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

Pitkirtly at the moment? Jock and Tricia, Charlie and Jan... Keith and his girl-friend... What was her name?
    But then, Keith and Ashley – that was it – were still young and optimistic enough to go in for that sort of thing. Jock McLean, on the other hand, should have been old enough to know better. Christopher knew he would never understand relationships if he lived to be three hundred.
    Charlie had a very big car, even bigger than Dave’s. Christopher felt as if he and Jock were rattling around in the space as they trundled up the High Street and then further up still, past the hotel. Christopher was still puzzling over Jock’s comment about it being knocked down. He had just opened his mouth to ask what it had meant when they all caught sight of Dave’s car, parked on the verge.
    ‘What’s that doing there?’ said Jock, finding his voice first.
    Charlie slowed and stopped just in front of the other car. They got out of the Range Rover and approached it with something resembling caution, almost as if they imagined it might be booby-trapped.
    ‘Is this the alpaca place?’ said Charlie in an unnaturally low voice.
    ‘Aye, that’s it all right,’ said Jock, gesturing across the road where they could now see a partially concealed entrance.
    ‘There’s something funny going on,’ said Charlie.
    He walked all round Dave’s car, peering inside it. There was nobody in there.
    ‘It looks all right,’ said Christopher.
    He glanced on up the road and saw a big sign with flowers on it. ‘Flowers and Showers Garden Centre,’ he read aloud. ‘Wasn’t Dave at the garden centre when he was taken ill?’
    ‘Well, that’s a coincidence,’ said Jock. He frowned as he stared at the sign. ‘That’s a stupid name.’
    ‘It matches the picture,’ said Charlie, walking on a little way and getting a closer look at the sign. He turned to face them. ‘Maybe Dave parked here for the garden centre.’
    ‘It’ll have its own car park, though,’ Jock objected.
    Christopher couldn’t stand it any longer. ‘What’s the point in standing here discussing garden centre car parks when Amaryllis could be in danger?’ he asked, his voice echoing on the quiet road. It was too quiet. It reminded him of what he didn’t like about leaving the town, even though they were still technically in Pitkirtly as far as he knew. Instead of the safe environment of buildings where people carried on their normal lives at a sensible distance from nature and the elements, you found yourself surrounded by tall trees that were probably going to outlive you by some years, and undergrowth that might house all kinds of random wildlife.
    After a warm sunny day, the sea mist was starting to come in too. Already it swirled round the tops of the trees up here. Soon it would move down to the lower-lying parts of the town. He shivered.
    Charlie was giving him a quizzical look. ‘What makes you think Amaryllis is in danger?’
    ‘She doesn’t usually tell me before she does something risky,’ said Christopher. ‘It’s only afterwards, when she can’t avoid it any longer.’
    ‘Hmm,’ said Charlie.
    ‘It won’t be her that’s in danger,’ said Jock. ‘It’ll be somebody else – an unsuspecting bystander.’
    ‘OK,’ said Charlie. ‘Let’s do this methodically. I’ll take the alpaca farm, Jock can take the garden centre and Christopher takes the woods. Have you got your mobiles on you?’
    Christopher held his phone up. Jock mumbled something. It sounded like ‘Teacher’s pet’.
    Charlie sighed, and reached into his pocket. He threw something to Jock. ‘My spare mobile.’
    ‘You’ve got a spare mobile and you keep it charged up?’ squeaked Jock.
    ‘No, I just thought you might like to carry it around anyway,’ growled Charlie, and crossed the road to investigate the concealed entrance.
    Jock played with the phone buttons for a minute. ‘Do you want me to take the woods?’ he enquired.
    ‘No, of course not!’ said