Corned Beef Murder: Book Two in The Darling Deli Series
Read Corned Beef Murder: Book Two in The Darling Deli Series Online
Authors: Patti Benning
Tags: #Fiction
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Corned Beef Murder
Book Two 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.
CORNED BEEF MURDER
Book Two of The Darling Deli Series
“Big dinner plans?” Moira Darling asked with a smile as she rang up her customer’s items. The elderly man had bought a selection of summer sausages, cold cuts, Amish-made cheeses, and frozen homemade soups—far more than he usually bought on his weekly stop to her deli.
“I’m stocking up, just in case,” he replied. “Once the storm hits, I’m going to be snowed in.”
“There’s a storm on the way?” she asked. One of the downsides of spending so much time at her store was that she didn’t have much free time to do anything else, like watch the news.
“Sure is,” he nodded. “And it looks like it’ll be a bad one. The radio said that there would be record snow and wind speed. It’s going to be worse than last year. The worst we’ve had in fifty years, in fact. You should bring some extra necessities home too, and stock up on blankets and candles.” Moira shuddered as she remembered last year’s blizzard when over half of the small town had been without power for nearly a week.
“Thanks for the warning.” She finished carefully putting his items in the paper bag, then handed the bundle across the counter to him. “Have a nice evening, and keep warm.” Smiling, Moira watched her customer leave the deli, and then glanced at the clock. Only two hours left until closing time. It looked like she would have some shopping to do once she got out of here, though she hoped that the storm wouldn’t be as bad as her customer seemed to expect. It would be a pity to have to close the deli down for a few days—most of her fresh produce had to be used quickly to keep it from going bad.
Darling’s DELIcious Delights was her pride and joy—her very own business that she had built from the ground up. Her homemade soups, sandwiches, and salads were surprisingly popular in the small town, and the delicious meats, Amish cheeses, and artisan drinks that she sold weren’t found anywhere else for miles around.
At just over forty, divorced once, Moira had gone through a long period where she thought that she had already achieved all that she would do in life. Opening the deli had taken some nudging from her daughter, Candice, but it had turned out to be the best decision that she had ever made. Not only did it provide a much-needed source of income, but running the business had given her a new goal in life, and it had proved that the best part of her life was yet to come.
The last few hours before closing passed quickly, with a steady stream of her regular customers coming in. She traded pleasant words with each of them, glad to see that the citizens of Maple Creek seemed to have decided that it was safe to shop at the deli again. Just a couple of months ago, the entire town had thought that she had murdered one of her competitors in cold blood. While she had eventually been able to prove her innocence, Moira still felt a twinge of sadness whenever she thought of the real murderer sitting in prison.
“All right, Ms. D, it looks like it’s time to close up.” Darrin, her original employee, came out of the kitchen with his coat over one shoulder and a warm bowl of soup in his hand. She always let her employees take home the leftover soup, and she knew that the young people that worked for her appreciated the free meals.
“Enjoy your day off, Darrin,” she told him. “Hopefully you’ll be able to meet the new employee next time you come in.” She had been putting off hiring a new person, but knew that it wasn’t fair to Darrin and her daughter to have to pick up the extra shifts.
The next day was clear and bright, with the sun sparkling off the pure white snow that covered the small town of Maple Creek. There was not a sign of the promised storm in the sky, but Moira knew how quickly Michigan weather could change. As a precaution, she had taken the advice of the elderly gentleman, and had stopped at Tulman’s Fresh Market, the local grocery store, on the way home. Even if they didn’t end up getting snowed in, the extra hand- and foot-warmers would be nice if the power went out again.
The deli didn’t serve breakfast, so she was free to take long mornings if she wanted to. It was just after ten-thirty when she got to the deli, and she took a moment to enjoy the familiar smells of spices and food and the silence that came from being the only one in the building. The little shop was like a second home to her, and she was beyond relieved that business was doing well again. In such a small town, reputation really was everything.
After tidying up and making sure the cases in the front room were freshly stocked, she got down to the real work. She began by slicing the rye bread that had been defrosting in the refrigerator overnight, making sure that the slices were as even as possible. Next, she double-checked that they had plenty of corned beef and swiss cheese. The sandwiches would be made fresh for each customer, toasted and with just a dash of horseradish sauce.
She started on the soup, carefully chopping mushrooms as the creamy soup base simmered. wild rice and mushroom soup was one of her favorites, and Moira could feel her stomach growl as the savory scents filled the kitchen. Even after over two years of owning the deli, she hadn’t gotten tired of eating the food that she sold there, although she did usually make one or two meals a week for her and Candice that didn’t involve soup or sandwiches.
Even though her daughter had been the one to encourage her to open the deli, the young woman hadn’t been around much for most of the time the business had been open. She had spent two years at college to get an associate’s degree, and had only recently moved back. Moira loved her daughter, and appreciated how helpful she was at the store and at home, but she often worried that the girl only stayed in Maple Creek for her. She just hadn’t quite figured out yet how to encourage her daughter to follow her dreams without making her feel unwelcome. The familiar sound of the deli’s front door being opened distracted her briefly; a moment later, as if summoned by her mother’s thoughts, Candice walked in.
“Wow, Mom, it smells delicious in here.”
“Go sign in, and I’ll whip us up some sandwiches before we start getting customers,” Moira offered. “The soup won’t be done for another twenty minutes or so, but we can take leftovers home.”
“If there are any leftovers,” Candice replied as she stored her purse and coat in the closet. “I’m pretty sure we’ll have the whole town at our doors once they catch a whiff of that. Oh, what time are you going to interview the last applicant?”
“At one,” she responded. “Afterwards, do you want to help me go through everyone we interviewed and finally choose someone?”
“Sure. It will be neat to have someone new around. I won’t be the rookie anymore.”
Ten minutes to one, the last person that she was interviewing arrived at the deli.
He’s early,
Moira thought.
He gets points for that.
The young man was sharply dressed and greeted her politely.
“Dante Williams,” he said. “And are you Mrs. Darling?”
“I prefer Ms.,” she told him. “I’m not married.” She smiled to let him know that she wasn’t upset, and then gestured for him to follow her. They went through the door to the kitchen, where Candice was toasting a couple of slices of rye for one of their customers.
“I’m going to start the interview now,” she told her daughter. “Can you watch the register once you’re done here? We shouldn’t be long.”
“Sure thing.”
“Right this way, Dante. I hope you found the place all right. If I remember your cover letter correctly, you said you were new to town?”
* * *
“What did you think of him?” Candice asked once the young man had left.
“Well, he fits all of my requirements. He’s got a flexible schedule, good references, and he seems to know his way around food. But nearly everyone I interviewed fit those requirements.” Moira sighed. “I just don’t know how to choose. These days, I don’t have the best track record on judging character.”
“Hey, you did a good job with Darrin.” She gave her mother a one-armed hug before turning to the pot of soup on the stove to ladle some of it into a to-go bowl for a customer. “Just trust your instincts, Mom. We all make mistakes sometimes.” She paused. “But if you want my two cents, go with Dante.”
“Why?” Moira agreed that Dante seemed like a good choice, but was curious about her daughter’s reasoning.
“Because he’s cute and he’s new to town, so he probably doesn’t have a girlfriend yet,” Candice said with a grin. Laughing, Moira had to agree. The young man had curly brown hair, olive-colored skin, and dark gray eyes that seemed to take in everything.
If only I were twenty years younger
, she thought. Then the face of David Morris, the private investigator that she had hired during the murder investigation, seemed to flash across her vision. He was single, as far as she knew, and devastatingly handsome with his salt-and-pepper hair and shockingly blue eyes. Maybe being older wasn’t so bad, if only she had the time to actually go on a date every once in a while.
“Tell you what,” she told her daughter. “I’ll give him a chance. You give him a call and let him know he can come in tomorrow.”
“Awesome. Thanks, Mom.” They walked through the door to the front room, where Candice handed her customer his bowl of soup. Two women were in line behind him, and Moira recognized her friends right away.
“Emilia. It’s great to see you again. Are you feeling better?” she asked.
“Oh, a bit. It’s one of my better days.” She and Emilia had been friends for years. The older woman had often babysat Candice when she was younger, long before Moira ran her own business, when she still had to go into an office every day.
“That’s good to hear. Hi, Martha,” she added with a smile at the woman standing next to Emilia. Martha, Emilia’s younger sister and caretaker, smiled back at her. Martha and Moira were nearly the same age, and had been friendly since Martha had moved back to Maple Creek to take care of her older sister.
“Hey, Moira. Glad to see business is good. We won’t hold you up for too long. Can I have the special today?” she asked, glancing at the small blackboard that announced the soup and sandwich combo of the day.
“Of course,” she said. “And you, Emilia?”
“Oh, just a small bowl of the soup, please. We’ll also take a package of the honey-glazed ham, if that’s not too much trouble.”
“Not at all.” Moira went to get the meat out of the refrigerated case while Candice went to the back to get the soup and make a fresh sandwich for Martha.
“Have you two heard about the storm that’s supposed to hit this evening?” she asked while they were waiting for her daughter to come back with the food.
“I saw it on the weather report last night. Thanks to Martha, I now have enough blankets, candles, and firewood to last me for the next ten years.” Emilia gave her younger sister an affectionate smile. “I told her I would make do with what I already had, but she insisted on taking me shopping today before she goes out of town.”