Free Chicken Pesto Murder: Book 5 in The Darling Deli Series by Patti Benning Page A

straight away. They were probably frantic with worry about her; she seemed like such a sweet, well-cared-for dog that Moira couldn’t imagine her not being loved. At least one of the missing pets would have a happy ending. She could only hope for such a good outcome for the others.
     

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
    The private investigator drove away from the small country house on the outskirts of Lake Marion with a glad heart. The collie’s family had been overjoyed to see her, and the pooch had returned the sentiment, jumping up and down eagerly as her people greeted her. He had refused payment; it felt good to do a good deed, and besides, the case still wasn’t over. The other dogs and the thief were still out there, somewhere.
    He decided to drive by the parking lot where Martha had picked up the dog. He followed her directions to a small, deserted lot near the grocery store in Maple Creek. It seemed as good a place to start looking for clues as any, but he hadn’t really expected to find anything majorly helpful. He was surprised to see activity in the far corner of the parking lot; someone was standing next to a pickup truck, chatting intently on his cell phone. There were a couple of plastic kennels in the back of the truck, but David was at the wrong angle to see whether they had dogs in them.
    His heart pounding, the private investigator coasted into the lot. He drove slowly towards the truck, doing his best to be prepared for anything. If the man really was the thief, there was no telling how he would react if he thought he was going to be caught. He could do anything from pulling out a gun to jumping in the truck and peeling away.
    David got close enough to see that a couple of the kennels did have residents. He recognized the brown face and droopy ears of a beagle, and knew that he had found the right guy—or at least, the right dogs. There was still a chance that this man wasn’t the dog thief, but was a partner or accomplice.
    “Excuse me,” he said, rolling down his window as his car pulled even with the truck. “Do you know where the closest gas station is?” He of course already knew exactly where every gas station was for miles around, but he wanted an excuse to talk to the man, to see his face and hear his voice. Anything that would help identify him later.
    To his surprise, the man seemed to recognize him. When he looked into David’s face, his eyes widened, and his mouth parted in shock. He hung up the phone without saying goodbye to whoever was on the other line, then pointed down the road.
    “That way,” he said quickly. “Just keep going, you’ll see it.” The man was pointing him in the opposite direction from the gas station. Intrigued, David nodded a quick thanks and rolled up his window. He pretended to follow the man’s directions, pulling out of the parking lot and rounding the corner, but turned his vehicle around at the first intersection. He idled at the stop sign, the parking lot and the man’s truck just barely in view. When the truck pulled out of the parking lot and drove in the opposite direction down Main Street, David followed, already on the phone with the Maple Creek police station.
     

CHAPTER FOURTEEN
    Moira pulled into the parking lot of the Redwood Grill, feeling bad that she was slightly late. Yesterday, David had caught the man responsible for the rash of dognappings in the area, and tonight they were going to celebrate. It seemed like things were finally looking up again for the private investigator, and hopefully soon all of the stolen dogs would be reunited with their owners.
    “He’s in the back. You know the way,” the hostess said with a smile, recognizing Moira instantly. She thanked the young woman, and slipped past the line of people waiting for seating. Sure enough, David was seated at their usual table. He had already ordered a glass of wine for both of them, and was perusing the appetizer menu while he waited for her.
    “Sorry I’m late,” she said as