Grilled Rye Murder: Book 16 in The Darling Deli Series

by Patti Benning

  “It looks like enough—it just needs to feed David and me. Which reminds me, I should probably get going. It was good to catch up, Cameron. Keep up the good work. I’ll see you later.”

  With that she climbed out of the food truck and hurried back inside. Somehow the time had gotten away from her, and if she didn’t hurry, she was going to be late.

  “This looks amazing,” David said, sitting down at the table across from her. “Doubly so, since I didn’t have time for lunch.”

  “Thanks. It’s just leftovers from the deli. I didn’t have time to make something fresh.”

  “It looks perfectly good to me.” He glanced to the side, where Maverick, Keeva, and Flower were lined up, each dog watching them closely. “The dogs definitely seem interested.”

  “I haven’t fed them dinner yet,” she admitted. “I barely got back in time to heat the soup up and throw the salad together before you got here. It was a busy day. I’ll tell you about it while we eat.”

  She filled David in on what had happened with Adam, picking at her salad between sentences. He was surprised that Hazel’s former owner had gotten into contact with her after all this time.

  “I do think that your idea to give him Flower is a good one,” he said. “As long as they like each other and they seem like a good family. From what you said it sounds like they are, even though they were in a bad situation before.”

  “It seems like a good solution for everyone,” she said. “But… there is something else that I’m worried about.”

  “What is it?” he asked, concerned.

  “Robyn, Adam’s mom… while I was talking to her I found out who owns the donut shop. It’s Mr. Danehill.”

  David put his spoon down, frowning. “That’s… interesting. I ran a background check on him, but hadn’t gotten results back yet. I know that he runs a corporation called Danehill, LLC, but haven’t been able to get a line on what they actually do. The company seems to have links with a lot of different industries.”

  “I was thinking… well, Robyn seemed nice enough—maybe next time I see her, I could ask her some questions about her boss? I don’t know how involved in the donut shop he is, but she might have overheard something important.”

  “Moira, you know I don’t want you getting involved—”

  “I’m not getting involved, though. I’d just be asking a fellow mom some questions while her kid plays with Hazel and Flower. There’s nothing suspicious about that.”

  The private investigator eyed her closely. “All right,” he said at last. “I suppose I wouldn’t be able to stop you anyway. Just… be careful about what you say, okay? If Danehill did kill Zander, we don’t want it getting back to him that we’re onto him.”

  “I’ll be careful,” she promised. “The last thing I want is for this case to get even more complicated. My freedom’s on the line, after all.””

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  The day of the meeting with Adam, Hazel, and Flower started off strangely and only got weirder. Certain that she had scheduled herself to work at the deli that morning, she got up bright and early and got herself out the door with time to spare. Usually on the days that she worked mornings, she had the first thirty minutes to herself as she prepared the quiches and breakfast cookies, since whatever employee was working with her that day wouldn’t arrive until minutes before the deli actually opened. Today, however, she was surprised to see two cars already parked in front of the little shop.

  Walking inside to find Allison and Cameron busily preparing for the day she said, “You two are here early. Cameron, I didn’t even think you were scheduled to work today. Don’t you and Jenny have that retirement party to cater tomorrow evening?”

  “We’re on the schedule, Ms. D. See?” Allison said. She held out the paper, and Moira scrutinized it with a slight frown. Sure enough, Allison and Cameron’s names were down for this shift… but she could have sworn that she hadn’t scheduled them.

  “Well… I guess you’re right.” Her frown deepened when she saw black smudges on the tips of Cameron’s fingers. “What happened? That looks almost like fingerprint ink.”

  In fact, his fingers looked exactly like hers had after she had been fingerprinted during her arrest. The Maple Creek police station had yet to upgrade to electric fingerprinting equipment.

  “Yeah, I got brought in last night,” he said, rubbing his fingers self-consciously. “I guess they thought I may have had some sort of connection with Zander. They brought Jenny in too, and asked her some questions. They must be getting pretty desperate. I hardly knew the guy.”

  “What sorts of things did they ask her?”

  He shrugged. “No idea. She left before they finished with me.”

  Odder and odder, the deli owner thought. Why are the police questioning my employees now? Did they hit a dead end with Danehill?

  “So I guess you have the day off, huh, Ms. D?” said Allison, jolting her out of her thoughts.

  “I suppose so,” Moira said slowly. She looked back and forth between her employees, getting the nagging feeling that she was missing something, but both of them just smiled at her. “I guess I’ll get going, then. I’ll see you two later.”

  She left the deli, walking slowly back to her car as she tried to puzzle out what had just happened. She was certain that she had been supposed to work today. Maybe I’m losing it she thought. Her wedding was, after all, in just over a week.

  As soon as she slid into her car, her cell phone started ringing. She jumped slightly, then dug it out of her purse. The caller ID told her it was Karissa.

  “Hey, something came up for me later today. Do you think we could get the dogs together sooner? Like, maybe in an hour or so? I already talked to Robyn and she said it was fine.”

  “Yeah, I suppose so,” Moira said. “It’s weird, I thought I was supposed to go in to work this morning, but apparently I scheduled myself the entire day off.”

  “That works out pretty well, then, doesn’t it? I’ll see ya soon! I think Hazel knows something different is about to happen—she seems excited.”

  With that, her friend hung up, and Moira was left even more confused. What on earth was happening this morning?

  After swinging by her house to get Flower, who was ecstatic to be going for a ride, she drove straight over to Lake Marion and Karissa’s apartment. David’s sister waved her and Flower inside. The sight of Hazel and her daughter meeting each other for the first time in months brought a smile to Moira’s face. She could see the exact moment when the two dogs recognized each other. They both exploded into a flurry of wagging tails and licking tongues. The two women had barely gotten them to calm down when there was a knock at the door and Adam and Robyn walked in.

  Hazel must have been having the best day of her life; she recognized Adam right off that bat and was so excited to see him that she nearly knocked him over. The boy laughed and sat down on the floor while the dog rubbed her face against his head.

  “Look at that,” Robyn said with a teary smile. “She remembers him.”

  They let the lab and the boy reconnect for a few minutes, then Karissa called Hazel over and let Flower go forward. The younger dog approached Adam with her usual enthusiasm, and soon the two of them were playing as if they had known each other forever.

  “They seem like a match made in heaven,” Moira said. “What do you think, Robyn?”

  “As long as she’s relatively well behaved, I’d love to tell him he can have her. What did you say happened to her owner, again?”

  “He was killed,” the deli owner explained in a low voice, not wanting the boy to hear. “I’m not sure if you’ve seen anything on the news, but her owner was Zander Marsh.”

  “How horrible. It’s odd, the name is familiar, but I don’t think I heard it through the news… did he own a farm a bit of a way out of town?”

  “He did,” Moira said. “Did you know him?”

  “Not me, no, but my boss did. If it’s the guy I’m thinking of, Mr. Danehill
was talking about wanting to buy some land from him.”

  “What would he want with a hunk of farmland?”

  “Oh, he wants to open a factory where he can make donuts and other snacks in bulk to ship around the country. I guess Zander’s land was zoned right for industrial use or something. I don’t know much about it.”

  Mental gears turning, Moira bit her lip. She wanted to ask more questions, but remembered her promise to David to be careful. She didn’t want to risk Robyn letting something slip to Danehill. If he had killed Zander, the last thing she wanted was for him to find out that she was on to him.

  “Can I keep her?” Adam asked, grinning up at them as Flower dropped a squeaky toy into his lap.

  Moira smiled at him. “If it’s okay with your mom, she’s yours.”

  Saying goodbye to Flower for the second time was bittersweet. She was sure she would see the dog again—she could already tell that Robyn was someone she could easily be friends with, and Adam and Karissa were already making plans to get Hazel and her daughter together for playdates. Flower, as usual, was overjoyed at the chance to jump into someone else’s car and go on another ride. Moira had no doubts that the dog would be happy, but it was still hard to see her go.

  “Take good care of her,” she said.

  “I will!” Adam promised. “She’ll be my very best friend.”

  She and Karissa waved as Robyn and her son drove away with Flower in the back of their car, then turned to head back inside the apartment once the two were out of sight.

  “I should get out of your hair,” Moira said. “The rest of my day is unexpectedly clear. I’ll probably call Martha and go over the wedding plans again.”

  “You’re not going anywhere,” Karissa said, her face breaking into a grin. “We worked too hard to plan this.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Why, your bachelorette party, of course. What sort of bridesmaids would we be if we didn’t throw you one? Martha and Denise will be here soon. Candice is going to go over to your house and take care of the dogs, and David knows not to worry if you don’t answer your phone. All you have to do is relax, have fun, and enjoy everything we have planned.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Moira was still stunned half an hour later when she and her friends all piled into Denise’s car.

  “I don’t understand how you managed all of this,” she said. “You ladies are amazing.”

  “It took a bit of work,” Martha admitted. “We had to convince Allison and Cameron to fudge the schedule. That was really the hardest part. We had to promise them that you wouldn’t be mad.”

  “Allison texted Karissa right after you let the deli. We needed to catch you before you made different plans. Even Robyn was in on it.”

  “Wow.” The deli owner shook her head. “This is more than I deserve.”

  “We haven’t even started yet,” Karissa said with a grin. “We have a whole day planned out. First stop is the spa.”

  What followed was probably the most relaxing day that Moira had ever had. They drove down to Traverse City and spent hours in a spa, all four of them getting massages, mani-pedis, and facial treatments. The deli owner felt the stress of the last few weeks completely melt away.

  After the spa, the four women spent a few hours shopping in town. Martha was the only one who got down to Traverse City on a regular basis; the others usually made do with the small shops and boutiques nearer to Maple Creek. Moira was pleased to find a beautiful new dress, and the perfect shoes to go with her wedding dress.

  By the time they were done shopping, the deli owner was beginning to feel hungry. She was about to suggest that they stop somewhere to eat, when Denise made a sharp turn into a parking lot.

  “Here we are,” she said. “Our final stop—the Melting Bowl.”

  Moira had never been to the restaurant before, but judging from the delicious scent when they entered, the food here would be scrumptious.

  “We reserved a private room,” Martha explained as Karissa gave the hostess her name. “I’ve come here a few times for work, and I think you’ll like it. They mostly do fondue, and their food is absolutely amazing. Plus, it’s fun to do it yourself.”

  The deli owner got another surprise when they entered their room. Banners and decorations hung from the walls congratulating the bride-to-be, and her grinning friends put a sash over her head.

  “We’ve got music, food, and wine,” Denise said. “As much of all of it as you could want. We thought you might like this better than going to a club.”

  “Definitely,” Moira said. “You guys, this is beyond anything I could even imagine. You didn’t have to do all of this for me.”

  “Of course we did,” Martha said. “You’d do the same for any of us, after all, and we know it.”

  It was late when they finally returned to Maple Creek. Moira was full and sleepy, but brimming over with happiness. Not much could beat a day out with friends. The bachelorette party had somehow managed to drive home the fact that in a week, she would be a married woman. It was a wonderful thought; as far as she was concerned, the wedding couldn’t arrive quickly enough.

  “Thank you so much,” she said when they got to Karissa’s apartment. “I had a wonderful time. It was a perfect day, and it meant the world to me.”

  “I’m glad you enjoyed it, Moira,” said Martha. “You definitely deserved it.”

  She gave each of her friends a quick, thankful hug goodbye before sliding into her own vehicle and starting the engine. She hoped to be in bed within the hour with a cup of tea, a good book, and the dogs beside her. The perfect end to the day, as far as she was concerned.

  Moira slept late the next morning, relishing the memories of the day before, and giddy at the thought that she was another day closer to marrying David. And after the wedding, we leave for our honeymoon! They had finally decided on a destination; rather, they hadn’t been able to decide on one destination, and instead had opted for a tour of Europe. Before she knew it, she would be journeying across France, Spain, and Italy with her new husband.

  Thoughts of the honeymoon quickly brought along with them the dark reminder of the pending murder charges against her. They hadn’t bought tickets or set more than tentative dates for the trip yet, since she wouldn’t be able to leave the state while she was out on bail.

  “I want this mess to be over,” she groaned, sitting up in bed. “I just want to clear my name and get married. Is that too much to ask?”

  What she saw when she drove up to the deli that afternoon brought her mood even lower. The Beyond News van was sitting in the parking lot again and Brendan, the reporter, was leaning casually against it talking to a woman that Moira didn’t recognize.

  “What’s going on?” she asked, striding up to them after she parked.

  “Ah, Ms. Darling, just the woman I wanted to see. You never called about that interview you promised. You must have lost my card. Is now a good time to talk?”

  “No,” she said shortly. “Who are you?” This last was to the woman that he had been talking to.

  “I’m Emily-Ann,” she said. “A former customer of yours. I don’t give money to murderers.”

  Moira gaped as the still-unfamiliar woman spun on her heel and stalked away. Turning to Brendan, she said, “What on earth are you doing? You can’t come here and chase my customers away like this.”

  “I was just telling her the facts,” he said, spreading his hands in a gesture of innocence. “I’d love to get your side of the story, of course. Maybe then I’d have something else to tell people.”

  She glared at him, feeling trapped and hating it. What could she do, though? She couldn’t afford the bad publicity that he was spreading about her. Maybe an interview would help.

  “Fine,” she said at last. “Come on in. I don’t have long, though, all right?”

  “Of course. We’ll be out of your hair like that.” He snapped his fingers, then waved his cameraman forward. “This is Rodney, by the way.
He’ll be filming. Just ignore him.”

  Brendan followed her inside, then arranged her at one of the corner bistro tables. Moira waved back Darrin and Cameron, who had both approached her with concerned looks on their faces. It seemed to take him ages to be happy with the camera angle, but at last he gave Rodney a thumbs up, and Moira saw a red light on the front of the camera blink to life.

  “I’m Brendan Anaheim with Beyond News, and I’m joined today by Moira Darling,” he began, facing the camera. She listened in mute silence while he gave the camera a quick run-down of her story. She winced at the parts that made her sound guilty, but she couldn’t deny that everything he said was a fact. Moira felt a flare of anger towards whoever the leak at the police station was. They had no right to give out information that was supposed to be secret, like the fact that her fingerprints had been found on the gun.

  “We’re here today to see if we can solve what may be the biggest mystery of the case so far,” he continued. “Moira, can you tell us who exactly posted your $60,000 bail?”

  “I don’t know,” she told him, doing her best not to look at the camera. “I was, um, hoping that we could talk about some of the accusations against me, actually. I want people to know that I’m innocent.”

  “I think what the public is the most curious about is your bail,” he said. “Your mysterious benefactor has made this tale unexpectedly spicy. Aren’t you getting married pretty soon?”

  “I am, but—”

  “Is that why you’re reluctant to give out the name of the person that paid your bail? Is he an old flame, maybe? Someone you’ve been having a secret affair with?”

  “Oh, this is ridiculous,” Cameron said. Moira didn’t know who was more surprised at his outburst—her or the reporter.

  “Do you have some juicy details?” Brendan asked, swiveling to thrust the microphone into her employee’s face.

  “Yes. I paid it. Happy? Ms. D’s a good boss, and I didn’t like the thought of her sitting in jail.”

  Cameron refused to answer any more questions. Darrin helped him shoo the reporter and cameraman out of the restaurant, then they both returned to Moira, who was gaping at her red-haired employee.