“I don’t know if you should try to find him, David,” Moira said. “He looked very willing to use that gun.”
“I’ve helped find murderers before,” he reminded her gently. “I’ll be careful.”
“I just don’t want anything to happen to you. I know it’s your job.”
“Hey, speaking of being careful, I don’t want you to get involved with any of this, okay?”
The deli owner frowned, hurt. “But I’ve helped with cases before. And since I’ve seen him in person, I might be able to help you recognize him.”
“That’s exactly why it would be dangerous for you to help. He knows you’ve seen him. If he sees you poking around, he might decide to tie up loose ends.”
Moira sighed, but her husband’s logic made too much sense for her to argue with it just then. She was tired, and wanted to put the entire incident behind her for the night. Stolen wedding ring aside, she and Meg had gotten off lucky. If things had gone differently, one or both of them might not have been able to go home in one piece afterward.
“I’m going to go make myself a cup of coffee. Do you want to watch something together before dinner? I think one of the shows we like has a couple of new episodes that we missed during our honeymoon,” David said, somehow sensing that she was ready to think about something else.
“That sounds perfect,” she said. “Coffee and television with my husband, then a nice family dinner. I’m a lucky woman.”
. ***
Word had gotten around quickly. The next day, the deli was busier than usual despite the snowy roads. David had taken the morning off of work to replace the security cameras. Detective Jefferson was still reviewing the footage in an attempt to figure out who had blacked out the old cameras. Moira hadn’t received any news from him yet, and knew that she probably wouldn’t for a while. Police work rarely seemed to go as smoothly as she used to think it did, and this case wasn’t exactly clear cut to begin with.
“You’re all set,” David said after he finished installing the last camera. “They’re the same model as your old ones, so they should work the same. It’s a pity about the other set. I’ll try to see if there’s any way to clean the paint off without wrecking the lens. We could use them around our house and property.”
“I’ve been thinking it would be neat to have a video camera inside so we can see what the dogs are doing while we’re gone.”
“I was thinking more for security purposes, but that works, too.” He grinned at her, then brushed a quick kiss across her lips. “I’ve got to run. Want me to pick up something for dinner on the way home?”
“I should be back in time to make something,” she said. “Have a nice day.”
Moira took her place at the register and began taking orders and answering questions. Ringing each customer up took longer than usual, as most of them wanted to chat about the robbery. Their reactions ranged from touching concern, to blatant curiosity. It was nothing that she wasn’t used to; the deli had been the scene of mysterious deaths before, and at least this time, no one had been killed. Still, she was glad when a familiar face walked in.
“I heard all about it,” Denise Donovan said. The tall redhead was one of Moira’s best friends, and a fellow restaurateur. “An armed robbery in Maple Creek… it’s the sort of thing that you never imagine could happen to someone you know. Here, I brought you this. I thought you could use some help relaxing.”
Her friend heaved a large gift basket that held wine, chocolate, candles, and a selection of bath bombs onto the counter.
“Thanks,” Moira said with admiration. “You didn’t have to do anything. I appreciate it, though.”
“No problem. This probably wasn’t what you wanted to deal with the week that you got back from your honeymoon. What does David think of all this, anyway?”
“He’s upset, as you can imagine. He already replaced the security cameras, and he’s going to do what he can to track the guy down. If my ring is sold in any pawn shop in the area, he’ll hear about it.”
“I hope the guy gets caught soon,” Denise said. “You don’t think he’ll come back, do you?”
“I doubt it,” Moira said. “David and I think that he was probably concerned with getting the ring, and less so with the cash. We never keep much in the register. He got just over two-hundred and fifty dollars — that’s not exactly worth risking a felony for.”
“Hopefully he doesn’t hit anywhere else. Between the two of us, we know most of the small shop owners in town.”
“I hope so, too. Maybe after hearing about the deli, and what happened in Lake Marion, people will be more cautious and prepared for something like this to happen.”
“I’m sure the police or David will be able to track him down eventually. Until then, I told everyone at the Grill to be on high alert. Speaking of, I should be getting back. We can talk more later; I still have to hear about your trip.”
Moira waved goodbye to her friend as she left, then glanced at the clock. It was past noon, and she still hadn’t heard anything from David or the police. She knew that she was probably just being impatient, but some sort of update would be nice. What in the world were they doing?
CHAPTER SIX
* * *
David started the video over for the third time. He had the feeling that this was a dead end, but it was the only lead that he had to go on at the moment. Whoever had robbed the deli and stolen his wife’s wedding ring — her felt a prickle of anger whenever he thought of it — had known what they were doing. He had investigated a few robberies in his time as a private investigator, and few of the perpetrators had been as cautious as this guy had been. He had taken no chances in being recognized; with the cameras blacked out, the ski mask, and the leather gloves, he had been careful to leave nothing behind that could identify him.
When Moira had told him about the cameras being spray painted, David had been worried that it might be too late to catch the act on video. The footage was only stored for a week unless Moira manually saved it, and since she had been gone for two weeks, it had been at least that long since she had checked the cameras. The man could have blacked them out at any time; there was no telling how long he had been planning this for.
They had gotten lucky, at least at first. The past week’s footage covered the event, but it wasn’t as helpful as he had hoped. The footage showed a young man — a teenager, really — wait until Meg left the register to get something out of the kitchen. In a flash the boy, who had been sitting at a table eating a sandwich, ran behind the counter and sprayed over the lens there. On his way out, he hit the one by the front door, and a few minutes later he sprayed the camera at the side entrance of the deli.
The youth didn’t match the description Moira had given him in the slightest. Was it possible that the stress of the event had distorted her perception of the robber? He supposed it was, but his wife had always been a clear thinker, even in situations where her life was in danger. He couldn’t imagine her mistaking this gangly boy for a large, bulky man.
It was possible that the blacked-out cameras weren’t connected to the robbery, but that theory didn’t sit well with him. It would be too much of a coincidence. The boy likely worked for the man, or was possibly even related to him. As far as David was concerned, using a teenager to aid in breaking the law was about as low as a criminal could get. He had a couple of other cases that he was supposed to be working on, but catching this robber was now at the top of his priority list.
The video footage wasn’t as helpful as he had hoped, but it did give him a straw to grasp at. If he could track down the kid, that would be something. Jefferson, he was sure, had already seen the footage. He was no stranger to working hand in hand with the police. This would be another case where a joint investigation might be helpful. Feeling better now that he knew where to start, David grabbed his jacket, shut down his computer, and headed out the door.
“I was wondering when you’d show up. We don’t have anything to share with you yet �
��”
“I found the kid,” David said. He was sitting in Detective Jefferson’s office, still wearing his coat. He wasn’t planning on being there long.
“Really?” the detective raised his eyebrows. “How did you manage that so quickly?”
“My sister’s got a friend whose kid is in the Maple Creek high school. We showed her a frame of the video and asked her if she knew who he was. She gave us a name.”
“I’m impressed. I looked through last year’s yearbook myself and didn’t find him.”
“He moved here this year,” David said. “That was my first thought, too.”
“What’s his name?”
“Darwin Henley.”
The detective wrote it down. “Thanks, David. I’ll go talk to him later today. With any luck, this could be the lead that breaks the case.”
The private investigator had the feeling he was being dismissed. He liked Jefferson, but sometimes getting information out of him was like pulling teeth.
“Will you let me know what you get out of him?” he asked. “This is my wife’s safety we’re talking about. I want to be kept in the loop.”
“I’ll tell you what I can,” Jefferson said. “If we get a name, it’s yours.”
I’d feel grateful, but I know the only reason he’s offering to give me that much is because he knows I’m good at tracking people down when they don’t want to be found, David thought. He knew he had done the right thing by giving the police the name of the kid who had blacked out the cameras at the deli, but that didn’t mean he was going to completely turn the case over to them.
“Right. Thanks,” he said, getting up. “I’ll be in touch.”
Jefferson looked surprised at how abruptly he had ended the conversation, but didn’t remark on it. They had been working together for years. The private investigator was sure that the detective knew where he was going now, but it was clear that he wasn’t going to do anything to stand in his way.
Out in the parking lot, David checked his watch. It was just after two in the afternoon. If he was quick, he should have time to get to the high school before the final bell rang. With any luck, Darwin Henley would be willing to talk.
CHAPTER SEVEN
* * *
Moira was getting frustrated. There didn’t seem to be any progress on the case. She missed her wedding ring, and she hated living with the fear that the robber might strike again. She knew most of the shop owners on Main Street, and couldn’t stand the thought of any of them being the victim of an armed robbery.
The night before, David had barely made it home in time for dinner. He had been working all day, but when she asked him for updates, he clammed up. She knew that he was afraid she would try to take matters into her own hands — which was fair; she had made some poor choices in the past — but it still rankled to be kept out of the loop. She doubted Detective Jefferson would be any more willing to share with her. She considered him to be somewhere between an acquaintance and a friend, but even their friendship wouldn’t be enough to make him risk getting into trouble for sharing information with her.
She was stuck with trying to read between the lines in the local newspaper, and scouring the internet for any sign of someone trying to sell her wedding ring. David promised her he had a lead, but he wouldn’t say anything more. Every time her phone rang, she hoped that it was David or someone from the police station calling to tell her that the man had been caught.
It wasn’t until she got to the deli and began losing herself in work that she started to feel better. It was easy to let anxiety take over when she was home alone with only the dogs for company, and had nothing to take her mind off the past few days. Being busy cooking and chatting with the customers and her employees was good for her. Allison, the employee that had been with her the longest other than Darrin, was back from a skiing trip she had taken, and she was horrified to hear about the robbery.
“I didn’t have any phone service up where I was,” she said as she washed dishes. “When I came back down yesterday, my phone started to blow up. I couldn’t believe it — I thought Candice was playing a trick or something at first. I’m glad everyone’s all right.”
“Me, too,” Moira said. “It was frightening while it happened, but now I’m mostly just angry. That guy had no right to take what he did, and he deserves every second of the jail time he gets when he’s caught.”
If he gets caught, she thought to herself. The longer it took, the more she was beginning to worry that he was going to get away with the crime.
An hour later, Moira was in the kitchen preparing more thin slices of beef for the sandwich of the day — French dip with sautéed mushrooms and a homemade sauce — when she heard the wail of sirens from outside. At first, she didn’t pay them much attention, but as they got closer and closer, she began to get concerned. Had there been some sort of accident on Main Street?
She left the kitchen in time to see a parade of police cars and ambulances rush by in front of the window. Both Allison and the customer she was ringing up were watching in amazement.
“I wonder what happened?” the customer, a very pregnant woman, said.
“I don’t know. Whatever it was, it must be bad,” Moira said.
She went back into the kitchen as Allison finished ringing the woman up. Maple Creek was a small town. Every time she saw an ambulance or fire truck go by, she couldn’t help but worry that they were going to someone that she knew. At least this time, the sirens had been heading away from Lake Marion, where her daughter lived and worked.
She put the incident out of her head quickly enough as she went back to slicing the beef. The French dip was proving to be a hugely popular sandwich, and the orders just kept coming in. It wasn’t until she and Allison decided to switch places so she could catch a break from working in the hot kitchen that she began to hear rumors of what had happened.
“I was going to get pizza for the kids, but I just had to stop here instead,” one woman said. “I thought your store might have been the one that was hit.”
“What do you mean?” Moira asked, confused.
“Didn’t you hear? Someone got shot during a robbery. My husband called me from work to tell me about it. He said it was one of the shops on the south side of town. I remembered hearing about what happened to you earlier this week, and I was concerned that the person decided to come back and finish the job.”
“It wasn’t us, thank goodness,” the deli owner said. “Thanks for coming to make sure we were okay. I haven’t heard anything about what happened yet.”
After packing the three sandwiches in a to-go bag for the woman, she rang her up and sent her on her way. Her anxiety had come back full force; it was as if her worst fears had been realized. The robber had struck again, and this time had hurt someone.
Switching places with her employee again, Moira retreated to the privacy of the kitchen and pulled up the local news site on her phone. There was an article about the shooting, posted only a few minutes ago. Only a few lines had been written to go along with the photo of police cars and ambulances sitting in front of the building in question. The deli owner’s heart sank as she read it.
A fatal shooting occurred during an armed robbery today at EZ Wheels, a local auto shop. The victim was Edna Jamison, the shop’s proprietor. There is no information on the suspect yet.
Taking a deep breath, Moira put her phone down and stared blankly at the wall. She had known Edna. She had liked Edna. The woman had been tough, independent, and was a very skilled mechanic. Yet her life had been cut short because of one man’s bad decision. A bitter taste filled her mouth. No matter what David said, she was going to do her part to help the police catch her friend’s killer.
CHAPTER EIGHT
* * *
As soon as she got home that evening, Moira went straight to the computer to see if there had been any update. She was disappointed, but not surprised, to see that there hadn’t. Hopefully David would know more. He would be home shortly with din
ner, though what she was really hungry for was information.
“Let’s go outside, you two,” she said to Maverick and Keeva. They were as cheerful as always, and the wet kisses and happy bumps from their old noses helped to lighten up her mood. She still felt terrible for Edna, but she didn’t feel quite as helpless as she had earlier in the day. Justice would be served. She was confident of that.
Both dogs loved the snow. She watched them romp together in the backyard from the mudroom door until she heard David’s car pull up. She hurried across the house to meet him at the front door. He hugged her the moment that he saw her, wrapping one arm around her and holding the bag of Chinese takeout with the other.
A Quiche To Die For: Book 17 in The Darling Deli Series Page 3