Spicy Lasagna Murder: Book 13 in The Darling Deli Series Read Online Free PDF Page B

probably wouldn’t notice—or care—once the soup was cooked, but it still bothered the perfectionist in her. The onion was only slightly easier, and she decided to use the garlic press for the garlic. At least she managed to roll the meatballs without issue.
    Sighing as she poured the broth into the pot, she almost wished that she had accepted Darrin’s offer of help. How did the doctor expect her to live like this for weeks? She had a business to run—she had no time for a broken arm.
    She had just put all of the ingredients in the pot when a knock sounded at the deli’s side door, the door that they used only for deliveries. The deli owner froze, quickly double-checking her mental calendar. It wasn’t a delivery day—of that she was certain. So who could it be? Frowning, she quickly washed her hands and, still drying them on the hand towel, opened the door.
    At first she didn’t see anyone and was about to close the door again and write off the knock as a prank when she heard a quiet whine. Moira poked her head out the door and looked to the right. There, tied to a cinder block with a length of rope, was a very pregnant chocolate lab.
    The two stared at each other for a long moment, then the lab wagged her tail and Moira’s heart melted. Shoving another cinder block in front of the open door to keep it from swinging shut and locking her outside, she walked over to the dog.
    “Oh, you poor thing,” she crooned. “Did someone drop you off here?”
    The dog took a cautious step backwards, but extended her head to sniff Moira’s hand carefully when she offered it. The deli owner saw some sort of paper tucked inside her collar and reached slowly out to take it. She opened the folder paper and read:
    I know you like dogs. Plz take good care of her and her babies. My dad was gonna shoot her if I didn’t get rid of her.
    It was signed by a sloppy scrawl that she couldn’t read. The writing looked like it belonged to a child, someone in middle school perhaps. Moira’s heart ached. What sort of parent threatened to shoot their child’s dog? A pregnant dog, no less?
    “You poor, sweet girl,” she said. “Let’s at least get you inside and fed and watered, then we can figure out what to do with you.”
    Only after some encouragement was the dog willing to slink through the doorway, where she then crouched, shaking, in the middle of the floor. Moira shut the door and tied the rope attached to the dog’s collar to the door handle to keep her from wandering around the kitchen, then rushed out to the register where Darrin was talking to a customer. She waited until the elderly man had taken his cold cuts and left, then told Darrin what was going on.
    “Someone left a pregnant dog by the side door,” she said. “She’s scared, but she seems nice enough. I’m going to run out to my car and grab the extra leash and the travel bowls I keep in it, then once I get some food and water in her I’ll see if I can make an appointment at the vet for today. I want to make sure she’s healthy before bringing her home, and I need to ask the vet how far along he thinks she is. Are you okay to watch this place on your own for a few hours if you have to? The soup’s already on, thank goodness.”
    “Yeah, that’s fine,” he told her. “That poor dog. I’ll go back and see her once she gets more settled. Who would just abandon their pet like that?”
    The deli owner ran out to her SUV, glad that she had thought to keep extra dog supplies in it just in case. When she got back inside, she went straight to the kitchen and filled up the collapsible water bowl for the dog. She began drinking immediately, slopping water all over the floor in her enthusiasm. Moira then gave her a few leftover mini quiches from the day before, which the dog gulped down. Pity I used all the lamb , she thought. But we’ll be home soon enough.
    “There, hopefully that took the edge off,” she said. “Now, can I see your tags?”
    She managed to