Creamy Casserole Murder: Book 15 in The Darling Deli Series by Patti Benning Page A

a killer, that’s pretty disgusting behavior for the director of an assisted-living home,” the deli owner said. “I bet she could lose her license over it.”
    “Oh, she’d get fired the moment word got out,” Reggie said. “I told her I needed to sleep on it, then in the morning I was going to tell her that Eli and I had made up… and that’s when the police came. They started questioning her after talking to me, and I was certain that she was going to jail. I don’t know what she said to convince them that she was innocent, but they left and I’ve been locked in here ever since. Now that she knows I’m onto her, it’s only a matter of time before she comes to add me to her list of kills.”
    “We need to get you out of here, Reggie,” she said. “David and Eli are both on their way, but neither of them know any of this. When they come rushing in looking for us, the first person they talk to is bound to be…”
    “The director,” Reggie finished, paling. “She’ll send them away, and come and find us herself.”
    Moira wasted a few minutes searching Reggie’s room for anything that could be used as a weapon, but besides his cane—which he needed to walk—there was nothing. She decided they would just have to try their best not to be seen, and hope to make it to her SUV before the director realized that Reggie was missing.
    She cracked the door to his room open and peeked down the hallway both ways cautiously. She didn’t see anyone, not even a nurse, so she silently gestured to Reggie to follow her. Going was slow; the old man was exhausted, and could only walk at half his normal pace. Moira itched for a wheelchair so she could push him, but didn’t see any that weren’t in use.
    The few residents that they passed didn’t seem to think anything was amiss. The deli owner smiled and nodded at them, and offered Reggie her arm for balance. She was beginning to think that they were going to make it out of the building without being stopped when they rounded the corner and came face to face with Alberta.
    The director looked nearly as shocked to see them as they were to see her, but she recovered more quickly. Moira could see the other woman’s eyes dart between them, and recognized the exact moment she realized that her cover was blown.
    “Moira Darling, how nice to see you,” Alberta said, her voice sickeningly sweet. “It’s a bit later than we usually allow non-family members to visit, but I’ll let it slide if you come with me.”
    “Actually, we were just on our way out for a breath of fresh air,” the deli owner replied, forcing a smile of her own. “We won’t be long, I promise.”
    A pair of nurses escorting an unsteady older woman was passing, and Moira gambled that the director wouldn’t do anything out of character with them around.
    “Oh, in that case to allow me to escort you out,” the other woman said. “I wouldn’t mind a chance to look at the stars myself.”
    The deli owner wondered what would happen if she began shouting accusations at the other woman, but, as if she could read her mind, Alberta shifted at that instant and Moira saw the glint of a knife tucked into her waistband. Gritting her teeth, Moira nodded and began walking with Reggie at her side. No one stopped them.
    They had just reached the front entranceway when the doors swung open. David and Eli walked in, the worry on their faces draining away when they saw Moira and Reggie standing with the director.
    “I’m so glad you’re both safe,” David groaned. “You just about gave me a heart attack when you drove away like that, Moira.”
    Moira held his gaze and widened her eyes, tilting her head toward the director. The private investigator frowned and raised an eyebrow. She bit her lip in frustration.
    “I’d like to talk to Moira and Reggie in private,” the director said calmly. “They’ve both been causing a fair bit of trouble around here lately.”
    “Of course,” Eli said. “It won’t