8 Picked to Die by Sheila Connolly

Author:Sheila Connolly [Connolly, Sheila]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2014-10-07T00:00:00+00:00

14

The sun continued to shine, for which Meg was grateful. A couple of months earlier, drought had been a real concern and rain welcome; now she wanted the wet weather to hold off so that she could keep picking and get her crop in. Unfortunately there was no way to rush ripening apples. Bree tested them daily for sugar levels, and she made the final decisions about what to pick and when. Maybe it was a good thing that there were fewer pickers this year—at least she didn’t have to pay them to sit around and wait for the apples.

When Meg came down for breakfast Monday morning, Seth was already cleaning up his dishes, and Max was standing by the back door, quivering with anticipation. Bree was seated at the table, looking at some sort of spreadsheets.

Meg helped herself to coffee, then asked Seth, “Where are you off to today?”

“We’re pouring concrete, remember?”

“Oh, right. I’d love to see that. Bree, may I go watch the concrete pour?”

“I guess. We’re pretty much caught up, but check back with me this afternoon, okay? With this sunny weather, things can change fast.”

“Yes, ma’am. Seth, are we still going over to the feed store later or will you be too busy?”

“It’s right down the road from the green, so I can get away, I think. Why don’t you meet me at the Historical Society around noon and we can go over together.”

“That works for me,” Meg answered. “Bree, anything else I need to pick up or order while I’m there?”

“Goat food,” Bree said, without looking up.

“Oh, right. Seth, I’ll walk you out.” Seth went out the back door, Max dancing around his ankles, and Meg followed. “You think Jeffrey’s back in school today?”

“Maybe. Who knows, maybe he’d score points with his peers for being suspected of beating someone up—how often can you do that? Or maybe he’s just conscientious. He’s got to be thinking about college applications.”

“He could have a really unusual essay for those applications, depending on how this plays out. Tell me, do you think he’s given us—or anyone else—the whole story?”

Seth walked over to his work van and was sorting through some of his equipment in the back, so he didn’t answer right away. Meg had followed and stood waiting to see what he would say. Finally he turned to face her.

“Do I think he got into a fight with an unemployed Jamaican kid he didn’t know? I can’t see why—if this Novaro jumped him, or Jeffrey interrupted him trying to break in the back, Jeffrey would have told that to the police, because it would put him in a better light. Do I think he’s told us everything? No, I don’t. But I don’t know what he’s not saying, and I don’t know him or his family well enough to guess.”

“You think there’s any chance Marcus could arrest him?”

“I doubt it. He doesn’t have anything like real evidence as far as we know, and he’ll be fair. Jeffrey’s story hangs together, more or less.

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