Hearty Homestyle Murder: Book 9 in The Darling Deli Series (7 page)

“It’s okay,” she told him. “I’ll have to call a cleaning service, I’m sure they’ll have some sort of chemical that can get the paint off without scratching the glass. I’m going to run home and get some sheets to cover the windows in the meantime - we don’t want the bad publicity if we can help it - and the I’ll wait around for the cleaners to get here. You can head on home if you want.”

“Thanks, Ms. D,” he said. He dropped the sponge in the bowl of water with a sigh. “Nothing’s been going right since that bowl of gumbo was poisoned, has it? I hope things get back to normal quickly.”

It wasn’t until after he was already gone that Moira wondered how he knew that Reuben’s bowl of gumbo had been poisoned. As far as she knew, she, Candice, and David were the only ones who knew that for sure besides the police. It was another mystery to file away, right next to the mystery of why the mayor was so certain that she had been involved with his son’s death. If she didn’t know better, she would think there was some sort of mole in the police station.

When she stopped at home she decided that she might as well take the dogs back to the deli with her. The cleaning crew wouldn’t be there for a few hours yet, so after she covered the windows with the sheets she would be able to take them out for a walk around town. Maybe she would go take a look at the site where her old house once stood. She had sold the property a few months ago, and was curious to see if the new owner had started any sort a rebuilding after tearing down the burnt shell of her old house.
Will Maverick recognize the property?
she wondered. He had only lived there for a short time before the house had burned down, so it would be interesting to see.

With all three dogs in the car and a few old sheets and a roll of duct tape in the trunk, she drove back to the deli. Both Maverick and Diamond had been in the deli before for short periods of time—sometimes Martha stopped by while she was walking her dog in town, and Candice had occasionally brought the German shepherd over during the day to visit—but it was Keeva’s first time. Moira watched her closely for a few minutes to make sure she wasn’t going to potty somewhere she wasn’t supposed to or try to get to the food. The big grey dog seemed just as comfortable in the deli as she was at home, so Moira gathered up her supplies, fetched a stepladder from the storage room, and went outside to cover up the horrible graffiti on her beloved store’s windows.

“Thanks again,” Moira said as David packed up his tools.

“It was no problem,” he assured her. “Your safety comes first. Just remember, flip this switch to turn the motion sensors on the lights on and off. Once winter gets here, it will be dark before the store closes, and you probably don’t want these spotlights coming on and scaring your customers when they walk by.”

“I’ll try to remember,” she said. “I’m sure I’ll forget by the time the days start getting shorter though. Are the security cameras set up the same way as the one above the register is?”

“Yep. I already linked them with your account, so all you have to do to access them is open the app on your phone, just like with the one inside the store.”

“Perfect. You do so much for me, David. I really am grateful.”

“I’m just glad I can help. Are we still on for dinner tonight?”

“Yep. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Good. I’ll pick you up at eight.” He put his toolbox in the back seat, then turned back to her. He surveyed the deli and shook his head slowly. Moira could guess what he was thinking. How did trouble keep finding her like this? “Be careful,” he said at last. “I worry about you. If you need anything else, just tell me. I want you to be safe.”

“With the lights and cameras, I do,” she assured him. “Really, I’m more angry than anything. I almost hope whoever vandalized the deli tries it again and gets caught on camera.”

“Just as long as they don’t try it when you’re inside,” he said darkly. “Whoever did this must have been very angry. People like that can be dangerous.”

Moira held back her sigh until he had gotten in his car and pulled away. She knew that he was just concerned for her safety, but all she had been hearing since Darrin had discovered the graffiti yesterday was “be careful,” and “the vandal might be dangerous.” Part of her knew they were right, but another part of her really wanted to dismiss their worries.
Whoever did the graffiti won’t come back
, she thought.
Why would they, now that I have the motion-sensitive lights and extra security cameras? No matter how angry this person is, they’re bound to realize eventually that I didn’t have anything to do with Reuben’s death.

The thing that she found most annoying about the whole situation was that she still couldn’t figure out how anyone else could possible know that it was the gumbo that had been poisoned. If the police hadn’t let something slip, then who had? She knew David wouldn’t spread sensitive information like that, and she doubted that Candice would tell anybody other than Eli. The only other person who would know was the killer.

She paused, her breath catching. Was it possible that the vandal was the killer? The graffiti on the deli’s windows could be his way of trying to keep the focus of the investigation on her. If that was the case, then she might be in more trouble than she thought.

***

It felt good to get back into the rhythm of running the deli on a normal day. No county fair, no graffiti, nothing urgent to deal with. Just herself and the customers. Sometimes she almost missed the earlier days of the deli when they were only open for half a day. Thinking back over the past year, Moira felt a pang as she realized how much had changed. Less than a year ago, she had still been living in her old house, the same house that she had moved into with Mike all those years ago, the same house that Candice had grown up in. Candice had lived with her up until just a few months ago, and she still missed her daughter’s daily presence. No matter how much she loved Maverick, a dog just wasn’t the same as having your child around.

A lot has changed lately
, she thought.
But they really aren’t bad changes, for the most part.
She lived in a different house now, but it was a beautiful house in the middle of five peaceful acres of woods. It might not be full of memories of her daughter’s childhood, but having a chance to make some new memories wasn’t a bad thing. The fact that Candice had her own place now was bittersweet. Although she missed her daughter, she was also unbelievably proud that the young woman had her own apartment and was running her own business. She was glad that Candice had found her path in life so early. It had taken decades for Moira to find her own path. She would never consider the years spent raising her daughter wasted, but she couldn’t deny that she had ignored a lot of chances to explore her own passions and hobbies.

The deli door jingled open and Moira blinked and looked up, forcing her thoughts back to the present. The two people who were walking into her store looked familiar, but it took her a second to place them. The woman was the same one who had been volunteering at the soup contest—what was her name? Sandy?—and the man was Gordon Smith, Maple Creek’s previous mayor. She had voted for him in the last election and was glad that although he was no longer mayor, he retained a seat on the city council. He was a friendly man with a good sense of humor, and she had always enjoyed his speeches during election season.

“I come to this place for coffee sometimes,” the woman was explaining to him. “But I haven’t gotten lunch here yet. I’ve heard from the ladies at the salon that they have great food.”

“I’m happy to try whatever you want, darling,” Gordon said. “Wasn’t this deli one of the contestants at the soup contest?” This last was directed towards Moira.

“Yes,” she told him. “Darling’s DELIcious Delights entered a vegetarian gumbo into the contest.” She winced the second the words were out of her mouth. Would he have recognized that as the dish that Reuben had died while eating? She shouldn’t have been so specific. Luckily neither of them seemed to make the connection.

“What all comes with the special?” Sandy asked, eyeing the blackboard.

“The special includes a bowl of beef and barley soup and a sandwich. The sandwich of the day is swiss cheese, caramelized onion, corned beef, and baby spinach leaves on toasted whole grain bread, or I can make you a custom sandwich. Depending what you want on it, it might cost extra. The special also comes with a drink. Anything on the middle two shelves of that fridge over there or I can make you a fresh juice mix for a dollar-fifty extra. We juice the fruits and vegetables ourselves when you order the drink, so it doesn’t get much fresher than that.”

“I’ll take a special. Gordon, what do you want?”

As Moira took down their orders she debated whether she should bring up Reuben’s death. In the end she decided not to; they had come to the deli for a pleasant lunch, not to be reminded of the terrible tragedy that had taken place during the fair.

She handed them their trays with a smile, then ducked into the kitchen to wash dishes, knowing that the couple would probably appreciate some privacy while they ate. It was a quiet day, and she thought that if she sat behind the register while they dined, they might feel uncomfortable. The two were obviously in love and deserved to enjoy the good food and each other’s company in peace while they ate.

“Hi, Moira. I just wanted to let you know that I got back a little bit early. I hope it’s all right if I stop by and get Diamond today instead of tomorrow. Give me a call and let me know what a good time for you it. I hope she’s been good for you. Thanks again for watching her. Talk to you soon. Bye.”

Moira deleted the message, then made a quick call back to Martha, letting her know that she would be around until eight that evening and she could stop by and get Diamond any time.

“It looks like you’ll be going home a day early,” she said to the little black-and-white dog once she had hung up the phone. “Did you have a good time here?” She thought that Diamond likely had; she, Maverick, and Keeva had enjoyed several pleasant evenings of play in the backyard, and Moira had let her snuggle up next to her on the couch when she watched television in the evenings. She would be sad to see the dog go, but was certain that Diamond would be ecstatic to see her owner again.

Once she’d set Diamond’s crate, her dog bed, and what was left of her food by the door, Moira had nothing else to do but wait for Martha. She realized that her friend probably didn’t know anything about the events of the last two weeks. They hadn’t spoken since she had dropped her dog off right before leaving for the trip.
I hope she has the time to stay for a cup of coffee,
Moira thought.
We have a lot to catch up on.

“Oh, hi baby. How are you? Did you miss me?” Martha knelt down so the wriggly little dog could lick her face. Diamond’s tail was wagging so hard that her entire body shook.

“I’m pretty sure she did,” the deli owner said with a laugh. “She never greeted
me
like that.”

“I know I already said it, but thanks so much for watching her. I hope she wasn’t too much trouble.”

“Not at all,” Moira said. “She was great. I think Maverick really enjoyed having her around. How was the trip, anyway? What made you come back early?”

“My vacation was simply amazing. It felt so nice to get out of town and just have some me time. It feels good to be back too, though. That’s why I’m home early—my plane got in this morning; originally I was going to stay tonight at a hotel in Traverse City to try to nip jet lag in the bud, but I decided to drive straight back. I figured I’ll sleep best in my own bed, and besides, I missed Diamond.” She gave the dog a final hug, then rose to her feet. “How have you been? How did the fair go? Did you win? I don’t want to just talk about myself.”

Moira chuckled. “I have a lot to tell you. Do you want some coffee? This may take a while.”

The deli owner let Maverick and Keeva out of the mudroom to greet the other woman, then poured them both warm cups of coffee before sitting down to talk. Martha was suitably stunned at the adventures that Moira had had while she was gone.

“It’s so terrible that someone died,” she said, reaching down to scratch Keeva behind the ears. “But Moira, I don’t know how you do it. Your life is more interesting and action packed than anyone else I know. Sometimes I almost envy you. An exciting week for me is when a new season of one of my shows starts up.”

“Trust me, I would trade with you in a heartbeat,” Moira told her friend. “Right now I’m worried about the killer, who I think may be trying to blame me for Reuben’s death. I’m
also
worried about the police, since they already think I’m guilty, even though I have no reason to hurt anybody. All this just because the killer happened to poison the gumbo that was entered under the deli’s name. I didn’t even make it!”

“What if it wasn’t a coincidence?” the other woman asked, her eyes widening. “What if the killer has something personal against you and decided to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak—kill off Reuben Willis and get you arrested or put out of business?”

“Who would want to do that, though?” the deli owner asked. “My only real competitor in town is Denise and the Redwood Grill, but I don’t think my sales are affecting hers much at all. Plus, she’s my friend.”

“Well, didn’t you say that old guy who owns that diner, Arlo, was a judge? He would have had the perfect opportunity to slip something into Reuben’s soup, and everyone knows his diner isn’t doing well. No one wants to buy greasy, freezer-burned burgers when they can stop at your place and get a nice, freshly made sandwich with organic, grass-fed cold cuts.”