Salami Murder: Book 8 in The Darling Deli Series Read Online Free
Author: Patti Benning
Tags: Fiction
rose from her stool and began putting the sandwiches back in the paper bag. “After that, I’ll run upstairs and fix my makeup. I want everything to be perfect for the grand opening.”
“I’ll take care of all of this,” her mother told her. “You just go get ready.” Candice gave her a quick hug, then hurried out the back door. Moira could hear as she ascended the stairs leading to the apartment above the candy shop.
“I’ll take care of the trash,” David told her. “Do you need help carrying anything to the kitchen?”
“I think I’ll be able to manage on my own,” she replied. “Thanks again for getting the cake. It was just perfect. Are you sure you can’t stay longer?”
“I wish I could,” he said regretfully. “But I have an appointment with a client. It’s been a while since I’ve taken on a new case, so hopefully this will lead to something.”
“Good luck,” Moira told him. They exchanged a quick hug before Moira gathered up the remains of their lunch and made her way to the back of the shop.
With the cake box balanced on one hand and the paper bag containing the sandwiches and soup under the other arm, it was all she could do not to drop anything as she hip bumped the kitchen door open and pushed her way inside. The candy shop’s kitchen had previously been a storage room for the toy store, and the room retained a cavernous feel. It had already had plumbing, to an extent, when Candice bought the building, but no gas lines or appliances. Getting the room renovated and up to code had been an intensive project, but now that it was done it looked great, with shiny new appliances and rows of rolling shelves for Candice to store her homemade candy on.
Humming quietly to herself, Moira tugged the fridge open and found a space to slide the cake box. She put the bag of sandwiches in the door, then almost jumped out of her skin when a loud beeping sounded from somewhere behind her. She let the fridge door swing shut and turned around to find the source of the noise.
It seemed to be coming from the outlet next to the stove, where a small machine with a blinking red light was plugged. Moira approached it curiously. A moment later it beeped again, and she realized that it must be some sort of voltage tester. She remembered Candice saying that there had been some sort of problem with an outlet back here; from the looks of things, the problem had been resolved. Good , she thought. One last thing for Candice to worry about.
She turned back to the fridge to make sure that it had shut all the way, but stumbled to a stop when she saw the slouched form in the corner next to the shiny stainless steel refrigerator. Her breath caught in her throat and she took a hesitant step forward, half wanting to check the man’s pulse even though the trickle of congealing blood down his forehead and the glazed, blank look in his open eyes left little doubt that he was dead.
CHAPTER FOUR
She managed to catch David before he left, her rubbery legs barely supporting her as she stumbled back into the main room of the candy shop. He gave her a sharp, concerned glance.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
Moira couldn’t bring herself to say out loud what she had seen, but managed to choke out the words “the kitchen,” and point towards the back of the store. David frowned and hesitated for a moment, then strode towards the door that lead to the back. A few minutes later he returned, his cell phone pressed to his ear and his face pale. He put a comforting hand on Moira’s shoulder, and when she looked up at him he glanced towards the ceiling his eyebrows raised questioningly. Feeling sick to her stomach, she knew that he wanted her to get Candice. Though the last thing she wanted to do was be the bearer of bad news for her daughter, she knew he was right. Candice had to know what had happened back there, and better that she heard it from her mother than from anybody else.
While David was on the phone with the
“I’ll take care of all of this,” her mother told her. “You just go get ready.” Candice gave her a quick hug, then hurried out the back door. Moira could hear as she ascended the stairs leading to the apartment above the candy shop.
“I’ll take care of the trash,” David told her. “Do you need help carrying anything to the kitchen?”
“I think I’ll be able to manage on my own,” she replied. “Thanks again for getting the cake. It was just perfect. Are you sure you can’t stay longer?”
“I wish I could,” he said regretfully. “But I have an appointment with a client. It’s been a while since I’ve taken on a new case, so hopefully this will lead to something.”
“Good luck,” Moira told him. They exchanged a quick hug before Moira gathered up the remains of their lunch and made her way to the back of the shop.
With the cake box balanced on one hand and the paper bag containing the sandwiches and soup under the other arm, it was all she could do not to drop anything as she hip bumped the kitchen door open and pushed her way inside. The candy shop’s kitchen had previously been a storage room for the toy store, and the room retained a cavernous feel. It had already had plumbing, to an extent, when Candice bought the building, but no gas lines or appliances. Getting the room renovated and up to code had been an intensive project, but now that it was done it looked great, with shiny new appliances and rows of rolling shelves for Candice to store her homemade candy on.
Humming quietly to herself, Moira tugged the fridge open and found a space to slide the cake box. She put the bag of sandwiches in the door, then almost jumped out of her skin when a loud beeping sounded from somewhere behind her. She let the fridge door swing shut and turned around to find the source of the noise.
It seemed to be coming from the outlet next to the stove, where a small machine with a blinking red light was plugged. Moira approached it curiously. A moment later it beeped again, and she realized that it must be some sort of voltage tester. She remembered Candice saying that there had been some sort of problem with an outlet back here; from the looks of things, the problem had been resolved. Good , she thought. One last thing for Candice to worry about.
She turned back to the fridge to make sure that it had shut all the way, but stumbled to a stop when she saw the slouched form in the corner next to the shiny stainless steel refrigerator. Her breath caught in her throat and she took a hesitant step forward, half wanting to check the man’s pulse even though the trickle of congealing blood down his forehead and the glazed, blank look in his open eyes left little doubt that he was dead.
CHAPTER FOUR
She managed to catch David before he left, her rubbery legs barely supporting her as she stumbled back into the main room of the candy shop. He gave her a sharp, concerned glance.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
Moira couldn’t bring herself to say out loud what she had seen, but managed to choke out the words “the kitchen,” and point towards the back of the store. David frowned and hesitated for a moment, then strode towards the door that lead to the back. A few minutes later he returned, his cell phone pressed to his ear and his face pale. He put a comforting hand on Moira’s shoulder, and when she looked up at him he glanced towards the ceiling his eyebrows raised questioningly. Feeling sick to her stomach, she knew that he wanted her to get Candice. Though the last thing she wanted to do was be the bearer of bad news for her daughter, she knew he was right. Candice had to know what had happened back there, and better that she heard it from her mother than from anybody else.
While David was on the phone with the
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