Glazed Ham Murder (The Darling Deli Series Book 20)

by Patti Benning

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  GLAZED HAM MURDER

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  EPILOGUE

  Glazed

  Ham

  Murder

  Book Twenty

  in

  The Darling Deli Series

  By

  Patti Benning

  Copyright 2017 Summer Prescott Books

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  **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.

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  GLAZED HAM

  MURDER

  Book Twenty in The Darling Deli Series

  CHAPTER ONE

  * * *

  A warm spring breeze blew through the open door of Darling’s DELIcious Delights. The deli was empty except for Moira Darling, her daughter Candice, and two other women. All four were wearing jeans and old shirts, and Moira had a streak of paint on her arm.

  “Well, we’re finished,” she said, looking around at the interior of her beloved deli, which sported a fresh coat of paint. It was a touch-up that had long been needed. Moira hadn’t painted the walls since she opened; the old coat had chipped and cracked in more than a few places, and was just dingy from the touch of hundreds of hands. “Thanks for helping.”

  “It wasn’t a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon,” said Denise Donovan. The tall redhead owned the nicest restaurant in town, and was one of Moira’s closest friends. It was odd to see her dressed so casually; she looked out of place without her normal sharp pantsuit and heels.

  “I owe you for watching Diamond so often,” said her other friend, Martha. “I was happy to help.”

  “We should start cleaning up,” Candice said. “The pizza will be here soon, and I’ve got to leave in an hour to meet Eli. We’re going to go visit Reggie before the movie.”

  “Tell me if it’s good,” Moira said to her daughter. “David and I might go see it later this week.”

  She smiled as she bent down to pick up a paint roller and a handful of brushes to rinse off at the sink in the kitchen. It felt good to have the painting finished. They hadn’t even lost too much business—Sundays were the deli’s shortest days anyway, and closing just two hours early had given them plenty of time to complete the project while it was still light out. She had spent the past week in a frenzy of spring cleaning both here and at home. Painting the deli had been her last project. It felt good to finally be done.

  “So, what are you doing for Easter?” Martha asked, joining her at the sink with a paint tray and another roller.

  “To be honest, David and I don’t have any plans,” Moira said. “Normally I’d want to have a nice big brunch with Candice and Eli, but they already have plans of their own, so it will probably just be the two of us.”

  “If you want, the two of you could come and help out with the Easter egg hunt that the library is hosting,” Martha said. “I volunteered last year, and it was actually pretty fun. We’ll be hiding eggs in the park, and there will be a raffle for a nice gift basket. The proceeds all go to the library.”

  “I’ll talk to David,” Moira replied.

  “Oh, and they’re always looking for local businesses to sponsor items for the gift basket. They like gift cards, chocolates, stuff like that.”

  “I can throw a gift card in,” Moira said. “And I bet Candice would be happy to donate some of her candies. She’s always looking for chances to get her name out there.”

  “Great. And let me know about helping with the Easter egg hunt, all right? We’re down a couple of our usual volunteers this year.”

  “I will,” the deli owner promised. “I’ll go talk to David as soon as we’re done here.”

  By the time the sun began to set, the deli had been cleaned up and was looking even better than it had before. The floors shone after the mopping and waxing they had received, the glass top of the counter was free of streaks and smudges, and the air still smelled slightly of fresh paint. Moira took one last, proud look at her little restaurant before she shut and locked the front door. The deli was her pride and joy; the one thing in the world—other than her wonderful daughter, of course—that she could look at and think I made this.

  She got into her green SUV and let the engine run for a moment while she called her husband, David Morris, to see if he had made it home yet. “I’m still at the brewery,” he told her. “Sorry, one of the tanks has a leak and Karissa and I have been trying to figure out where it’s coming from.”

  “Have you had dinner yet?” she asked. “I’ve got some leftover pizza with me. I could stop by and drop it off before I go home to let the dogs out.”

  “How did I get so lucky?” he asked. She could hear the smile in his voice.

  “I’ll see you soon,” she said with a grin of her own. She knew that she was the lucky one, to have found such a wonderful man to be her husband. Her first marriage had never been like this. Every day with David was so filled with happiness and caring. Sometimes it was hard to imagine how she had spent so many years without a partner like him by her side.

  The microbrewery was located on a farm a few miles out of town. The property was about to go on the market for the third time in less than a year. Moira and David had discussed buying it, but neither of them really wanted to live on or manage a working farm, complete with cattle and acres of crops. Right now, David was leasing both the land and the building that the brewery used, but he owned all of the equipment. He and his sister knew that they might have to move the brewery to a different location if the next person to own the land wasn’t interested in continuing the lease, but at the moment they were taking it one day at a time.

  Moira parked just outside the big, boxy building that housed the office and the expensive equipment that went into making and bottling beer. She shot a glance toward the farmhouse, which had stood empty for weeks. If she believed in such things, she might almost think that this property was cursed.

 
She pulled her gaze away from the farmhouse and walked around to the passenger side of her vehicle to grab the pizza box. She hadn’t yet admitted it to David, but part of her would be glad if the brewery had to move. This place held too many memories for her. She didn’t like being reminded of her dead friend every time she walked in the door.

  “Thanks for coming all the way out here,” David said, greeting her with a hug and a kiss when she walked through the door.

  “You’re a lifesaver, Moira,” said Karissa. The dark-haired woman snatched the pizza box. “I’m starved. I wasn’t expecting to be here so long. David didn’t tell me what was wrong when he called me in. He just said there was a problem he needed my help with. I didn’t think it would mean I’d be here half the day looking over a tank full of beer.”

  “He’s your brother,” Moira said with a laugh. “Though you should have called me earlier. I would have been happy to bring some soup and sandwiches from the deli.”

  “I knew you were busy with painting; I didn’t want to bother you,” David said. “How did that go, by the way? Did you finish?”

  “We got done a couple of hours ago and spent the rest of the time cleaning up. The deli looks like new,” she told him. “Oh, before I forget, I promised Martha I’d ask you if you want to volunteer with me to help set up the Easter egg hunt in the park for the kids.”

  “Why not?” he said. “They’ve been doing that egg hunt for decades. Karissa and I used to go back when we were children. It’ll be nice to help out.”

  “I’ll tell her we’ll be there, then,” Moira said. “She’ll be thrilled. Since Candice will be busy, I can’t think of a better way to spend Easter.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  * * *

  “They’re going to be here soon,” Moira called up the stairs. “Are you almost ready?”

  “I’ll be down in a second,” David called back. “Why are you so worried? Candice comes over for dinner all the time.”

  The anxious mother sighed. She knew that she shouldn’t be so worried about the dinner. Normally she wouldn’t be; as David had said, family dinners were a routine thing in the Darling-Morris household.

  It was just that tonight, Candice was bringing a friend, a young woman that she had known since middle school. Candice had been an angsty teenager who once threatened to run away with Caroline Cook, her best friend. So, Moira had forbidden them from seeing each other. Shortly after that, the other girl had moved away with her parents. Now, of course, Moira and her daughter had a much better relationship, but she couldn’t help but worry that the reappearance of such an old friend might bring along with it bad memories of the years just after Moira’s divorce. It wasn’t a time that she was eager to revisit.

  She had already told all of this to David, but he just didn’t understand. He was a great step-parent for Candice, but he hadn’t been there during the really tough times. He had never had any children of his own, and had no way to understand the pain of watching a child grieve over a divorce.

  “I’ll feel better once everyone’s here,” Moira called back. “Which will be any minute.”

  She hurried back into the kitchen to check on the food. Four perfect swordfish steaks were just about done in the oven. On the table, there was a bowl of garlic quinoa; a salad with baby spinach leaves, walnuts, and dried cranberries; a bottle of lemon-garlic vinaigrette; and a bowl of freshly made citrus pesto. Everything was perfect, and the sight of the beautifully put together meal made her relax a little. She really did love cooking.

  A booming bark jolted her. Someone was here. She went back down the hall and called the two dogs back from the door. Behind her, she heard David’s footsteps on the stairs. She pulled back the curtain and looked out the window next to the door to see her daughter’s familiar silver convertible parked behind her SUV. Candice had already gotten out of the car, and a woman with straight black hair was standing up from the passenger seat. Next to Moira, the big, dark German shepherd gave an excited whine.

  “I know, Maverick, Candice is here. She brought a friend, didn’t she?”

  She opened the door, letting the two dogs rush out to greet the women. Keeva, the long-legged Irish wolfhound, reached them first and greeted both of them with enthusiasm. She was so tall that her head came nearly up to their chests when she stood and looked up. Maverick took a little bit longer to warm up to the newcomer, but by the time they reached the door, he was eagerly begging for affection from both women.

  “Come on in,” Moira said, smiling at them. “Caroline, we can put the dogs in the other room if they’re too much. I know they’re pretty energetic and, well, big.”

  “Oh, no, I love animals,” she said. “Candice has told me all about your dogs. Maverick saved your life?”

  “Yes, that’s a story I can tell over dinner. This is my husband, David. David, this is Candice’s childhood friend, Caroline.”

  “It’s nice to meet you,” he said.

  “You, too. Candice told me all about you, too. You’re a private investigator? That’s so cool.”

  He chuckled. “It really isn’t as exciting as everyone seems to think it is. There’s a lot of sitting around and waiting for stuff to happen, and a lot of paperwork. I do get to set my own hours though, which is nice.”

  “Let’s go sit down,” Moira said. “The fish should be done, and everything else is ready.”

  “I brought some salted caramel chocolates for dessert,” Candice said as they walked down the hall to the kitchen. “Caroline helped me make them earlier.”

  “That sounds wonderful,” Moira said. “It’s too bad Eli couldn’t make it. You said he had an important meeting?”

  “Something like that,” her daughter said. The smile she gave was almost mischievous. Moira raised her eyebrows, but didn’t ask further. Whatever was going on, it seemed that Candice wanted to tell her in her own time.

  Moira took the swordfish out of the oven and the four of them sat down around the table. David opened one of the beers from his brewery, and Moira poured the girls glasses of wine. It still felt odd to see her daughter drinking, but Candice had been of age for a while now. It’s just hard to stop thinking of her as my little girl, she thought.

  “The food is wonderful, Ms. Darling,” Caroline said. “It’s like something a restaurant would serve.”

  The deli owner smiled and thanked her. The dark-haired young woman was nothing like she had been the last time Moira had seen her. When she was younger, Caroline had been rebellious, with a penchant for breaking the rules. Now she was just as polite as Candice. Moira felt bad for trying to keep the two friends apart all those years ago, but at least it looked like they had both turned out all right.

  “So, Caroline, how is North Carolina? Are you still living with your parents?”

  “No, I have my own place now. It’s an apartment, right on the beach.”

  “That sounds nice. Are you seeing anyone special?”

  “Not right now,” Caroline said. “I just broke up with someone, actually. I thought it would be a good time to come and visit Candice.”

  “She’ll be here for a week,” Moira’s daughter said. “We’ve got a ton of stuff planned. It’ll be fun.”

  “I bet. How’s Eli doing?”

  “Good.” Candice made a face. “Except that his ex is in town.”

  “That was that Alexa girl, right?” Caroline asked. Turning to Moira, she said, “She came into the candy shop while Candice was showing me around. She kept trying to get Candice to talk about Eli. It took us forever to get her to leave.”

  “Eli said that he saw her at the grocery store. He’s surprised that she’s back. She was really upset when they broke up and she moved away.”

  The deli owner frowned. “It sounds like she’s still interested in him.”

  “I think she’s just lonely,” Candice said. “She grew up here, so she’s probably just back to visit other friends. Besides, I’m not worried about it.” She smiled. “I trust Eli, and I know he’ll tell
me if she tries anything.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  * * *

  Moira opened the fridge and frowned. She was sure that they had another ham, but she just wasn’t seeing it. Easter was in a couple of days, and the glazed ham sandwiches were more popular than ever. But she couldn’t make them if they didn’t have the ham.

  It had been two days since the family dinner with Candice and Caroline, and she was still feeling guilty about her decision to keep the friends apart years ago. It made her wonder what other mistakes she had made as a mother. She knew that she was far from perfect, but she liked to think that overall, she had been fair in raising her daughter.

  She sighed with relief when she saw the ham, which had somehow been covered by packets of bacon from the butcher’s recent delivery. She would have to talk with her employees about the importance of keeping things organized. To be fair, they had been more busy than usual lately. They had all been working extra to keep up with the seemingly endless stream of customers. Holidays always seemed to bring an increase in business, no matter which holiday it was.

  She pulled the ham out of the fridge and unwrapped it before placing it on the cutting board. While the white bean soup simmered on the stove next to her, she cut thin slices off the ham and arranged them on a platter to make it easier for her employees to put together the sandwich that came along with the daily special.

  Now that winter was over, the deli’s catering service was once again in demand. They had already scheduled two weddings, a birthday party, and a corporate retreat hosted by a business from Traverse City. The last one had surprised her. She hadn’t known that her little deli was famous enough to attract business from a town over an hour away. Just a couple of years ago, no one but locals had heard of Darling’s DELIcious Delights. Now people from all over Michigan seemed to know who she was.