Murder as Sweet as Honey by Diana Orgain

Author:Diana Orgain [Orgain, Diana]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lemonade Press

Chapter 12

Vicki squinted down at Sunny. “What am I going to do with you?” she asked. “I really can’t keep putting you inside every time I play with the bees. You make a mess and poop on the kitchen floor.”

Sunny flapped her wings, and Vicki just shook her head. “What would you think about me selling the bee venom to make people healthier?” she asked the duck.

Sunny offered no counterpoint. Vicki thought again of Rose and Kelly, and an idea struck her. She sat at the picnic table and called Claire O’Rourke.

“Hello?” said a woman’s voice on the phone.

“Hi, is this Claire?” she asked.

“Yes, it is!”

“This is Vicki Lawson, from the Jammin’ Honey in Magnolia Falls?”

“Oh, hey, Vicki! It’s so good to hear from you!” Claire sounded genuinely enthused. “Is everything all right? I hope you haven’t changed your mind.”

“No, I’d still like to sell my bee venom to you, and you’re welcome to place the collection system at your convenience. I was just thinking about a . . . friend who might benefit from bee-venom therapy. It’s kind of expensive, isn’t it?”

“It is,” said Claire, the regret clear in her voice. “And insurance doesn’t usually cover it.”

“Well, I’d like to donate all the bee venom you collect in the first month to be used for treatments for people who are really sick and can’t afford it.”

Claire’s voice brightened. “That’s amazing! Often, people with these chronic conditions end up falling into financial troubles because the disease interferes with their ability to work like they used to, so an opportunity for sharply discounted treatments would be a huge blessing for them. I already know of two or three people who would benefit. And I can put your friend on the list.

“That sounds great! I don’t know for sure if she’ll take you up on it, but I’ll let you know.”

Vicki hung up and turned back to Sunny. “Well, guess I’m going to need to find out if Rose is interested. And I still need to figure out what to do with you when I’m harvesting honey.” Then she snapped her fingers. “I have an idea!”

She went inside and got on her beekeeper suit, except for the gloves, which she carried. Then she got the smoker and a handful of blueberries and returned to the yard. She showed the blueberries to Sunny, and the little white duck quacked in frantic anticipation.

“Go get ’em!” Vicki cried, tossing the blueberries into the plastic wading pool. Sunny jumped into the water and dove for the first blueberry.

“That’ll keep you busy and away from the beehives for a few minutes,” Vicki murmured as she put on her gloves.

Vicki had just gotten the smoker ready when Sunny started quacking loudly. “What is it?” she called.

Sunny’s quacks grew more frantic.

She shifted backward and glanced toward the duck just as someone bowled into her. Something hard and heavy glanced across her head. Thunk! Stars exploded in her field of vision, and she tumbled facedown in the grass. Pain. Dizziness. Nausea.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.