Wrapped in Murder (The Darling Deli Series Book 19)

by Patti Benning

  They rounded the corner and pulled onto Main Street. Moira breathed a sigh of relief as the deli came into view. It was still standing, and though she could see smoke billowing into the sky, she didn’t see any flames. There was a fire truck parked in the lot, and in the glow of the flashing lights she could see men hurrying back and forth.

  “It’s okay,” she breathed. She knew that smoke could be nearly as damaging as flames, but in her mind, she had envisioned the deli burnt to the ground. Anything was better than that.

  “Why don’t you get out here? I’m going to park around back so the police vehicles and fire truck have room to move,” David told her.

  She unbuckled her seatbelt and slid out of the car, slamming the door shut behind her as she hurried toward a form that she recognized.

  “Stay back, it’s dangerous,” one of the men said, moving toward her.

  “Let her pass,” Jefferson said, turning to face her. “She’s the owner.”

  She stopped in front of the detective, trying to slow her breathing as she surveyed the damage to her restaurant. One of the big front windows was broken, but other than that she couldn’t see any damage on the outside.

  “How bad is it?” she asked him. “And what happened? I closed with Darrin tonight, and I’m sure we shut everything off just like we always do.”

  “The fire didn’t come from anything in the kitchen,” he told her. “Someone threw some sort of incendiary device through the window. Luckily, someone saw it happen and called us before the fire got out of hand.”

  “Thank goodness,” she said. “When you said fire… I was so worried. I expected the worst.” Suddenly what he had said hit her. “Wait, someone did this on purpose? This was arson?”

  “Your insurance should still cover it,” he said. “I’ll need a statement from you, of course. We’ll do our best to track down the person responsible, but I’m sure you understand that the murder has to take priority.”

  “Who would do this?” she said, feeling a surge of anger. Even if the actual damage wasn’t extensive, the deli would have to be closed for days while she hired a professional service to get the scent of smoke out of everything, not to mention replacing anything the fire had touched.

  “Do you have any idea who may benefit from the deli getting shut down?” he asked. “Have you received any threats?”

  She did her best to focus on Jefferson and the questions he was asking her, but her gaze kept getting drawn back to the broken window. “No, no threats,” she said. “I would tell you if there had been any. I can’t think of anyone who would benefit from the deli closing. We’ve been here for long enough that we aren’t a new threat to anyone. Of course, there’s Arlo’s Diner, but he’s been doing well enough from what I’ve seen. And then there’s the grill, but recently they’ve been doing better than ever, too.”

  “I’m going to see if I can track down the person who witnessed it,” he said. “You may recognize the description of the vehicle. Don’t go anywhere; I want to be able to find you again.” A crowd was slowly building up around the perimeter as people came to see what all the fuss was about. Moira didn’t blame them, but still she wished they would go away. If the vandal was still around, it would be easy for them to hide among all the other faces in the crowd.

  “Moira!” she turned to see Karissa hurrying toward her. “I’m so glad you’re okay. It doesn’t look too bad, does it? It could have been so much worse.”

  Her sister-in-law wrapped her in a hug. Moira recoiled reflexively, unable to shake her suspicions about the other woman. If Karissa noticed her movement, she didn’t comment on it.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  “David sent me a message a few minutes ago. I was in town, so I hurried right over. I heard the sirens go by a while ago, but I never imagined that they were heading here.”

  “You got here pretty quickly,” Moira said, taking a half step back. Was it possible that Karissa… no, she didn’t even want to think it. She counted the other woman as her friend. There was no way she would attempt to burn down the deli. You suspect her of murder, a small voice in the back of her mind said. Isn’t that worse? She shook her head, doing her best to ignore the prickle of unease.

  “Yeah.” The woman hesitated and looked around before lowering her voice. “Don’t tell David yet, but I’ve been seeing someone in town. I know the second I tell my brother, he’s going to get all overprotective and run the guy’s name through all sorts of databases. Right now, I just want to enjoy spending time with him.”

  “I’m glad for you,” Moira said after a second. She didn’t like the idea of keeping anything from her husband, but she would have to make an exception for this. Maybe the guy she’s seeing isn’t real, she thought. Maybe she made him up to explain how she got here so quickly. She shook her head. There was no reason Karissa would want to burn down the deli. No matter what else the woman had done, Moira had to believe that she wouldn’t try to destroy something that was so important to her. After all, now that she was married to David, the woman was family, and family stood by each other no matter what.

  CHAPTER TEN

  * * *

  Moira didn’t recognize the witness’s description of the car that had driven by. She was relieved when the vehicle he described to her sounded nothing like Karissa’s little blue car. Once the firemen declared the building structurally sound, they let her and David walk through with an escort. The kitchen was untouched, so at least she wouldn’t have to pay to replace the expensive equipment, but the dining area was sopping wet thanks to the water from the fire hose, and stank of smoke.

  “There’s a cleaning company that we usually recommend to people who suffer smoke damage,” Jefferson told her, handing her a business card. “You might have to replace that table and a couple of chairs, but it doesn’t look too bad. I’m glad more damage wasn’t done. It could have been a lot worse.”

  “I know,” she said as she took the card. “I’m so grateful the firemen got here quickly. Thank you for coming, too. It’s just been one thing after another lately.”

  “I’ll do what I can to find the person who did this. In the meantime, if you think of anyone who might have a grudge against the deli, please don’t hesitate to call.”

  That night as Moira lay in bed next to her husband, she wracked her brain, trying to think of anyone who might want to hurt the deli. Who would benefit from it being shut down, either temporarily or permanently? Her employees wouldn’t have to come in to work until the cleaning crew got finished with it, but she didn’t think missing a day or two of work would be enough of a motive to burn the place down. Besides, she couldn’t imagine any one of her employees doing something like that.

  Was it possible it was related to the death that had happened at the brewery? It seemed impossible that two such horrible things could happen to her family in a matter of days and not be related, but try as she might she couldn’t see the connection. Even if Karissa was the killer, committing a second crime wouldn’t benefit her, and it would double her chances of getting caught.

  Everything will look better in the morning, she told herself as she drifted off to sleep. Tomorrow has got to be a better day.

  The deli being shut down meant she didn’t have to go in to work, but given all that had happened, she wasn’t in the mood to spend the day sitting around the house. When David left after breakfast the next morning, she pulled out her phone and called the cleaning company, who told her they would be able to have the deli cleaned up by the end of the day on Monday. She was thankful once again that the fire damage wasn’t worse. She would have to replace one table and chair set, and the window, of course, but other than the cost of cleaning, that would be it.

  After arranging things with the cleaning company, she decided to take the dogs into town and go on a walk. She wanted to see the deli in the light of day, though if she was being honest with herself, a part of her was dreading it. She had lost her home of twenty years to arson, so fires
held a special place of fear in her heart.

  It was a chilly morning, but the clear skies promised that it would warm up quickly. She looked for her favorite light jacket everywhere, but it was nowhere to be found. She was about to give up and just put on a heavier sweater when she remembered bringing it to the brewery last Tuesday. I must have left it there, she thought. She glanced at the clock, then shrugged. She wasn’t in a hurry, and it was her favorite jacket. She might as well go get it now.

  With the dogs packed into the SUV, she pulled out of the driveway and started toward the brewery. It was about half an hour away from their home, but she didn’t mind the drive. Even in late winter, the northern Michigan woods were beautiful. Following the curving road was soothing, somehow, and before she knew it she was turning onto the dirt driveway that would lead her to the farm and the brewery.

  She parked out front and left the windows cracked open for the dogs. It took her a moment to find the right key on her key ring, but once she did she let herself in without issues. She noticed that the crime scene tape was torn. Someone must have already been here, she thought. Maybe David stopped in for something. It was dark and silent inside the building. She turned toward the office and flicked on the lights inside. Sure enough, her jacket was hanging on the back of David’s chair.

  “There you are,” she said.

  She shrugged the jacket on, then shut off the light and shut the office door behind her. Just as she was about to leave the building, she heard the sound of breaking glass come from the main floor of the brewery.

  Moira froze. She felt her pulse increase as her ears strained to listen. Had someone else broken in? Had the killer come back to the scene of his crime? Her eyes on the door that led to the rest of the brewery, Moira backed slowly toward the exit. She pushed the door open behind her and stepped outside, shutting the door and locking it with relief. What to do now? She could call the police, but if it was nothing more than a hungry raccoon, she would feel stupid. There had been no sign of forced entry, so it very well could be something as simple as a wild animal that had somehow gotten in. A glance at her phone showed her that David would still be meeting with his first client of the day. She had no doubt that if she called him about the brewery he would rush right over, and she didn’t want that. He couldn’t risk losing a client, not when he had already cut back so much on the number of cases he took.

  The sound of an engine solved her problem for her. Farmer Anderson was coming up the driveway. He slowed his truck to a stop as he drew close to her.

  “Is there a problem?” he asked. “You’re as pale as a ghost.”

  “I heard a noise when I was inside,” she said, feeling a little bit foolish. She doubted he would have been spooked by something like that. “Would you mind going with me while I check it out?”

  “Sure thing,” he said. “Gimme just a sec.”

  He pulled the truck up to his house, shut off the engine, and went inside. A moment later, he appeared with a shotgun in his hand. Moira’s eyes widened.

  “Self-defense,” he explained. “Say someone did break in. We don’t want to end up like that other guy, do we? Or it could be a sick raccoon, and I don’t think you fancy going to the hospital and getting stuck with needles so you don’t catch whatever disease it was carrying.”

  “Alright,” she said, giving the gun a wary look. “Just don’t shoot anything unless I say so, okay? If an animal did get in, we should try to get it out without hurting it.”

  “I’m not going to fire off a shot inside that building unless I have to,” he assured her. “That equipment is expensive. If I break something, I’ll owe your husband a pretty penny.”

  Moira unlocked the door and they reentered the brewery together. She pushed open the door to the main floor and let the farmer go ahead of her. The big lights hanging from the ceiling took a moment to flicker on.

  “Hello?” she called out. “Is someone here?”

  She heard a muffled curse from the other side of the room. Anderson swung the point of his gun in that direction.

  “Who’s there?” he called out.

  Slowly, Jimmy the farmhand slunk into view. He put his hands up the instant he saw the gun pointed at him. A young woman was close behind him, with a bottle of beer in her hand.

  “Don’t shoot,” she squealed.

  Anderson sighed and lowered the gun. “What’re you two kids doing in here?”

  “It’s my fault, Mr. Anderson. I knew Mr. Morris wouldn’t be here, so I decided to come show my girlfriend around. We didn’t mean any harm, honest.”

  “Give me your key,” Moira snapped, striding toward them with her hand out. “It’s my husband’s decision whether to fire you or not, but you have certainly lost your privileges as far as I’m concerned.”

  His face red with embarrassment, Jimmy dropped a key into her hand. She and Anderson escorted them out. Moira was furious, but also relieved. She had expected to find something much worse than a couple of young adults sneaking in for a drink.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  * * *

  She decided to wait until her husband got home to tell him about the incident with Jimmy. She figured he had enough on his plate without spending the day worrying about that, too. Her anger faded some as she walked around town with the dogs. The young man had been irresponsible, of course, but compared to the murder and arson, him using his key to snag a couple of free beers seemed like nothing.

  It was late by the time her husband returned. She was surprised to see a second pair of headlights pull up the driveway behind him. Were they expecting somebody? She tried to remember if she had invited any of her friends over, but it had been such a crazy week that if she had, it had slipped her mind.

  Maverick and Keeva rushed to the door, whining excitedly. Moira pulled it open and stood on the front porch. It took her eyes a second to adjust to the evening light, but when they did, she recognized the second car immediately. It was Candice, and her arms were full of takeout bags.

  “Let me help,” she said, hurrying barefoot out to her daughter. She took two of the bags while the dogs darted between Candice and David, thrilled to see two of their favorite people. “This is such a nice surprise. I hadn’t even thought about what we would do for dinner.”

  “I thought we could all use a fun evening in,” David said, greeting her with a kiss. “How was your day?”

  “It was okay,” Moira said. “I took the dogs to town and we looked at the deli. I scheduled that cleaning crew to come and do what they can to get rid of the smoke smell. I have something to tell you, but it can wait until we get the table set.”

  It felt good to have Candice at home again. No matter how happy she was living with David, her evenings never felt complete without dinner around the family table with her daughter. Their twenty-year tradition wasn’t about to go away that easily.

  She was surprised to find that the takeout containers were full of Italian food, instead of the usual Chinese. David must have really wanted to do something special for her. She felt bad, suddenly, about the news that she had for him. She knew that he liked Jimmy, and he would be disappointed in the young man’s actions.

  “Well, you know all about the crazy stuff we’ve gone through this week,” she said to her daughter, putting off the conversation she knew that she had to have with her husband. “How have the past few days been for you?”

  “Great, actually. Sales are up, Eli and I have almost decided where to have our wedding, and Reggie hasn’t had any more close calls since Monday. I feel bad that things have been so good,” she admitted. “I can’t believe the terrible luck you’ve had. Do you have any idea who could have possibly tried to burn the deli down?”

  “None,” Moira said. “I’ve gone over every single interaction I’ve had with anybody over the past few weeks that I can remember, and I don’t think I’ve made anyone mad or given anyone a reason to want to sabotage the deli. All of our recent catering events have gone perfectly, and no one has complained
about any of our food.”

  “Maybe it was random,” Candice suggested. “Just, like, teenagers or something, you know?”

  The deli owner smiled. It was odd to hear her own daughter talk about teenagers, when it had only been a few years since she had been one herself.

  “I hope it was random,” David said. “I hate to think that either Moira or the deli is the target of anything.”

  “Well, what about the guy who got killed in the brewery?” Candice said. “I think that’s a bigger concern. Still no leads on that?”

  “No,” the private investigator said. “They questioned my new employee a few times, but as far as I know, that’s it.”

  Moira sighed. She knew she couldn’t put off telling David about Jimmy any longer.

  “I stopped by the brewery today to pick up a jacket I had left there,” she began. “And while I was there, I heard something on the main floor…”

  When she had finished her tale, David frowned. “He handed you a key?”

  “Yeah. Here, it’s in my pocket.” She showed it to him.

  “Moira,” he said, taking the key from her and turning it over in his fingers. “I took his key from him after the murder, just to be on the safe side. This key isn’t Jimmy’s. It’s the one I was missing.”

  Moira felt as if a lump of ice had settled into her stomach. She stared at the key, trying to make sense of it all. “Why would Jimmy take your key if he had one of his own?”

  “I don’t know. To make himself look less guilty? We did waste a lot of time looking for the key, and then I stopped by the brewery and went over my appointments from Monday, trying to figure out who might have taken it. If it was supposed to be a false trail, it was a decent one.”