Death of a Bad Apple Read Free Page A

Apple Valley has been in apple pie order.”
    I frowned. “What do you mean?”
    â€œApparently something’s been upsetting the apple cart lately.”
    â€œWill you quit with the apple metaphors and tell me what’s going on?”
    â€œWell, according to the American Apple Association, some GMO companies are trying to infiltrate the industry and it’s causing quite an uproar among the farmers.”
    â€œGMO? As in genetically modified organism?” I’d read about GMOs while working at the newspaper and knew that GMO foods were controversial.
    Jake nodded. “A couple of the articles claimed GMO apples are going to cut the organic farms to the core.”
    I rolled my eyes. One more apple metaphor and I was going to turn him into applesauce.
    But, more important, what was my aunt Abby getting us into this time?

Chapter 2
    â€œAunt Abby?” I called as I mounted the steps of the school bus. “You’ve already got a line of hungry customers.”
    â€œI know,” Aunt Abby said, handing me a fresh yellow apron emblazoned with the Big Yellow School Bus logo. “I can’t wait to have them try my new apple treats. I just hope Dillon didn’t eat them all.” She shot a glance at Dillon, who was perched on a stool, checking his iPhone.
    â€œI only had three,” Dillon argued absentmindedly. As usual, he was tapping out a text message. “Or maybe it was four. Or five.”
    Dillon claimed he could multitask, but I thought he was just doubly distracted. He often spoke without thinking first, and his bluntness irritated me, but as Aunt Abby’s only son, he was the apple of her eye and a genius when it came to computers. I only hoped hishacking skills didn’t get him arrested one day. He’d already been in enough trouble at the university. I thought it was time he got his act together, in spite of his lack of social skills, but Aunt Abby coddled him too much. I also sensed he was unhappy I was living in his mother’s Airstream. I was sure he wanted it for himself. Still, he’d helped me on several occasions, using his computer savvy, and I owed him for that.
    â€œThe tarts aren’t that big, you know,” he continued. “I could barely taste anything until I got to the last one.”
    While I shook my head, Aunt Abby smiled fondly at him. Her son could do no wrong in her eyes.
    â€œShowtime!” Aunt Abby sang out, signaling the start of our business day. She pulled up the blinds and slid open the ordering window, ready with her pen and pad.
    The next four hours went quickly with nonstop customers. We were always busier on the weekends, when more tourists were around. As usual, I was ready to collapse by the time Aunt Abby offered me a break around three o’clock.
    I removed my food-streaked apron and dumped it into the hamper. “Wow, your new tarts were a hit, Aunt Abby!”
    She gave her dimpled smile. “We sold out just after the lunch rush! I’ll have to double the recipe for tomorrow.”
    â€œI’m glad they were a success. And they were perfect.”
    â€œOh no.” My aunt shook her head. “There’s alwaysa way to make something better. Maybe a bit more caramel and a little less salt. Or vice versa. I’ll have to experiment tonight. But as soon as we clean up here, you two can go. I’ll see you at home, after I stop off at the market and get a few things.”
    We finished doing the dishes, sanitizing the surfaces, and putting utensils away and had the bus shipshape in record time. I checked Jake’s truck as I headed for my VW Bug, but he’d already closed down for the day. Well, I’d see him soon enough. He’d invited me to dinner at his loft in SOMA, and I looked forward to whatever he was whipping up.
    I left Fort Mason and drove home, thinking about the upcoming Apple Fest. As soon as I got to the Airstream that was parked on the side of Aunt