Grilled Rye Murder: Book 16 in The Darling Deli Series by Patti Benning Page A

hadn’t stopped in yet, she had been meaning to. “I’ll talk to my friend about setting up a time for you to see Hazel, then I’ll stop by the donut shop and talk to your mom, okay?”
    The kid nodded, seemingly pleased with this plan. The deli owner was surprised but glad that she had finally found out who Hazel’s old owner was—she just hoped that Adam and his mother didn’t complicate matters. Karissa would not be happy if they tried to take her dog from her.
     

CHAPTER TEN
    After getting the go-ahead from Karissa, Moira made good on her word and stopped at the donut shop on her way home from work. It was an interesting place; the sign, in sprawling cursive letters, welcomed her to D’s Donuts. When she stepped through the doors, she noticed a scattering of arcade machines to her left. Several teenagers were playing at the machines. On the other side of the store were a few tables, the register, and a large, well-lit display of donuts.
    “Hi, welcome to D’s Donuts. Can I help you?” the teen working at the counter asked as she approached.
    “Um, yes. I’m looking for… Adam’s mom.” She didn’t know his mom’s name, something that she wished she had realized before. Hopefully this girl knew who she was talking about.
    “Oh, Robyn? She’s in the back. Hold on a sec.”
    The girl slipped through a swinging door and reappeared a moment later with a middle-aged woman in tow.
    “Did Adam do something?” she asked nervously, wiping her the flour on her hands onto the apron that she was wearing. “Is he in trouble?”
    “No, no, nothing like that. I don’t know if you know… but he left his dog behind my deli last year.”
    The woman winced. “It sounds terrible when you say it like that. I told him he should take her to the pound, but he was worried they would put the puppies down. I guess one of his friends saw your dogs at the fair last year, and he got it into his mind that you were the perfect person for Hazel. I was going to send her away to someone who rescues dogs, but he snuck her out before I could do anything. His father was a real piece of work. I don’t think he’d actually have hurt the dog, but Adam took his threats seriously. You can’t fault him for trying to protect her. He loved Hazel.”
    “I gathered some of that from what he told me, but it’s nice to hear the full story. I’ve been wondering about it since I took her in. Like I told Adam, she got adopted by a friend of mine and is very happy and spoiled,” Moira told her.
    “That’s good news. I told him that she would probably be settled in with her new owners, but he still wanted to check.”
    “That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about… he mentioned you said he could get another dog?”
    The other woman nodded. “He was half-hoping to get Hazel back, but I’m sure he’ll understand that she’s happy and her new owner doesn’t want to give her up. He’s a good kid, he’ll want what’s best for her.”
    “He seemed fine with that, but I actually had another idea. I have one of Hazel’s puppies at my house right now. She just lost her owner, so I was thinking, if she and Adam get along and it was okay with you… maybe he could take Flower? Obviously it wouldn’t be the same as him getting Hazel herself back, but it would be a great solution all around. She’s a very sweet, happy dog.”
    “Flower… that’s a pretty name.” Robyn smiled. “I think that’s a wonderful idea. What did he say?”
    “I haven’t mentioned it to him yet—I wanted to run it by you first. The friend of mine that ended up adopting Hazel said she’d be happy to let them get together and see each other, so I thought if it was okay with you we could find a time to let him see Hazel and meet Flower all at once. Here, I’ll leave you my number, and you can call me after you talk it over with him.”
    “Thanks so much. You didn’t have to do any of this.”
    “I’m just glad that I was able to help. Hazel is