Read Online Curried Lobster Murder: Book 14 in The Darling Deli Series by Patti Benning - Free Book Online

actually pretty nice, and even when they were telling us what we could improve on, they weren’t rude.”
    “And the contestants too… it’s nothing like what you would think. No one had been rude at all,” Daphne said. “Well, Antonio was a bit grumpy when I ran into him earlier. But I had lunch with a few other contestants, and everyone was perfectly nice.”
    “I think most of the drama on reality TV cooking shows is scripted,” Hector said. “Normal people just don’t act like that.”
    “I don’t know,” the deli owner said. “In my experience, people can be pretty petty. I wouldn’t be surprised if people begin losing their tempers once things start to heat up in the competition.”
    “You may be right,” Daphne said. “But personally, I don’t think any contest is worth losing your basic human decency over.”
    The waiter appeared with their first course: salad for Candice and Hector, a bowl of clam chowder for Moira, and a seafood appetizer platter for Daphne and her boyfriend. With music playing in the background and the friendly chatter of other guests around her, the five of them dug in.
    Their meal was interrupted a moment later when Daphne rose suddenly from the table, her hand clamped over her mouth.
    “I feel sick,” she blurted out before rushing from the table. Her boyfriend followed quickly after her. Moira, Candice, and Hector all exchanged glances.
    “I hope she’s all right,” Candice said.
    “Me too.” Hector paused, then sheepishly added, “Though I wouldn’t really mind if she felt too sick to take part in the second challenge tomorrow. I’d hope that she got better right after, of course.”
    “Don’t say that; the poor woman would be crushed if she missed out on the next challenge,” Moira said, trying to take the high road. But she couldn’t help thinking that if Daphne was too sick to compete tomorrow then maybe, just maybe, she might have a better chance of winning herself. The other woman had already proven herself to be a good cook… without her in the competition, might Moira have a shot at winning this round?
     

CHAPTER TEN
    “Yesterday we told you what ingredients you had to avoid,” Charlie began once all five of the contestants still in the running were gathered in the kitchen the next day. “Today, we’re going to give you a list of ingredients that you have to use. What you make with them is up to you, and you are free to use any additional ingredients that you want, but forgetting even one of the required ingredients is grounds for instant disqualification. The list of ingredients is next to each of your stations. Once again, you will have forty-five minutes to complete the dish. I’ll be walking around just like last time, so if you have any questions, feel free to give me a shout. Is everyone ready?”
    She beamed at them, sweeping her gaze across the room to make sure no one looked confused before giving a satisfied nod and reaching over to start the timer. The buzzer rang, and the five of them ran to their stations to get started.
    Moira grabbed the ingredient list and began reading:
    Bok choy
    Lobster
    Carrots
    Curry powder
    Red dates
    Candied ginger
     
    The candied ginger made her think of Candice and her homemade candies; she smiled briefly, then the reality hit her. She had to make a dish, in forty-five minutes, including all of these ingredients. Not only did the dish have to be palatable, it had to be better than everyone else’s dish. Or at least better than one other person’s dish, if I don’t want to get disqualified, she corrected herself. Still it was going to be a challenge, and she could only hope that she was up to it.
    The required ingredients were already set up at her station, but staring at them didn’t spark any brilliant ideas. Should she make some sort of lobster dish over rice? Or maybe some sort of… curry pasta? None of that sounded right to her. Then her eyes landed on one of the big pots hanging above the stove,