Free Peach Pies and Alibis by Ellery Adams Page A

hugging him even tighter.
     That small gesture told Ella Mae how much of an effect Melissa Carlisle’s death had
     on her unflappable aunt.
    Too weak to walk, Ella Mae watched her mother and Sissy leave their cars and disappear
     down the path leading to the beehives. Anxious to join them, she was more than happy
     to accept the handful of crackers slathered with honey that Verena offered her.
    “These will perk you up!” her aunt said and stood back to watch the results of Melissa’s
     golden elixir.
    The first thing Ella Mae tasted was sunlight. Following that initial note was a burst
     of sweetness and warmth. Ella Mae envisioned a field of buttercups, thistles, and
     rain-drenched grass. She sighed in contentment as a final hint of lavender coated
     her mouth, and reached for a second cracker.
    The honey began to work right away. To Ella Mae, it felt like a salve was coating
     her muscles and sinking into her flaccid bones. Enveloped in a blanket of gentle,
     restorative heat, she greedily finished the rest of the crackers.
    “There!” Verena cried triumphantly. “Your cheeks look like your mama’s roses again!”
    Taking a long drink of water from the large bottle Reba had left in the car, Ella
     Mae jumped out of the Jeep, refreshed and energized. “That honey is amazing. What
     else can it do? Cure cancer?”
    “Sadly, no,” Verena said. “But it’ll knock out a cold or flu in one punch.”
    Chewy wriggled out of Verena’s arms and headed for the narrow path between the trees.
     In the clearing, Sissy and Ella Mae’s mother were standing in front of one of the
     hives, their heads close together as they murmured softly to each other.
    “The bees are gone,” her mother said without turning.
    “Was there a message?” Verena asked.
    Sissy opened the closest box, revealing a dead spider and cluster of tiny red petals
     stuck to the honeycombs within.
    “I don’t know the meaning behind the spider, but the flowers are
Achillea
blossoms,” Ella Mae’s mother said. “
Achillea
is a symbol of war. The bees gathered these blooms to tell us that Melissa’s death
     was no accident. And then they fled. They don’t believe Havenwood is safe anymore.”
     She looked at Verena, the firstborn of the LeFaye sisters, with a question in her
     eyes.
    “We must prepare!” Verena’s voice was steely and cold. “Sissy, you and Adelaide find
     a suitable replacement to become the next Lady of the Ash. We have—”
    She stopped and pivoted. Reba had entered the clearing, silent as a breath of air.
     Striding over to them, she held out her hands in a gesture of helplessness. “Nothin’s
     out of the ordinary inside the house. Did the bees have anythin’ to say?”
    Sissy pointed at the flowers adhering to the honeycomb. “They’ve confirmed our greatest
     fear—that we have enemies who are willing to commit murder to gain control over the
     Lady.”
    A guttural snarl rose from Reba’s throat. “I’m ready. I dare them to come out from
     the shadows and into the open.” She cracked her knuckles and grinned wickedly. “I’ve
     been waitin’ for a chance to show off my skills.”
    Verena’s gaze was distant. “Reba, I’d like you to move into Partridge Hill until after
     the harvest. Once you’re settled, you and I will begin the hunt for Melissa’s killer.”
    “What can I do to help?” Ella Mae asked.
    Her mother’s expression was grave. “Be alert at all times,” she said. “And get very
     good at keeping secrets.”

    After leaving Melissa Carlisle’s place, Ella Mae dropped Reba off at her cottage in
     the woods. Like Melissa’s cabin,Reba’s house was tiny and seemed to have grown up from the forest floor. But while
     Melissa’s home had a simple Puritan style, Reba’s was trimmed with gingerbread and
     looked like a diminutive Alpine chalet.
    “When you get home, unlock your daddy’s gun closet,” Reba ordered. “Pick a weapon
     small enough to carry in your purse but big enough