Sheila Connolly - Orchard Mysteries 01 One Bad Apple

Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Acknowledgements

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32

The World of Apples
Apple Recipes

An Uninvited Visitor...
As she approached the old house, she looked at it dispassionately. In the winter dark, it was still lovely, strong and square. The few lights that she had left on were glowing gold. Meg pulled around to the side near the barn, turned off the engine, and slumped in her seat, unable to move. She was tired. No, worse, she was tired and depressed. She had tried to do the right thing, had talked to the state police, had told the truth, but no one had wanted to listen. So she had stood up in public and made her case, but it still looked like no one wanted to believe her. She was the outsider, and the community would close ranks against her. All right, Meg. You can't sit here all night. She smiled wryly at the image of someone coming by and finding her frozen corpse still sitting in the car.
She hauled herself out of the car and walked toward the kitchen door, jiggling her keys in her hand. Then she stopped: even in the dim light, it was clear that the storm door hung slightly askew, the lock splintered in the jamb. Someone had broken into her house; someone might still be there. She fumbled in her bag for her cell phone and punched in 911.

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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The recipes contained in this book are to be followed exactly as written. The publisher is not responsible for your specific health or allergy needs that may require medical supervision. The publisher is not responsible for any adverse reactions to the recipes contained in this book.
ONE BAD APPLE
A Berkley Prime Crime Book / published by arrangement with the author
PRINTING HISTORY
Berkley Prime Crime mass-market edition / August 2008
Copyright (c) 2008 by Sheila Connolly.
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To Eleazer Warner
and
John Chapman.

Acknowledgments
Like an orchard, it takes a lot of people to nurture a book to fruition. First thanks go to my agent, Jacky Sach, who took the seed of an idea and brought it to life, and my editor, Shannon Jamieson Vazquez, who polished the draft until it shone. And as always, Sisters in Crime and the wonderful Guppies (especially Lorraine Bartlett) provided bushels of encouragement.
Since I am not an orchardist, I relied on many people to help me get the details right: Duane W. Greene, Department of Plant, Soil and Insect Sciences at the University of Massachusetts, and Director of the University's Cold Spring Orchard, who provided much useful information about orchard management; Richard Pelletier of the Nashoba Valley Winery in Bolton, Massachusetts, who shared his orchard's wealth of antique apple varieties; May Peters of Peters Family Orchard and Cider Mill in Acushnet, Massachusetts, who provides a wonderful example of managing a local orchard; and Joyce Manzello, who educated me about the realities of making an orchard work--and pay.
On the genealogy side, I have to thank many generations of ancestors who left such a wonderful history for me to find--all the Chapins, Downings, Montagues, Seldens, Sheldons, Shumways, Taylors, Townes, Wakemans, Warners, and Woodfords who settled in western Massachusetts and whose spirits drew me there. Among the living, I'm grateful for the help provided by the Granby Historical Society, the Granby Public Library, and the Granby Town Clerk's Office.
And of course I have to thank Marvina and Jon Brook of Muddy Brook Farm in Granby, without whom this book could not have happened. They are the current owners of the house built by my ancestor Stephen Warner, and they let me spend time getting to know the property and the house--including the very interesting basement!
I should also thank Mother Nature, who made this past season's apple crop absolutely spectacular.
Finally, I need to thank my entomologist husband, who has served as my consultant on aspects of integrated pest management, and my daughter, who tramped through a lot of orchards with me and carried a lot of bags of apples.

"Orchard? What orchard?" Meg Corey stared in confusion at the man standing on her doorstep. He reminded her of a hobbit: shorter than she was, his silvery hair combed forward in an endearing bang now rumpled by the wind, his cheeks rosy, his blue eyes twinkling. "I'm sorry--who did you say you were?"
"Oh, forgive me. I'm Christopher Ramsdell, with the Integrated Pest Management Department, the Small Fruit Management Project, at the university." When Meg looked blankly at him, he went on. "Of Massachusetts, at Amherst. We've been using the apple orchard as an experimental site for, oh, decades now. But I was looking for the Tuckers. Are they no longer here?"
"The Tuckers were only renting. My mother owns this place, and I'm fixing it up to sell." Or trying to , Meg amended to herself. Every time she tried to "fix" something, it seemed to generate more problems. Usually expensive ones.
"Well, then, you're the person I should be talking to!" Christopher beamed at her, and Meg couldn't refuse the delightful man a return smile. At least he wasn't some crazy person, as she had wondered when she first opened the door.
Which was letting in the freezing January wind. "Uh, come in, I guess. Will this take long? Because I'm expecting a plumber any minute." She hoped.