Salami Murder: Book 8 in The Darling Deli Series (6 page)

“I know he picked up some new clients recently,” Moira said, shrugging and hoping she appeared nonchalant. “It was probably a business meeting.”

“I don’t know, he seemed very friendly with her. They hugged when she left, and he paid her bill,” Martha said reluctantly. “But I’m sure there’s an explanation—you two seem pretty close. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“No, it’s okay. I’m glad that you did,” Moira said to Martha, trying to ignore the knowing look that Denise was giving her. The restaurant owner had more than enough experience with unfaithful men; Moira was certain that Denise wouldn’t give David the benefit of the doubt. “I trust David,” she added. “The woman was probably just an old friend or something.”

Still, she couldn’t help the uneasy feeling that rose in her after she managed to get the subject back onto Martha’s new boyfriend. She and David had never really defined their relationship—they were friends, that was certain, and they went out on dates quite often. They had shared a couple of innocent kisses, and David always treated her with care and respect. Despite her claims of trust, however, Moira couldn’t help but wonder if the private investigator was quite as invested in the relationship as she was.

Moira pushed the conversation with Martha about David out of her mind. She had bigger concerns, like ensuring that the deli continued to run smoothly and making sure Candice was taken care of. With her car totaled, the young woman couldn’t drive anywhere on her own, and even though Lake Marion’s grocery store was easy walking distance from her apartment, with Moira just couldn’t tolerate the idea of her daughter dragging home groceries with one arm in a sling. Besides, she couldn’t help but worry about her daughter—after all, someone had been murdered in the store below the apartment less than a week ago.

As she drove down the now-familiar road that took her straight from her house to the heart of Lake Marion, Moira found herself beginning to wonder if the little candy shop was cursed. Before the amazing transformation that Candice had managed to achieve, it had been a toy store. A few weeks before Candice bought it, the toy store’s owner had been found dead and Moira herself had discovered that the store was a front for a drug runner with ties to the Mafia. Now someone else had been found dead inside the store—was it possible there was a connection?

Her car abruptly left the shadow of the forest and moved into the sunlight. Seeing the cloudless sky, the deli owner shook her head. She was being ridiculous. The murdered worker, Matt, had nothing to do with the criminals that had held the store in their grasp before, and she must be out of her mind to be thinking of curses.
Don’t you dare mention anything about a curse to Candice
, she told herself sternly, worried that her daughter might take her a bit too seriously. She wanted the young woman’s mind on happy things today. They were going shopping for Candice’s new car, then out to eat afterward. All thoughts of murderers, criminals, curses, and mayhem could wait.

“Mom, I can’t thank you enough,” Candice said a few hours later when they had been seated at the diner. Her face was bright, her eyes shining with excitement. “It’s wonderful.”

“I’m glad you like it,” Moira replied, grinning herself and resisting the temptation to go back to the lot and put a down payment on a new car for herself. Car shopping was always exciting, but she knew her current car had a few years left in it yet. She would be happy driving it until it gave out. “If you end up changing your mind, we can always switch the deposit to another car.”

Candice, much to her disappointment, had been unable to test drive the car due to her sling. She would be able to take it off in a week, but right now her elbow hurt too much for her to even think of straightening it. She had fallen in love with the sleek silver convertible in the used car lot at first sight though, and when they saw how low the mileage was on it, they had known that the vehicle wouldn’t be there for long. The deposit would hold it until Candice was able to drive again.

“How have you been holding up?” Moira asked. “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to come out more often. I’m sure you know David is happy to—”

“I’m fine,” Candice promised quickly. “Really. I have everything I need. You don’t have to worry so much. Adrian even stopped by with some flowers and a card.”

“That’s nice,” the deli owner replied, heaving a mental sigh. It looked like the two of them might be on their way to making up again.

“It was,” Candice agreed cheerily, either not noticing or choosing to ignore her mother’s expression. “I haven’t heard much from him recently. He said he’s been busy trying to bring more money in, and hopefully get a business of his own going eventually. I think he was hoping I’d offer to let him come back and help with the candy store, but I told him I want to wait until I have this thing,” she lifted her arm in the sling, “off my arm.”

“I’m sure he’ll manage to find something else to occupy his time. He’s a smart boy, I’ll give him that.” Moira paused, casting around for a new conversation topic, one that wouldn’t lead them into an argument. “Have you decided on a new date for the grand opening?”

“I think it will be the Saturday after next, but I wanted to check with you first, to make sure you’ll be able to come,” Candice said. “Allison offered to help out too, if you don’t need her.”

Allison and Candice had become close friends over the last few weeks, since the other young woman had begun working at the deli. They had clicked immediately, and had already made plans for a road trip in the fall.

“I’ll make sure she has the day off,” the deli owner promised. “And don’t worry about trying to schedule the grand opening around me—I’ll be there no matter what day you choose. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Their conversation paused when the waitress, a tired, middle-aged woman, came up to the table. She placed a pair of glasses filled with water in front of the two women, then whipped out her notepad.

“What can I get you, hon?” she asked, looking at Candice.

“I’ll have the grilled chicken sandwich and fries, please.”

The waitress turned her gaze to Moira.

“Um…” caught off guard, she scanned the menu quickly, seeking anything that caught her interest. “The fish and chips. Thanks.”

The waitress, whose nametag read May scribbled quickly on her pad, shot them a tired smile, and walked away.

They didn’t have to wait long before May brought out their food. The crispy fish steamed when she cut into it. She squeezed a lemon over it and dug in, Candice already tasting her sandwich.

Moira was between bites when something out the window caught her eye. She froze, a fork full of fish halfway to her mouth. It was David, and he was walking down the street with a petite brunette woman.
She’s very beautiful
, Moira noted in some distant part of her brain. As she watched, the woman linked her arm with David’s, and he laughed at something that she said. His face was relaxed and happy, and the woman gazed up at him in amusement.

The fish fell off of Moira’s fork and landed on her lap, causing her to tear her gaze away from the window. Candice looked up, concerned. Moira gestured wordlessly to the window, where David and the woman were passing by. She saw Candice’s lips thin, and knew that her daughter had reached the same conclusion she had. David was seeing another woman.

“Martha told me about this,” she said, half to herself. “I should have listened.”

“What?” Candice asked, still gazing at the receding forms of David and the mysterious woman.

“Martha told me that she saw David on a date with this woman,” Moira explained with a sigh, trying to ignore the way her heart ached. “I tried to convince myself that she must have been wrong, or that there was a reasonable explanation, but…” she let her words trail off, her eyes following the pair as they walked out of sight.

“Maybe there still is,” Candice said hopefully. “You never know.”

“They seemed so… close,” she said. She shook her head. “Maybe I was wrong about how serious our relationship is. He may not think he’s doing anything wrong. He may even think I’m seeing other men.”

“I think David takes your relationship very seriously,” Candice told her. “He’s always there when you need him, isn’t he? I know he cares about you. I can see it in the way he looks at you.”

“Then why—” She closed her lips, pursing them. She didn’t want to go around in circles discussing David and the other woman with her daughter. Nothing would be solved until she confronted the man himself… or he came clean to her.

She was still shaken the next day when she got to the deli. She trusted David—she kept telling herself that. It was hard, however, when she had seen him with another woman with her own eyes.
She might just be an old friend
, she thought, trying to reassure herself.
But in that case, why wouldn’t he have mentioned her before?

She hadn’t spoken to Candice much about it at the time, not wanting to mar their otherwise pleasant day with the sense of betrayal she had felt. Now, however, she found herself wishing she had
someone
to share her thoughts with.

Why not just ask David?
she thought. But it wasn’t as simple as that, not really. She and David had never talked about dating each other exclusively. Did she have any right to be angry, or even jealous, if he chose to spend time with another woman? It wasn’t like they were married; he was free to do what he wanted, as was she.
It doesn’t seem to matter whether I have a right to be upset
, she thought ruefully.
I still feel that way.

With a groan, she rose from the stool behind the counter at the deli and began reorganizing the cases of meat, anything to keep her busy. It was a slow time of day, and she would be grateful when the evening rush started. Anything would be better than being left alone with her own thoughts right now.

As if in answer to her wishes, the deli’s front door jingled as someone walked through it, and Moira hurried back to the register to greet the customer. Something about him was familiar, and with everything that had been going on in the last few days, it took her a moment to place him.

“Eli, wasn’t it?” she asked at last when it came back to him. “You own the ice cream parlor in Lake Marion.” She was nearly certain he was the same young man who had stopped in to Candice’s Candies to say hi the week before, but she was still relieved when he smiled and nodded.

“That’s me,” he said. “And you’re Candice’s mom, right?”

“Yep. Moira Darling.” She shook his hand, glad for the distraction that he had provided her. “Can I help you with anything in particular today, or are you just going to look around?”

“Oh, um, I’m supposed to pick up some cheese slices and sparkling cider,” he said. “I can probably find it myself though.”

“The cider will be in the case on the end,” she said. “And the cheese is in front of the meat right there.”

She watched while he picked out the items. When he walked up with the items, plus a few extras, she began ringing him up. Since he was a fellow local business owner, and had been kind enough to stop by the candy stop just to introduce himself, she gave him a small discount. It never hurt to be nice to people, especially when they were people you were bound to run into again.

She was just packing the items into a bag for him when his cell phone rang. He gave her an apologetic smile and took the call, assuring whoever was on the other line that he had found everything all right and that no, the other person didn’t need to pay him back.

“No problem,” he said. “See you soon, Candice.”

Moira stared at him as he hung up, not wanting to admit that she had been listening, but dying to know if he had been talking to her daughter. Surely there was another Candice in town.

“Was that my daughter?” she asked after a moment of internal struggle, unable to help herself.

“Yeah.” He grinned at her in a friendly way. “She wanted to make sure I found this place all right. Oh, she said to say hi.”

Moira nodded and forced a smile, printing out his receipt and handing it to him. She liked Eli, but she was startled to find out that he and Candice were on such close terms. Just when had they become friends?

Being vague about why exactly she needed to call her daughter, Moira asked Meg to watch the register while she stepped outside. Careful to leave a brick between the door and the frame so the back delivery door couldn’t shut all the way, she speed dialed Candice’s number. Her daughter answered after just a few rings.

“I thought you might call,” her daughter said, her voice amused.

“Is there something you want to tell me?” Moira asked. Candice had almost always told her mother about her relationships, and she couldn’t help but feel a bit hurt that her daughter hadn’t thought to tell her anything this time.
Then again
, she reminded herself,
she doesn’t live with me anymore. I have to let her grow up some time. She’ll always be my little girl, but I have to remember that doesn’t mean that she’s a child.
It was surprisingly hard to treat her adult daughter like, well, like an adult.

“We’re just friends,” the young woman said with a laugh. “He stopped by to see how I was doing, after he heard about the murder. He’s pretty nice; we’re going to hang out and watch movies for a bit. Allison is coming over too.”