Read Online Corned Beef Murder: Book Two in The Darling Deli Series by Patti Benning - Free Book Online Page B

police and wait for them to show up, but by then, it might be too late. Plus, there was that small voice inside her that warned that she didn’t know that James was a killer, and she didn’t want to call the police out on a wild goose chase.
    She decided to get closer and look for any evidence that Martha was nearby. It might not even be the same car that was following her , she thought, even though it seemed like far too big a coincidence.
    Careful not to slip on the icy asphalt, Moira slowly and silently made her way over to the red car at the far side of the building. She braced herself as she peered through the window, not quite sure what she was expecting to see. The car turned out to be mostly empty, except for a few fast food wrappers and a single cell phone sitting face-up on the passenger side seat in the back. None of this told her much… unless the phone was Martha’s or James’s. Struck by sudden inspiration, she dialed the brother’s number on her own cell phone first and watched the phone in the car for any sign of an incoming call. Nothing. Next she tried her friend’s number. When the screen of the phone on the seat lit up, Moira felt her stomach clench. It was definitely Martha’s phone, which meant that she must have been in the car at some point. Moira only hoped that she had found the killer’s hideout in time—it might already be too late.
    “Hey! What are you doing?” a man’s voice shouted, making her jump. She looked up to see James peering at her through the cracked door of the motel room, his face red with anger. A jolt of terror stabbed through Moira, and she began backing slowly away. She barely had time to press the speed dial button on her phone and slide it into her pocket, praying that she had pressed the right number, before the man had fully opened the door and lunged at her. She tried to turn and run, but her left foot slipped on a patch of ice and she went down, hard. The side of her head smacked against the frozen pavement, and her ankle twisted. She gasped in pain, but she didn’t have time to do anything else before James reached her. He grabbed her by the shoulders and jerked her to her feet, and when her ankle refused to support her weight, he half-carried and half-dragged her inside. Still dazed, Moira knew when she heard the click of the deadbolt being thrown that she was in trouble.

     

CHAPTER FIFTEEN
    “Moira?” a terrified voice called out to her. The deli owner opened her eyes and blinked a few times, trying to adjust her vision to the dark room. She saw a familiar form sitting on a chair a few feet away from her. Martha. She breathed a sigh of relief.
    “You’re alive,” she mumbled.
    “What are you doing here? You shouldn’t have come; he’ll kill you too!” the other woman screamed.
    “Shut up! Both of you!” James roared, slamming his fist against the motel room’s single desk. “I need to think.” His eyes darted between the two women. “None of this was supposed to happen,” he mumbled. Keep him talking , Moira thought to herself. It seemed to be a good tactic—it had worked well the last time her life had been threatened.
    “I don’t understand,” she said, trying to keep her thoughts straight even though her head and her ankle were throbbing. She thought she might have a concussion, but she wasn’t sure. “Why are you doing this?”
    “I need money,” he said, sinking onto the bed. “The people I owe, they’ll kill me. Just sign the paper!” The last part was snapped at Martha, who was whimpering softly. Moira saw that her friend was tied to the chair. There was a pen and a piece of paper on the table in front of her.
    “But you killed your sister. She would have helped you, I’m sure,” she said, hoping to distract him from the sister that was still living. “Emilia was a good person. She would have given you money.”
    “Not enough,” he said. “I need the inheritance. It should be mine.” He got up again and began