Free Tomato Basil Murder: Book 7 in The Darling Deli Series by Patti Benning

well actually, there might be one person. But I don’t think she would do something like this,” Moira mused.
    “Tell me about her. Does she live in Maple Creek?”
    “She lives about an hour south of us,” she told him. “Her name is Beth Gilliam. She was the woman that Mike had an affair with when we were still married.”
    “She definitely has a connection to him then, but what would her motive be?”
    “Beth didn’t know about me,” Moira said. “And when she found out Mike was married, she was crushed. She invited me out for coffee and apologized sincerely for what had happened.”
    “And you think she might still be upset with Mike for what he did?”
    “Maybe. She seemed to really care about him, and was pretty upset when she found out that he had been lying to her the whole time.” Moira sighed and attempted to push the painful, unwanted memories of her divorce away. She had better things to think about.
    “It’s worth looking into,” David said. He took his tiny notepad out and scribbled down the woman’s name, then turned his attention to the food that was gradually cooling in front of them. “Enough of this depressing talk. Let’s enjoy this beautiful day.”
    The day really was beautiful, with clear blue skies and a small breeze that blew away the morning’s humidity. Once they had finished their meal, Moira and David strolled around the farmers market, occasionally pausing to taste a sample or purchase something that looked too delicious to pass up. The time passed slowly, and it was still before noon by the time they had finished looking at the fresh produce and homemade trinkets and returned to David’s car. Once settled in the passenger seat, Moira yawned, feeling exhaustion sweep over her. Spending so long under the hot sun sure took a lot out of me, she thought. I’m glad I don’t have to go to the deli today; I can just go home and nap instead.
    After David dropped her off at her apartment and they said their goodbyes, Moira put the raspberries she had bought in the fridge and set the basket of heirloom tomatoes on the counter. She settled herself on the couch planning to take a nap, but sleep just wouldn’t come. Try as she might, she couldn’t get thoughts of the murder out of her mind. There were just too many possibilities, and no solid evidence of who had killed Mike and why. What else could she do? Who else could she question? She felt at a loss; there was nothing left to do except wait and keep her eyes peeled for the young man who had been wearing the watch that looked suspiciously like Mike’s. Nothing to do… unless she was willing to question her daughter.
    Moira frowned, not sure how Candice would feel at the prospect of discussing her father’s death so soon. If she seems uncomfortable, I can just change the subject, she told herself. If her daughter was ready to discuss her father, then she might well be able to supply them with the missing information they needed to find the real killer.
    Reluctantly, knowing that there was no other way to get the information she needed, she picked up the phone and punched in her daughter’s number. A few minutes later, she and Maverick had piled into the car and were on their way back to Lake Marion to pick up Candice and drive to the beach. The coming conversation would be unpleasant, but she was determined to make the rest of the afternoon as fun for her daughter as she could.
    “I’m glad we decided to do this today,” Candice said, her eyes closed and her face relaxed as she reclined in the lounge chair. Twenty feet away, the Lake Michigan waves lapped at the shore. Candice, Moira, and Maverick were relaxing in the shade of the giant beach umbrella that the two women had managed to stuff in the car. The German shepherd was stretched out on one of the beach towels, his tongue hanging blissfully out of his mouth and his fur wet and sandy from his joyous run into the waves.
    “Me too,” her mother replied. She took a sip of