Part of Kate Burkholder, book 7.5
First published 2016
Katie Burkholder spends her autumn afternoon picking apples in Zimmerman's Orchard with her brother. The chores feel routine until her best friend Mattie shows up to help. The two girls turn the work into play, but their fun ends when Billy Marquardt arrives with his gang of English friends. Katie knows these older boys spell trouble and keeps her distance. Mattie thinks differently. She ignores the Ordnung and follows Billy into the old barn. Minutes later, flames engulf the entire structure. Billy claims innocence when Katie confronts him about the fire. The pieces don't fit together. Katie starts digging for answers on her own. What she discovers threatens to destroy her friendship with Mattie forever. This short story from bestselling author Linda Castillo reveals how the future Chief of Police Kate Burkholder first learned to seek truth, even when it hurts.
Genres: mystery, contemporary, young-adult
Vibes: emotional, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Zimmerman's Orchard
Period: Autumn
74 pages · ebook · Minotaur Books