Grilled Rye Murder: Book 16 in The Darling Deli Series Read Online Free Page A

squeeze before releasing her hand and stepping back as Jefferson swung her cell door open.
    “Come on,” the detective said. “Fresh coffee and muffins are waiting in my office.”
    It felt good to be back in more familiar territory. Moira had been in Detective Jefferson’s office more times than she could count, and the familiar large wooden desk and comfortable leather chairs were definite improvements over the spartan holding cell that she had spent the last day in. She sipped her coffee gratefully and listened as the two men took turns telling her what had happened after her arrest.
    “As soon as I got off the phone with you, I got in touch with Detective Jefferson,” David explained. “He was out of town at the time, but the second I told him what had happened, he rushed back.”
    Moira shot a grateful glance at the detective, who smiled at her. “When I heard that you had been arrested for murder, something just didn’t sit right. You’ve been brought in for questioning plenty of times before, but you’ve never been guilty of anything, not even a speeding ticket. As far as I’m concerned, you’re an upstanding citizen, and someone who has really helped this town out multiple times.” The detective sighed. “Wilson’s a good detective, but she’s never approved of our… unorthodox relationship. This is a hard situation for me, you have to understand. She’s the only other detective here, and I can’t just go against her completely, but I also can’t let someone I know to be innocent stay locked up. Luckily, I’ve done a couple of favors for the district judge, so he was willing to do me one in return. We got your charges reduced—”
    “Wait, I’m being charged with something?” Moira cut in, stunned. She put down her coffee, her stomach suddenly feeling turbulent.
    “Yes. Unfortunately, I can’t get the charges completely cleared until we work through the case. But I did manage to get them reduced from second-degree murder to manslaughter—”
    “Murder?” she squeaked, interrupting him for a second time. “But I didn’t do it. I thought this was all some big mistake.”
    “We’re still trying to figure out what’s going on,” David said. He turned in his seat to face her and took both of her hands. “Listen, I know you’re innocent, and so does Detective Jefferson. But someone out there is doing their best to get you put away for Zander’s murder. Didn’t you wonder how the police showed up before you even got a chance to make a call?”
    She nodded. “I thought one of the neighbors must have heard the gunshots and called it in.”
    The private investigator shook his head. “That’s a reasonable assumption, but no. Moira, someone called the police and gave an eyewitness description of someone dressed exactly like you entering the brewery moments before he heard shots go off.”
    “W-what?”
    “It’s true,” Jefferson said grimly. “That’s why Detective Wilson arrested you on the spot.”
    Moira sat back in her chair, feeling faint. Had someone dressed exactly like her killed Zander? Or… was someone trying to frame her specifically? But how would they know what she was wearing?
    “Did you see or hear anything strange when you got there?” David asked. “Or did you notice anyone following you earlier that morning?”
    “No, I don’t think so. I woke up, took care of the dogs, grabbed some coffee, then left for Zander’s. I remember the roads out in the country being empty; if someone was following me, they would have had to be pretty far behind.”
    “How about when you got to his property?” he prodded. “From the description the witness gave, they must have had eyes on you at some point that morning.”
    “I didn’t see anyone else there,” she said. “Except that big black van parked behind his house that I didn’t remember seeing before.”
    The private investigator turned to Detective Jefferson with raised eyebrows. The detective flipped through a