Thai Coconut Murder: Book 6 in The Darling Deli Series by Patti Benning Page B
Authors: Patti Benning
Tags: Fiction
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sleep, lost in hazy daydreams and vague memories of her last trip up north with her daughter. It wasn’t until she felt the car slowing down that she sat up and looked sleepily around, blinking. They were pulling into a small town, even tinier than Maple Creek. There was still a banner hanging across the main road advertising Fourth of July fireworks. One end of it hung loose and was fluttering in the wind.
“Where are we?” she asked.
“Point Baker. This is where that diner I was telling you about is… I hope it’s still in business.”
It was, and looked pretty busy for such a small town in the middle of a weekday. The sign out front advertised freshly caught fish, sweet potato fries, and locally grown sweet cherries. David pulled into a parking spot and Moira cracked the windows, hoping that the faint breeze would help to keep the interior of the black car from heating up too much in the baking sunlight.
The interior of the diner was pleasantly cool. A young woman greeted them immediately and led them to a booth near the door. After taking their drink orders, she left them to peruse the menu. Curious, Moira flipped it open.
She was surprised to see that every single item on the menu was fresh and seasonal, with all locally sourced produce and meat. Each description looked amazing, and she found herself wishing that this diner was closer to Maple Creek so she could go back every day and try something else on the menu. It was a tough decision, but she eventually settled on pan-fried bluegill with sweet potato fries and half a pound of fresh cherries; she figured that what fruit she didn’t finish, she and David could eat in the car. It was already midday, and they still had another three hours to go before reaching North Lake and the cabin.
The food was delectable, just as David had promised. The fish was breaded and fried, and was nothing like the frozen fish that she normally ate. The waitress assured them that it had been caught that morning, and had been freshly cooked just for her. The fries were lightly salted and cooked to perfection, and the cherries were just the right mixture of sweet and tart. Somehow the three hours that they had already driven had left her starving, and since David ate with equal focus and intensity, she figured he must feel the same way.
“How was everything?” the waitress asked, appearing just as they were finishing up their last bites.
“Amazing,” Moira told her. “Nothing beats fresh food. If you were closer, I would stop here all the time.”
“That’s what we love to hear.” The young woman beamed at her, then turned her attention to her notepad. “Will that be together or separate?”
“Together,” David said, just as Moira was reaching for her purse.
“Oh, you don’t have to,” she told him. “I got all those cherries…”
“I want to,” he told her, laying his hand gently over hers for a moment. “As a thank you for coming with me, and everything you’ve done for me over the past few weeks.”
“Thanks,” she told him, touched by his appreciation and at a loss for what else to say. “But you don’t need to thank me… I’m happy to go to the cabin with you and help out however I can with this case.”
“I know,” he told her. He handed the waitress a few bills, which she took up to the register. “But I need some way to show my appreciation, and you’re a hard woman to buy things for.”
“Well, thank you,” she told him with a smile, blushing slightly from his compliments. “I really do appreciate it.”
The waitress reappeared with the change and a bag for the cherries. She thanked them again and cleared their plates. Determined to pay for something , Moira reached into her purse and pulled out a few bills for the tip before David could separate the change that the waitress had given him. He chuckled, but didn’t say anything as she put the money down.
“Let’s hit the road,” she said.
The last half of the drive seemed to
“Where are we?” she asked.
“Point Baker. This is where that diner I was telling you about is… I hope it’s still in business.”
It was, and looked pretty busy for such a small town in the middle of a weekday. The sign out front advertised freshly caught fish, sweet potato fries, and locally grown sweet cherries. David pulled into a parking spot and Moira cracked the windows, hoping that the faint breeze would help to keep the interior of the black car from heating up too much in the baking sunlight.
The interior of the diner was pleasantly cool. A young woman greeted them immediately and led them to a booth near the door. After taking their drink orders, she left them to peruse the menu. Curious, Moira flipped it open.
She was surprised to see that every single item on the menu was fresh and seasonal, with all locally sourced produce and meat. Each description looked amazing, and she found herself wishing that this diner was closer to Maple Creek so she could go back every day and try something else on the menu. It was a tough decision, but she eventually settled on pan-fried bluegill with sweet potato fries and half a pound of fresh cherries; she figured that what fruit she didn’t finish, she and David could eat in the car. It was already midday, and they still had another three hours to go before reaching North Lake and the cabin.
The food was delectable, just as David had promised. The fish was breaded and fried, and was nothing like the frozen fish that she normally ate. The waitress assured them that it had been caught that morning, and had been freshly cooked just for her. The fries were lightly salted and cooked to perfection, and the cherries were just the right mixture of sweet and tart. Somehow the three hours that they had already driven had left her starving, and since David ate with equal focus and intensity, she figured he must feel the same way.
“How was everything?” the waitress asked, appearing just as they were finishing up their last bites.
“Amazing,” Moira told her. “Nothing beats fresh food. If you were closer, I would stop here all the time.”
“That’s what we love to hear.” The young woman beamed at her, then turned her attention to her notepad. “Will that be together or separate?”
“Together,” David said, just as Moira was reaching for her purse.
“Oh, you don’t have to,” she told him. “I got all those cherries…”
“I want to,” he told her, laying his hand gently over hers for a moment. “As a thank you for coming with me, and everything you’ve done for me over the past few weeks.”
“Thanks,” she told him, touched by his appreciation and at a loss for what else to say. “But you don’t need to thank me… I’m happy to go to the cabin with you and help out however I can with this case.”
“I know,” he told her. He handed the waitress a few bills, which she took up to the register. “But I need some way to show my appreciation, and you’re a hard woman to buy things for.”
“Well, thank you,” she told him with a smile, blushing slightly from his compliments. “I really do appreciate it.”
The waitress reappeared with the change and a bag for the cherries. She thanked them again and cleared their plates. Determined to pay for something , Moira reached into her purse and pulled out a few bills for the tip before David could separate the change that the waitress had given him. He chuckled, but didn’t say anything as she put the money down.
“Let’s hit the road,” she said.
The last half of the drive seemed to
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