2 Crushed Read Online Free PDF Page A

teasing tone, as though she’d
heard more about him than he’d wish to share.
    Had Billie brought up the time his
junior high girl friend mowed him down with her bicycle after he broke up with
her? Or that he got pummeled with tomatoes during his performance of Hamlet in
the school play? “Yep, that’s me.”
    She stood up and thrust out a hand.
“Welcome to Fredrickson’s. I suppose I can count on you not to cook the books
or try to murder your sister.”
    He shrugged. “I promise not to cook
the books, but I can only give you a definite maybe on the murder thing. One
day at a time.”
    She grinned. “Good enough for me.”
    “So where do you want me?”
    The office had two terminals set
up, one on Sally’s desk, the other on a card table in the corner of the room.
She dipped her head toward the latter. A metal folding chair awaited him. He
could already imagine his rear end going numb.
    “Don’t look so glum, little
brother,” Billie said as she breezed back in. “It’s only temporary. You can
have the extra office down the hall as soon as the computer tech gets the
wiring set up. He’ll be here tomorrow.”
    Adam pulled out the chair and sat.
The screen was black. “Got a password for this thing?”
    “FredricksonWinery,” Billie and
Sally said, nearly in unison.
    He raised his eyebrows. “Original.
No one would ever think of that.”
    “Don’t be so sarcastic. You
probably couldn’t come up with anything better. Besides, why would anyone want
to break into our computer system?” Billie said, pulling out a file drawer and
rifling through a folder.
    “I don’t know. Why would some crazy
accountant woman try to kill you? Strange things happen in your vicinity.”
    A giggle escaped Sally’s lips and
Billie glared. “Don’t encourage him.”
    The phone rang. Sally picked it up.
“Yep. She’s right here,” she said after a minute and held out the phone. “It’s
for you, boss.”
    Billie took the phone out into the
hall. Her voice was muffled but she sounded disappointed. Sally shuffled past
him to get a cup of water from the cooler by the door.
    “Hear anything interesting?” he
asked.
    “She’s talking to Handel,” she
said, before realizing he was teasing her. She gave him a wry smile. “Sorry.
Bad habit. But how else am I supposed to know what’s going on around here?”
    Billie stepped around the corner
and held out the phone. “If it’s any of your business, I’ll be sure and let you
know.”
    “If you say so.” Sally returned the
phone to her desk and leaned over Adam’s shoulder, her hands on the keyboard.
“Here. Let me get you into the books.”
    Adam glanced at Billie. “If you’ve
got things to do, go ahead. Don’t feel as though you have to hang around and
take care of me.”
    “Believe me, I have no such
feelings. This is the busiest time of year for the winery and I have lots to
do. Besides, you seem to be well taken care of. So, see ya!” She waved a hand
as she walked out without showing an ounce of remorse.
    He straightened and nearly bumped
heads with Sally, still hovering over his left shoulder. “Sorry.”
    She pressed her face close to his
ear and inhaled deeply. “Hmm, fresh Minnesota country boy. I could just eat you
up.”
    He jerked back so fast the metal
chair nearly tipped over.
    Sally exploded in laughter and
dropped back into her desk chair. “You should see your face! Where’s a hidden
camera when you need one?” she hooted.
    “That wasn’t funny,” he mumbled,
his face hot with embarrassment. He readjusted the chair and faced the computer
screen. “What kind of a wacky place does my sister run here anyway?”
    She continued to chuckle
intermittently even while she typed. “We have to do something for fun. Watching
grapes ferment is a pretty boring pastime.”
    When he didn’t respond, she
expelled loudly. “All right, I’m sorry kid. I shouldn’t have teased you. But I
didn’t know Midwesterners were so touchy.”
    He scraped his