Read Cold Cut Murder: Book Three in The Darling Deli Series for Free Online

kitchen and nodded to David, who was standing on a step stool, marking where the screws for the security camera would go. He turned to where his partner sat with Moira.
    “You all set?” he asked.
    “For now.” The younger detective rose and extended a hand to Moira, which she shook. “Thank you for your time, and please let us know if you find anything else that may be evidence.”
    “Of course,” she said. “Thanks for responding so quickly. I hope you catch the killer soon.”
    To her surprise, people began lining up outside the deli before they even opened. Candice was supposed to come in and start her shift in another hour, but Moira was beginning to wish that she had asked her to open with her today. Luckily, David was there, and once he had finished installing the camera and motion detector, he helped out by bringing bowls of soup out of the kitchen for her. Towards the end of the lunch rush, a familiar face appeared in the crowd.
    “Hi, Steven, wasn’t it?” she asked. The man nodded. “How can I help you today?”
    “I’ll, um, have a bowl of the curried corn chowder,” he said. “And I just wanted to say, the invitation is still open… you know, for the dance.”
    “Thank you,” she said, “but I don’t think I’ll change my mind about going. Dances aren’t really my thing.” She accepted the crumbled bills that he gave her and told David, who had just appeared from the kitchen, what the new order was. After handing Steven his change, she wondered what else she could say. He set her on edge and she couldn’t decide why. It might just have been that he was the first man to ask her out in months.
    “Soup’s up,” David said, coming back out of the kitchen and handing her the to-go bowl of soup, which she deftly put in a paper bag and then handed to the man. Or, she attempted to. He was staring at David with an odd, tense look on his face.
    “Here’s your order,” she said, clearing her throat. He blinked and reached out for it, then left without another word.
    Once the lunch rush was over, Moira ladled some soup into bowls for her and David, and sat down with him in the corner. She was thankful for the business, but the morning had been stressful. Most customers had been more interested in ogling the corner where the food critic had been found, and asking her about what had happened, than they were in what they were buying. Though she had been polite and friendly, she was glad that the rush was over—for now. The last thing she wanted was to spend the entire day talking about finding a dead man in her store.
    “Thanks for helping out so much,” she told him. “You didn’t need to.”
    “It was my pleasure. I never realized how much work it was to manage this place.”
    “Well, it’s usually not this bad. And I’ve got backup coming in soon,” she said. “So, can you show me how to use the security camera and the motion detector? Candice is the one that’s good at this stuff, not me.”
    “Sure. Give me your phone.”
    As David installed the app that went with the security camera, Moira began cleaning up their dishes and tidying the shelves, which always seemed to get messy faster than she thought possible. The front door opened, and she looked around, ready to jump behind the counter again for another customer. Instead, she saw her daughter with a platter of cookies balanced with one hand and a newspaper rolled up in the other.
    “Hey, Mom,” she said. “Can you take this? There’s another plate in the car.”
    “Sure. Those look delicious; I might have to try one or two before we sell any.”
    Once the cookies were in and set safely on the counter, Candice greeted David, and then pulled a third chair up to the small table.
    “Did you guys see this?” she asked, unrolling the newspaper and turning it so both he and Moira could see it. The two of them peered at the article for a moment, reading it silently while Candice tapped her foot impatiently.
    “Interesting,”