Read Online Cold Cut Murder: Book Three in The Darling Deli Series by Patti Benning - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Patti Benning
Tags: Fiction
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chance to ask Marcus about them, so there was still a chance that he had done it, in which case she wouldn’t be any closer to finding out who the killer was. Unless he was the killer and had knifed himself to keep the eyes of the police off of him… but no, that didn’t make sense. For one, he would have had no reason to attack David or to kill Jason. Plus, while Marcus was unconscious in the hospital, someone had been watching her from a car last night; that person had left a red rose which linked him—or her—to the other crimes.
Her heart pounding with excitement, and trying not to be angry at herself for taking so long to come up with the idea, she found the correct date in the app’s storage and began playing the video. Since she had no idea what time the flowers had been dropped off, it took her a while to find the right moment. She had been looking for Johan, but when she finally saw a man walk through the front door with a bouquet of roses in his hands, she paused the video and stared at his face. The image was grainy, but she thought she recognized his sandy blonde hair and glasses. It was Steven, the man that had asked her to the dance last Sunday.
She played the video long enough to watch him place the roses on a table and walk away before she set down her phone and stared numbly at the image of him on his way out the door. This isn’t necessarily solid evidence that he’s the killer , she thought, trying to convince herself that there could be another explanation. Then she stopped trying to give Steven the benefit of the doubt; there could only be so many coincidences. Steven had been there when she and Marcus were discussing their date for the dance, and he had been visibly upset. A few hours later, Marcus had been stabbed. He had also been there on the day that David had stayed to help her at the deli for a few hours, and the private detective had been attacked a day later.
But what about the food critic? Why would Steven kill him? He seemed to have been targeting men that were close to her, and she had been anything but close to Jason. She frowned, trying to remember each time she had seen the suspected killer. Had he been there when she and Moira were talking about the bad review that Jason Platte had given her last year? She thought so, though she hadn’t known Steven’s name at the time. He might have heard Martha’s concerns about the deli losing business.
The one thing that she couldn’t understand was why Steven would try to hurt people that she was close to. She barely knew him, and had only spoken to him a handful of times. If she was right and he was the killer, then she supposed that the why didn’t matter that much right now. What mattered was turning him in before he could hurt anyone else.
She had just made the decision to call the police when the deli’s front door swung open, letting in a cold gust of wind. She looked up, hurriedly arranging her face into what she hoped was a normal expression so as not to frighten the customer, but froze halfway through the motion. Steven was standing in the doorway, a single red rose clutched in his hand.
Quickly forcing herself to smile, she offered what she hoped was a cheery greeting. She didn’t know what Steven was here for, but she knew that if he knew that she had found out the truth, then she was in more danger than she had ever been in before. Her only hope was to act like she had no idea that he had attacked two of her friends and killed someone else, and she didn’t know if she was a good enough actor to achieve that. She was certain that he would be able to read the truth in her eyes.
“How can I help you?” she asked, relieved that her voice didn’t shake.
“I saw your car in the lot, and thought I’d stop in,” he replied. “You shouldn’t be alone on Valentine’s Day.”
“I’m not here for much longer; we close in just a few minutes. Thanks for the concern, though.” Her voice sounded hollow even to herself.
Her heart pounding with excitement, and trying not to be angry at herself for taking so long to come up with the idea, she found the correct date in the app’s storage and began playing the video. Since she had no idea what time the flowers had been dropped off, it took her a while to find the right moment. She had been looking for Johan, but when she finally saw a man walk through the front door with a bouquet of roses in his hands, she paused the video and stared at his face. The image was grainy, but she thought she recognized his sandy blonde hair and glasses. It was Steven, the man that had asked her to the dance last Sunday.
She played the video long enough to watch him place the roses on a table and walk away before she set down her phone and stared numbly at the image of him on his way out the door. This isn’t necessarily solid evidence that he’s the killer , she thought, trying to convince herself that there could be another explanation. Then she stopped trying to give Steven the benefit of the doubt; there could only be so many coincidences. Steven had been there when she and Marcus were discussing their date for the dance, and he had been visibly upset. A few hours later, Marcus had been stabbed. He had also been there on the day that David had stayed to help her at the deli for a few hours, and the private detective had been attacked a day later.
But what about the food critic? Why would Steven kill him? He seemed to have been targeting men that were close to her, and she had been anything but close to Jason. She frowned, trying to remember each time she had seen the suspected killer. Had he been there when she and Moira were talking about the bad review that Jason Platte had given her last year? She thought so, though she hadn’t known Steven’s name at the time. He might have heard Martha’s concerns about the deli losing business.
The one thing that she couldn’t understand was why Steven would try to hurt people that she was close to. She barely knew him, and had only spoken to him a handful of times. If she was right and he was the killer, then she supposed that the why didn’t matter that much right now. What mattered was turning him in before he could hurt anyone else.
She had just made the decision to call the police when the deli’s front door swung open, letting in a cold gust of wind. She looked up, hurriedly arranging her face into what she hoped was a normal expression so as not to frighten the customer, but froze halfway through the motion. Steven was standing in the doorway, a single red rose clutched in his hand.
Quickly forcing herself to smile, she offered what she hoped was a cheery greeting. She didn’t know what Steven was here for, but she knew that if he knew that she had found out the truth, then she was in more danger than she had ever been in before. Her only hope was to act like she had no idea that he had attacked two of her friends and killed someone else, and she didn’t know if she was a good enough actor to achieve that. She was certain that he would be able to read the truth in her eyes.
“How can I help you?” she asked, relieved that her voice didn’t shake.
“I saw your car in the lot, and thought I’d stop in,” he replied. “You shouldn’t be alone on Valentine’s Day.”
“I’m not here for much longer; we close in just a few minutes. Thanks for the concern, though.” Her voice sounded hollow even to herself.
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