Reap a Wicked Harvest Read Online Free

had to believe him. I touched his sleeve. “Are you all right?”
    He whispered brokenly, “I’ll recover, but I might not ever be the same. It’s one thing to smell an animal’s blood, but quite another to smell a human’s.”
    Natalie rushed up. Her eyes were enormous in her round, pale face. “Bretta, Allison says your father found a body in the garden. What are we going to do?”
    I stared at the matte of foliage that had been welcoming in the sunlight but looked threatening by night. Shivering, I said, “Wait for the authorities.”
    Natalie’s fingers gripped my arm. “Who is it? Shouldn’t we do something?”

    â€œDad didn’t see who it was. I think the safest place for us is right here.” I swept the area with a worried gaze. “People are leaving. The authorities will want to question everyone. You should try to keep them on the property. Those gates at the bottom of the hill need to be closed.”
    My father hobbled to a golf cart parked in the driveway and slid behind the wheel. I thought he’d taken the closest seat available because his legs ached. I should have known better.
    â€œDon’t give those gates another thought,” said Dad. “The bastard isn’t getting away.”
    â€œNo! Dad! No!” But he didn’t stop. My father headed down the drive. His gray hair shone in the headlights as he recklessly drove between cars, cutting them off. Gravel rolled under tires as brake lights flared red.
    â€œYour father is a brave man,” said Natalie.
    â€œBrave?” I heaved a sigh. “He’s nuts. What was he doing in the garden, anyway? Why wasn’t he watching the fireworks with the rest of us?”
    Natalie smiled shakily. “From what Allison said, she and your father were having a clandestine meeting.”
    â€œClandestine? Why? They’re both way beyond the age of consent.”
    I hadn’t noticed Allison standing nearby. At my words she stormed over and set me straight. “I’ll have you know, Bretta, we had your best interests at heart. I told your father you don’t like me, and we’d best keep our friendship a secret.”
    I spluttered. “I don’t like you? What about how you feel about me?”
    Allison’s tone was haughty. “That’s immaterial at the moment.”
    Natalie held up her hands. “This is all immaterial. I want to know who is in my garden. Who’s dead?”

    Allison shook her head. “I don’t know. I didn’t see the body. Bertie and I didn’t have a flashlight.”
    I gasped. “Bertie?” Not by any stretch of the imagination was my father a Bertie.
    Allison tossed her head. “Bertie stumbled in the dark. I grabbed him around the waist to help steady him. He put his arm around me and we—” She stopped and shot me a quick glance.
    I kept my face impassive, but inside I cringed. Of all the women my father could have chosen, why had he picked Allison? I motioned for her to continue. “Go on,” I said. “We get the picture.”
    Knowing that it would annoy me, Allison said, “Once Bertie and I came up for air, he told me he’d tripped over something. He reached down and touched a leg. That’s when he hustled me out of there.”
    â€œDad says there’s blood.”
    Allison lifted a shoulder. “I didn’t see it, but the grass was slick under my feet.”
    Natalie and I looked at her shoes. My stomach lurched. The white leather was heavily discolored. This time there was no doubt. It was fresh blood.
    Allison bent over to get a better view of her feet. Her voice held an incredulous note. “How much blood does a human body hold? It looks like I waded in it.” She stood up and the realization of what she’d said sank in. She screeched. “I want these shoes off. I want—” She gagged. And gagged again. “I’m gonna