Thai Coconut Murder: Book 6 in The Darling Deli Series (10 page)

Candice arrived shortly after five, looking flushed and excited. She was dangling a ring of keys in her hand, with a huge grin on her face.

“You’ll never believe it,” she said. “Alice got released from police custody and still wanted to sell the store. She gave me an even lower price than I offered before. It’s mine, Mom. It’s all mine.” She paused, considering. “Well, I guess it’s partially yours, too, since you cosigned the small business loan that I used to pay for it. I just can’t believe it—I can finally start getting ready to open the candy shop.”

Completely flabbergasted, Moira hugged her beaming daughter while trying to sort through her own emotions. This was an amazing moment for Candice, but something still felt sour to her. Why did Alice change her mind so suddenly? Just a few short weeks ago, she had seemed to have no interest in selling the toy store, so why was she suddenly so eager to have it off her hands that she would let it go at a low price to Candice, whom she apparently disliked?
It doesn’t make sense
, she thought as Candice continued speaking, outlining her plans for the store, and the renovations that had to be done before she opened it.

“The only bad part is all of the toys and other stuff is still in there. She told me I could do whatever I wanted with them. I’m thinking of donating them to charity, what do you think?”

“Um, that sounds great, sweetie,” Moira managed, feeling more lost by the second.
There’s still merchandise in the toy store?
she thought.
That must be thousands of dollars’ worth of teddy bears and robots. Why would she let all of that go to waste? Why not at least have a going out of business sale?

“Do you think you can help me get everything packed up?” her daughter asked. “It’s going to be a big job.”

“Of course, whatever you need.” She gave the young woman a loving smile. “I’ll even stop by tonight and take a look with you, if you want. Depending on how much stuff she left in there, it might be best to rent a truck and do it all in one day.”

“Sure, we can go over after dinner.” She grinned and hugged her mother one more time. “I’m just so excited, Mom. You’ve got no idea.”

After a homemade dinner of steak, potato salad, and corn on the cob, which had been grilled and smothered in butter, the two women made their way to Lake Marion. They drove separately, and Moira had some time to think in the car.

Something was obviously going on with Alice. Why had she been released? Had the police decided that she wasn’t guilty or was she out on bail while awaiting a hearing? She wished her daughter had been more specific, but she knew it was likely that the young women didn’t know herself, either. She doubted Candice would have been thinking of the details of why Alice was free when the prospect of finally being able to buy the store was so close at hand.

She pulled into the parking lot behind her daughter and got out of the car, taking a moment to look around. It hit her suddenly that this was it; her daughter was truly becoming independent. Not only would she be living here, in a completely different town than her mother did, but she would also have her own business to tend to, and even her own employees one day. Candice would probably never live at home with Moira again. Where had the time gone? Her baby really was all grown up now.

“Here, this is the key to the back door. You can go ahead and go in, I want to change; I’m still wearing the clothes I wore to meet with Alice and the agent. I want to put on something more comfortable.” Her daughter handed her the key ring. “She told me the lights are behind the panel in the bathroom, which is to your left when you go in the back way.”

“All right. I’ll get everything turned on, you go change.” She smiled, feeling some of her daughter’s excitement wear off on her. “Just think, in a few weeks, this place will be all set up. I’m so proud of you.” She gathered her daughter into a quick hug, then made her way to the toy store’s back door. She couldn’t see anything through the frosted window, so, going in blind, she inserted the key into the lock, twisted it, then opened the door.

The back part of the store was windowless and dark. She felt her way to the small bathroom, found the breakers, and used the light of her phone to hit the switches. Once the lights for the main part of the store and the back were on, she decided to take a few minutes and explore while waiting for Candice. Though she had been in the main part of the store plenty of times, the back rooms were a mystery to her.

There were two doors down the hallway from the bathroom. She assumed that the one at the end of the hallway led to the main area. The door to the right was a mystery, so she decided to check that one first.

She was pleasantly surprised to find a large storeroom. There were a few frosted windows high up on the wall, and a basin with hot and cold water spigots.
Good
, she thought.
Candice won’t have to get water pipes installed in here.
She was certain her daughter would use this room as the kitchen, it was the obvious choice; clear, other than a few shelves of overstock toys, and spacious, with a nice, airy feel. She could already imagine racks of cooling candy, and the comforting hum of an industrial refrigerator. It made her think back to when she first started designing the deli; there was something special about picking out your first appliances.

A noise drew her out of the storage room and back into the hallway. She frowned. Was that knocking? It seemed to be coming from the main area of the toy store, through the door at the end of the hallway. She took a few steps forward and cracked the door open. Looking across the store, she saw the outlines of a few people standing outside the glass front doors. One of them raised his hand to knock again.

She realized that when turning on the breakers in the back, she had also turned on the neon
Open
sign.
Whoever that is must think the store is open
, she thought.
I’ll have to tell them it’s closing down for good. I wish Candice would hurry up and get down here; she might be willing to sell them a few toys at a discount
.

She walked across the store briskly, trying hard not to feel like an intruder. Her daughter owned the place now; she had every right to be here. Her steps faltered when she drew closer to the front of the store. The people waiting outside weren’t just outlines anymore; they had resolved into faces she recognized. It was the short man—Vincent?—and his two friends that had been with him the other day.

Moira froze, reluctant to have another encounter with them. She would have turned around and walked straight back the way she had come, but she realized that with the failing light outside and the fluorescent bulbs above her, there was no chance the men hadn’t seen her. Gritting her teeth, she walked towards the door, prepared for another unpleasant encounter. For someone that David thought so highly of, Henry sure did have some unpleasant friends.

“Ah, what a surprise it is to see you here… Moira.” Vincent, if that really was his name, did actually look surprised. “Is Alice around? I heard that she’s out and about again, and when I saw the store’s light come on, well, I got my hopes up.”

“Sorry, she’s not here. Actually, she sold the store,” Moira told him.

“To who? You?” he narrowed his eyes in disbelief, peering around her as if expecting to see Henry’s granddaughter somewhere.

“Well…” her mind raced. Even though she had nothing to base the feeling on, she didn’t trust these men. There was no way she was going to tell them her daughter had anything to do with the store. “Yes. I bought it.” It might be a lie, but if it protected her daughter, it was worth it. Vincent grunted and exchanged a look with his friends.

“I was hoping to buy a couple of teddy bears for my niece,” he said after a moment. “Do you think I could come in and look around?”

“I haven’t decided what I’m going to do with this stuff yet,” she said, not wanting to let the men in if she could help it. “I want to do inventory before I sell any of it.”

“Fine,” Vincent said, his tone sharp with annoyance. “Here’s my number. Call me when you make up your mind. I’m happy to take as much of this off your hands as you like.” He scribbled a number on a scrap of paper that he dug out of his pocket and handed it to her, then turned on his heel and walked away. Neither of the other me said anything; they just mutely followed him. Frowning, Moira pocketed the number. She needed to talk to David and figure out what was going on with Alice, and if he had any idea at all who this rude friend of Henry’s was.

As she was walking back to the storage room, something occurred to her. She didn’t think she had ever formally introduced herself to Vincent… so how had he known her name?

“There you go, Mr. Green. You have a nice day.”

“Thanks, Moira. You’re a life saver.” The middle-aged man smiled at her, clutching the paper bag containing half a pound of white cheddar to his chest. “My wife would never have let me forget it if I forgot to get the secret ingredient for her homemade mac and cheese.”

“I’m glad you thought to stop here,” she told him. “You know I’m always happy to help.”

She watched as he walked away, then looked around for the next customer. Surprisingly, the deli was quiet and empty. It was the middle of a lull between lunch and dinner, and she was granted a rare moment of peace.

She took a seat on the stool behind the register and breathed out a sigh of relief. Her back ached from standing all day; the three-legged stool felt as comfortable as a memory foam bed. The door jingled and she looked up, hoping that it would be one of her regulars who wouldn’t require much assistance. She felt a rush of happiness as her eyes met David’s.

“Sorry I couldn’t talk last night,” he said, striding over to the counter. “I hope everything is all right.”

“Everything is fine,” she assured him. “Or, at least, I think it is.” She went on to tell him about Alice’s release from police custody, and her selling the house to Candice. When she got to the part about Vincent, and her encounter with him at the toy store, she glanced over her shoulder to make sure the door to the kitchen was shut firmly. She didn’t need Meg overhearing what she said and worrying Candice about it.

“So do you have any idea who this guy is?” she asked him once her story was finished. “I know you said he’s a friend of Henry’s but how did they meet? What did they have in common? He doesn’t seem very pleasant to me. And what is Alice doing out of jail? Did the police just release her?”

“Alice is out on bail right now. Her hearing is in a couple of weeks. And as far as Henry’s friend goes, I’m not sure,” David told her. “As far as I know, they were just fishing buddies. If I’m remembering right, this Vincent guy has known Alice since she was a baby, before her mother died. Has he done anything to threaten you?”

“Well, no,” she admitted. “I just get a bad feeling about him. And Maverick didn’t like him.”

“We don’t know much about Maverick’s past,” David reminded her gently. “Vincent could have reminded him of someone he didn’t like. That doesn’t mean he’s actually a bad guy.”

“I know.” Moira sighed, frustrated. “Do you think Candice will be okay?”

“I think she’ll be fine,” he said. “I’ll help you two bring the extra toys to a donation center this weekend, if you want. I should get going though, I’m on my way to meet a client.” He leaned forward and brushed his lips against her cheek, then said a final goodbye and left. Moira found herself smiling as she sat back down. Somehow her worries didn’t seem as important any more.

Half an hour later, the dinner rush started, and Moira had no more time for thinking about anything other than the deli. It was obvious that with the extra hours and Candice not there as much, she needed to hire another new employee; though Meg was a hard worker, she just couldn’t do the work of two people. None of her employees could.

I could put another ad in the paper
, she thought. But the last time she had done that, the deli had been flooded with so many applications it had been impossible to sort through them all. She had gotten lucky so far with her employees; except for one, all had turned out to be responsible, honest young adults.

She remembered Denise’s story of the girl who stole twenty pounds of hamburger. Even though the story had been somewhat amusing, the warning was clear; not everyone was an honest, good person. Every time she hired someone new, she was taking a risk.

Sighing, Moira decided to tackle the problem later. The thought of hunting for another employee right now was just too exhausting. Surely they could manage as they had been for a while longer. They would all be working some longer hours, but eventually things would get figured out and their schedules would settle down.

At half past six, a fire engine wailed by outside of the deli, rushing down Main Street at breakneck speed. A moment later, a second followed, then a third. Moira and the three customers currently in the deli all paused what they were doing to look outside. The deli owner saw what looked like a plume of smoke a few miles off. Whatever was on fire, it must be bad.

She was just finishing ringing up an order for a bowl of black bean chili when her cell phone buzzed against her hip. She ignored it, focusing on the customer. Eventually the buzzing stopped, only to start up again a few seconds later.

When her phone started to vibrate for the third time, she excused herself and ducked into the back to ask Meg to watch the register for a moment. She tugged her phone out of her pocket and answered it. She was surprised to hear Detective Jefferson say her name on the other end.

“Moira, I’m so sorry. I think you need to get to your house immediately.”

“What’s going on?” she asked, terror spiking adrenaline through her veins. Her first thought was for Candice, then she remembered the plume of smoke rising in the distance and the wail of the fire engines.

“Your house,” he said. “It’s on fire.”

She hung up, feeling numb, terrified, and almost giddy with disbelief all at once. Leaving Meg with a garbled explanation and an apology, she grabbed her keys and ran to her car.