Tomato Basil Murder: Book 7 in The Darling Deli Series Read Online Free PDF Page A

shouldn’t take more than twenty minutes or so, so just finish up what you’re doing now, and poke your head through the door to say goodbye before you go.”
    Humming, her thoughts still on the little house in the woods, Moira began her daily job of creating a new soup from scratch. She sliced a few cloves of garlic and tossed them in a pot to sauté with a pinch of red pepper flakes. Then she took the big bowl of cannellini beans out of the fridge and rinsed them off one last time before adding the entire thing, along with a few cups of water, to the pot where the garlic and red pepper were sautéing. The beans took a while to soak, then required attention while simmering for a couple of hours, so she was glad that she had thought far enough ahead to get them prepared the night before. Using canned beans is certainly much easier , she thought. But they never taste as good.
    She then added chopped celery, olives, and chicken broth, along with nearly a cup of pesto that she had also made the previous evening. By the time Darrin opened the door to the kitchen to tell her he was leaving, the pesto bean soup was nearly finished. It was a recipe that she had recently come across and, after a few tweaks to make it unique, she was eager to see what her customers thought of it. Though with the weather we’re having today, I may end up bringing most of it home with me , she thought.
    The rain only worsened as the hours wore on. An occasional wet, bedraggled customer wandered in, but Moira’s prediction of an exceptionally slow day held true. She spent the extra time cleaning until the floors and glass cases all shone, and even the bathroom smelled as fresh as spring. When she found that there were still a few hours before the deli was supposed to close, she sighed and reluctantly settled down at a bistro table with a bowl of soup, a sandwich, and a book. She knew she might as well close early, but she would feel bad if someone struggled all the way through the storm only to find that the deli was closed for the evening. Besides, there was always the chance that the weather would break and business would pick up.
    She was immersed in her book so when the deli’s front door slammed open and a figure in a black raincoat stepped through followed by a torrent of wind and rain, she jumped violently enough for her chair to nearly tip over. Feeling foolish, she set her book down, quickly wiped up the mess from her spilled soup, then rose to greet the customer. To her surprise, she realized that the man who had startled her so was Detective Jefferson.
    “Oh, hi,” she said, grabbing her dishes to take them to the kitchen. “What can I get you? I think we still have some coffee left; it’s on me, if you want some.”
    “I’m sorry, Moira, but I’m not here for coffee.” He took a deep breath. “Do you have someone to watch the deli for you?”
    “Why?” she asked, her blood turning to ice at the solemn look on the man’s face. “What happened?”
    “There’s been an incident involving your ex-husband,” he told her. “We need you down at the station as soon as possible.”
    “Oh my goodness,” she breathed. “What happened? Is he okay? Is my daughter okay?”
    “Candice is at the station right now. I’m not going to lie, it isn’t good. Your ex-husband is dead, Moira.”
    She reeled with shock, but when she registered her daughter’s name, all thoughts of keeping the deli open left her mind. Her daughter needed her, and no force on earth would keep her away from that police station.
    “I’m ready,” she told the detective, picking up her purse and keys and leaving the dishes, forgotten, on the counter. “Let’s go.”

CHAPTER FIVE
    She opted to drive herself, thanking Detective Jefferson profusely for his offer of a ride, but telling him that she didn’t want to impose. In truth, she wanted to use the drive to compose herself for her daughter, and she wanted the freedom to drive Candice wherever she wanted to