Thai Coconut Murder: Book 6 in The Darling Deli Series (5 page)

“I wanted you to come to the funeral in hopes that you would get the chance to see why I don’t think his death was accidental,” he said at last. “You saw the pictures. He spent every second of his life that he could on boats. He was used to fishing in all kinds of weather, and he was meticulous and careful. During the eulogies, other people said the same thing. I just can’t believe that he drowned due to a simple accident like that. It doesn’t sit right with me.”

“I know how you feel,” she said, speaking slowly and taking the time to choose her words carefully. “But David… that isn’t really much to go on. We discussed this before. Accidents happen.” With a pang, she remembered the “accident” that had killed her friend Emilia. The “accident” had turned out to be murder, plain and simple, and David had stood by her back then when she had been the only one certain that foul play was involved. Shouldn’t she do the same for him?

“I know I can’t do anything without proof,” he said. “And I know that it might sound far-fetched to you… but Moira, you didn’t know him, and I did. He isn’t the type to make some foolish mistake. It just isn’t him.”

“Okay,” she began, knowing that she might end up regretting it if she got herself involved in yet another potential murder case, but deciding to plow ahead anyway. “Say he
was
killed. Who would have done it? Why? Look at all the people who came to his funeral. He obviously wasn’t the type to make enemies.”

“I don’t know,” David admitted. “But I want to find out. And I want your help.”

Surprised, Moira glanced up at him. He had never before asked her to stick her neck out for him. In fact, he was usually the one insisting that she not get involved in potentially dangerous cases, and leave the work to the professionals.

“What can I do?” she asked. “Owning a deli doesn’t exactly give me a lot of experience in detective work.”

“In your case, it seems to,” he said with a smile. “But I don’t want you to do anything more than ask some questions when you get the chance. Next time you go to visit Candice, see if you can stop by the toy store and chat with Alice a bit. See if Henry was acting odd at all over the winter. Find out when the last time she heard from him was. If I start poking around, I’m afraid she’ll know something is up, and I wouldn’t want to worry Henry’s family if this
is
a wild goose chase.”

“I can do that,” she said. “I don’t know if she would confide in me even if something suspicious was going on. While she’s civil to us, I get the feeling that she doesn’t like either Candice or me very much. She never seemed very happy about the idea of the toy store closing, and probably got sick of us asking about it every few weeks.”

“She used to be much more outgoing,” David said. “I don’t think it’s you two—something else must be going on.”

“Maybe,” Moira said, thinking back once again to the tense conversation that she and Candice had walked into. She couldn’t keep it from the private investigator any longer. She had to tell him. “Candice and I stopped in on Wednesday to give Alice our condolences… and we overheard something sort of odd.”

She told David about the small snippet of conversation that she and her daughter had overhead, doing her best to relate the charged atmosphere that had been in the toy store that afternoon. As an afterthought, she also told him about seeing the short man in the bowler hat at the funeral as well.

“He was definitely staring at Alice,” she said. “And he didn’t look happy.”

“Hmm, I’ll look into it,” he replied. They fell silent as the waitress brought them their food—a chicken salad sandwich for Moira, and a huge burger for David. She envied him; he was one of those guys that seemed to be able to eat as much as he wanted, as often as he wanted, and never gain a pound.

“I’ll stop by the toy store when I get a chance,” she promised once the waitress had vanished. “Hopefully we get to the bottom of this soon. I’ve been around enough murder and mayhem to last me a lifetime.”

Moira had a lot to think about during the long afternoon and evening at the deli. What exactly was going on with Alice and that man that she had been talking to? The man had evidently been a friend of Henry’s, and a close friend judging from the numbers of pictures he’d appeared in with Henry. What could he and Henry’s beloved granddaughter possibly have to argue about? Had Henry been in debt?

Despite herself, she found that she was getting drawn into the mystery. She didn’t necessarily believe that Henry had been murdered, but she had been convinced that there was something more than met the eye when it came to the Atkins family. The only question was, would her and David’s involvement put anyone she loved in danger?

Between keeping the deli on its feet, taking care of Maverick, and trying to keep up with the housework, Moira didn’t find spare time to go to Lake Marion until the following Tuesday. By a miracle of scheduling, both she and Candice had the day off. A quick phone call in the morning solidified plans for lunch at her daughter’s apartment, and soon Moira was loading Maverick and a large pot of soup that she had whipped up the day before during work into the back seat. The dog was beside himself with excitement, placing his panting head right next to hers as she drove.

“We’ll be there soon, boy,” she said once they reached the main road that lead between Maple Creek and Lake Marion. “You might want to sit down, though. This road is pretty twisty.”

As she drove, she caught a glimpse of Lake Michigan off in the distance through the trees.
I’ll have to take Maverick there some time
, she thought. The dog would certainly love the towering dunes and endless blue water. There was so much she wanted to do, but she never seemed to have enough time to actually do it.

When she pulled into the small parking lot behind Candice’s building, her eyes paused on the sign for the toy shop. She didn’t really want to go in right now and try to question the shopkeeper about her grandfather, but she had promised David that she would do it, and now was the perfect opportunity. With a sigh, she grabbed Maverick’s leash—the mid-July weather was far too hot to leave the dog in the car for any amount of time—and made her way to the front of the building. The main entrance to the toy store was propped open and a white board stood out front offering impressive sales. Maverick paused to drink out of a doggy dish that had thoughtfully been set out for any thirsty pets, then followed Moira inside.

Alice was helping a couple of young customers reach a teddy bear on a high shelf, so the deli owner took her time to browse through the store. There was still an old sign hanging on the wall that promised the store was going out of business, but since the sign had been there for nearly half a year, she didn’t give it much credit. The store certainly
looked
like it was doing well, or at least better than before. The shelves were full again, with stuffed animals and action figures beaming down at Moira and her dog. She even saw a small shelf dedicated to dog toys. Smiling, she let Maverick examine them, and grabbed the one he seemed most interested in.

“Can I help you?” Alice asked from behind her. The deli owner turned around, trying to hide the surprise on her face. She hadn’t heard the other woman approach at all. Even Maverick seemed surprised, pressing his bulk against Moira’s leg and looking up at the shopkeeper with wary eyes.

“Um yes.” She paused. She hadn’t exactly rehearsed what she was going to say, and hadn’t the faintest idea how to broach the subject of Henry. “I was just…”

“You’re here to ask about the toy shop again, aren’t you?” Alice asked, annoyance flashing in her eyes. “Can’t you give me a break even just for a few weeks? I have to go over the things my grandfather left behind and see where we stand financially. Everything of his is mine now, and I haven’t decided what to do with it yet.”

“What? No, I wasn’t here about that. I was just wondering when was the last time you saw your grandfather?” the deli owner said quickly.

“Why do you care?” the shopkeeper responded. Her eyes were slitted and wary.
Good job putting her at ease
, Moira chided herself.

“I just… I hope you got the chance to say goodbye to him.” This was going terribly. She would make the worst detective in history. “Never mind,” she said. “Sorry for taking up your time. Thanks for the bowl of water outside—Maverick appreciated it.”

Alice gave the dog a grudging head scratch then turned and walked pointedly back to the cash register. Moira followed and paid for the dog toy, then hesitated for a moment before turning to leave. Alice was obviously done talking, and there was no reason for Moira to stay any longer. She gave a frustrated sigh, annoyed at herself, then gave the German shepherd another head scratch.

“Let’s go, boy. Candice is waiting.” Taking one last look at the toys, she turned to leave just as another customer was entering. She was a professional looking woman with short hair and dark lipstick that Moira thought was a bit out of place for the hot summer day. She definitely didn’t look like she was in the shop to buy toys so the curious deli owner pretended to examine a build-your-own-robot kit near the door while she listened. Perhaps this woman would shed some light on the current mystery.

“Ms. Atkins?” she asked Alice in a crisp, down-to-business voice.

“Yes, that’s me,” the shopkeeper replied cautiously. “How can I help you?”

“I’m Delilah LaFontaine, I’m a tenants’ rights lawyer, and am here on behalf of one of your grandfather’s tenants,” she said. “Could you put me in touch with him? He hasn’t been answering my phone calls.”

“My grandfather passed away recently.” She paused. “Tenants? Oh, you mean for those people he rented his brother’s house to? I’m sorry, but I don’t know anything about them.”

Ms. LaFontaine paused, then regrouped. “I am very sorry for your loss, Ms. Atkins. Do you know who is in charge of the property now?”

“I am, I suppose,” Alice replied. “He didn’t have any debt, so I inherited everything. What’s going on?”

“I have a formal list of complaints for you here,” she said, setting a manila folder on the counter. “But the gist is that there are repairs that need to be made and for some reason your grandfather hasn’t been cashing any of the rent checks for the last six months. He also hasn’t responded to their request to renew the lease.”

“Rent checks?” Alice said with a frown. “I’ve been checking his mail and haven’t seen any. What address were they sent to?”

“Let me see…” The lawyer flipped open the folder and sorted through the papers. “It looks like the address they have for your grandfather is on Crescent Drive, up in North Lake.”

“That’s where the cabin is. Why would he have them send the checks there?” the shopkeeper murmured, almost to herself.

“Pardon me?” the lawyer asked.

“Um, tell them I’ll look into it. Thanks.” She reached for the manila folder, and Moira hurried to leave before Alice realized she was still there.

***

“I love what you’ve done with the place,” she said to Candice a few moments later. She reached down to unclip Maverick from his leash, then straightened up to admire her daughter’s decorating skills. Hanging plants seemed to hover in the air, suspended from the high ceilings with nearly invisible fishing wire. Candice had painted the walls sky blue, and billowy white curtains framed the sliding glass door to the balcony.

“Thanks. Adrian helped me,” the young woman said, bending over to give a happy Maverick a scratch behind the ears before heading to the kitchen to get him a bowl of water.

“That’s nice of him. He is a very helpful young man, which is always a good thing.”

“He is, I don’t know what I would do without him,” Candice replied, her voice slightly muffled by thin wall between the kitchen and living room. “Do you want me to microwave the soup, or heat it up on the stove?”

“Whichever you prefer, though I think food never tastes as good after it’s microwaved. Here, let me give you a hand.”

A few minutes later, the two women sat down at the small dining room table with Maverick gazing at them longingly from the living room. Soup, fresh salad, and freshly baked cheesy rolls were spread out on the table, forming a healthy, delicious lunch. Despite the good food, however, there was only one thing on Moira’s mind.

“Has Alice been acting weird at all?” she asked her daughter after taking only a few bites.

“She always acts a little weird,” Candice replied, giving a small laugh as she wiped her mouth and faced her mother. “Why? Do you think she’s doing all right?”

“I’m not sure,” Moira said honestly. “She has a lot on her plate. Have you seen anyone hanging around that seems to bother her?”

“Well, there was this one time last week, the day after the funeral, that I heard shouting downstairs. I’m not sure it was in her store though. My living room is partially over the secondhand store next door, plus there’s one other person who shares the upper level with me.”

“Did you hear what they were saying?” She leaned towards her daughter, eager for any hints. Maybe she hadn’t screwed this completely up; she could still go back to David with
something
.

“I couldn’t hear them very clearly,” the young woman began. “But it sounded like the guy said ‘It’s your fault he’s dead.’” They stopped shouting after that, and I wasn’t paying much attention anyway.”

“Are you sure that’s what you heard?” Moira asked, surprised. Did Alice have something to do with Henry’s death?

“I mean, I think so, but like I said, I wasn’t really paying attention. Why? Is something going on? Are you involved in something dangerous again, Mom?”

“What? No. I’m just looking into something for David,” she assured her daughter. “These rolls are amazing, by the way. Can I have the recipe?”

Distracted, her daughter got up to find the recipe that she had used, then the two of them spent a few minutes playing fetch and tug-of-war with Maverick, who seemed to enjoy his new toy greatly.

“Sorry I’m late, I should have called,” David said as he slid into the booth across from her. The Redwood Grill was busy that evening, but Moira had still managed to get their favorite table.