Salami Murder: Book 8 in The Darling Deli Series by Patti Benning

was likely a waste of time; while Adrian was not her favorite of Candice’s recent boyfriends, he wasn’t necessarily a criminal. Chasing after a lead made her feel slightly better though. Doing anything was better than sitting in silence at her home or at David’s office and imagining the terrible possibilities of what might be happening to her daughter. Anything was better than that.
    When she reached the top level she paused, unsure. Had it been apartment 3A or 3C? She had only been there once to drop off some papers back when Candice and Adrian were a couple in the planning stages of starting up her business. I’m pretty sure it was 3A , she thought. There’s only one way to find out. Taking a deep breath, she raised her fist and knocked sharply three times. She waited a moment, then knocked again. The door opened and a familiar red-haired young man looked out.
    “I said come back later, I’m busy—” Adrian broke off when he realized that the person standing in the hallway was Moira, and not whoever he had been expecting. “Oh. Hi, Ms. Darling,” he said cautiously.
    “Adrian.” She kept her eyes fixed on his face. Was that a nervous twitch by his lip? Did he look paler than normal? Was she imagining guilt on his face because she didn’t like him?
    “W-what are you doing here?” he asked.
    “Candice is missing,” she said shortly. “Have you seen her?”
    His eyes met hers, then slid away. He looked thinner than she remembered, and had dark circles under his eyes. Whatever was going on with him, it wasn’t good.
    “No,” he said. He moved to close the door.
    Acting on instinct, Moira shot her foot out, wedging it between the door and the frame just in time.
    “Candice?” she called out, not caring if she disturbed the neighbors. Adrian was definitely hiding something.
    There was no answer at first. Adrian, his eyes wide with panic, was still trying to shut the door but to no avail. Her foot wouldn’t budge. Moira was beginning to think it would be a good idea to call the police when she heard a loud thump and a groan from the other room. Adrian whipped his head around, cursing. Taking advantage of his distraction, she shoved the door open and pushed her way inside.
    Adrian grabbed at her, but she twisted away, wincing as his nails scraped against her skin. She hurried into the living room and fell to her knees in relief next to her daughter, who was zip-tied to a chair with duct tape across her mouth. The thump that Moira had heard came from a TV tray that her daughter had managed to knock over. The microwave dinner that had been sitting on it was slowly bleeding gravy across the carpet.
    Putting her phone down, Moira reached over, and with shaking fingers gently removed the duct tape from Candice’s mouth. As her daughter took a deep, shaky breath, tears filled her eyes.
    “I knew you would find me,” she whispered.
    “I’m going to get you out of here,” Moira told her. “And then Adrian is going to prison for a very, very long time.”
    Candice’s eyes widened suddenly and Moira spun around to see Adrian standing at the entrance to the living room with a large, sharp hunting knife in his hand. The hand that held blade was shaking, but the look in his eyes was fierce and desperate.
    “You weren’t supposed to find her,” he whined. “I just wanted the money.” He shook his head almost regretfully
    “Adrian,” Moira said slowly, rising to her feet. “Put the knife down. No one needs to be hurt. I’m sure this is all just a misunderstanding.”
    “You’re wrong.” He took a shuddering breath. She realized, to her surprise, that he was on the verge of tears. She didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. He obviously wasn’t a cold-blooded killer, but she had the feeling that his emotional state might make him even more dangerous and unpredictable. “I killed him.”
    “Killed… who?” she asked. The sick feeling in her stomach intensified.
    “That guy, Matt,