Free A Geek Girl's Guide to Arsenic by Julie Anne Lindsey

face.
    “Hey, she was careful not to harm anyone. Waited for the grounds to clear.”
    “How thoughtful of her.”
    “If she really wanted to hurt your family, there are plenty of ways to do that.”
    I hacked an ugly noise. “Gee, thanks.” I turned to appraise the smoldering wreckage. “She burned it completely down. Do you know what it will cost to replace or what people will think? There’s no telling how much business we’ll lose as a result. I’ll never be able to clean up this mess. It’s a PR nightmare. People will assume our product killed John and this was retaliation for that crime. Consumers won’t come within a hundred yards of our booth if we rebuild.”
    “I know.”
    I dropped my head back. “This is horrible. This whole day. Total crap.”
    “I agree.”
    “Well, stop. I’m trying to be crabby.”
    He chuckled. “The fire was unfortunate, but I’m sure it’s not as bad as you think.”
    “You’re clearly not a businessman.” Whose grandmother was going to lose her mind when she heard about this.
    “Thank God.”
    I righted my head and braced frozen hands on my hips. “You don’t think Melanie killed John.”
    “I don’t.”
    “Despite the fact she’s the most obvious suspect? She has motive and she was the last one seen with him before he came to see me and dropped dead.”
    Dan dug the toe of his shiny shoe into soot-covered grass. “That makes you the last to see him before he died, and I remember having another ‘obvious suspect’ this past summer. I didn’t think she did it either.”
    “Right.” That suspect had been me. I scanned the scene and lowered my voice. “Jake says John died from a mob hit.”
    Dan smiled. “He came to see you, huh?” A sly grin spread over his mouth. “Well, for what it’s worth, I’m not convinced on that theory, but it’s my job to be skeptical.”
    His job. I straightened. “You’re a homicide detective. Why are you here if no one was hurt?”
    “This is still the scene of my murder investigation. I need to know if the two crimes are related.” He glanced back at the cruiser. “She’s a mess. I can’t get her to eat anything. That can’t be great for the baby, right?”
    “You’re worried about her?”
    His troubled expression answered my question.
    Melanie’s head rested against the window. She looked like she could use a friend. “Do you think they’ll let her out on bail?”
    “She’s broke. Had a tough upbringing. Ran away. She found comfort at the local Ren Faire and made it her family. She’s scared and angry, but she’s not a killer and she sure doesn’t have money for bail. There’s a good chance her record will be enough to get her some immediate probation with time served.”
    “Maybe I can swing the fire story as faulty outlets?” It would never work long term, but I could start a rumor that didn’t scream “poisoned products”!
    A commotion drew my attention from the cruiser to the front gates. Bright lights beamed into the night. A familiar silhouette floated toward us.
    I squinted, unable to adjust my eyes to the spotlight.
    “Set up here,” the voice snapped.
    My tummy churned. “Oh no.” So much for my rumor.
    Mindy Kinley and her crew were back. A pair of officers corralled the trio as much as possible, enforcing crime-scene preservation and securing proper distance from our booth, but it didn’t matter.
    Mindy shook her long hair over one shoulder and stood directly before the charred remains of Guinevere’s Golden Beauty booth. She held three fingers in the air. The cameraman gave a thumbs-up and the third leech hoisted a boom mic over her head. “Tragedy strikes again at Ye Ole Madrigal Craft Faire. As you recall, I was the first to report a murder at this very location yesterday. Now I’m back at the scene of the crime where fire broke out, consuming a Faire staple. Guinevere’s Golden Beauty.”
    I rubbed both temples. “If I kill her, can I get off on temporary insanity?”
    Dan