Cold Cut Murder: Book Three in The Darling Deli Series by Patti Benning

CHAPTER ONE
    Moira Darling stood outside with her hands on her hips, assessing the huge banner that read Welcome to the Annual Maple Creek Winter Festival. Candice and Darrin were hanging it in the window of her deli, Darling’s DELIcious Delights, and depending on her to tell them when it was evenly centered in the front of the store. After a moment, she gave them a thumbs up and headed back inside to congratulate them. The banner had taken them the better part of the morning to create, and it had been a pain to get it hung straight across the front window. But now, thanks to the hard work of her employees, the deli was beginning to look ready for the biggest tourist event of the season.
    “What else do we have left to do, Mom?” Candice asked once Moira had gotten inside and stamped the snow off her boots.
    “I was thinking we could hand some paper snowflakes like we did last year, and we can put some red and pink lights out for Valentine’s Day. Plus, of course, all the extra cooking. Are you sure you still want to be in charge of the cookies?” She didn’t doubt that her daughter could handle it, but she knew from experience that making enough cookies would be hard work. The deli didn’t usually serve any freshly made foods other than soups, salads, and sandwiches, but one of the local churches did a charity drive every year during the Winter Festival, and all of the of the small businesses joined in. Most of the proceeds from the cookies would be donated, and last year alone the deli had sold a few hundred of them on the busiest day.
    “Definitely,” her daughter replied. “You’ll have enough on your plate without having to worry about that, too.”
     
    “Just make sure you leave yourself enough time to do something fun. I heard that they’re actually hiring a live band for the Valentine’s dance this year,” she said. She herself hadn’t gone to the dance for a few years, but she knew her daughter loved that sort of thing.
    “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t miss the dance for anything,” Candice said with a grin. She looked like she was about to say something else, but whipped her head around and gasped when something in the deli’s kitchen began a high-pitched beeping.
    “Oh, the fudge is ready,” she exclaimed. “You two wait here—you’ve got to try it!”
    Moira and Darrin both tried not to laugh as the young woman ran into the kitchen to check on the state of her fudge. Her daughter had recently declared that her dream was to open a candy shop, and she had been experimenting with recipes for the last few weeks. Most of what she made was quite good, but there had been a few questionable results. Luckily, everyone who worked at the deli was more than happy to taste test Candice’s experiments—after all, they were used to Moira using them as guinea pigs for new soup recipes.
    Her daughter cut the fudge into manageable pieces in the back, the deli owner began straightening the food on the refrigerated shelves, and Darrin rang up a customer at the register. Besides the daily special, which in the winter was usually soup and a sandwich, the deli also sold a variety of fresh cheeses, meats, sauces, and even fruit and vegetable drinks. Moira was proud of the fact that everything she sold was from local farmers and small businesses. Her store was the only one like it in town, and she usually kept up a pretty good stream of business even in the off season. When the weather warmed up and tourists began visiting the small town, she knew that she and her employees would be busier than ever.
    “Moira, I’m glad I caught you before you closed for the day,” a familiar voice rang out. She straightened and looked around to see Martha, a woman her own age who was quickly becoming a close friend.
    “It’s nice to see you,” she replied with a smile. “Are you stopping by for something in particular, or just to say hi?”
    “Oh, a bit of both,” her friend said. “I’ve got some news you might want