Free Hearty Homestyle Murder: Book 9 in The Darling Deli Series by Patti Benning

Sandy said, spinning around as Moira come in. “I heard from someone at the town hall that you do catering. How much would you charge for a wedding reception? Gordon and I were just so impressed by your food the other day, and I know how much he likes to support the locals.”
    “Congratulations on your engagement,” the deli owner said, smiling at her luck. She had lost the catering job with the mayor, but it looked like she had just found another. Hopefully this would help make up the money she had already spent on the canceled catering contract. “How many people will be there?”
    “Oh, I’m not sure yet. Gordon will probably want to do some big thing, especially if he wins this next election. Let’s say around two hundred people.”
    Moira quoted her an estimated price. “But it could go up or down quite a bit, depending on what you end up ordering and when the wedding is. A lot of produce gets much more expensive in the off-season,” she warned.
    “I don’t think that will be an issue,” Sandy said, smiling. “Do you mind if I look around a little? I’d love to see what you have available.”
    “Sure,” Moira said. “And remember, if you want something for the wedding reception that I don’t have in stock right now, I’ll probably be able to order it.”
    Once Dante and Meg showed up for their afternoon shift, Moira had the rest of the day free to do whatever she wanted. It was a beautiful Saturday, the slight breeze keeping the temperature from getting too hot despite the clear blue skies. She considered going to the beach—Lake Michigan wasn’t that far away, after all—but knew that it would be crowded. It was best to go during the weekdays, when most people were at work; sometimes she could even find a beach that was nearly empty except for her and Maverick.
    I want to do something outdoors, she thought. This wonderful weather won’t last forever. She decided to run back home, grab the two dogs, then come back into town and take them on another long walk. Maybe she would invite Martha and Diamond to join her as well—this beautiful day would be even more enjoyable with a friend.
    “I really need a bigger car,” she grumbled to herself as she unloaded the two dogs from the back seat. She had a picnic basket, a cooler, and a tablecloth sitting in the front passenger seat; Martha had accepted her invitation to join Moira and the dogs on a walk, and had suggested that they make a picnic as well. She had also invited Denise along, who had surprised them both by agreeing to come. Their tall, redheaded friend was usually too busy for last-minute outings.
    With all of the extra food that she had ordered in preparation for the now-canceled engagement party, she had been more than happy to provide a selection of cold cuts, cheeses, and other sandwich fixings for her friends to enjoy. It was looking like it was going to turn out to be a good day—but first, she had to get everything over to the picnic table without dropping something or getting tangled up in the dogs’ leashes.
    She managed it without incident. After tying the leashes around one of the legs of the picnic table, she laid out the tablecloth and started unpacking the picnic. Neither of her friends were there yet, so she had a few minutes to herself to play with the dogs and enjoy the park once everything was set up.
    “Excuse me,” an older man said, startling her. He was approaching slowly, his eyes on her dogs. “Is that your dog? The wolfhound?”
    “She was a stray. I found her in my backyard,” Moira said, her heart beginning to pound. Was this it? Had Keeva’s owner found her at last? She glanced down at the dog to see if she seemed to recognize the man at all, but the dog just blinked and looked between them, obviously unsure why they were both staring at her. “I have posters up around town—you may have seen them.”
    “I actually live about half an hour away,” he explained. “I’m just here for my niece’s