Grilled Rye Murder: Book 16 in The Darling Deli Series by Patti Benning

“Government-grade, of course.”
    “I don’t understand,” Moira said, tugging at the tape behind her back. “Why are you doing this? I’m not going to let you get away with it. The second you let me go, I’m going to the police. There will be a big story, all right, but about you two, not me. I’m missing my wedding because of you!”
    Brendan shook his head slowly. “Moira, Moira, Moira. We aren’t letting you go. Imagine this headline— Murderer Succumbs to Guilt on Wedding Day, Commits Suicide. We’ll be the first reporters on the scene when they find your body in the lake. This story will be mine. Beyond News will finally get national recognition. We won’t be a small local channel for much longer. This story is going to go viral. ”
    “You’re crazy,” the deli owner said. “You can’t just kill someone for a news story—”
    She broke off, realizing something that suddenly seemed glaringly obvious to her.
    “You already did, didn’t you? You killed Zander.”
    It all made sense. This was the same van that she had seen at Zander’s that morning. Brendan must have been watching, waiting for her to show up so he could give her description to the police. If he had committed the crime, it would explain how he knew some of the information that he had, though not all of it.
    “I’m surprised you put it together so fast,” he said.
    “Why him? I don’t understand.”
    Brendan shrugged. “It wasn’t anything personal. I’ve had this idea for a while, in fact—to create the story that I wanted to report on, instead of just waiting for it to happen. Zander Marsh just happened to be a convenient target. I was at his office doing an interview about his microbrewery, and I happened to see on his schedule that he had a meeting with you set up. Now, your name is a pretty familiar one in my circles. You’ve been implicated in crimes before. Something just seemed to click. It made perfect sense—kill him, pin it on you, and report on all of the ensuing chaos. It went perfectly. I showed up an hour before you were supposed to get there and surprised him at his desk. He pulled a gun on me, but that turned out to be perfect. I wrestled it away from him, shot him twice, wiped it clean, and dropped it. You actually picking it up went beyond anything I expected. I loved you for that.”
    “How do you know I picked it up?” she asked him. “Who’s your source? If you’re going to kill me anyway, you might as well tell me.” She winced as the van went over a bump. She was still struggling with the tape on her wrists, but didn’t seem to be making much progress.
    “I don’t need a source at the police station,” he said proudly. “I got all of the information myself, using that beauty over there.” He pointed to the sound amplifier. “It’s summer, and your detectives like to sit in the break room with the window open while they’re discussing their cases. I learned a lot by hiding in the bushes with the amplifier.”
    “You’re crazy,” the deli owner said. “Is a good news story really worth killing two people over?”
    “Money, fame, my own show on a big network… you bet it is.”
    “Uh, boss? We’ve got a problem,” said Rodney from the front.
    “What is it?” Brendan snapped.
    “Someone’s tailing us.”
    Moira felt a spark of hope. Had someone noticed them kidnap her?
    “Well, lose them,” the reporter said.
    “How? We’re in a huge van. They’re in a car. I can’t exactly outrun them.”
    “I don’t know! Go off road if you have to.”
    Brendan gripped a rail installed in the back of the van for stability, then put his other hand on Moira’s shoulder. “This may get bumpy.”
    Bumpy was an understatement. Rodney yanked the wheel to the left, and the van jumped up on the curb, then smashed through something wooden. Moira winced as a laptop flew off of one of the shelves and clipped her in the calf.
    “Oh, crud!”
    The van came to a sudden, brutal stop, sending both