Death of a Bad Apple by Penny Pike Page B

Red’s arm. “You’re always so careful.”
    Red shrugged. “No idea. Have to wait till the chief does his investigation.”
    Honey shook her head. “We don’t need an investigation to confirm this fire was deliberately set. Three fires in such a short time? Somebody’s trying to send a message.”
    â€œYou think so?” Crystal said. “If that’s true, someone could have been hurt, or even killed. I wouldn’t put it past those GMO people who are trying to buy up everybody’s property. How are Pippin and Mac?”
    I realized she was referring to the dogs, named after apple varieties, but before Red or Honey answered, the younger woman joined the small group. “Sorry about this, Dad,” she said to Red.
    Red acknowledged her comment with a nod, then added, “It’ll be all right, Tiffy. I’ll rebuild. Don’t you worry about it.”
    â€œYour dad’s right, Tiffany,” Crystal said. “He bounces back quickly, always has.” She turned to her ex-husband. “Isn’t that right, Red?”
    I caught Honey rolling her eyes. What was going on between the two older women and Red? Theycould claim they were all on good terms, but at the moment, something festered underneath.
    â€œBy the way, Red, you missed Tiffany’s maze run-through tonight,” Crystal said. “I just picked her up from the festival site. Did you forget?”
    Red glanced at his daughter. “Sorry, Tiffy. I got caught up. . . .” He shot a look at Honey, who looked away as soon as their eyes met. “Hope it went well.”
    â€œIt was fine.” Tiffany sighed. “Mom, I’m tired. I’m going back to the car. You coming?”
    â€œI’ll be right there,” Crystal said. As soon as her daughter was out of earshot, Crystal turned to her ex-husband. “You know, Red, just because we’re divorced doesn’t mean you don’t still have a daughter. You could come by the winery and see her once in a while, or show up at her events, or take her out for lunch sometime. She misses you, especially since you left so abruptly.” Crystal shot a look at Honey.
    Red didn’t answer, his gaze fixed on the threads of smoke still wafting up from the water-soaked wood.
    â€œThis isn’t the time, Crystal,” Honey said sharply. “His barn just burned down, for God’s sake. Leave him alone.”
    I thought there was going to be a catfight, but instead Crystal pasted a fake smile on her face, gave Red’s arm another squeeze, and headed back to her SUV. She peeled off, her spinning wheels spitting gravel.
    Red walked over to talk to one of the firefighters. Honey turned to us and said, “We should probably be getting on back to the inn. The fire’s out. Not muchmore we can do here, and we’ve all got a big weekend ahead.”
    Roman, who’d appeared out of nowhere, added, “I agree. I’ll go find Paula.”
    I noticed Paula was still deep in conversation with Adam, the man who’d alerted Honey to the fire. In spite of their differences in age and personality—she was obviously outgoing, while he seemed out of his league—the pair seemed to have hit it off quickly, judging by the way they stood so close to each other as they talked. At one point she put her hand on his arm and his grin widened. I wondered what Roman thought about that.
    â€œPaula!” I heard him call to her.
    Paula stopped her conversation and looked around, then spotted Roman and waved. “Be right there!” She pulled out what looked like a business card and handed it to Adam. He took it, smiled, tucked it into his pocket and patted it, then said something I couldn’t make out. I didn’t need to be an expert at body language to know she was flirting her ass off, though, and he was eating it up. Had she sensed a photojournalistic opportunity in talking with Adam, or was