Corned Beef Murder: Book Two in The Darling Deli Series by Patti Benning Page B

everyone I interviewed fit those requirements.” Moira sighed. “I just don’t know how to choose. These days, I don’t have the best track record on judging character.”
    “Hey, you did a good job with Darrin.” She gave her mother a one-armed hug before turning to the pot of soup on the stove to ladle some of it into a to-go bowl for a customer. “Just trust your instincts, Mom. We all make mistakes sometimes.” She paused. “But if you want my two cents, go with Dante.”
    “Why?” Moira agreed that Dante seemed like a good choice, but was curious about her daughter’s reasoning.
    “Because he’s cute and he’s new to town, so he probably doesn’t have a girlfriend yet,” Candice said with a grin. Laughing, Moira had to agree. The young man had curly brown hair, olive-colored skin, and dark gray eyes that seemed to take in everything. If only I were twenty years younger , she thought. Then the face of David Morris, the private investigator that she had hired during the murder investigation, seemed to flash across her vision. He was single, as far as she knew, and devastatingly handsome with his salt-and-pepper hair and shockingly blue eyes. Maybe being older wasn’t so bad, if only she had the time to actually go on a date every once in a while.
    “Tell you what,” she told her daughter. “I’ll give him a chance. You give him a call and let him know he can come in tomorrow.”
    “Awesome. Thanks, Mom.” They walked through the door to the front room, where Candice handed her customer his bowl of soup. Two women were in line behind him, and Moira recognized her friends right away.
    “Emilia. It’s great to see you again. Are you feeling better?” she asked.
    “Oh, a bit. It’s one of my better days.” She and Emilia had been friends for years. The older woman had often babysat Candice when she was younger, long before Moira ran her own business, when she still had to go into an office every day.
    “That’s good to hear. Hi, Martha,” she added with a smile at the woman standing next to Emilia. Martha, Emilia’s younger sister and caretaker, smiled back at her. Martha and Moira were nearly the same age, and had been friendly since Martha had moved back to Maple Creek to take care of her older sister.
    “Hey, Moira. Glad to see business is good. We won’t hold you up for too long. Can I have the special today?” she asked, glancing at the small blackboard that announced the soup and sandwich combo of the day.
    “Of course,” she said. “And you, Emilia?”
    “Oh, just a small bowl of the soup, please. We’ll also take a package of the honey-glazed ham, if that’s not too much trouble.”
    “Not at all.” Moira went to get the meat out of the refrigerated case while Candice went to the back to get the soup and make a fresh sandwich for Martha.
    “Have you two heard about the storm that’s supposed to hit this evening?” she asked while they were waiting for her daughter to come back with the food.
    “I saw it on the weather report last night. Thanks to Martha, I now have enough blankets, candles, and firewood to last me for the next ten years.” Emilia gave her younger sister an affectionate smile. “I told her I would make do with what I already had, but she insisted on taking me shopping today before she goes out of town.”
    “I don’t want to worry about you freezing while I’m gone,” Martha replied. “Is the cell phone I gave you fully charged?”
    “Yes, yes, and it’s in my nightstand. I did manage to survive on my own for the last forty years, you know,” Emilia said in a gently chiding voice. “Plus, that repair man will be in and out to fix the burst pipe in the basement, as long as the roads are clear. He’ll keep an eye on me too.” She chuckled. “I feel like a two-year-old. I don’t need babysitting, you know.” Moira smiled at their good-natured bickering. She often wished that she had better relationships with her own family members, but her