Salami Murder: Book 8 in The Darling Deli Series (8 page)

Just like last time, no matter how much they messed with the footage it was impossible to see the person’s face, or even tell the gender. Moira was pretty sure that it was the same person as the one that had been caught on film during Matt’s murder, but it was impossible to be certain without any identifiable features.

“I guess I’ll show this to the police,” Candice said dubiously. “I doubt they’ll be able to get anything from it, though.”

Moira didn’t like the defeated tone in her daughter’s voice. What happened to the plucky, optimistic girl of just a few days ago? She found herself hoping that whoever was responsible for this was caught, and soon.

“Well the new pipe is installed,” the plumber said, startling her. “I’ll take a look at the fridge now, if you want.”

Candice nodded. “Sure, if you would. Thank you.”

Moira watched Eli and Candice replay the video once again and kept her eyes on the young man’s face, looking for any hint of guilt. Nothing. He looked concerned and interested, and kept glancing over at Candice with a tender expression on his face. Moira sighed. It wasn’t fair to suspect him when he had done nothing but help her daughter.

“What’s this?” came an angry voice. The plumber was standing by the open freezer, a plastic bag clutched in his hand.

“What’s what?” Candice asked, looking puzzled.

“Why do you have a bag of jewelry in your freezer, missy? This looks like my grandmother’s ring—which went missing a week ago.”

Candice blinked, confused. Moira stepped forward, uncomfortable with how upset the plumber appeared to be getting.

“Someone obviously put it there,” she said, trying to defuse the situation. “Someone has been trying to sabotage Candice since we found her murdered employee. My daughter wouldn’t steal anything, and I’d appreciate it if you don’t accuse her of something that she didn’t do.”

“Of course you’re going to defend her. She’s your girl, after all.” The plumber shook his head, his eyes blazing with anger. “I’m calling the police. You better stay right where you are, missy. I want this sorted out.”

Candice stared at her mother with wide, frightened eyes as the plumber spoke angrily to the police on his cell phone. Moira wanted to comfort her, but didn’t know what to say. She was unbelievably angry at the plumber—hadn’t her daughter already been through enough already? To have the police called on her also… it just seemed too unfair.

“They’re on their way,” the plumber said in a grim voice as he hung up the phone.

“I didn’t do it,” Candice said, her voice catching. “Please, you have to believe me.”

“All I know is my grandmother’s ring—and a lot of other stolen stuff—was in your freezer. How do you explain that?” He held up a hand when she opened her mouth to reply. “Just save it for the cops.”

“I believe you,” Eli said to her softly. Candice leaned into him, shaking.

Moira glared at the plumber, so angry that she felt like her gaze should be boring holes into him. Pressing her lips together in an effort to keep her mouth shut—she knew she was likely to make things worse if she said what was on her mind—she slipped out the door and hurriedly dialed David’s number. It was time to put her hurt feelings aside. Candice needed all of the help that she could get.

When she saw the Lake Marion police cars pull up to the building, she said a quick goodbye to the private investigator and hung up the phone. He had promised to be there as soon as he could be, and she believed him. Whatever he was doing with that woman, she refused to believe that everything she knew about him was wrong. David was a good man, and wouldn’t leave her and Candice high and dry at a time like this.
Well, maybe “high and dry” isn’t the best phrase to use at a time like this
, she thought wryly, looking down at her wet clothes and sandals, which had begun squelching unpleasantly when she walked.

She headed back into the building before the officers parked; she wanted to be there for Candice, no matter what happened.
If only we were in Maple Creek
, she thought. Detective Jefferson wouldn’t bend the law for her and Candice, but he would at least listen fairly to what they said. She didn’t know anything about the police in Lake Marion, and they didn’t know her and Candice. This evening could end up very badly, maybe even with Candice in jail, and Moira had the growing feeling that there was nothing she could do about it.

She had positioned herself next to her daughter by the time the police made their way inside. The plumber greeted one of the officers by name and handed him the bag of jewelry that he had found in the candy shop’s freezer. Moira felt a creeping sensation of dread in her stomach. If the plumber was friends with the officers, how likely were they to give Candice a fair chance to explain herself?

“That’s my grandmother’s ring,” she heard him tell the officer. “It’s worth over two thousand dollars; I got it evaluated just a few months ago. Money was short and, well, we were planning on selling it. But things started looking up, so we didn’t. And it went missing a week ago. My mom filed a police report; it was stolen right from the jeweler’s store.”

“Candice Thomson?” one of the officers asked, glancing around the wet room with mild curiosity before focusing on the terrified young woman. Moira was relieved to see his gaze soften.

“Yes,” Candice said. “That’s me.”

“Can you tell me what’s going on here?”

“I don’t know why that bag was in the freezer, but I didn’t steal any of that stuff, I swear.”

“Are you the owner of this place?” He raised an eyebrow, likely surprised by her youth.

“I am,” she said.

“Do you have any employees?”

“No… the store hasn’t even officially had its grand opening yet.”

“Does anyone else have a key to this store?”

“Um, my mom does.”

The officer turned to look at Moira, who nodded.

“Do you have any idea how this bag of jewelry came to be in your possession?” he asked Candice. “Keep in mind, things are going to go a lot easier for you if you tell the truth.”

“I don’t know,” Candice said. “I swear. Bad things have been happening around here for weeks.”

“I think someone’s trying to sabotage the candy shop,” Moira said, her eyes fixed on the officer, begging him to believe her. He frowned, looking from the bag to Candice and back again. He seemed reluctant to arrest her. She was sopping wet and shivering, leaning against Eli for support, her eyes wide with fear.

“What’s going on?” David asked from the doorway. Moira felt a rush of relief at his voice. He always seemed to know how to handle situations like this.

“David,” the officer said with a nod of greeting towards the private investigator. “Do you know these people?”

“Yes, and I will vouch for them. I highly doubt Candice would have stolen anything; her mother raised her better than that. Can I see the bag?”

The detective hesitated for a moment, then handed him the bag of jewelry that the plumber had found in the freezer. Without opening it, David examined the jewelry.

“A lot of this belongs to the clients I’m working for right now,” he said at last. “And I think most of it was reported missing to the police station as well. I know for a fact that Candice wouldn’t have been able to steal most of these items; some were stolen while I was with her and her mother. My guess is someone is trying to frame her.”

He handed the bag of jewelry back to the officer, who looked at it thoughtfully.

“You’ve known me a long time, Brandon,” David said, raising an eyebrow. “Do you really think I would lie or impede an investigation?”

“No,” the officer said with a final sigh. “If you say she couldn’t have stolen the jewelry, then I believe you. But it doesn’t mean that she doesn’t know who did. They could be working together.”

“Considering everything else that has been going on around here, I think it’s much more likely that this was an attempt to frame her,” David said. Even though she was still hurt by the fact that he was seeing another woman, Moira couldn’t help but admire how calm he managed to keep his voice. He was staying reasonable and talking to the officer like an old friend.

“I suppose you’re right,” the officer admitted. He glanced over at Candice. “I’m not going to take you in, but I want you to be available for questioning if we need you. Here’s my card. If there’s anything else you can remember, about any of this,” he looked around at the wet room, “then don’t hesitate to give me a call.”

Candice nodded. “Thank you,” she said. “If I think of anything, I’ll let you know. I promise.”

The officer said goodbye to David and took his leave, and the plumber followed close behind. He gave Candice a distrustful glare as he gathered up his tools, but said nothing except for a promise to mail them the bill. Soon it was just the four of them. Eli shifted uncomfortably on his feet.

“I should probably get going,” he said into the silence. “I was on my way to the nursing home to see my grandfather before I got waylaid here.”

Candice walked him out to say goodbye to him, leaving Moira and David alone in the kitchen together. He tried to meet her eyes, but she chose to walk over to the new pipe and make a show of examining it instead.

“Thanks for coming,” she said at last. “You were a huge help. We owe you.”

“No you don’t,” he said softly, coming up behind her. “You never owe me, you know that.”

Moira bit her lip, part of her wanting to confront him right then and there; but before she could say anything, Candice came back.

“Thanks so much,” she said to David. “I seriously thought I was going to go to jail.”

“I doubt you would have ended up in jail, but he might have brought you down to the police station for questioning,” he said. “They likely wouldn’t have been able to hold you for long though. All they would have had was circumstantial evidence, and with the amount of strangers that have been coming and going from the shop to do renovations, anyone could have put the bag there.”

“Why does someone keep doing all of these horrible things?” Candice wondered. “All I want to do is open the candy shop in peace.”

David met Moira’s gaze over her daughter’s head. She saw a spark of steely determination in his eyes.

“I don’t know,” he said. “But I promise you, I’ll find out.”

“I think that’s a great idea,” Meg said brightly. Moira smiled back at her, feeling exhausted by the young woman’s exuberance. It had been a long night, and she hadn’t gotten the sleep that she needed. With a seven-hour shift looming in front of her, it was about all she could do to stay on her feet.

“Hopefully it will be fun. I don’t want anyone’s feelings to get hurt if they don’t win.” She knew firsthand how competitive people could be when it came to cooking.

“I think it’ll be fine,” Meg said. “We’ll all have fun coming up with new soups and trying them out on one another. Who will the judges be?”

“David and Candice,” Moira said. “I’d like to find a third person to help judge, so there’s no risk of a tie.”

“Candice isn’t going to be competing?”

“No. She’s officially off the payroll here, and she understands that I want this competition to be about giving you guys a chance to shine. Besides, she’ll be running her own table at the fair,” the deli owner explained.

“Has anything else happened since the pipe incident?” Darrin asked, setting down the rag he had been using to wipe down the counter.

“Thankfully, no,” Moira told him.

“Did the kitchen dry all right? It was still pretty damp when I stopped in to help out.”

“Leaving the fans on for forty-eight hours helped a lot, so thanks for that suggestion,” she said. “It’s dry now, and I don’t think there’s any permanent damage. Luckily she didn’t have anything on the floor that could be water damaged.”

“I hope they find the person who did it soon,” Meg said with a shudder. “Whoever it is must really have it out for her.”

“Or for the candy shop,” Moira said. “This all started the day of the grand opening, which she ended up canceling. It seems to me that someone’s afraid of the competition.” Her thoughts flashed again to Eli. Could he be responsible? He seemed smitten with Candice, but it might all be an act.

“I hope she’s taking all the precautions she can,” Darrin said. “She could be in serious danger.”

Moira nodded; her concern for her daughter was a constant worry. If only Candice would come and stay with her for a while, but she insisted on doing everything herself. At least she had the sling off now. Tomorrow they were going to pick up the shiny silver convertible that Candice had fallen in love with. She was eager to see the smile on her daughter’s face as she got behind the wheel for the first time.

The deli’s front door jingled, and Meg started for the door to the main room to greet the customer. Moira put a hand out, stopping her.

“You can get going if you want. I’ll watch the register.”

The young woman nodded her thanks; her shift had officially ended half an hour ago, but she had stayed on a bit longer to help Darrin finish doing the dishes.

When she went to the front to tend the register, she was shocked to see the same woman that had been with David the other day. Her thick, shiny brown hair was pulled back into a French braid today, and she was wearing a flowing blue dress that flattered her petite frame. Moira was struck again by the woman’s beauty, and was unable to stop the surge of jealousy that flowed through her.