Pastrami Murder: Book One in The Darling Deli Series by Patti Benning

CHAPTER 1
    Moira Darling breathed a sigh of relief as she turned the deadbolt on the front door of Darling’s DELIcious Delights. When she first opened the deli, she had thought that the winter season would be slow. Not many tourists would brave the cold and snowy western Michigan winters just to visit the small town of Maple Creek for a bowl of hot soup. What she hadn’t counted on was how popular her warm, freshly made soups and sandwiches would be with the locals.
    “Well, we survived another Friday evening,” said Moira’s daughter, Candice, as she plopped down into a chair with a yawn.
    “Thanks for helping out on such short notice, sweetie,” Moira said. “I know Danielle feels bad about having to take time off with so little warning. At least she’ll be taking your shift tomorrow, so you’ll be able to have some fun this weekend.”
    “It doesn’t matter anyway.” Candice wrinkled her nose. “Chad canceled our date, and I haven’t heard from him since. Apparently I don’t have a social life anymore.” Moira felt a stab of pity as her daughter groaned and buried her face in her hands, blond hair cascading around her face.
    Candice was twenty years old, and had moved back to Maple Creek after getting her associate’s degree in business at a small college two hours away. Moira couldn’t help but worry about her daughter; besides the endless bad luck she seemed to have when it came to men, Candice also seemed to have no plans for her future. While Moira was more than happy to have her daughter around to help out at the deli, she hoped that Candice would find a dream to follow sometime soon. Maple Creek was just too quiet for the vibrant twenty-year-old.
    Moira ducked into the back of the deli to shrug her coat on and grab the white paper bag that held the sandwiches that would be their dinner. She took one last look around to make sure everything was put away that needed to be put away. The deli was like a second child to her, and she knew that its success was partially due to her careful tending. Of course, her brilliant employees and the delicious food also went a long way towards making Darling’s DELIcious Delights a hit.
    “Are we going, Mom?” Candice called from the front. “I’m starving.”
    “I’m coming, sweetheart.” Moira gave the deli’s kitchen one last quick glance, and then shut off the lights.
     

CHAPTER 2
    The deli didn’t open until after noon on weekends, but Moira always got to work at ten. While she had faith that her employees could make great sandwiches, she preferred to do the soup of the day herself when she could. Saturday’s soup of the day was one of her favorites, Leeky Soup. It was based on an old potato and leek soup recipe that her grandmother had made on cold winter nights. Moira had spiced the recipe up a bit, adding a pinch of chili powder and just a dash of nutmeg. Since the temperature would be far below freezing today, Moira thought her customers might enjoy the extra heat.
    She was just putting the finishing touches on the huge pot of soup that she hoped would see them through the day when she heard the deli’s front door open. A moment later, Danielle peeked her face around the door to the kitchen.
    “Do you ever do anything but work, Ms. D?” she asked. “You know I’m perfectly capable of following a recipe myself.”
    “I know,” Moira said, giving her employee a reassuring smile. Danielle had been working for her for almost six months, and Moira had yet to regret her decision to hire the young woman, even though Danielle had recently been fired from another restaurant. “I just don’t want to get too wrapped up in the business side of running the deli and forget what this is all about—making good food and making people happy.”
    “Well, this place does both those things on a daily basis.” Danielle came the rest of the way into the kitchen and made her way over to the sink to wash her hands. “We’re one of the most popular places