Wrapped in Murder (The Darling Deli Series Book 19)

by Patti Benning

  “Oh my goodness, David,” she breathed. “What if he took that girl there to kill her?”

  “You might have saved her life,” Candice said, wide-eyed. “Wow, Mom. That’s crazy.”

  “The bad news is, she left with him. I hope she got home okay.”

  “I’m going to call the police,” David said, holding the key tight in his fist. “This may just be the break they needed.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  * * *

  “We did everything we could, Ms. Darling. The smoke smell is only noticeable if you concentrate.”

  “I can barely tell at all,” she said, taking a deep breath. “You guys did a wonderful job. Thank you.”

  “It wasn’t nearly as bad as some of the places I’ve seen,” the cleaning man said. “You got lucky.”

  People keep saying that, she thought as she paid him. I got lucky. It doesn’t feel lucky, to have the deli almost burn down. What happened at the brewery definitely wasn’t lucky. She knew she should be thankful that it hadn’t been worse, but she couldn’t help wondering what she and David had done to deserve two disasters so close to each other.

  It had been exactly a week since the murder at the microbrewery, and they still didn’t have any answers. Moira was frustrated, and knew that her husband was, too. At least with the deli open now, she would be able to focus on her work instead of dwelling on the events that had plagued them.

  After the representative from the cleaning company left, she went straight to the kitchen to begin preparing the day’s soup. She hadn’t called any of her employees in; it would be a short day since she was opening so late, and she didn’t mind working alone for a few hours. It would be reminiscent of the deli’s early days, when she was the only one there and the restaurant was only open for the few busiest hours of each day.

  Since she hadn’t been sure she was going to be able to open the deli so soon after the fire, she hadn’t planned a menu ahead of time. She spent a few minutes peering into the fridge and cupboard, trying to figure out how to combine the ingredients that they had on hand into something mouthwatering and healthy. They had some fresh kale that she had bought before the fire in preparation for the weekend’s soups, which should probably be used. There were a good number of frozen chicken breasts in the freezer, and of course the usual medley of fresh vegetables in the pantry ready and waiting to be cooked.

  It wasn’t until she saw the tortellini in the back of the freezer that the soup really came together. She remembered buying it the week before, but they had changed the menu at the last minute for some reason or the other. Creamy chicken, tortellini, and kale soup, she thought. It sounded great to her. Hearty, healthy thanks to the kale, and tasty. Even if she didn’t get many customers in today, the soup wouldn’t go to waste — she could bring whatever was left in the pot home for dinner. She was an unashamed fan of tortellini; it combined two of her favorite things, cheese and pasta. She had bought this brand before and knew that each bite would explode with flavor. Just thinking about it made her stomach growl.

  Humming to herself, Moira set a pot of water on the stove to boil while she defrosted the chicken breasts. It was amazing how good it felt to be back at work. The deli had only been closed for a couple of days, but she had missed it more than ever. It was as if almost losing it had made her realize how much she really loved the little restaurant. She thought that she would be perfectly happy to still be working here when she was in her eighties. Retiring might be an option for her in a decade or two, but even if she could afford to be out of work, she didn’t think that she would want to.

  I guess it’s true when they say if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life, she thought as she chopped the kale. Though I do appreciate having other people around to handle cleaning, dishwashing, and catering events. She enjoyed doing the catering events occasionally, but they took too much time away from what she really loved — cooking.

  As the chicken breasts boiled, Moira prepared the other ingredients for the soup. Soon the smell of boiling onions, garlic, and chicken broth filled the kitchen. Once the base was ready, she shredded the chicken breasts and added them to the pot, turning the burner down so the soup simmered. The tortellini and kale went in next. Neither would take more than a few minutes to cook. She used that time to duck into the front room to turn the sign to open and write the day’s special on the blackboard. Despite everything, the deli was open for business.

  She had just finished adding the heavy cream and seasoning to the soup when the first customer of the day arrived. After that, she hardly got a break until closing time. The deli might have only been open for a few hours, but it was easily busy enough to have made it worth her while. Maybe we should get firebombed every weekend, she thought, then quickly knocked on the wooden door frame. She and David had had enough bad luck lately for her to be leery of jinxing herself.

  She was in the middle of locking the front doors for the night when her phone rang. It was David.

  “Hey,” she said, holding the phone between her cheek and her shoulder as she locked the door. “I’m about to head home. I’ll be bringing soup for dinner.”

  “Great,” he said distractedly. “I’ve got news.” He paused a beat, and when he spoke again, she could hear the smile in his voice. “Good news.”

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “Jimmy has been arrested for Bill Snethkamp’s murder, and Jefferson gave me the all clear to reopen the brewery.”

  “David, that’s wonderful,” she said. “We should have a grand-reopening party. The deli can cater, and we can hand out fliers with every order.”

  He chuckled. “Sure, let’s go all out. I love you. Thanks for being so supportive through everything that has happened.”

  She was still smiling as she packed the soup into to-go containers and loaded it into the car. The deli was back in working condition, the killer had been found, and the brewery would be reopening soon. It looked like their luck really had turned around.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  * * *

  The day of the grand reopening dawned with clear skies. Moira kissed her husband goodbye early in the morning before they went their separate ways; him to the brewery to meet with his sister and make sure everything was ready for the groups of people they were expecting, and her to the deli to prepare the sandwiches and drinks that she was bringing as her contribution for the event.

  The past few days had been some of the happiest of her life. Knowing that not only had the killer been caught, but that Karissa was innocent, had taken a huge weight off her shoulders. She had hated being suspicious of her sister-in-law. She knew her husband would have been crushed if it had come out that the woman had been guilty. As it was, she knew that he was upset about Jimmy. From what she had heard, the poor kid was still denying his involvement. The police had enough evidence, between his possession of the missing key and the fact that his alibi for the morning of the murder had been faked, to hold him while forensics ran their tests on the piece of piping they had found in his vehicle that they suspected was the murder weapon.

  She kept hoping that Jimmy would just come out and admit what he had done. He was still so young, and it made her sad to think that he very well might spend the rest of his life in prison. Snethkamp had been trespassing at the time of his death. She was convinced that Jimmy had killed the man in self-defense — she just couldn’t see another motive for the murder.

  “Hey, Ms. D,” Darrin said cheerfully when she let herself into the deli. “I’m glad things are back to normal.”

  “Me, too,” she said. “Though I wish we could find out who tried to burn this place down. It frightens me to think that they are still out there.”

  “I’m sure the police will track them down eventually,” he said. “If it was someone local, I’m sure they’ll let it slip to their friends and someone will talk. People love this place, no one wants to see it gone.”

  Moira smiled. “That’s so sweet of you to say. It
would be nice if the town came together and turned in the person responsible, but I won’t hold my breath. We’ll just have to be extra careful and keep an eye out for anything suspicious.” She glanced at the clock. “Oops. I’ve got to start on the sandwiches. Thanks for working a double shift today.”

  “I’m happy to make up the hours I lost over the weekend while we were closed,” he assured her. “Let me know if you need any help.”

  A couple hours later, the deli owner was on the road to the brewery in her boxy, white refrigerated truck, with boxes of sandwiches and drinks in the back. The microbrewery would finally be giving the tours that it had promised to do on St. Patrick’s Day, and afterward people would have the opportunity to congregate and try samples, grab a sandwich, and enter a drawing for a free six-pack of the new draft that David and Karissa were coming out with. Hopefully this time, the festivities wouldn’t be interrupted by anyone finding a corpse.

  She pulled up the long drive and waved at Mr. Anderson as she passed the farmhouse. After parking next to Karissa’s car, she got out and went up to the brewery to let them know she was there. She was surprised at the changes she found inside. Her husband and her sister-in-law had done a lot of work, making the interior of the building look festive and welcoming. There were long tables set up in preparation for the food, and someone had already set out a couple of packages of cookies from the local bakery.

  They are really going to through a lot to make this day memorable, she thought. That, more than anything, told her how much David wanted this brewery to succeed.

  “Moira, you made it just in time,” Karissa said, hurrying into the room. She gave her sister-in-law a quick hug. “We officially open our doors in half an hour. I’ll help you set up the food. David is doing a very careful walkthrough of the brewery floor to make sure there aren’t any surprises waiting for us.”

  Side by side, the two women unloaded the refrigerated truck. Moira went out of her way to be extra nice to the other woman. She felt bad for suspecting her of murder. Karissa looked bright and happy today, and not at all like a potential killer.

  “How’s it going with your guy friend?” she asked, after quickly checking to make sure David wasn’t in hearing distance.

  Karissa blinked. “What?”

  “You know, that guy you were seeing. How is it going with him?”

  “Oh.” The other woman gave a short laugh. “We aren’t seeing each other anymore. I forgot that I told you about him. It must have been all of that excitement with the deli — it just slipped my mind.”

  Moira nodded, then bent over the table and pretended to straighten the table cloth in order to hide the frown on her face. Had Karissa been lying about seeing someone? No, it wouldn’t make sense. The woman didn’t have anything to hide. She must have just honestly forgotten that she had told her about him.

  ***

  “Welcome to the Big Black Dog Brewery,” David said, beaming as a group of college-age young men strode past him. The grand reopening party was a bigger hit than either of them had expected.

  “This is going great,” Moira said to her husband during a lull in the activity. “Karissa seems to be enjoying herself. She’s great at giving tours. And people look like they are having fun.”

  “Thanks, in part, to you,” he said with a smile, pulling her toward him for a quick kiss. “Thanks for catering. Everyone knows the deli by reputation. Half of them are probably here for the food.”

  “I don’t know, I’d say the free samples of beer were a pretty big draw,” she said, giving him a grin.

  “Either way, I couldn’t have done it without you.” His phone rang and he pulled away from her to take it out of his pocket. He sighed. “It’s Jefferson, I’d better take it. Think you can handle keeping an eye on this crowd for a few minutes?”

  She nodded. As she watched him vanish into his office, she bit her lip. Hopefully nothing else had gone wrong. They were just starting to get back on their feet.

  When he reappeared, she knew immediately that it was bad news. “What happened?” she asked.

  “They had to let Jimmy go,” he said, his brow creased in a frown. “The pipe wasn’t a match for the murder weapon, and they had no physical evidence to hold him on.”

  “They let him go?” Moira squeaked, looking around wildly and half expecting to see him in the crowd that was currently sampling her sandwiches.

  David put his hand on her shoulder and tugged her toward the corner. Lowering his voice, he said, “Between you and me, Jefferson said he doesn’t think Jimmy’s the one who did it. The kid maintained his innocence the entire time he was there. His story didn’t change, and they have absolutely nothing to tie him to the crime beyond circumstantial evidence. He had to let him go.”

  “If Jimmy didn’t do it,” she said, “then who did?”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  * * *

  Moira shut herself in David’s office, trying to calm the panicky feeling she had in her chest. Nothing had been solved. The killer was still on the loose, the person who had tried to burn the deli down was out there somewhere, and either of them might strike again at any moment.

  “I just want to sell soup and have a nice, quiet life with my husband,” she said to herself. “Is that really too much to expect?”

  After taking a few more deep breaths, she decided that it was time to go out there and face the world again. She realized that with the killer on the loose, there was every possibility that he — or she — had decided to attend the grand reopening. Maybe she could walk around on the brewery floor and keep her eyes peeled for someone who looked suspicious. The killer may have thought that this party was the perfect time to revisit the scene of the crime.

  She left the office and stopped in her tracks when she saw Karissa slip out the front door. Where was the woman going? She had taken a break only a few minutes ago. It wasn’t like her to leave her brother with the full responsibility of supervising the event and giving tours. With a quick glance at David to make sure he was handling the crowd, she pushed the door open and followed Karissa.

  Outside, she was disappointed to find that the woman had already vanished. It had only been a few seconds, so Moira knew she couldn’t have gone far. Trying not to think about how upset her husband would be if his sister was up to something shady, she looked around and then headed to her right. The only place the other woman could have gone to disappear so quickly was around the corner of the building.

  Moira walked as silently as she could, keeping close to the building and pausing every other step to listen. As she drew closer to the back of the building, she heard a woman’s voice, which she recognized as Karissa’s. Holding her breath, she snuck closer and when she was close enough, she peeked around the corner to see what the other woman was doing.

  Karissa was leaning against the back of the microbrewery building with her phone to her ear. Moira could tell even from that distance that the woman was upset.

  “Of course I feel bad for doing it,” she said into the phone. “But I still don’t see what choice I had.”

  She fell silent as whoever was on the other end of the phone spoke. After a moment, she sighed and ran her fingers through her hair.

  “The thing is, I warned him the last time I saw him before I had to end it. He knew that I was serious. He had to know that I wouldn’t let what he was doing slide.”

  Moira breathed out slowly, her eyes wide. She felt frozen in place, unable to move as she listened to the one-sided conversation. She realized suddenly that she should be recording it. Otherwise who would believe her? Karissa was definitely up to something, and had done something that she seemed to regret. By the way she was acting, it was obvious that she didn’t want anyone to overhear her.

  The deli owner pulled out her own phone and, after making sure the volume was turned down, brought up the camera and began recording Karissa as best she could without moving too much. The last thing she wanted was for the other woman to see her.

  �
��No, I’m not going to take a chance when it comes to the brewery,” Karissa said. “It sucks, but at least I know he won’t be trying to steal our recipes anymore. It was easy enough to end it when he made it clear what he was up to.”

  I can’t believe I’m hearing this, Moira thought. It was one thing to have suspicions about her sister-in-law, but what she was hearing was as close to a confession as she could imagine. How could she have been so wrong about Karissa for the past year? And how would David make it through this?

  “I’ve got to go. I don’t want David to know what I did for him. He’d just feel bad. Thanks for calling to check in, Kristen. Talking about it made me feel better.”

  She slid her phone into her pocket and in one smooth motion turned to face Moira. Both women froze, and the deli owner didn’t know if she or Karissa was more surprised.

  “What are you doing?” the other woman asked after the original shock had passed away. Her eyes flicked down to Moira’s phone, which was still out and pointed in her direction.

  “I, um, I followed you,” Moira said. “To see if you were okay. You seemed upset.”

  “That’s because I was. Are you recording me?”

  The deli owner opened her mouth, but no lie came to her lips. Her silence seemed to be enough of an answer for her sister-in-law.

  “Seriously? What the heck, Moira?” Karissa strode toward her and smacked the phone out of her hand. “I don’t have any idea what you were planning on doing with that, but that’s not okay. You don’t just go around recording people for no reason. I always knew you were a little bit crazy, but I thought you were a good person. This just makes me mad.”

  “You’re one to talk about being a good person,” Moira snapped. She bent down to pick her phone up, but Karissa moved forward to block it.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”