Salami Murder: Book 8 in The Darling Deli Series (11 page)

When she reached the top level she paused, unsure. Had it been apartment 3A or 3C? She had only been there once to drop off some papers back when Candice and Adrian were a couple in the planning stages of starting up her business.
I’m pretty sure it was 3A
, she thought.
There’s only one way to find out.
Taking a deep breath, she raised her fist and knocked sharply three times. She waited a moment, then knocked again. The door opened and a familiar red-haired young man looked out.

“I said come back later, I’m busy—” Adrian broke off when he realized that the person standing in the hallway was Moira, and not whoever he had been expecting. “Oh. Hi, Ms. Darling,” he said cautiously.

“Adrian.” She kept her eyes fixed on his face. Was that a nervous twitch by his lip? Did he look paler than normal? Was she imagining guilt on his face because she didn’t like him?

“W-what are you doing here?” he asked.

“Candice is missing,” she said shortly. “Have you seen her?”

His eyes met hers, then slid away. He looked thinner than she remembered, and had dark circles under his eyes. Whatever was going on with him, it wasn’t good.

“No,” he said. He moved to close the door.

Acting on instinct, Moira shot her foot out, wedging it between the door and the frame just in time.

“Candice?” she called out, not caring if she disturbed the neighbors. Adrian was definitely hiding something.

There was no answer at first. Adrian, his eyes wide with panic, was still trying to shut the door but to no avail. Her foot wouldn’t budge. Moira was beginning to think it would be a good idea to call the police when she heard a loud thump and a groan from the other room. Adrian whipped his head around, cursing. Taking advantage of his distraction, she shoved the door open and pushed her way inside.

Adrian grabbed at her, but she twisted away, wincing as his nails scraped against her skin. She hurried into the living room and fell to her knees in relief next to her daughter, who was zip-tied to a chair with duct tape across her mouth. The thump that Moira had heard came from a TV tray that her daughter had managed to knock over. The microwave dinner that had been sitting on it was slowly bleeding gravy across the carpet.

Putting her phone down, Moira reached over, and with shaking fingers gently removed the duct tape from Candice’s mouth. As her daughter took a deep, shaky breath, tears filled her eyes.

“I knew you would find me,” she whispered.

“I’m going to get you out of here,” Moira told her. “And then Adrian is going to prison for a very, very long time.”

Candice’s eyes widened suddenly and Moira spun around to see Adrian standing at the entrance to the living room with a large, sharp hunting knife in his hand. The hand that held blade was shaking, but the look in his eyes was fierce and desperate.

“You weren’t supposed to find her,” he whined. “I just wanted the money.” He shook his head almost regretfully

“Adrian,” Moira said slowly, rising to her feet. “Put the knife down. No one needs to be hurt. I’m sure this is all just a misunderstanding.”

“You’re wrong.” He took a shuddering breath. She realized, to her surprise, that he was on the verge of tears. She didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. He obviously wasn’t a cold-blooded killer, but she had the feeling that his emotional state might make him even more dangerous and unpredictable. “I killed him.”

“Killed… who?” she asked. The sick feeling in her stomach intensified.

“That guy, Matt, or whatever his name was, I killed him.” He took a step backwards and darted his eyes towards the door as if trying to gauge how quickly he could make a run for it. “I didn’t mean to, though. Do you think that will count for anything?” He looked almost hopefully at her.

“Of course,” she said, trying to sound reassuring. “If it was an accident, I’m sure they’ll be understanding.” She risked a glance back at her daughter, whose wrists were still zip-tied to the chair.

“I didn’t hurt her,” Adrian said suddenly. “Go ahead, ask her. I was a perfect gentleman.”

Candice nodded. “That’s true. You didn’t hurt me, Adrian. Thank you for that.” She forced a smile onto her face. Moira felt a surge of pride for her daughter. Even though she had been kidnapped, gagged, and tied to a chair, she could still think quickly enough to realize how important it was to keep Adrian from getting upset.

“That’s good,” Moira said, turning her attention back to Adrian. He still clutched the knife, but he no longer raised it as if he would attack. “Why did you kidnap her in the first place? She’s your friend, isn’t she?”

“I needed the money,” he said simply.

“He’s the one that’s been stealing stuff, Mom,” Candice said from behind her. “
He
hid that bag of jewelry in the freezer, thinking that no one would look there for it.”

“I thought you had plenty of money,” Moira said to the red-haired young man. “I don’t understand.”

“I… lost it. All of it.” he blushed. “I made some bad choices gambling. Then when Candice said she didn’t want me to help at the candy store… I freaked. I mean, I couldn’t even afford to pay rent.”

“So you stole? And kidnapped my daughter for ransom? I don’t understand what poor Matt had to do with any of this.” She took another step forward, keeping her eyes on the knife. Adrian didn’t notice. His gaze was fixed on Candice.

“Like I said, that was an accident. He saw me stashing the stuff in the freezer. He started saying he was going to call the cops, that there was some sort of reward out for the stolen jewelry. We grappled and I… I shoved him. He hit his head against the sink pretty hard. He was still stumbling around when I left though, I swear. I didn’t know I had killed him until I saw the news the next day.”

Moira believed him. eventually, she would feel sorry for him, but kidnapping Candice was deliberate, premeditated. He had made bad decisions, then had complicated the situation by making even worse ones.

“Wait,” Candice said. Her voice had a dangerous tone of anger in it. “Are you the one that cut my brake lines? And flooded the candy shop?”

“I was hoping you would take me back,” he said, his eyes earnest. “I thought if things got too hard, you’d see that you needed me.”

“I could have died!” she exclaimed. “My car hit a
tree
. If I had been going any faster, I might have been killed.”

To Moira’s surprise, Adrian actually looked ashamed.

“I never wanted you to get hurt, Candice, I promise. I was desperate though. I hope you understand, one day. I really do like you.”

He raised the knife and glanced at Moira. She tensed.

“I’m so sorry,” he told her. “I really wouldn’t have hurt her, even if you didn’t give me the money. I was just so scared that I was going to lose everything. I didn’t see that I already had lost it all, but I see that now.”

He twisted his grip and instead of lunging at her he aimed the knife at his own midsection. Just as his arm tensed, Moira rushed forward, tackling him. She’d caught him off guard and the knife flew from his hand. She kicked it towards Candice, who managed to pick it up and start sawing at her plastic bonds. Moira stood by Adrian, worried that he might try to hurt himself again, but he seemed to have given up totally, lying curled up on the floor, tears streaming.

It wasn’t until Candice had gotten her zip ties off and was on the phone with the police that Moira began to realize that the ordeal was over. Her daughter was alive, and miraculously uninjured.

Life returned to normal for Moira quickly after her daughter was home. Candice, who continued to surprise her mother with her resilience and positive attitude, seemed determined not to let the kidnapping affect her journey towards independence. Moira was glad that her daughter hadn’t been too traumatized, but she found herself wishing that the young woman would reconsider living alone, at least for the time being. Moira encouraged her to at consider a roommate, if she wouldn’t move back in with her mother. She was disappointed but not surprised when her daughter refused. Candice had a stubborn streak a mile wide, not unlike her own.

Ironically, Moira seemed more affected by the kidnapping than Candice had been. She was plagued by nightmares to the point where she let Maverick sleep on the bed with her, bad habits be darned. She believed that she had come close to losing her daughter for good, and moving on easily just wasn’t possible.

“Detective Jefferson says Adrian is safely locked up, where he can’t hurt himself or anyone else,” David said, perching on the edge of his desk. It was another beautiful day in Lake Marion, but Moira was so sleep deprived that she hardly noticed it. Despite Maverick’s comforting furry presence, she couldn’t rest when her dreams were full of her daughter getting kidnapped over and over.

“That’s good,” Moira said dully. “I really don’t think he meant to kill Matt.”

“I don’t either, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t dangerous.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad he’s in jail,” she told him. “He kidnapped my daughter. Not only that, but he cut her brake lines, which could have killed her and
did
injure her.”

“But you still saved his life,” he said.

“It was reflex,” she said. “I just saw him with the knife and tried to stop him.” She closed her eyes, trying to forget the hours of panic when her daughter had been missing. “I’m just glad all of this is over. Hopefully the candy shop can open successfully now. Plus, your clients are getting back all of the stuff he stole.”

“Yeah, though I don’t know if I can accept any payment from them. After all, I’m not really the one who solved the case; you are.”

“Accidentally. I didn’t know Adrian was responsible for the missing items or the bad luck that had been following Candice around. I thought he was just upset that she broke up with him.”

“Well, luckily for both of you, he turned out to be a criminal with a conscience.” David shook his head. “You shouldn’t have confronted him alone. That could have ended very badly for everyone involved.”

“I was wrong about Eli,” she said with a sigh. “I didn’t think the police would believe me crying wolf again. Besides, I figured if I was wrong, I wouldn’t be wasting their time. I didn’t want to do anything to distract them from finding Candice.”

“I suppose it all worked out in the end.” He gave a wry laugh. “You should have seen the looks on the officer’s faces when they got the call from Candice and she told them that her mother had disarmed her kidnapper and rescued her.”

“I was impressed by how well she held up,” Moira admitted. “She thought quickly and kept her mind clear the entire time.”

“From what I’ve seen these past few months, those are good traits for someone who wants to survive in the food business.” He chuckled and stood up. “It’s time to get going. After all of this, I doubt you want to miss the grand opening.”

The banner was up again, and bunches of pastel pink, blue, and green balloons were bobbing merrily in the slight breeze. Moira and David admired the sight, then walked around back where they found Candice waiting for them. Even though it had only been a few days since her ordeal, she looked bright and chipper as always.

“This is it,” she said with a grin. “Finally.”

“Do you need any help with anything?” Moira asked. “Are there any last minute chores that you need to have done? I’m here to help.”

“No need,” said Candice. “Eli has been here all morning helping me out. I just want you here for moral support. In…” she glanced at her watch, “twenty-three minutes, Candice’s Candies officially opens its doors.”

“And you will officially be running your own business.” She gazed at her daughter with love and pride. She couldn’t believe that the wild toddler and rebellious teenager had matured into this confident, beautiful young woman.

“Well, only if people actually show up. I really hope to get a least a few customers today.”

“I’m sure you will, sweetie.” Seeing the worry on her daughter’s face, she exchanged a glance with David. He nodded. It was time.

“We have a surprise for you, Candice,” she said.

She reached into her purse and pulled out a small silver box, which she handed to her daughter. Candice looked at the box curiously, then with a glance up at her mother, opened it.

“No way,” she breathed, lifting the set of keys out of the box. “You got me the convertible? I didn’t think it would still be there, since we never showed up to test drive it.”

“It’s all yours,” Moira said with a smile. “We were going to give it to you after the grand opening, but I thought you might like a little boost right now. We’ll drive it over later. You don’t have to worry about payments or anything. Also, this isn’t just from me. David put money towards it too.”

“Oh my goodness, you guys, thank you so much.” Candice threw her arms around her mother, and then, a bit more reserved towards the private investigator, offered him a wide smile before enveloping him in a slightly more restrained hug.

“I hope your candy shop does well,” he said. “If your mother’s success at the deli is any indication, I think it will. Entrepreneurship seems to run in your family.”

“Thanks.” She grinned at him, then checked her watch again. “Oh, I’ve got to go find Eli. He wanted to run through how to work the register one more time before the store opens for the first time. It’s a different model than his.”