Spicy Lasagna Murder: Book 13 in The Darling Deli Series by Patti Benning Page A

husbands’ lives. They were competitors, but a lot of people don’t know that they were also friends—albeit grumpy ones.” She smiled faintly. “They both loved what they did, and wouldn’t want all of this sadness. I want to do something where people can come together and share their favorite memories of the two men, and remember with joy the long lives that they were blessed with.”
    “I’d be happy to,” Moira said gently. “I think that’s a beautiful thing to do.”
    She decided to charge the poor woman only the cost of food, without the normal service fee. She wouldn’t be making a profit on the event, but she knew it was the right thing to do.
    “Thank you so much, Ms. Darling. I know my husband was very impressed with your deli and how honest you were when you did business with him, and I just can’t think of anyone better to supply the food for this event.”
    “What sort of layout were you thinking?” she asked, pulling a notebook and pen out from the drawer under the register.
    “I really don’t know, dear. But it’s important to me that you incorporate some of the produce from our farm, if you can.”
    “Of course, I’ll make a note of that, and try to bring as much of it as possible. I take it you want this to happen pretty soon?”
    “Would next week be possible?”
    Moira nodded. She usually preferred more advance notice, but in this case, since Mrs. Samwell wanted her to use food that she already had on hand, sooner was better than later. She wouldn’t have to order anything extra, and moving around the schedule for next week would be easy enough. She put the pen away, glad that she had the freedom to decide what to bring herself. Jobs with very specific requests were always nerve wracking because she worried about messing them up.
    “Mrs. Samwell,” she asked, suddenly remembering her conversation with David over dinner a few days ago. “Can I ask you something?”
    The older woman hesitated, then gave a quick nod.
    “What are you planning on doing with the farm? I know your husband was planning on renting out the land and house.”
    “Oh, he told you that?” Mrs. Samwell bit her lip. “Well, I’m planning on selling it, frankly. The last few harvests this year will likely just go in bulk to wholesalers. I don’t want to have to deal with finding renters and trying to figure out how to be a landlord on top of everything else, plus haggling with produce buyers.”
    “That makes sense. I bet it will be hard to see the property go, though.”
    “It definitely will.” The old woman sighed, then perked up. “Say, I heard of a contest you might be interested in. It was called the Grand Cruise Chef War. I read about it in one of my magazines. You just enter online, and if you get chosen, you get to go on a free cruise with a bunch of other cooks and take part in a contest. The winner gets a bunch of money, I think.”
    “Really?” Moira raised her eyebrows. Something like that was definitely up her alley. Hadn’t she been considering taking a vacation, anyway? What could be better than a free cruise? “I’ll look it up,” she promised. “Thanks, Mrs. Samwell.”
    “No problem, dear. I hope you win.”
    The older woman gave her one last smile, then said goodbye and made her way outside. The deli owner watched her go, struck by how frail she seemed. Poor woman , she thought. Her husband’s death must be really hard on her. She’s been married to him for over half a century. I haven’t even been involved with David for a year yet, and I don’t even want to imagine losing him.
    Once Augusta Samwell had left the parking lot, Moira turned her tablet back on. Instead of going back to the emails, however, she searched for that competition the older woman had mentioned. Sure enough, it was still accepting entries.
    The rules were simple. You had to work at or own a restaurant that served hot food and had been open for more than two years. You couldn’t be a celebrity chef, or