Closer to Death in a Garden (Pitkirtly Mysteries Book 10) Read Online Free

the same side. I don’t know which side yet.’
    Amaryllis wasn’t making any sense, but that could be because he had had a few too many pints of Old Pictish Brew. Keith Burnet had told Charlie Smith about Dave being rushed to hospital, and they were all drowning their sorrows.
    He had vaguely wondered where Amaryllis was, as it wasn’t like her to miss a group drowning of sorrows, but Jock McLean had an idea she had gone to help Stewie and the wee girl re-paint Mrs Petrelli’s flat, and she would probably pop in later.
    ‘Alpaca farm? What’s that?’
    ‘Well, I’m not sure it’s an actual farm yet. There might only be one of them. I’m going in to make sure it’s all right.’
    The line crackled a little at the end of the sentence. She still wasn’t making any sense.
    He wondered if she wanted him to go and help with the alpacas. He wouldn’t have known what to do with them anyway, even without the Old Pictish Brew.
    She seemed to have rung off. Christopher returned to the bar to consult Charlie.
    ‘Do you know anything about alpacas?’
    ‘Are they the animals that are sometimes mistaken for llamas?’ said Charlie.
    ‘Maybe.’ That was more than Christopher himself knew about them.
    ‘Some woman up at the back of the town keeps them,’ said Jock McLean out of the blue.
    ‘How do you know that?’ said Christopher accusingly.
    ‘I just do... I keep my eyes open, you know.’
    ‘I think Amaryllis is going to do something silly,’ said Christopher.
    ‘That wouldn’t be unheard-of,’ commented Charlie. He leaned his elbows on the bar. ‘How silly?’
    ‘I’m not sure,’ said Christopher. ‘She was going on about an alpaca farm and making sure it was all right.’
    ‘Sounds like she might be planning one of her break-ins,’ said Charlie, straightening up and collecting a couple of glasses to dry. They heard the dog giving a kind of half-growl from its position behind the bar, as if in disapproval.
    Jock sighed. ‘I kind of miss the wee white dog, you know. It was company. Another living, breathing presence in the room.’
    ‘You could always move in with Tricia if you miss it that badly,’ said Charlie, winking at Christopher.
    ‘You don’t move in with somebody when you get to my age,’ said Jock. ‘Not without them asking you to, anyway. Tricia isn’t that sort of woman.’
    ‘Do you think Amaryllis needs back-up?’ said Charlie.
    Christopher considered that possibility. It would be rare for Amaryllis to admit she needed help. On the other hand, it was rather unusual – if not unprecedented – for her to warn him when she was going to do something like this. He had often had to pick up the pieces afterwards, though. Maybe her phone call had been a kind of subconscious request for help. He wished he was better at understanding these subtleties.
    ‘It’ll take me a while to get up there,’ he said. ‘If it’s at the back of the town, that is.’
    ‘It’s up past that hotel,’ said Jock. ‘You know the one. If they haven’t knocked it down yet.’
    ‘That’s a funny place for an alpaca farm,’ said Christopher.
    ‘Anywhere’s a funny place for that,’ said Jock. ‘It’s a pity Jemima didn’t leave us Dave’s car keys – we could have driven up to have a look.’
    ‘Can you drive, then?’ Christopher asked him.
    ‘No. I thought you could.’
    ‘No.’
    They stared at each other blankly.
    Charlie burst out laughing. ‘You’re a fine pair. Never mind the twenty-first century, you haven’t got on board with the twentieth yet... I’ll take you up there and we’ll see what she’s up to.’
    ‘But you can’t leave the bar,’ said Christopher.
    ‘I’ll get Jan to fill in,’ said Charlie. He beckoned to Jan, the wool-shop owner, who was sitting at a table on her own, staring into space. There was something about the way he summoned her that made Christopher think... but again, he was no use at understanding these things. Was there something in the air in