Salami Murder: Book 8 in The Darling Deli Series by Patti Benning Page A

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.”
    “That’s good.” She smiled to herself, shaking her head in exasperation—whether at herself or at her daughter, she wasn’t sure. Would she ever stop feeling like a mother hen? “Does Adrian know about him?”
    “My social life is none of Adrian’s business,” Candice said flatly. “We broke up, and I plan to keep it that way this time. Everything was drama with him. At least Eli is easygoing, and doesn’t try to tell me how to run the candy shop.”
    “I’m glad for that,” Moira said. “Though it might be a good idea to ask him for some advice, if you ever need help with anything. I’m sure he’s gone through a lot of the same issues with the ice cream shop that you will with the candy shop. Maybe even more so, since no one buys ice cream in the winter.”
    “Yeah, he said winters are hard,” Candice admitted. “But the fact that the ice cream shop has managed to stay in business all these years gives me hope. If a business whose season is only really six or seven months out of the year can do that well, then the candy shop should do all right.”
    I’m sure the candy store will do well, Moira thought. If it ever opens, that is.
    “You’ll do fine, sweetie,” she said instead, trying to sound reassuring. It wasn’t that she doubted her daughter’s ability, but it seemed like outside forces were conspiring against her. Part of Moira wanted to tell Candice to give up, to just come home and stay out of Lake Marion. After all, her daughter had never had so many bad things happen to her when she was living in Maple Creek.
    But we’re Darlings, she thought firmly to herself. And Darlings don’t give up.

CHAPTER TEN
    “This is the life,” she said, reclining against the lawn chair’s pillowed headrest. She wouldn’t get a tan lying out in her yard like this—there were too many trees around—but the shade and soft breeze were pleasant all the same. Maverick was sniffing around at a pile of leaves a few feet away, and she could just hear the gentle burbling of the creek in the woods behind her house. Somehow her worries seemed less important and further away while she was out here, glass of wine in hand, with nothing on that day’s must-do list.
    The relaxing moment ended abruptly when her phone rang. She answered it reluctantly; lately it seemed to just be one bad thing after another.
    “Mom, I need your help,” came her daughter’s panicked voice. Moira sat bolt upright.
    “What happened?” she asked, her mind flicking between scenarios that only seemed to get worse.
    “The pipes in the kitchen are leaking. The whole place is flooded. I don’t know what to do.”
    “I’ll come right over. Have you called a plumber?” Moira closed her eyes in relief for a moment then stood up. At least Candice wasn’t hurt. No one was hurt; burst pipes were a piece of cake compared to a dead body.
    “No, everywhere is closed.” Her daughter took a shuddery breath. “Just hurry, please?”
    Moira did hurry, rushing to put the dog inside and grab her purse and keys. A burst pipe wasn’t life threatening, but it could cause serious—and expensive—damage to the candy shop. Burst pipe? she thought to herself. How would a pipe burst in the middle of summer? I’ve only ever heard of that happening if the pipes freeze in winter. She shook her head; the details didn’t matter now; something was obviously going on, and Candice needed her help.
    On her way to Lake Marion, she found herself reaching for her phone to call David. Biting her lip, she forced herself to put the