Tomato Basil Murder: Book 7 in The Darling Deli Series (13 page)

“I’m drowning in guilt,” she began. “I tricked Mike into naming me his beneficiary, then killed him. I can’t live with it any longer. Goodbye, Candice and David. I hope you’ll forgive me.”

“What is that?” Moira asked, feeling sick.

“Your suicide note,” Beverly said proudly. “This should fix everything.”

“There’s still something I don’t understand,” the deli owner said, beginning to panic as she saw the knife rise. She hoped she could keep the woman talking until something distracted her enough that she could make a break for it. “Why poison Maverick? Why come all the way out here to kill your boyfriend? You say you wanted his insurance money, but he changed that weeks ago.”

“I didn’t know,” Beverly said in a choked voice. Moira was surprised to see tears in the corners of her eyes. “I thought he
loved
me. I didn’t know he took my name off the insurance until you said so at the coffee shop. I didn’t even realize you were his ex-wife. I was so angry when I found out… I
liked
you. You betrayed me. I wanted to poison your dog to make you feel some of what I felt.” She paused, taking deep breaths. The point of the knife was shaking. “I didn’t come up with the idea of faking your suicide until later.”

“I’m sorry you felt betrayed,” Moira said, wondering if she might talk her way out of this yet. “Look, let’s just go get coffee and—ow!”

Beverly had swung the knife, leaving an inch-long gash on her forearm. Moira stumbled back into the hallway and nearly tripped over Maverick, who had finished his meal and had come to investigate the commotion.

“Don’t run away from me, you deserve this!” Beverly screeched, rushing at her with surprising speed. Moira put her arm up to defend against another slash, and bit back a scream as the blade bit into her forearm a second time, this time deeper than before.

She kicked at Beverly’s shin and when the woman grunted with pain she turned and fled down the hallway. She expected to feel a knife in her back at any moment, but instead heard a strangled cry. Surprised and concerned that Maverick had gotten hurt, she turned to see Beverly on the floor with the dog’s teeth buried in her calf. The knife had skidded across the carpet, leaving a smeared bloodstain.

Keeping her eye on Maverick in case he let go, Moira edged her way forward until she could crouch down and pick up the knife. Then she backed up, keeping her eyes on the struggling pair until she reached the kitchen, where she quickly grabbed her cell phone and punched in the number to the police, stunned and grateful that her dog had saved her once again.

Moira had never liked hospitals, so when she saw David walk into the waiting room, she wasn’t surprised at the relief that had washed over her. She had had enough of the place, and the thought of her attacker resting in a bed only a few floors up made her uneasy.

“How’s the arm?” he asked, walking over as soon as he spotted her.

“Better.” She looked down at the swathe of white gauze that was wrapped around her forearm. “The worse of the two cuts needed stitches, and they gave me a tetanus shot and a prescription for some antibiotics. Do you have any news about Maverick?” For the last few hours, she had been worrying more about the fate of her dog than about her wounds. Even though he had only bitten someone to protect her, there was still a chance that he could be labeled dangerous and required to wear a muzzle. She was terrified at the thought that Maverick might receive a death sentence for protecting her.

“Detective Jefferson said he doesn’t think there will be any issues. Maverick was perfectly friendly with him and the officers, and everyone loves him.” David smiled down at her and offered her his hand. “Your dog will be fine, so now let’s worry about you. Do you want to get out of here?”

“More than anything,” she admitted. “Beverly is right upstairs, being treated for the bite. The officer who brought her here said she’s handcuffed to the bed and someone will be posted on guard at all times, but I’d still rather be in a different building. Preferably a different state, but that might be a bit harder to achieve.”

“Let’s get going then,” he said. “I know Candice is eager to see you.”

“I hope all of this hasn’t been too hard on her,” Moira said, concerned. “At least Mike’s killer is caught, if not exactly behind bars yet.”

“I think Candice is more concerned about her mother than she is about the killer,” David pointed out. “She and I are
both
very glad that you’re okay.”

She said her goodbyes to the emergency room staff, then followed David out to the car. Walking out of the chilly building into a bright, hot, sunny afternoon, she felt disconcerted. Although the entire encounter with Beverly had taken only a few minutes, the emergency room staff had treated her immediately, and the police were willing to postpone their interview, she felt that she’d lived several weeks in one day.

I can’t believe I spent so much time around her,
thought Moira with a shudder.
I had coffee with the person who murdered my ex-husband – and I didn’t even realize it.
She was shaken by how normal the woman had seemed.
And if I feel this disturbed, imagine how Martha will feel when she finds out. She slept under the same roof as Beverly for almost two weeks.
She resolved to call her friend the next day to see how she was taking the news. She hoped it wouldn’t discourage her friend from going ahead with the bed and breakfast idea. It would be wonderful if Martha could quit her high-stress job and manage a guesthouse full time.
Though maybe she should hire some security
, she thought.
I doubt Beverly will be the last crazy person to try to rent a room.

As David pulled his car up to her apartment complex, she saw Candice and Maverick waiting for them outside. The dog whined happily when he saw his owner get out of the car, and Moira was glad that he didn’t appear any worse for the wear. She knelt down and accepted his wet kisses as she gave him a full hug, knowing that he was why she was still alive. She rose after a moment and enveloped her daughter in another bear hug. Candice looked shaken at the sight of her bandage.

“I’m all right,” she assured her daughter. “It looks worse than it is. The doctor assured me there will hardly be a scar.”

“It’s just so scary that I almost lost both of you,” Candice said, wiping away a tear. “It really put things in perspective for me.”

“I’m sorry about Mike, sweetie, I really am,” Moira said as they walked into the apartment arm in arm. “You know that the two of us had our issues, but I would never have wished something like that on him.”

“I know,” her daughter said. “I’m glad you caught his killer. Just next time, maybe wear body armor or something.” She gave a weak laugh. “Or just let the police do it.”

“I’ll try to remember that,” Moira said with a grin, glad to see her daughter joking again. “These last few weeks haven’t been fun, but at least we can start putting the pieces back together now.”

“Do you know why she did it? The detective that talked to me said something about insurance, but I didn’t know what she was talking about,” her daughter said. “What insurance?”

“Do you want to sit down?” Moira asked. “There’s something I think we should talk about.”

“Sure. I’m not letting you out of my sight for the time being.” The young woman took a seat at the kitchen table, then looked up at her mother. “I just want to know why all of this happened.”

“Well, shortly before he flew out here to visit you, Mike named me as the beneficiary for his life insurance.” She traded a glance with David. “I didn’t know why he did it at first, but Detective Wilson put me in touch with his lawyer while I was at the hospital, and she explained everything. Apparently his insurance company requires that beneficiaries be over twenty-one years of age; Mike wanted to make sure that if something happened to him, you would be set, financially. He told his lawyer that he knew I would make sure you got the money if anything did happen.” She paused. “Beverly, who he broke up with a few weeks ago, got it into her head that she was the legitimate beneficiary, and would get the money if she killed him. When she realized that she wouldn’t be getting anything, she came after me. But that money is rightfully yours, sweetie.”

“I don’t want Dad’s life insurance money,” Candice said immediately. “It’s the reason that crazy woman killed him. I don’t want anything to do with it.”

“You should take it, honey. It’s… well, it’s quite a lot of money. It would help you pay off your small business loans, plus you’d have some left over.” Seeing that her daughter’s stubborn expression wasn’t changing, Moira sighed. “It will take a few weeks for it to come through. Promise me you’ll think about it, okay?”

“I don’t need to think about it,” Candice said. “I don’t want the money. You can keep it.”

“We’ll talk about this later,” Moira allowed. She couldn’t help but feel proud as she looked at her daughter. How many other twenty-year-olds would refuse an inheritance just because they felt it was the right thing to do?

“Fine.” Candice sighed. “I’m just glad all of this is over. That woman is horrible. I hope she spends the rest of her life in jail.”

Looking at her exhausted daughter who had lost a father, and her loyal dog who had almost lost his life, Moira couldn’t help but agree with her daughter. Hopefully Beverly Addison would be in prison for a long, long time.

***

As the days passed, Moira continued to try to convince her daughter to accept the insurance money. She had been certain that once the original shock of recent events had worn off, the girl would be more willing to think about taking the money, but Candice wouldn’t budge.

“Look,” Moira said at last. “If you won’t take it, I’m going to put it all in a trust fund for Maverick.” She knew she was being ridiculous, but the insurance payout was going to be a lot of money, and she didn’t want her daughter to miss out on her opportunity, regardless of how it had come about. The deli owner wasn’t hardly made of money, and she often worried about what would happen if something came up in Candice’s life that she couldn’t afford to help her with.

“You aren’t going to let this go, are you?” her daughter asked with a roll of her eyes. “Fine, Mom. I’ll take half, and I’ll put it all towards the candy shop. It’s what Dad would have wanted.”

“What about the other half?” Moira asked.

“Keep it,” Candice told her. “With that plus the money you’re getting from the fire insurance, you should be able to buy that stone house you keep talking about.”

“I couldn’t—” she began, only to be cut off by her daughter.

“This is my only offer,” her daughter warned. “It’s either this or a trust fund for the dog.” The two of them looked down at Maverick, who was laying on the ground in front of them. He seemed to sense their attention and wagged his tail lazily, thumping it against the carpet. Moira sighed.

“You win,” she said, visions of new décor for the house already filling her mind. “Though I think I’ll still buy something nice for Maverick.” At the sound of his name, the dog lifted his head and looked up at her hopefully. The two women traded a glance, then burst out laughing.

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