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

go after they were done at the station. Mike… she thought. Could it be true? Is he really dead? She remembered her conversation with him just yesterday. He had seemed so happy, and so… well, so alive. She might not have had the best relationship with him, but she would never have wished something like this on him, or on anyone. And poor Candice. What must her daughter be going through right now? Candice had been too young to remember the loss of Moira’s parents. She had never really experienced the death of someone close to her. The closest thing to that sort of loss that her daughter had lived through was when Mike had left them, but at least Candice had still been able to call and visit him.
    Detective Jefferson hadn’t given her any details about what had happened, and Moira couldn’t keep her mind from going over the possibilities. Had Candice found him? She prayed that that wasn’t the case. Her poor daughter must be beside herself right now.
    She pulled into the parking lot behind Detective Jefferson, snagging her umbrella from the car’s passenger side floor before hurrying into the police station. The waiting room was empty other than the secretary, who gave Moira a sad smile as she shook off her umbrella. Detective Jefferson was right behind her.
    “This way,” he said gently, guiding her towards the door that lead to the rest of the station. “She’s in my office. I thought she might prefer the privacy.”
    Moira followed him, her mind still reeling with the thought of Mike, dead. What on earth had happened? Had something gone wrong with the airplane? She knew he was supposed to fly out tonight, but she didn’t know when. Did the storm cause him to crash his car?
    “Mom!” Candice exclaimed when Detective Jefferson let her into his office. Her daughter jumped up and hugged Moira so tightly, she had to gasp for breath.
    “It’s all right, sweetie. I’m here.” Stroking her daughter’s hair, she guided her back to the chairs by Jefferson’s desk and eased her into the closest one. She took the other one and turned her green-eyed gaze to the detective.
    “What happened, Detective Jefferson?” she asked, fighting to keep her voice strong. Seeing Candice like this tore her up emotionally. She couldn’t even begin to imagine how she would help her daughter cope with the loss of a parent.
    “I’m not certain your daughter should hear it again.” He nodded at Candice. “I brought you here so she could see you. If you’d like, I’ll give you a moment of privacy, then you can join me in one of the interview rooms so I can tell you what happened.”
    “Of course. Thank you.” She waited until the detective left the room, then turned back to her daughter, who was shuddering into her hands.
    “Candice, sweetheart, come here. It’s okay…” She embraced her daughter again, offering tissues, trying to make sense of her daughter’s hysterical words. Moira thought she caught the word “blood,” and her stomach dropped. Whatever had happened didn’t sound good.
    When Candice was able to breathe deeply again, Moira handed her a few more tissues, leaned over to kiss the top of her head, then left the office to go find Detective Jefferson. It was time she got some answers about what had happened to Mike, and what exactly Candice had seen.
    Jefferson was waiting for her in the hallway, leaning against the wall and looking tired. When he saw her, he straightened up and gestured her towards one of the more comfortable interview rooms down the hall.
    “Take a seat,” he said, indicating the set of plush armchairs. “I took the liberty of getting us some coffees. I’m sure you could use a boost, and I know I could.”
    “Thanks,” she said, sitting down in one of the chairs. She held the warm mug of coffee in her hands, but didn’t drink yet. She kept trying to tell herself that none of this was real, it couldn’t be, but Detective Jefferson’s drawn face told her otherwise.
    “What