Grilled Rye Murder: Book 16 in The Darling Deli Series Read online

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  GRILLED RYE MURDER

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Grilled

  Rye

  Murder

  Book Sixteen in the Darling Deli Series

  By

  Patti Benning

  Copyright 2016 Summer Prescott Books

  All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication nor any of the information herein may be quoted from, nor reproduced, in any form, including but not limited to: printing, scanning, photocopying or any other printed, digital, or audio formats, without prior express written consent of the copyright holder.

  **This book is a work of fiction. Any similarities to persons, living or dead, places of business, or situations past or present, is completely unintentional.

  Author’s Note: On the next page, you’ll find out how to access all of my books easily, as well as locate books by best-selling author, Summer Prescott. I’d love to hear your thoughts on my books, the storylines, and anything else that you’d like to comment on – reader feedback is very important to me. Please see the following page for my publisher’s contact information. If you’d like to be on her list of “folks to contact” with updates, release and sales notifications, etc…just shoot her an email and let her know. Thanks for reading!

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  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

  Dear Readers,

  I want to thank you so much for joining me on my journey with Moira, Candice, David, and the other characters we’ve grown to know and love in The Darling Deli Series. I have enjoyed hearing from so many of you, and it brings me such joy to know that you’ve laughed, cried and celebrated with me through this series. While this is the last Darling Deli book for a while, I have a sneaking suspicion that Moira and all may be back in the future for more adventures.

  For now, I’m super excited about my new “Papa Pacelli’s Pizzeria” series!! Pizza is one of my all-time guilty pleasures, and I can’t wait to release the first book! The change of pace will be like a breath of fresh air, and the creativity is flowing as I finalize the first manuscript of the series.

  Thank you so much, dear readers – I could never do what I do without you, and it makes me so happy to know that you enjoy my work!! Much love and happy reading – Patti

  Grilled Rye Murder

  Book Sixteen in the Darling Deli Series

  CHAPTER ONE

  The humid summer air swirled through the propped-open doors of the deli, bringing in the sweet scents of freshly cut grass and fried dough from the new donut shop down the street. Moira Darling put down her paint roller and took a step back, enjoying the breeze while casting a critical eye on her work. Darling’s DELIcious Delights was getting a paint job, and to save money, the deli owner had decided to do it herself. Not even halfway through with the project, and she was already regretting her decision. It was a hot summer, and the strange thumping sound affecting the deli’s air conditioning left the inside of the building too warm and swampy with paint fumes.

  The repairman is coming tomorrow, she reminded herself. By the time we reopen, the air will be back on. All I have to do is finish painting this evening, and the deli will be like new when the customers come back.

  She was just reaching for the roller again when a familiar convertible pulled into the parking lot. It was her twenty-one-year-old daughter, Candice. Almost twenty-two, she thought. Where does the time go? Moira watched as the young woman got out of her car, tucking a few strands of her straight, golden-blonde hair behind her ears before reaching into the back seat for a large box fan.

  “Thanks for bringing that,” Moira said, dropping the roller back into the paint as her daughter came inside. “I’ve been melting in here.”

  “Ugh, I don’t see how you can stand it. It’s like a furnace.” The young woman placed the fan in a corner and plugged it in. “At least this will blow some of the paint fumes out. I don’t know if it will help with the heat too much.”

  “It already feels better,” Moira said, standing in front of the fan. “You’re a lifesaver, sweetie.”

  “Do you want me to stay and help? Logan’s watching the candy shop, so I’ve got a few hours if you need me.”

  “That would be amazing. Jenny and Cameron are going to come by at five after they’re done catering Mrs. Brodeshire’s baby shower, and they’ll help me finish up, but things will go much more quickly with another person painting right now. Hang on, I’ve got an extra roller in the kitchen.”

  She brought her daughter out a fresh paint roller and smiled as she watched the young woman pull the beautiful diamond engagement ring off her finger and slip it into a pocket.

  “I don’t want to get paint on it,” Candice told her mother.

  “I don’t blame you. It’s gorgeous. Eli has good taste… in rings, and in women.”

  Her daughter grinned. Eli had proposed to her a month ago, and Moira hadn’t seen a single frown on the young woman’s face since. We might not be a normal family, but we’re definitely a happy one, the deli owner thought as she picked up her own roller and began to start painting again.

  Jenny and Cameron were Moira’s two newest employees. She had hired them late last fall, when the deli had been slammed with holiday catering requests. They rarely worked at the counter; instead, it was their job to handle the catering events from start to finish. Jenny, a quiet brunette, had just moved to town when Moira hired her, and had quickly settled in. Cameron, a cheerful and outgoing redhead, had applied for the job soon after the young woman had begun her work; Moira was convinced that he was in love with the girl, although if Jenny knew it, she didn’t let it show. Between the two of them, they had lightened the deli owner’s work load considerably, and she would have done just about anything to keep them working there.

  The work went much more quickly with Candice helping. The new paint, a light green color, looked amazing, and Moira wondered why she hadn’t done this before. Things have been going so well since David and I got engaged, she thought. The memory of his proposal brought a smile to her lips. She was still just as certain of her answer as she had been when he had asked her almost a year ago. Yes. Yes, she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. Yes, she wanted to wake up every morning with him beside her. Yes, she wanted to marry him.

  Saying yes had been the easy part. Planning the wedding was fun, but it was also full of tough decisions to make. Her first wedding had been traditional, h
eld inside a church with her close friends and family. This wedding—her second and last wedding—she wanted to be special. Her parents had passed away years ago, so she had to rely on her friends and daughter for help. David was the one she really counted on, though. He had been at her side for everything; finding a venue, considering flowers, choosing food and wine for the wedding dinner… he had even been the one to book kennel reservations for Maverick and Keeva while they went on their honeymoon.

  I can’t believe I’m getting married, she thought for the thousandth time since he had slid the ring on her finger. After the honeymoon, he was going to move into her house with her, and she had already begun clearing out the second bedroom for him to use as office space. They had discussed buying a bigger house together, but a cursory search online hadn’t shown any promising homes for sale in the area. Moira was secretly glad; she was in love with her little stone house in the woods, and didn’t want to move unless she happened to find another house that she loved just as much.

  By the time Jenny and Cameron returned with the refrigerated food truck, Moira and Candice were painting the last wall. The deli owner was amazed at the difference the new paint had made, and couldn’t wait for her customers to see it when the restaurant reopened at noon tomorrow. They had only been closed for three days for renovations, but it seemed like ages to her. The deli was more than just a hobby; it was her pride and joy and her main source of income. July was right in the middle of their busiest season, when tourists came from all over to enjoy the beautiful beaches of Lake Michigan, only twenty minutes away from the small town of Maple Creek. Closing up for renovations now had been a hard choice, but she really wanted everything to be done by the time of her wedding, so she wouldn’t have to worry about it while she was on her honeymoon.

  It took them another two hours to finish touching up the paint and replace the bistro tables and chairs along the walls. Moira tore down the sheets of protective plastic from over the register and glass counters, while Candice and Jenny peeled the painter’s tape away from the moulding. Cameron washed the paint rollers and tray in the big stainless steel sink, carefully squeezing them out before setting them out to dry.

  At long last, they were done. The walls were painted, the deli was clean, and the only thing left to do was to get the air conditioning fixed before her customers returned. All in all, it had been a very successful few days, though she couldn’t deny that she was eager to get back to her normal routine.

  “Do you want to join Eli and me for dinner tomorrow night?” Candice asked on her way out. “We’re going to eat with Reggie. He still isn’t doing so well, but his nurse says that he always seems a lot more energetic after we’re there.”

  “Oh, I wish I could,” Moira said. “But I promised David I’d have dinner with him at the Grill to celebrate the completion of the new renovations. I’ve been so busy with all of this—” she gestured at the newly painted deli “—that we’ve barely seen each other all week. Maybe I could make next Sunday’s dinner, instead?”

  “Okay, I’ll tell him that you wanted to come, but already had plans,” her daughter said. “I know he loves seeing you. He thinks you and David are the coolest people ever.”

  The deli owner chuckled at that as she locked up behind them. Reginald, called Reggie by his friends, was the grandfather of Eli, Candice’s fiancé. He lived at the local assisted-living home, and had helped Moira get to the bottom of two mysterious murders. From what she gathered, he was constantly on the lookout for more crimes to investigate; she was secretly glad that he hadn’t found any. She was enjoying her quiet lifestyle, and didn’t want to see it end any time soon.

  “Any interesting plans for the rest of the week?” her daughter asked, leaning against the convertible that had been her birthday present from Moira and David the year before.

  “Oh, not really,” the deli owner said. “Which is a good thing. We’ve got mostly everything figured out for the wedding, so I’ll hopefully be able to take a few days to relax before the next crisis. I do have a meeting with Zander the day after tomorrow—the deli’s liquor license just got approved, and I’ve got to tell him the good news.”

  Zander was one of the farmers that she did business with. He also owned a microbrewery, and wanted her to start selling some of his beers and ales at the deli. She hadn’t been completely on board with it at first, but he had been a good business partner and she figured that it wouldn’t hurt to do this small favor for him. Besides, David was a fan of Zander’s Pine Mountain Ale; she was certain he would appreciate being able to grab a bottle whenever he stopped by the deli.

  “It’s awesome that the deli’s branching out even more,” Candice said with a smile. “This place has changed so much over the last couple of years. It’s amazing what you’ve done.”

  Moira agreed. Even though she had been there for every twist and turn the deli had taken as it grew, she was still shocked sometimes at how different the little shop was from how it had been when she first opened it. These have been an amazing few years, she thought. But now I’m ready to start a new chapter to my life. I only hope that what lies ahead of me will be just as amazing as everything I’ve already been through.

  CHAPTER TWO

  “Whoa, you two. Slow down. You almost trampled the arugula.”

  Moira gathered her trowel and bucket, which was now filled with weeds, and stood up. Maverick and Keeva, who had just run helter-skelter through her garden, stared at her guiltily from a few feet away.

  “Oh, come here. I forgive you.” She gave each dog a quick scratch behind the ears before heading towards her porch. “It’s better than the time you ate all of the sugar snap peas off the vine. Who would have thought that two big carnivores like you two would have such a taste for veggies?”

  Maverick, a black-and-tan German shepherd, cocked his head, his long tongue flopping out the side of his mouth. Keeva, a huge gray Irish wolfhound, was more dignified. She blinked her big brown eyes, then shoved her muzzle into her owner’s hand for more skritches. Moira chuckled. It was hard to stay mad at either of them, even after they did something wrong. She loved them fiercely, and had never once regretted adopting the two of them. They were her constant companions around the house, and she felt safer knowing they were there.

  It’s a good thing David likes dogs, she thought as she brought her gardening tools inside and began washing up. They’ll love having him around all of the time once we’re married.

  Thoughts of her fiancé made her glance at the clock; she only had half an hour left before he would be there to pick her up. If she wanted to wear something other than her gardening jeans and old tee shirt on their date, then she had better hurry up.

  She had just put the finishing touches on her makeup when a knock at the door sounded. She could hear the dogs whining happily downstairs, and smiled. David and Candice were the only two people they didn’t bark at; somehow they must recognize the way each car sounded when it pulled up.

  “Come on in,” she shouted. “I’m almost ready.”

  A minute later she walked down the stairs to find the man she loved sitting on her couch with both dogs half on his lap.

  “I think they missed me,” he said with a grin.

  “Of course they did. You’re their favorite person in the world… but look, they’re getting you all furry.”

  She gave him a quick kiss, then handed him the lint roller—an essential tool in her house. The dogs, back on the floor, watched with interest as she walked to the kitchen. She returned with two treats, which she handed to each of them in turn.

  “Be good, you two,” she said. “I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

  The dogs ignored her words, instead sniffing at her hands for more treats. When they didn’t find anything, Keeva heaved a big sigh and lay down on the rug in the living room, while Maverick stood by the front door hopefully, as he always did when Moira went somewhere.

  “I think he wants to come,” said David with a laugh.

&
nbsp; “Denise may be one of my best friends, but I don’t think even she would be too happy if I brought a dog in for dinner.” She patted the German shepherd’s head. “We’ll go to the park sometime this week, all right, buddy?”

  They left, closing and locking the door behind them. The deli owner glanced back when she was halfway to David’s car, to see two furry faces staring longingly out of the living room window at her. She felt a swell of emotion for the dogs and for the man beside her. How could she be so lucky?

  The Redwood Grill had made it through its first snowy Michigan winter by cutting back its hours and the number of employees, but now, in the middle of tourist season, business was back in full swing. Couples walked through the oak front doors arm in arm, and the hostess greeted each of them with a smile. The delicious scent of sizzling steak permeated the warm summer air around the restaurant, and Moira felt her stomach growl at the thought of the scrumptious food that awaited them inside. The Grill was her and David’s traditional date spot—they had gone here nearly every week for a year and a half. The menu was changed up every month or two, which kept their dinners interesting, and everyone that worked there knew them by name.

  “Your regular table’s available, Ms. Darling, Mr. Morris,” the hostess said. “Right this way.”

  She led them through the busy restaurant to a private booth in the back. David took the menus from her and Moira opened hers eagerly when he handed it over.

  “Mmm, Denise updated the menus already,” she said, looking at all of the new dishes being offered. “I don’t know what to choose.”

  “I know what I’m getting,” he said, giving her a sheepish grin. “The sirloin steak with a fried egg and mashed potatoes.”

  She laughed, shaking her head at what was one of many small differences between them. She loved trying all sorts of new food, even if it wasn’t the sort of dish that she usually liked, but David tended to stick with his favorites. He loved steak, and didn’t see any reason to risk trying something else that he might not like as much.