Page 184 of Taken Away

“McCrae…” Anne repeated, filing the name away. “He worked for Mabel?”

“Ran the winery with her,” Red answered.

“He found her?” Anne repeated.

“Yes.”

She stirred her coffee once.

“Has Burke ruled him out?”

Willow’s head came up. “Why would you ask that?”

Anne blinked.

“Because my sister was murdered,” she said.

That landed.

Then Anne sighed and lifted one shoulder.

“But then again, Mabel—and Harold, for that matter—managed to make plenty of people mad over the years.”

Red snorted into his coffee. “That ain’t exactly news.”

“No,” Anne agreed. “It isn’t.”

June’s eyes narrowed. “There’s a difference between making people mad and givin’ them a reason to kill you.”

Anne met June’s gaze.

“Is there?”

The question wasn’t sharp.

June held her gaze. “Most of the time, yes.”

Anne’s smile faded completely.

Something flickered across her face.

Then it was gone.

“Well,” she said lightly, reaching for her coffee again, “let’s hope Burke figures out which kind this was.”

She took another sip, then set the mug down.

“So,” she went on, her tone brightening a shade too much, “who’s still around?”

Mary Lou laughed. “Lord, where do you want me to start?”

“Walter Grady?”

Mary Lou’s smile faded. “He’s still there,” she said.

For a beat, the only sound was the hiss of the grill.

Finally, Red grunted. “Walter never did go very far from Blackwood.”