Garden Vegetable Murder: Book 12 of The Darling Deli Series

by Patti Benning

  “It’s my job, Ms. Darling,” he said seriously. “And I’m just as passionate about it as you are about running your deli.”

  She smiled up at him, too tired to say any more. A few minutes later, Detective Jefferson and Officer Catto left, and David approached the car. He let himself into the driver’s seat and looked at her wordlessly.

  “What?” she asked.

  “You really should go to the hospital,” he said. “You lost consciousness for a few minutes back there.”

  “I’m fine,” she told him. “The paramedics said I was in shock. The cut on my head just bled a lot, but they didn’t think it was serious.”

  “They also suggested you go with them to the hospital, just in case.”

  “I’ll go tomorrow if I feel weird at all,” she promised. He sighed, but started his car.

  “I guess that will have to do,” he said.

  “What about my car?” she asked as they pulled away.

  “A wrecker is going to come and get it tomorrow,” he told her. “You can stop by the impound lot and get whatever you need to out of it, but there’s no fixing it now. After the police have all of the evidence they need from it, it’s going to a junkyard.”

  “Poor car,” she said softly.

  David snorted. “A crazy guy had you at knifepoint, and you say ‘poor car’?”

  “Yes,” she said firmly. “Thanks to you, I’m walking out of this fiasco. I’m pretty lucky, considering. The car, not so much.”

  “I guess that’s one way of looking at it.”

  She peered over at him, but couldn’t tell if he was amused or annoyed. She thought maybe a little bit of both.

  “What happened back there…” she began. “You shot him.”

  She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. David wasn’t a violent man, unless he had to be. It felt odd to think of him carrying a gun.

  “He’s alive,” he pointed out. “I don’t think the bullets hit anything vital. He’ll probably make it, but even if he doesn’t, well, I wasn’t going to let him kill you.”

  “I can’t really argue with that,” she said. “Who was he? I mean, I know his name, but why was he trying to hurt you through me? Is he someone from one of your cases?”

  “Yeah, one of my older cases. A young couple went missing on a hiking trip that he was leading. The police suspected some sort of foul play, but I was the one who found evidence that ended up getting him sent to prison. The girl was his ex-fiancé, and the guy was her new boyfriend. A conviction for voluntary manslaughter meant that he served ten years plus probation. I guess he’s been plotting his revenge the whole time.”

  “He killed Fred, too?”

  “Yes. I think he was targeting the things he knew I cared about the most… my job, and you.”

  Moira fell silent, resting her head against the back of the seat and staring out the dark window as they rolled up her driveway. It felt good to be home, tarp-covered hole in her bedroom wall and all.

  Inside, David waited patiently downstairs while she took a long shower and put on some clothes that weren’t covered in blood and bits of leaves. The dogs seemed to sense that she was injured and were extra gentle with her when she came back downstairs.

  “What now?” she asked.

  “You should go to bed. I’ll sleep down here, if that’s all right. You may not think you need to go to a hospital, but I’m not comfortable leaving you alone with that head injury.”

  “I’m not tired,” she told him. That was only half true. Her body was tired, but her mind was racing. There was no way she would get to sleep any time soon. “What was it you wanted to talk about?”

  “Huh?”

  “On the phone, earlier, you wanted to come over and talk about something, remember?”

  “Oh, that. I was going to tell you about Silas… and apologize for keeping you at such a distance lately.”

  “It’s all right,” she said. “I know you’ve had a lot on your plate.”

  He grimaced. “That’s not why I was avoiding you, Moira. I was trying to keep you safe. I had a feeling that Fred’s murder was personal, and if there was someone after me, then the last thing I wanted was for them to find out about you. Obviously my strategy didn’t work too well.”

  “Oh.” The urge to giggle welled up in her very strongly, and she fought it down, wondering if maybe she should get her head injury checked out after all. “I thought you were avoiding me because your mother didn’t like me.”

  “My mother?” he snorted. “She doesn’t like anyone, though I’m sure you’ll manage to win her over some day. Why on earth would I avoid you because of her?”

  “Well, because she’s your family,” she said. “I thought you were disappointed in me or something.”

  “Disappointed? Never,” he said. “Moira, I love you. No one’s opinion, not even my mother’s, will change that.”

  Moira sat wordlessly for a moment, stunned. This was the first time he had given her any confirmation of his feelings, and she was surprised by the force of happiness welling up inside her.

  “I love you too,” she said softly at last.

  He smiled at her, and she grinned back. It had been a crazy week indeed, but it seemed like everything was going to be all right after all.