Pastrami Murder: Book One in The Darling Deli Series by Patti Benning Page A

in town.”
    “If only it wasn’t for the Soup Shoppe.” Moira made a face. “Ever since Henry franchised, and started producing those new TV ads, we’ve been losing customers.” She saw Danielle’s face tighten, and felt bad for mentioning Henry Devou—Danielle had worked for him before she worked for Moira, and Moira knew that Danielle still disliked her previous boss. “Though I can’t complain,” she added quickly. “We’re still doing well enough… much better than I expected, in fact.” When she had decided to open Darling’s DELIcious Delights two years ago, she had only intended the business to be a hobby—something to keep her busy while Candice was in college. She had been shocked at the success that her soups and sandwiches had found in the small town.
    “Hopefully—” Danielle began, but she was cut off by the arrival of Darrin, the assistant manager, the first employee that Moira had hired after the deli had become too much to handle on her own. He was a young man, a few years older than Candice, with shoulder-length black hair and a winning smile. Her customers loved him, and even better, he knew his way around the kitchen like a pro. As Darrin walked into the kitchen, he gave both of the women a quick grin, and then inhaled deeply.
    “Wow, something smells good,” her employee said.
    “It’s Leeky Soup,” Moira told him. “Both of you, grab a bowl. You can be my taste testers. See if you think I added too much chili powder to this batch.”
     

CHAPTER 3
    Moira only stayed at the deli for a few hours. Once she made sure that her employees had everything running smoothly, she waved and left, deciding to do some grocery shopping before heading home and starting dinner for herself and Candice.
    She was surprised to find the house empty when she got home. She put the grocery bags down in the kitchen and then called out “Candice?” even though she could tell that the house was empty. A moment later, she saw the quickly scrawled note on the fridge. Out with Samantha. I’ll be home later. XOXOXO
    Moira was glad that Candice had gotten over her boyfriend troubles so quickly, and was having fun with one of her friends, but couldn’t help feeling slightly sorry for herself. As a divorced woman in her early forties, her own dating pool was quite small. Moira knew that she looked good for her age: she had a petite frame, with light brown hair that hadn’t really begun to go gray, and what her husband had described as mischievous green eyes… at least during the early years of their marriage. Even though she thought of herself as an attractive, intelligent go-getter, her dates always seemed to fizzle out before the end of the evening. In fact, she couldn’t even remember the last time she had been on a date with a guy that she really liked. I really need to get out there more , she thought. As much as I love my job, I need more in my life than work. Moira shook her head to clear her mind. She had never found self-pity attractive. Besides, she had a lot to live for; a wonderful daughter, a thriving business and… well, that was enough, wasn’t it? With a sigh, she began putting away the groceries. She would make a nice dinner another night, when Candice was home. For now, she could eat leftovers. In fact, leftovers and a TV marathon were starting to sound like a pretty good way to spend her Saturday evening.
    Moira woke up to her cell phone ringing. She felt around for it on her bedside table, slid her finger across the screen, and then brought the phone to her ear.
    “Hello?” she said, feeling groggy.
    “Have you seen the news yet, Ms. D?” Darrin’s voice came over the phone.
    “No… why? What time is it?” Moira sat up in bed, feeling disoriented. She glanced at the clock, and saw that it was shortly after ten. She had stayed up late the night before, eating leftovers, drinking wine, and watching reruns of her favorite show. She realized that she hadn’t heard Candice come in