Golden Malicious (Apple Orchard Mystery) by Sheila Connolly Read Free Book Online Page B

still ‘if,’ isn’t it?—there is an infestation, then Jonas stands to lose a whole lot of trees.”
    “Exactly.”
    Seth thought for a moment, then said, “Jonas told me in confidence that the sawmill is losing money. He said he might even have to sell. So losing some of his lumber would hit him hard. What does Christopher say the next step should be?”
    “Well, there would have to be confirmation, for a start. He wants me to show him where I saw the beetle.”
    “Do you want me to come along?” Seth offered.
    Meg smiled at him. “No, you don’t have to. The thing is, I forgot to ask Christopher who should tell Jonas about this. I don’t think he will, until he has confirmed the sighting. But from what Bree said, I gather that if you see one beetle, there are probably a lot more hiding in the trees. Did you get a chance to talk with Jonas today?”
    Seth shook his head. “No, I was thinking about talking to him tomorrow. What time are you meeting Christopher?”
    “Mid-afternoon tomorrow, at the forest site.”
    “How about this: you and I can go to the sawmill before that and talk to Jonas, and then I’ll drive you over to the woodlot to meet Christopher.”
    “That sounds good to me. Are you coming by for dinner tonight? I think Bree’s cooking.”
    “No, I promised my mother I’d eat with her. Tomorrow night?”
    “That’s fine.”
    When Meg arrived at her kitchen, Bree was banging pots around and something smelled like onions and spices. Meg sat down at the kitchen table.
    “Why do you know so much about this beetle thing?” Meg asked.
    “Hey, I haven’t been out of school all that long. Christopher actually oversees some kind of research lab on campus, and I think I remember taking a tour of it once. But I was never much interested in the lab research side of things. Anyway, it’s my business to keep track of anything that might affect what we do here, isn’t it? This critter has set up housekeeping not all that far away.”
    “You mean in Worcester. But it doesn’t go after apple trees, does it?”
    “No, but you’ve got to look at the bigger ecological picture. Left uncontrolled, this thing can really change the makeup of our forests, and that affects all of us. Maybe it’ll take a while. Heck, maybe it’s already been here for a while and nobody happened to notice. But in the end, it can do a lot of damage.”
    “Christopher certainly took it seriously.”
    “Of course he did. It
is
serious. Something like this has to be reported officially. If he knew and didn’t act on it and somebody else found out, his professional credibility would be on the line.”
    “Ah, I see. Well, Seth and I are going to go over to the Nash sawmill tomorrow, and then I’ll go meet Christopher. I’ll show him where I found the insect and we’ll see what happens.”
    “Speaking of you and Seth, you two sure do spend a lot of time together these days. You planning to do anything official about it anytime soon?”
    Meg was surprised that Bree had even asked. “We haven’t discussed it. We both have our own lives, you know. We seem to be muddling along well enough.”
    “Hey, as long as it works for you. And before you ask, Michael and I are status quo, too, and happy with that. Quite the independent women, you and me, huh?”
    • • •
    Seth came by the next day after lunch. “Ready go to?”
    “I am. Listen, I’ve been thinking. It sounds as though Jonas has enough to worry about without dumping this possible beetle problem in his lap. Maybe we should wait until we know for sure what’s going on before we say anything. What if we don’t find any more? Does Christopher still have to report it? I mean, I saw one dead beetle, and it might not even be what we think it is. I didn’t stick it in my pocket or take a picture of it. I could have been wrong about it.”
    Seth laughed. “Meg, slow down. You don’t have to say anything. You did the right thing to report it to Christopher, but