Bushel Full of Murder Read Online Free Page B

surprised we had any such ordinances. He added that they were pretty vague.
    Harry followed me back to Bailey’s and we both parked in the front lot, on the side opposite of where it seemed the trucks would be parked. We concluded that something important must be going on over there considering the number of people who had gathered. Harry and I observed as we leaned,side by side, against Harry’s petite rental car. The goal was to not draw attention to ourselves as we took a few minutes to get the “lay of the land.” However, between Harry’s hat and my orange truck, we were probably hard to miss.
    “When you were in Arizona, you mentioned that your love life was . . . I think you used the word
messy
. At the coffee shop you said your boyfriend was a police officer. Sounds like you got things figured out.”
    “I did. Sam”—I nodded toward the other side of the parking lot where Sam stood with his hands on his hips next to Allison, inspecting a patch of open land next to the parking lot that extended to the back of this side of the market stalls and up to the two-lane highway—“and I have been together since shortly after I returned home from Arizona. It’s not so messy or complicated anymore. In fact, it’s as close to noncomplicated as I’ve ever been. The woman standing next to Sam is my sister, Allison.”
    “You two look nothing alike,” Harry said.
    I laughed. “Would you believe we’re twins? Fraternal, of course. Allison is tall, dark, and beautiful like our dad. I’m short, blond, and almost as adorable as our mom.”
    “I see.”
    “Allison is Bailey’s manager. She’ll jump in and help you, too.”
    “Becca, I know you mean well, and I meant it when I said I’d stick around for a couple days, but you do know that any investigation needs to be conducted by officers of the law only?”
    “Mostly.”
    Harry laughed.
    I smiled up at his friendly eyes, which were now shaded by the brim of his hat. “I mean, of course, I know that, but like I said, I’ll look for ways that Peyton is innocent. It’s the least I can do for a family member. She was such a sweet kid, Harry. Really she was.”
    Harry nodded doubtfully and adjusted the hat.
    “What do you think of South Carolina?” I said as I swung my attention back to the other side of the lot.
    “It’s much greener than Arizona, but most places are, and it’s got lots more humidity. The parts I’ve seen are beautiful, but I haven’t seen very much. I came straight to Bailey’s.”
    I was about to offer a tour, but the first food truck rumbled into the parking lot, making sightseeing much less important.
    “Paco’s Tacos,” Harry said as he read the side panel. “Sounds good.”
    “It does,” I said. The name of the truck was painted across the yellow side panel in black letters that were framed by a red whimsical scribble and pictures of bow tie confetti in a rainbow of colors. There were no pictures of tacos, or any other kinds of Mexican food fare, but the design did its job of bringing attention to the truck and somehow making the idea of eating tacos sound like a good one, or at least a fun, festive one.
    Only a couple seconds later another truck pulled in. This one’s side panel had a number of animated chickens painted onto a white background. The chickens were cartoonish as well as chock full o’ personality, with big smiles and winks and thumbs-up (okay, wings-up). The name painted along the top of the panel was simply “Wings.”
    “That sounds good, too,” Harry said.
    “Maybe we should have had more than coffee at Maytabee’s,” I said.
    “Maybe.” Harry laughed.
    Allison and Sam directed traffic well, but when I noticed that both Ian and Brenton, the homemade dog biscuit guy, were assisting, I felt like I was neglecting an unspoken duty.
    “I should go help,” I told Harry. “Wanna come? It’d be a good way for you to meet Sam and some of the other people from the market.”
    He looked toward the