Hearty Homestyle Murder: Book 9 in The Darling Deli Series by Patti Benning Read Free Book Online Page B

Reuben’s death? If she was right and it was the gumbo that had been poisoned, she supposed that she could see how he might be suspicious, but would the police really have shared that information with him? “I’m so sorry, David. I hate to be responsible for you losing business.”
    “It’s not your fault, Moira. Don’t feel bad. After you told me that he had hired you to cater a party for his daughter, I assumed that he must like the deli. His reaction shocked me.”
    “He canceled the catering a few days ago,” she said with a sigh. “He said that the party had been moved back, and he was going to hire a different caterer. He mentioned then too that he blamed me for his son’s death. I had already bought the extra food, so it was definitely a blow to my wallet, but I’m sure I’ll be able to sell most of it. I’ll just have to run a sale for a few days.”
    “That’s not fair,” Candice cut in. “If he hired you to cater and you already ordered extra food for it, he should still pay for it even if he changed his mind.”
    “Normally I would agree with you,” she told her daughter. “But with what he’s going through… well, I don’t want to make a big deal out of it. He lost his son. He doesn’t need anything else to deal with on top of that. I’ll manage; the deli will be fine.”
    “That’s admirable of you,” David said. “But I don’t think it would be wrong to ask him to at least pay for the extra food that you already ordered for the party, especially since he was rude about it. I don’t think it’s a good idea to let him walk all over you. He’s the sort of man who might take advantage of that.”
    “I’ll think about it,” she said. “I don’t want to cause more drama. It’s bad enough that I had to speak to the police once already.”
    “Do you think they really suspect you?” Candice asked. “Shouldn’t Detective Jefferson know by now that you would never hurt someone?”
    “I think he’s trying not to let his personal feelings get in the way of a case,” she told her daughter.
    “He’s a good detective,” David added. “I think he’ll be fair to your mother, but he can’t ignore the fact that she was connected to his death. One of my contacts at the crime lab confirmed that Reuben’s bowl of gumbo was the only one that was poisoned. Your guess was right, Moira.”
    Moira paled. Even though she hadn’t done anything wrong, she couldn’t help but feel terrible knowing that the gumbo that Darling’s DELIcious Delights had entered in the contest had been used to kill somebody.
    “I have no idea how that could have happened,” she said. “I feel horrible, but I certainly didn’t have anything to do with it.”
    “The killer would have had to poison it while the bowls were being ladled out, after you handed the gumbo off to Sandy Keller. She’s the woman who was volunteering to help with the contest. Are you sure you didn’t see anything suspicious around the soup table?” he asked.
    “Not that I remember. I’m guessing the police already interviewed that woman?”
    “Most likely, yes.” David nodded. “I’m sure they have quite a few suspects lined up; what they’re lacking is physical proof to tie someone to the crime. Without proof, unless the killer confesses, they won’t be able to do anything. That’s why it’s so important to figure out when and how the poisoning happened. Somebody would have had to slip the poison into the gumbo without drawing attention to themselves… somebody who wouldn’t have been out of place in the tent. It’s likely it was one of the three judges or volunteers. You’re certain you don’t remember anything like that? You didn’t happen to glimpse someone pouring something into a bowl of soup?”
    She remembered Darrin slipping the tiny unlabeled bottle into his pocket. Was it possible that… no, Darrin wouldn’t kill someone—of that she was certain. Bringing attention to him wouldn’t do anything but