Corned Beef Murder: Book Two in The Darling Deli Series by Patti Benning Page A

and help her friend.
    “Hey, Ms. Darling,” he said, darting a nervous glance at David. “I finished up with the dishes. Is it all right if I take off?”
    “Yes, of course,” she said, giving him a thankful smile. “You were awesome today. Thanks for coming in to hold down the fort with Candice on such short notice.”
    “Oh, it was no problem,” he assured her. He ducked back into the kitchen quickly to get his coat, and then he made his way to the front door. He gave her a smile, and gave David a nod. Moira decided to introduce them; she wanted to make her new employee feel at home as much as possible.
    “Dante,” she said. “This is David Morris. He’s a private investigator and also my friend.” Dante’s eyes widened.
    “An investigator?” he asked. “What for?” He looked nervous, which confused her. She couldn’t understand why the young man would be afraid of a detective.
    “He’s been helping me look into something involving my friend that died,” she told him.
    “Oh.” Dante shifted his weight uncertainly, and then gave them both a second quick nod. “See you tomorrow, Ms. Darling.”
    “How much do you know about that kid?” David asked Moira, his dark eyebrows arched in amusement.
    “He’s new,” she told him. “So not much. But he’s a hard worker, and he never complains. Why?”
    “He just seemed a bit too nervous,” he told her. “Do you mind if I look into him too?”
    “Sure,” she said. “But I can assure you, Dante doesn’t have anything to do with this case.”
    He sighed and stirred his soup slowly with his spoon. She knew that he was thinking of how he’d had to save her life a few months ago.
    “I should get going,” he said at last. “It’s late, and the roads are bad. Just keep your eyes open and be careful, okay?”
    “I will,” she told him. “And let me know if you find anything out—about any of the people you’re going to be looking into.”
    She watched as he got up and left. She was surprised to see him pause right outside of the door. He took his cell phone out of his pocket and snapped a picture of something in the snow. When he had driven away, Moira walked over to the window and looked out. David had taken a picture of one of Dante’s footprints.

     

CHAPTER TWELVE
    Breakfast in the Darling house was usually an every-woman-for-herself affair, so Moira was surprised to find an entire meal laid out when she woke up. Candice was putting the finishing touches on a huge platter of pancakes when Moira entered the kitchen. The rich, savory scents of bacon and coffee filled the air. It was just beginning to get light outside, and she was surprised that she was up so early. The delicious smell of breakfast must have woken her.
    “Wow, what’s the occasion?” she asked as she poured herself a mug of coffee.
    “I just wanted to say thank you for everything,” her daughter said. “You’re the best mom ever.”
    “Well, you’re a pretty awesome daughter yourself,” she replied with a smile. “Thank you.” The food looked amazing. Moira also realized that her daughter was a pretty formidable cook. When had her little girl grown into such a responsible skilled adult?
    She helped Candice finish up setting the table and then the two of them sat down together. She was just about to dig in when her phone rang. Who on earth is calling me this early? she wondered. She was tempted to ignore it; it would be rude to interrupt the breakfast that her daughter had made to take the call, but Candice just smiled and told her to go ahead and answer it.
    “It might be Darrin or Dante calling to say they can’t go to work today,” she pointed out.
    “Oh, good point. I’ll be right back,” she promised.
    She grabbed her phone off the counter and left the room before glancing at the screen. The caller ID said Martha . She was surprised—why was her friend calling her so early? Hopefully there hadn’t been another burglary.
    “Moira, thank goodness you