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

answered,” the other woman said as soon as she put the phone to her ear. “I’m so scared. I think someone’s following me.” The words were eerily similar to what Emilia had said on the day that she died.
    “Tell me what’s going on,” Moira said, clasping the phone to her ear. “Have you called the police?”
    “I’m going to call them next. I just thought you and your detective should know.” She took a shaky breath. “I went out to the gas station this morning to pick up some more orange juice,” she began. “And someone followed my car to the gas station. They idled in the parking lot while I was inside, and then followed me back.”
    “Are you at home now?”
    “Yes, and that car is still in the parking lot. I can see it from the balcony. It’s just sitting there, idling with its headlights off.”
    “Can you see what the driver looks like?”
    “No… but the car is old and red. One of the headlights is dimmer than the other.”
    “All right… be careful, Martha. You should call the police as soon as we hang up. Keep your doors locked, okay?”
    “I will,” she promised. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you when you first tried to tell me something fishy was going on. I shouldn’t have listened to James—what does he know?”
    Moira returned to the breakfast table feeling shaken and worried. She filled Candice in on what Martha had said as she spread butter over the pancakes.
    “Wow, that’s so creepy,” her daughter said. “I can’t even imagine how she must feel. Do you think the police will be able to do anything?”
    “Hopefully. Maybe they’ll even reopen the case of Emilia’s death, now that they have a serial burglar on their hands.”
    “Do you think Martha’s in danger from him?” Candice asked.
    “I don’t know. I thought that Emilia’s death might have been an accident—if the burglar thought he was alone in the house; she may have surprised him. But if he’s stalking Martha now… maybe he has darker intentions.” Moira bit her lip as she gazed at the spread of delicious food in front of her. She didn’t want to admit to her daughter that her appetite had left her, but she didn’t know how she was going to enjoy breakfast with her friend in such danger.
    * * *
    As soon as she got the soup of the day—a sumptuous cheesy chicken bourbon soup, always popular with her customers—simmering on low heat, Moira tried calling Martha back, but the phone rang through to voicemail. She was worried, but didn’t know who else she could contact. She didn’t have James’s phone number and wasn’t sure if the police would be able to tell her anything. She decided to take a short break from work and check on her friend in a few hours, when Darrin got to the deli.
     
    * * *
    “Martha? Are you here?” she called out, knocking on the door for a third time. There was no answer. She tried the knob, but it was locked. She could have gone out for groceries or to meet someone , Moira thought. But she didn’t really believe that the other woman would have left her apartment, not with how scared she sounded on the phone.
    She headed back down the stairs of the apartment building, and when she got outside she noticed a police vehicle parked on the other side of the parking lot. Martha must have made the call, then, and they had sent someone out to watch her building. The only question was… where was she? A quick look around the small parking lot showed her that Martha’s car was still there, which meant that the woman had to be somewhere nearby. With a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, she braced herself and walked over to the police car. Maybe they would be able to do something to find the missing woman.
    “She hasn’t left since I’ve been sitting here,” the officer said. “Are you sure she isn’t just in her apartment taking a nap?”
    “Well, no, I’m not,” Moira admitted, feeling frustrated. “But I knocked a few times, called her cell phone, and even