Mountains, Marriage and Murder (The Darling Deli Series Book 23)

by Patti Benning

  ***

  As the first notes of the piano music reached her ears, Moira let out a breath. It was almost time. She glanced at her daughter, standing a few steps behind her next to David, who was giving her away. She shot Candice a smile which the younger woman returned nervously.

  The bridesmaids moved out in front of her on cue, and she followed. The moment she stepped through the doors into the chapel, her eyes searched out Eli, who was already standing at the altar.

  The wedding was small, and everyone that was there was either a close friend or a family member. Some of Eli’s extended family had come, and on the bride’s side, there was Denise and David sister, Karissa, as well as a few relatives from Candice’s father’s side of the family and a few of Candice’s closer friends who had been able to take the time off work to fly out for the wedding.

  Moira reached the altar and turned to stand facing the doors. When the wedding march began, she felt her chest tighten with emotion. She didn’t think she would ever forget the sight of her daughter stepping through those doors. Moira blinked her eyes, telling herself not to tear up. She didn’t want to miss a second of this.

  David handed his stepdaughter off to her soon-to-be husband and took a seat, and the wedding officiant began to speak. Moira saw that the anxiety was gone from her daughter’s face; it had been replaced by a look of joy. Eli had a similar expression on his face. Despite her best efforts, Moira felt tears prickling her eyes they exchanged vows. An important chapter of her life was ending, but instead of being sad, these were tears of gladness. She couldn’t be sad for herself, not when her daughter was so happy. Candice had gotten her dream wedding, and Moira had gotten her wish for the day – her daughter’s wedding had gone off without a hitch. Now, she could relax at last and enjoy the reception with the newlyweds.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  * * *

  After the wedding, all of the guests were invited to the cabin for the reception. Moira was floored when she walked through the door. The house had been transformed. The entire lower-level had been completely redecorated for the reception party. It looked like all of the people that they had hired from across the country had done their jobs well.

  The grand entranceway had been transformed into a dance floor, with the DJ set up under the upstairs balcony. The caterers had taken over the formal dining room, lining the edges of it with long tables that groaned under the weight of food on them. The dining room table had been moved to the far end of the room and set up for the wedding party, and smaller tables had been set up throughout for the rest of the guests.

  Seated at the table with the rest of the wedding party, Moira gazed out over the room at their friends and family as the toasts were given. David, next to her, was talking with Brian, Eli’s best man, and was laughing at something. She spotted Karissa and Denise and waved. Besides the planning it had taken to hire all of the right people, she hadn’t given the reception too much thought, but now found herself looking forward to it. Food, music, and dancing with her family and friends. What could be better?

  After eating, Candice and Eli had their first dance. Then the DJ turned the music up and everyone else began to drift towards the makeshift dance floor in the middle of the entrance room. Moira laughed and accepted the first few dances from David, but before long found herself getting tired of the noise and movement.

  Denise found her in the kitchen, talking to the caterers. The owner of the little restaurant that was supplying the food, the Valley Eatery, had come along herself to make sure everything was perfect.

  “I was thrilled when your daughter asked if we could cater,” she told Moira. “We have a little gift shop in the front of the restaurant, and I’ve been ordering custom chocolates from your daughter for a long time. Everyone loves them, and she’s always been a pleasure to work with. It’s wonderful to meet the person behind the business.”

  “You did an amazing job, Ms.…”

  “Oh, just call me JoJo. Everyone does.”

  “Well, you did an amazing job, JoJo. The food is delicious, and all of your staff has been professional and polite.”

  “Thank you, that means a lot to me.”

  Moira noticed her tall, red-haired friend hanging back. She tugged her forward and introduced the two of them.

  “Denise owns a restaurant, too,” she told the caterer. “I think the two of you would probably have a lot to talk about.”

  “Oh, I can’t wait to hear all about it. It will have to wait though, I’m supposed to be bringing in more noodles. It wouldn’t do to let your guests go hungry because I got sidetracked.”

  JoJo hefted the pan of noodles and nodded to them before leaving the kitchen. Moira turned to her friend.

  “I’m so glad you were able to make it to the wedding,” she said. “I hope getting here was easy enough. You’re staying through tomorrow, right?”

  Moira had invited both Denise and Karissa to stay at the cabin with them. Karissa had declined; with David gone, running the microbrewery that they had opened together fell solely on her shoulders, and she would be flying back early in the morning. Denise, however, had agreed to take the next couple of days off of work.

  “Unless something urgent comes up, I’ll be flying back with you guys,” she promised. “This place is beautiful.”

  “It really is. It’s even better than I had imagined. I don’t think we could have chosen a more perfect place for the wedding.”

  “Are they going to be leaving on their honeymoon straightaway?”

  “They’re going in two days,” Moira said. “Tomorrow, we’ve got some activities planned for whoever wants to join us to enjoy, and then we’re leaving and letting the younger people have some fun on their own. I figured since we’re all going to be out here anyway, we may as well have fun. We’re going to go zip-lining in the afternoon, and David and I are treating for a big lunch for everyone down in town. It’s going to be a great way to unwind after all of this.”

  “It sounds wonderful. I’m so glad I was able to take this time off. If it was just a few weeks later, I wouldn’t have been able to. We’re hiring a new chef, and you know how much of a change that means for everyone in the kitchen. I’m going to have to be there and micromanage everything for a few weeks while the staff gets used to him.”

  “Oh, who’s leaving?” The deli owner knew both of her friend’s chefs and liked them both.

  “Hector is. He was offered a job at a restaurant in Chicago.” She sighed. “I don’t blame him for taking it. The salary is higher, and it’s much more well-known than the Redwood Grill is. I think he’s going to do great there.”

  “Well, that’s wonderful for him, though I’m sorry for you and everyone else at the Grill. Do you know who you are hiring yet?”

  “No. I’m going to start doing interviews when I get back. I’m not looking forward to the process. I love my job, but a lot of the chefs I’ve interviewed in the past have an extremely arrogant attitude. I need to find someone that understands that it’s my kitchen, not theirs. It’s hard to find someone with the skills I want, but without the attitude that usually comes with those skills.”

  “I’m glad I’m not in your shoes,” Moira said. She had never had that sort of problem at the deli. While she sometimes envied her friend’s success, she didn’t want the stress of running a large, busy restaurant.

  “I just have to keep reminding myself that in a few months, after whoever we hire settles in, everything will be back to normal. I hope to find someone committed to the long term, but I’m not holding my breath. Who’s going to want to spend the next decade in Maple Creek just for this job? If I find a chef with halfway decent skills, they’ll get hired on somewhere better within a couple of years, just like Hector.”

  Their conversation was halted with the arrival of another man, one that Moira recognized but couldn’t place. At first, she thought he was a caterer, since he went straight to a simmering pot of soup on the stove, but he wasn’t wearing the right uniform. In fact,
he was dressed in jeans and a fleece button down shirt. The man pulled a plate out of a cupboard and began loading it up with food directly from the cooking dishes.

  “Excuse me,” she said. “I’m sorry, but who are you?”

  “The name’s Paul Brown,” he said, extending his hand. “I remember you from the wedding. You’re the mother of the bride, aren’t you?”

  “Yes…” Moira’s jaw worked as she tried to figure out why the name sounded so familiar. “Oh, you’re the marriage officiant, aren’t you?”

  “Sure am. It was a beautiful wedding, my pleasure to marry them.” He gave her a grin, then turned back to the pots and pans on the stove. The way he weaved slightly as he moved made her think that he had been drinking just a bit too much.

  She watched as he continued to load up on food. She hadn’t invited him, or anyone else from the church. What was he doing there? She didn’t think it was normal for the marriage officiant to show up to the reception, not when he was a complete stranger to them and the reception was held in a separate building from the wedding. Maybe Candice had extended him an invitation; it seemed like the sort of thing the young woman would do.

  “I’m going to go find my daughter,” she said to her friend. “I’ll catch up with you later tonight.”

  “All right. I’m going to duck outside and make a quick call to see how things are going back home. I’ll find you later.”

  Moira left the kitchen and surveyed the dance floor in front of her. She didn’t see anyone in a white dress. Where had Candice gone?

  “I was wondering if you’ve seen the bride,” she said, sidling up to the DJ and half shouting over the music.

  “I think she went through there,” he said, pointing towards the living room. “Any song requests?”

  Moira shook her head and started towards the door her had pointed to. The living room was empty, and she was about to turn back around when she spotted the girls outside on the porch. Candice was deep in conversation with JoJo, the owner of the Valley Eatery, but waved when she saw her mother. She opened the sliding door and stepped out.

  “This is fun, thanks, Mom,” her daughter said when she saw her.

  “Are you feeling better than you did earlier today? You don’t look like a ghost anymore.”

  “Definitely. I feel like I’ve got nothing in the world to worry about.”

  “Good. I’m sorry to disturb you. I was just wondering if you invited your marriage officiant to the reception. It’s fine if you did, I was just wondering since he’s down in the kitchen right now.”

  “I didn’t invite him, but I don’t care if he’s here.” Her daughter shrugged. “He probably just assumed he could come along. I’m sure most of the people he marries are locals, and they probably invite everyone.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure you’re right,” Moira said. “If you don’t mind him being here, then I don’t. I’ll get out of your hair now. I’ve got to go and find Denise. We were in the middle of talking about her hiring a new chef, and I want to see if she has gotten any promising resumes yet.”

  She returned to the kitchen, hoping to find her friend, but Denise was nowhere in sight. Instead, she found Paul Brown leaning against the wall, talking to Victoria, the best man’s girlfriend. He was gesticulating wildly and was obviously drunk.

  She opened her mouth to say something, annoyed that he was there looking as if he had just climbed out of bed, drinking far too much, and bothering the guests, but she remembered what her daughter had said. If Candice didn’t mind him being there, then it wasn’t her business to make him leave.

  Leaving the kitchen again, she found David talking to Eli’s best man, Brian, standing on the edge of the dance floor. She walked over and leaned against the wall next to her husband. He slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer.

  “How are things going?” he asked. “Is Candice having fun?”

  “I think so. I couldn’t have asked for a better night for her.”

  She rested her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes. She didn’t need to worry about the little things, like an uninvited guest. Everything was perfect, and her daughter was getting the wedding she had always dreamed of. What more could she ask for?

  CHAPTER SIX

  * * *

  Moira woke the next morning with a pounding headache. She hadn’t had much to drink the night before – the headache probably had more to do with stress than a hangover.

  She sat up and looked at the clock. It was early. Judging from how silent the house was, everyone was still asleep, even her husband, who was snoring gently next to her. She wished she could lay back down and join him, but her headache was bad enough that she needed to get some painkillers first.

  Her eyes still blurry with sleep, she slipped out of the bedroom and walked down the stairs. The house was a mess from the night before, but she wasn’t too worried about it. A cleaning crew was coming in a couple of hours to take care of everything while they were out to brunch.

  She went into the kitchen and began searching for the bottle of painkillers that she had bought the first day they had been there. She found them in a drawer along with a box of tea bags. Knowing that caffeine usually helped her when she had a headache, she decided to start the coffee maker, too. She would be sacrificing her chance to fall back asleep, but it was a trade that she was willing to make.

  She tossed the old coffee filter into the trash, then pulled the pantry door open to find the new ones. When she turned the handle, the door swung open towards her unexpectedly, and she jumped back with a sharp gasp as something fell out.

  Not something, someone. It was a man. A man who looked very, very dead. His head was twisted at an odd angle, and his eyes were staring right at her, blank and already clouded over. He had a black eye, and it looked like his nose had bled at some point during the night. She stared at him for a long moment, shock and horror mingling as the truth of what she was seeing sank in.

  It was the wedding officiant, Paul Brown. She had spoken with him only hours before. This has to be a nightmare, she thought, backing away until she hit the counter. I should have asked him to leave.

  She heard the sound of someone turning on one of the showers upstairs. That broke her trance, and she hurried out of the room to pick up the land line in the living room and dial the emergency number. When the operator answered, she managed to stammer out what had happened.

  It wasn’t until after she hung up that she realized that there was a house full of sleeping people above her. What should she tell them? How could she wake her daughter up after her wedding night to this? She looked up the stairs, dreading telling them the news. It looked like her daughter’s fairytale wedding was well and truly over.

  By the time the police and the ambulance arrived, a small crowd had formed in the entrance way. David was guarding the entrance to the kitchen, keeping people out. Everyone looked shocked and worried, and Moira felt her chest tighten with guilt and regret. Not only had her daughter’s wedding been forever marked with this horrible occurrence, but a man had died. Even though she hadn’t liked the way the marriage officiant had been acting, he did not deserve this.

  They all watched silently as the police begin their work. Moira heard the paramedics declare the man dead and buried her face in David’s shoulder. Somehow hearing it from their mouths made it all the more real.

  One of the detectives approached her. “Are you the one that made the call?”

  “I am,” she said.

  “I’m Detective Lombardo,” he said. “I’d like to ask you some questions. Is there somewhere quiet we can talk?”

  “The living room,” she said. “We can go in there.”

  She released her grip from David’s hand and led the way into the other room. Even though she had had many interactions with the police back in Maple Creek, this detective’s presence put her on edge. He didn’t know her in the slightest and would have no reason not to consider her a suspect.

  “Were you the first p
erson up this morning?” he asked her as he shut the door behind them.

  “Yes. Well, I believe so. I couldn’t swear that no one had been up before me, but no one was up when I came downstairs.”

  “Why did you get up so early? By the looks of it, there was quite the party here last night.”

  “It was my daughter’s wedding reception. And I got up early because I had a headache. I was going to make some coffee and take some painkillers.”

  “A wedding, huh? I suppose that explains Mr. Brown’s presence here. How well did you know him?”

  “Not at all. We’re all from out of state.”

  “Do you remember him getting into any arguments with anyone last night?”

  “No… look, detective, I know all of these people. None of us are killers. Whatever happened, I’m sure it was an accident. He was drinking, he must have fallen and…”