A Beeline to Murder by Meera Lester

shot out of the chair. What the hey? She froze. Heart racing, adrenaline pumping, she dropped to a squat, taking cover.
    There, behind the portable barbecue, she cocked an ear in the direction the sound had come from. A barn owl screeched a raspy scream for about two seconds as it batted its wings in flight to the tallest eucalyptus tree on the property behind hers. Abby peered into the darkness. She could faintly make out the black silhouette of the cinder-block house that had been the sanctuary of its owner until his death, a year before Abby had moved to the farmette. Now, although she didn’t see them, Abby believed snakes, rats, skunks, and raccoons crawled through the empty rooms and climbed the gnarly dead limbs of the ancient oak that towered over the old house. Yet, despite the haven the old house afforded wildlife, some local teens had only the month before broken into it to drink beer and do drugs. Abby had called county dispatch, and the responding officers had broken up the party. The property owner’s daughter and her husband had returned and padlocked the iron entrance gates but had left any type of cleanup or maintenance for another day.
    Okay. Overreacting . Calm down. Abby inhaled a long, slow breath. Slowing her breath would slow her heart rate, and her heart was racing faster than the lead car in a drag race. She might be overreacting, but the chef’s sudden death had everyone on edge. And that vacant house, hidden by weeds and trees, was a recipe for trouble.
    Abby crept into the dark kitchen of her house. She heard Sugar spring off the bed and pad down the hallway to her side. Rested, the dog apparently sensed excitement and jumped up on Abby.
    “Some watchdog you are, snoozing away while there’s a murderer on the loose. No jumping. Get down.” Sugar wasn’t taking no for an answer and covered Abby’s face in wet licks. “No means no!” Abby reiterated. She felt for the tea towel she kept draped over the oven door handle. Tying it in a knot and pitching it away from the kitchen, Abby prayed that Sugar would run after it.
    With the dog bounding to the living room in search of the knotted towel, Abby took the opportunity to close, lock, and shutter the patio door before groping her way to the bedroom. There, she stealthily opened the drawer to the bedside table and pulled out her Ruger LCP 380 semiautomatic pistol and its magazine. Though it was lighter than her service revolver, the weight of the small gun in her hand had a calming effect. She might have a gimpy thumb, but her two-handed aim was still good. She slipped the magazine into the gun and inhaled deeply, then slowly let go of the breath. Crouched on high alert in the darkness, stroking Sugar’s neck to keep her silent, Abby remembered the crates of jars and wine bottles awaiting removal by the property’s heirs and considered the possibility that a roaming wild animal had knocked them over. As the clock on the wall ticked away minutes and Abby heard no other racket, she concluded that maybe she’d been spooked by something wild, and not necessarily the two-legged kind. All the same, she decided to sleep with her gun within arm’s reach. The dog didn’t seem particularly interested in the doggy toys or her own bed, a folded blanket. Nor had Sugar yet learned that Abby’s bed was off-limits.
     
     
    Tip for Using Honey for Optimum Health

    One to two teaspoons of raw honey eaten each day helps to strengthen the immune system, according to modern science and medical doctors. Regarded as a super food, raw honey is beneficial to your health and healing. The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates advocated the use of honey as medicine. In the ancient world, honey was used to treat a variety of medical problems owing to its antibacterial properties: it kills germs and thus promotes healing. Honey doesn’t go bad. If honey in a jar crystallizes, simply place the jar in hot water to liquefy the contents.

Chapter 5
    Sow plants that produce