Creamy Casserole Murder: Book 15 in The Darling Deli Series by Patti Benning Page B

make it up to him? Food , she thought. He must be just as sick of the nursing home food as all of the other residents are. I could have him over for dinner—I just need to get a list of what he can and can’t have.
    The list was the easy part. All she had to do was phone Misty Pines, and one of the nurses emailed it to her. Figuring out what to make was harder. His diet wasn’t as limited as some of the residents’, but he couldn’t have much sodium, fat, or anything hard to chew. She decided to fall back on what she was most comfortable making: soup.
    She ended up making a delicious low-sodium cabbage and beef soup with a side of mashed potatoes and broccoli florets. Everything was on his list of safe foods, but it was all much more flavorful than the food normally was at the retirement home. Reggie, when she had called to invite him, had been thrilled; not just at the chance to eat normal food, but also to get out of the assisted-living home entirely.
    “I know it’s a nice place,” he told her. “And I’m grateful to Eli for putting me here instead of a cheaper place, but when you get down to it, it’s just a comfy jail.”
    Moira didn’t tell him, but she secretly agreed. She knew that the locked doors were there to keep the residents safe, since some of them had psychological issues that made them a danger to themselves, but it still didn’t seem right that none of the residents were allowed to leave unless they were checked out by a friend or family member. By the time I need to go to a home, I probably won’t care , she told herself. I’ll probably enjoy the chance to put my feet up and relax while someone else does all of the cleaning, shopping, and cooking.
    Moira put the dogs in the mudroom behind a baby gate before Reggie got there. She knew they wouldn’t purposely hurt him, but they were so big that they could easily push him over. He walked with the aid of a cane, and from what she had seen, he wasn’t particularly steady on his feet.
    Eli and Candice hadn’t been able to make it, but David had volunteered to come, and was even driving Reggie from the nursing home to her house and back again. She had protested at first, not wanting him to go out of his way for something that was her idea, but he had insisted.
    “You’re making the whole dinner,” he told her. “You don’t need to be driving into town and back again too. I’ll handle it. Besides, it will give me a chance to pick his brain. Maybe he’ll be able to remember something else about Beatrice’s or Delilah’s deaths.”
    In the days between their meeting at Misty Pines and the dinner, Reggie had met with Detective Jefferson to discuss their suspicions about the two deaths. Amazingly, the detective had listened and agreed to see what he could do about ordering an autopsy on Delilah’s body. It was a big step forward, and all three of them eagerly awaited news.
    David and Reggie pulled up in the driveway shortly past five. Moira had the meal ready and waiting for them, and the table nicely set for Reggie’s apology dinner. She was still mentally kicking herself for not believing him sooner, but at least he didn’t seem upset with her.
    “Thanks for coming,” she said as she opened the front door for them.
    “A chance to get out of that place and eat some good food for once?” he said. “I wouldn’t have turned down this invitation even if Danny was the one that sent it.”
    “Don’t say that,” she said with a shudder. “If he knows that you’re the reason the police are going to order an autopsy; you very well could be his next target.”
    “Oh, I’m going to be fine,” he said with a casual wave of his hand. “Don’t tell any of them at Misty Pines, but I had someone bring me one of those rubber door stops. No one is getting into my room if I don’t want them to, even if they have a key.”
    “That, um, seems dangerous,” she said, raising her eyes to meet David’s. He shrugged, looking amused.
    “How’s