me search his house for a possible murder weapon. I don’t want him to just get away with this, David. If he killed her, he deserves to spend a very long time in jail. The woman raised him, for goodness sake.”

“I guess I could do some digging and see if I can find out who Beatrice put in her will if it wasn’t him,” he said. “They might be able to at least shed more light on Danny’s relationship with his mother.”

“All right… thanks, David. I know this is taking up a lot of your time, and I appreciate it. Are you sure you can’t make lunch tomorrow? Candice and Eli are both coming.”

“Sorry, but I’m going to be in Traverse City. One of my clients thinks her husband is cheating on her, and he’s leaving for a ‘business trip’ tonight. I’ve got to keep an eye on him.”

“Oh, let me know what happens. I hope he’s innocent.”

“I don’t,” David said, surprising her.

“What?”

“His wife’s going to divorce him either way, she just thinks it will look better for her if he’s an adulterer. For his sake, it will be better if he’s not the loving husband that he appears to be. Otherwise, he’s going to be crushed.”

“She sounds like a terrible woman,” Moira said. “You work with the strangest people.”

“I know.” She could hear the smile in his voice. “It’s how I met you, remember?”

Even though David wouldn’t be coming to her lunch on Wednesday, it didn’t stop her from going all out. It had been a while since she had cooked a big, multi-course meal, and she was looking forward to it. In the morning, she went shopping, buying mostly fresh ingredients, and also picking up a couple of soup bones for the dogs. At home she tossed the marrow-filled bones out onto the back porch and let the dogs outside, knowing that they would be kept happily busy for the next few hours.

Her kitchen was a lot smaller than the deli’s kitchen, but still had everything that she needed to make a three-course meal. She began with the fish: thick swordfish steaks that she seasoned with garlic and lemon pepper. After covering the glass dish with plastic wrap, she set the fish in the fridge to keep it fresh until she was ready to put it in the oven. The next part of the meal was creamy cauliflower soup, and she chopped up the white florets and put them in a pot of boiling water while she turned her attention to the salad.

In no time at all, a big bowl of fresh greens and veggies was sitting on the table, along with a few different varieties of dressing. The fish was cooking in the oven, and the cauliflower soup was simmering away on the stove. To complete the meal, Moira got out a chilled bottle of chardonnay out of the fridge and set it on the table. She had gone all out with the place settings, even digging up a tablecloth.
It looks good
, she thought, wishing that David could be there to appreciate it.

“Wow, Mom, it smells amazing in here,” said Candice when she and Eli arrived a few minutes later. “You didn’t need to go to all of this trouble just for us.”

“I wanted to,” Moira replied with a smile. “You’re my daughter… and I’ve come to realize just how special it is that we have such a good relationship.”

She was thinking of Danny and his mother Beatrice again. How on earth could someone kill their own parent? It was a horrible thought, and it made her glad that she and her daughter got along so well.

“I just wish David could have come,” she added as they sat down. “We haven’t had much of a chance to see each other lately.”

Candice bit her lip and looked over at Eli before replying. “I’m sure it’s only temporary,” she said. “You’ve been so busy getting back into the swing of things after the cruise, and he’s been completely slammed at work. Things will calm down eventually.”

“Did he tell you he was busy at work?” Moira asked, frowning. Why did it seem that David had time to talk to everyone but her?

“Yeah, he stopped in at the candy store the other day to chat, only for a few minutes,” her daughter said. “But Mom, let’s eat. This fish looks delicious. What is it?”

The conversation steered away from personal matters as Moira and Candice began reminiscing about their time together on the cruise. Eli took second helpings of the cauliflower soup and listened while the women talked.

“I’ve got to ask,” he said at last. “Didn’t you ever get bored, spending all of your time on a boat? I mean yeah, it’s a big boat, but I feel like I’d go stir-crazy.”

“Well we got to stop at some islands,” Moira said. “And there was a
lot
to do on the cruise. I think the hardest part for me was being around so many people for so long. It made me appreciate this quiet country house even more.”

“I loved it,” Candice said. “Everyone was super nice and happy, and there was always something to do.”

It wasn’t until Moira brought out dessert—homemade brownies with caramel drizzled on top—that she broached the subject of Reggie. She gathered that he had mentioned his concerns to Eli and Candice, but not in as much detail.

“No wonder he wanted you to come to dinner Sunday evening so badly,” Eli said. “I’d wondered. He was very adamant that you were there. He mentioned it being something about Beatrice, but I didn’t pay much attention. I’m sorry to say it, but I thought he was imagining things.”

“So did I at first,” Moira admitted. “David still isn’t completely convinced, but I think Reggie’s on to something.”

“He may be,” Eli said. “I’ll do some digging, too. I’m at Misty Pines all the time, so it will be easy for me to ask around. Maybe one of Beatrice’s friends knows why she changed her will.”

“See if you can talk to her sister,” the deli owner said. “According to Danny, they were close. If anyone knows anything, she does.”

The next morning, Moira got a call from Eli. He was excited, and she had to put down her coffee and ask him to go over it again.

“It’s about Beatrice’s sister,” he said. “Her name’s Delilah. She’s even older than Beatrice was, but she seems to know what’s going on… and guess what?”

“What?”

“She says she knows her sister was killed, and she has a good idea about who did it. I guess someone’s been bugging her about her own will, but she had to go and do her morning exercises before she could tell me who. She wants to meet us for lunch and talk about it—oh, and she wants you to bring a fast food burger. She said she’s sick of the food here and wants something unhealthy for once. Will you be able to come?”

“Lunch today?” Moira glanced at her watch. She had to be at the deli by one to relieve Meg. “I can come for a cup of coffee at noon, but I can’t stay for long. I’ll bring her burger as long as it won’t get me in trouble with the nurses.”

“Perfect,” Eli said. “I can’t believe Grandpa was actually right. He’s always concocting mysteries where they don’t exist, but this is twice now that he’s actually been onto something. Bring David if you can. See you soon, Ms. D!”

She and David pulled up to the retirement home shortly before noon. She clutched a small fast food bag, and kept glancing nervously at her phone; she had called Eli a few minutes ago to tell him they were nearly there, but he hadn’t answered.

“I hope she hasn’t changed her mind about talking to us,” she said to David as they walked through the first set of heavy doors. “If she really knows who killed her sister, she might be in danger if she tells us.”

They had to buzz twice before anyone came to unlock the second set of doors.

“I’m sorry,” the harried-looking nurse said as she let them in. “One of our residents just passed away, so we’re all busy. It’s fine for you to come in as long as you stay out of the way when the paramedics arrive.”

Moira’s stomach swooped.

“Who was it?” she asked.

“Delilah Ford,” the nurse said. “Did you know her?” She must have seen the shocked expression on Moira’s face.

“No,” the deli owner said faintly. “Not really.”

The nurse walked away, leaving them to find an out-of-the-way spot to stand. The assisted-living home was busy, with staff rushing back and forth, and most of the residents ignored them. She was just opening her mouth to wonder aloud to David if this could possibly be a coincidence when Eli rounded the corner and waved them over. His expression was grim.

“We’re meeting in my grandfather’s room,” he said. “I take it you heard?”

She nodded as they followed him. On their way, they passed a man even older than Reggie, sobbing quietly into a handkerchief.

“That’s Griff,” Eli said softly. “I guess he was close to Delilah. They spent most of their time together.”

How sad
, she thought.
To lose someone so close to him so suddenly…

When they got to Reggie’s room, Moira was surprised to see her daughter there too, pacing back and forth in front of the window. The old man sat in an armchair, a frown creasing his brow.

“Delilah knew,” he said once Eli had closed the door behind her and David. “She knew, and she got killed for it.”

“Did she tell you who the killer was?” Moira asked him. He shook his head.

“She got rushed away for morning exercises before she could. I didn’t know her very well, not like I knew Bea. She didn’t even know that I suspected murder until Eli here tracked her down and asked her about her sister’s death.”

“How did she die?” the private investigator asked.

“I heard one of the nurses say she passed peacefully in her sleep during a nap,” said Eli. “But I don’t know much more than that. We got shooed away as soon as they caught us listening.”

“I feel terrible,” Moira said, setting down the bag containing the hamburger that Delilah would never get a chance to eat. “There’s no way this is a coincidence. I just don’t believe that two sisters passed peacefully in their sleep weeks apart from each other. Add in the accusations of murder, and it’s even more suspicious.”