Curried Lobster Murder: Book 14 in The Darling Deli Series (2 page)

Moira’s alarm went off hours before sunrise. She had only gotten a few hours’ worth of sleep, and she knew she would probably pay for it later, but she could always sleep on the three-hour flight to Miami.

Quickly pulling on the clothes that she had laid out the night before—shorts and a tee shirt in expectation of the warmer weather in Florida—she shushed the excited dogs.

“David’s still sleeping downstairs,” she told them in a whisper. “We have to be quiet. He doesn’t need to wake up until right before we leave, and I’m sure he’ll appreciate the extra sleep.”

Even though the dogs couldn’t comprehend what she had said, they seemed to respond to her low tones, and their whining quieted. The deli owner slowly opened the bedroom door and made the dogs follow her out into the hallway instead of dashing forward and racing down the stairs like they usually did.

Once downstairs in the kitchen with the dogs safely outside—it felt weird not to have to maneuver around the baby gate that had kept the puppies contained in the mudroom—she turned the coffee maker on and pulled out the list that she had made for herself yesterday.

“Well, all of my clothes are packed,” she muttered to herself, reading the list. “And I’ll finish packing the other stuff soon.”

Her big suitcase was already waiting for her by the front door, but she had yet to pack her carry on or figure out what she would need in her purse. All of that would have to wait until after she had finished her first cup of coffee. She let the dogs back in, and went upstairs.

Next on the list was a reminder to leave the emergency credit card on the counter for David, which she did. The account was strictly for emergency vet trips. After two separate middle-of-the-night trips that had unexpectedly cost her a few thousand dollars, she had decided that a backup plan wasn’t only smart; it was necessary. On the off chance that one of the dogs got hurt or sick while she was gone, she wanted David to have access to the card. Since nearly everything on the cruise was already paid for by the company hosting the competition, she doubted she would even need to access her bank account.

The last item on the list was a reminder to eat something. She made a face, but couldn’t very well be annoyed at herself for thinking ahead. It was true that she wasn’t hungry right now, but by the time the plane was in the air, and certainly by the time they had landed, she would be starved. Wishing that they had time to stop at the deli for one of Dante’s famous quiches, she got up and made herself a bowl of oatmeal instead.

By the time she had finished her last-minute packing, fed the dogs, and wolfed down her quick breakfast, David was up as well. He looked tired, but gave her a smile as he sat down at the kitchen table across from her.

“Excited?” he asked.

“Definitely. I don’t get away enough; this week should be fun.”

“Are you nervous about the competition at all?”

“If I let myself think about it, I am,” she admitted. “I don’t really know what to expect, and I’m sure a lot of the other people there will be more experienced than I am. I just like making soup, putting together sandwiches, and whipping up the occasional pot roast. The other contestants are probably all people with actual sit-down restaurants, with full menus and more variety than my little deli could ever offer.”

“I think you’ll do just fine against them,” he said confidently. “You seriously have a gift when it comes to food. You can take just about any bunch of ingredients and mix them together to make something delicious.”

“I think you’re a little bit biased,” she said, but she was smiling. It was always nice to hear a compliment, especially from someone who she cared so much about, like David.

“That I am.” He grinned, then covered her hand with his. “But I’m being honest when I say you don’t have anything to worry about.”

“Thank you,” she said, blushing now. “That means a lot.”

She cleared her throat and looked down at the dogs, about to ask him if he needed her to go over anything else when she saw first Maverick’s and then Keeva’s ears perk up.
A moment later, both the German shepherd and Irish wolfhound were stampeding down the hall toward the front door.

“I’m guessing Candice is here,” she said with a laugh, rising. She was always amazed by how sensitive the dogs’ senses were, and how they seemed to be able to tell the different cars apart just by sound. In her opinion they were a better alarm system than anything technology could offer, and they were great companions to boot.

She opened the door and greeted her daughter and Eli. Candice gave a big yawn before stepping inside.

“This is way too early to be up,” she said.

“You know I’m not a morning person either, but it’s worth it for the cruise,” her mother pointed out. “Just think, by this evening we’ll be sitting on a cruise ship gradually making our way into the tropics. Then you can sleep in as late as you want.”

“As if,” the young woman said with a laugh. “I’m not going to miss any of this trip due to sleep if I can help it. I’ll just have to catch up when we get back.”

Moira smiled, glad that her daughter was so excited for the trip. It would be wonderful to spend some time relaxing together. Since Candice had quit working at the deli in favor of opening her own shop, the two of them hadn’t been able to spend as much time together. She was sure her daughter enjoyed the independence that came with supporting herself, but that didn’t stop the deli owner from missing her.

“Do either of you want a bowl of oatmeal?” she asked, looking between Candice and Eli as they came in and shut the door behind themselves. “It won’t take long to make.”

Both of them did, so Moira hurried into the kitchen to make the food, conscious that they had to leave soon if they were going to make it to the airport as early as she wanted to.
Well, we’re planning on getting there two hours early, so we should have a little bit of leeway,
she thought.
Still, I won’t be able to relax until we’re sitting at the gate.

Twenty minutes later, the oatmeal was eaten, the bowls were cleaned, the deli owner had finished packing her last-minute necessities, and Candice and Eli were murmuring to each other in the hallway as Moira and David brought the suitcases out to her green SUV.

“I love you,” Candice said to Eli as she got into the back seat of the SUV. “I’m going to miss you so much. Take good care of Felix, okay?”

“I love you too, and I’ll make sure to give him extra treats, though I know it won’t make up for him missing you. Will you text me when you land?”

The deli owner smiled at the obvious love between the two young people. They hadn’t known each other for more than a few months, but that didn’t seem to matter. She was glad that her daughter had finally found someone that seemed to be a genuinely good person. She could only hope that their relationship would keep going strong.

“Ready?” David asked her, slipping his arm around her waist and brushing a kiss across her cheek. “We’ll be right on schedule if we leave now.”

She nodded.

“Let’s get going,” she said.

A couple of hours later, Moira said her own hurried goodbyes to David at the security checkpoint, wishing that she had time for more than a quick kiss and ‘I love you,’ but construction on the way to the airport had already slowed them down, and the security lines looked long.

“I’ll give you a call when we land,” she promised. “But I won’t be able to use my phone once the cruise ship leaves shore. I have my tablet though, and I’ll email you and have Candice show me how to do a video call.”

“I look forward to it,” he said. “I want you to have a good time and be safe. And Moira? Try to stay out of trouble.”

The flight went as smoothly as Moira could have hoped. They went through security without a single issue, making her glad that she had gone over the airline’s requirements multiple times as she was packing. She and Candice had seats together on the plane. Letting her daughter take the window seat, the deli owner settled herself in the middle one after stashing her carry on in the compartment above her head. She turned her phone off, pulled out the novel she had picked up at a recent library book sale, and settled down to wait as the rest of the passengers loaded up, glancing over at Candice occasionally to make sure she was okay. The young woman looked calm enough. She had her headphones plugged into the seat-back screen and was flipping through the free movie choices.

“Excited?” Moira asked when her daughter looked over.

“Yeah.” She grinned. “Thanks so much for inviting me. This is going to be awesome.”

“I hope so.” She smiled back, but couldn’t ignore the niggling worry that had been chewing at her since she learned that her name had been drawn. Was she ready for this? Would she be able to be a real competitor in the competition, or would the other chefs all be far more skilled than she was? Was she just going to embarrass herself?

Her doubts didn’t matter—the captain was speaking, the plane’s engines were revving, and before she knew it, they were in the air.

After landing in Florida, things seemed to blur together. The two women retrieved their bags from the luggage carousel, then somehow managed to find the bus company that would drive them straight to the docks.

The cruise ship, when it finally came into view, was huge. Its name,
Caribbean Queen
, was written on the side in huge letters. As she realized this enormous boat would be her home for the next week, Moira replaced her worries about the coming competition with far less rational fears. How could this thing even float? What if they struck some submerged rock and went down like the
Titanic
?
Don’t be silly
, she thought, taking deep breaths.
The people who built this thing knew what they were doing. Of course it floats; it’s floating now, isn’t it? And we have all sorts of underwater sonar and cameras these days that they didn’t have back when the
Titanic
sank. We’ll be perfectly fine. Just relax and have fun.

Deciding to obey her own command, she hefted her bags and gave Candice a broad smile. It was time to embark on their adventure at last.

Boarding the ship was surprisingly similar to boarding an airplane. They went through metal detectors in a long, slow-moving line, then gave their luggage to porters, who put the bags in big wheeled bins with a promise that the suitcases would be delivered to their rooms that evening.

The crowds made things confusing at first, but Moira and Candice did their best to follow the signs for the Grand Cruise Chef War, and soon enough found themselves in a large room with a banner welcoming the contestants on board. A sharply dressed woman with short, spiky brown hair and a tablet in her hand approached them.

“Names?” she asked them.

“Moira Darling and Candice Darling-Thomson,” the deli owner said. She watched as the other woman’s fingers flew across the tablet’s touch screen. A moment later, she smiled.

“Welcome aboard, Ms. Darling and Ms. Darling-Thomson. Mother and daughter, I presume?” They nodded. “My name is Charlene Edwards. You can call me Charlie or Miss Edwards, whichever you prefer. It’s my job to get you settled in and answer any questions that you have.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Moira said. “Neither of us have ever been on a cruise before, so I’m sure you’ll have your work cut out for you. I guess my first question is, where are our rooms?”

“Right this way,” the other woman said. “All of the contestants have rooms on this floor—the third floor—to make matters easier for them. Both the kitchen and the banquet hall that we’ll be using for the competition are also on this floor.”

She led them down a hallway as she spoke, and Moira tried to pay attention to the layout of the ship as she listened to the other woman’s explanation. She was sure she would get lost a few times before figuring out how to get around, but thankfully there were maps at each corner, and they passed a couple of stewards on the way to their rooms.

The rooms were adjoining, each the mirror of the other. They were simple, but looked comfortable. There was a full-sized bed in each, along with one window that looked out over the ocean, plenty of shelf and wardrobe space, a desk, and a small private bathroom. Everything looked clean and fresh, and the deli owner and her daughter exchanged smiles.

“Your luggage will be brought up later,” Charlie was saying. “It will be in your rooms by the time that you’re back from dinner. Speaking of meals, tonight we will be dining in the banquet hall that is put aside for the Chef War, but most of your meals will be eaten in one of the dining halls with the rest of the guests. We also have a couple of twenty-four hour buffets, and the ship does offer room service at all times. There’s a small packet on your nightstands that will explain the dining options in more detail.”

“What time is dinner tonight?” Moira asked.

“The banquet hall opens at five-thirty, and we begin the first course at six. Which means you have…” She glanced at her sleek wristwatch, “an hour and a half. At the banquet we will go over the rules of the competition, you’ll receive the information you’ll need for the first challenge—which takes place tomorrow morning—and you’ll also meet the rest of the contestants as well as the judges.”