Closer to Death in a Garden (Pitkirtly Mysteries Book 10) by Cecilia Peartree

after she took to her heels like a wanted criminal.
    She half-expected the police officer, a mere teenager in a uniform that looked as if it were a couple of sizes too big for him, to come to a halt in front of her, rock a little on his heels and say something like, ‘’Allo, ‘allo, ‘allo, what do we have here then?’
    This prediction proved to be completely wrong for two reasons. Firstly, he evidently wasn’t a Cockney.
    Secondly, he said something far more frightening than that.
    ‘Amaryllis Peebles?’
    She nodded.
    ‘We’ve been looking for you.’
     

Chapter 11 In Captivity
     
    Christopher found himself unexpectedly unsettled by the visit from Keith and Ashley. In the past he had found it easy to see how Keith’s mind was working, and where his thoughts were heading. Now things had somehow changed. Christopher didn’t know whether the questions had been directed primarily at finding out what Amaryllis was up to, or at collecting information about the woman he had helped with her alpaca problem. In each case he wasn’t sure whether there was any suspicion attached to any of them.
    Surely, after all this time, Keith couldn’t seriously think Amaryllis...
    At that point in his thought process, his office phone rang. Please don’t let it be Mrs Lambert from the Council, he said to himself as he answered it.
    Worse than that, it was Jemima, and she had evidently worked herself into a state.
    ‘I didn’t know who else to call – she said she’s a suspect. You’ve got to do something!’
    It was a while since Christopher had heard Jemima sound so upset.
    ‘Is Dave all right?’ he enquired.
    ‘Hmph!’ said Jemima, from which Christopher deduced Dave must be in a state of rude health. ‘Yes, of course. He’s been certified fit by the doctors. He hasn’t had time yet to get unfit again.’
    This was the closest he had ever heard her come to rudeness, too. What on earth could be wrong?
    ‘It isn’t Jock McLean, is it?’ said Christopher, aware that he was clutching at straws.
    ‘Of course not! I’m trying to tell you... The police are after Amaryllis.’
    He tried not to laugh. He didn’t want her coming down to the Cultural Centre and going on a mad orgy of destruction with her handbag, after all. After a suitable pause to compose himself, he said, ‘Why is that?’
    ‘This isn’t a laughing matter,’ she said sternly. ‘She’s a serious suspect. That’s what Chief Inspector Ramsay said. She didn’t mean to tell us, but it slipped out. I knew that woman was out to cause trouble, the first time I met her... It’s probably some kind of vendetta. Amaryllis probably tripped her up on the hockey pitch when they were at school.’
    ‘Do you know what for?’
    ‘Why did they trip each other up? I suppose they were both trying to get to the ball first.’
    He counted to ten under his breath. ‘What’s she a suspect for? What can they possibly imagine she’s done?’
    ‘I don’t know. It’s something to do with the man they found up at the garden centre. It’s maybe just because she was on the spot. They do say...’
    Christopher’s mobile rang. As usual, he had stuffed it underneath some folders on his desk, and his efforts to retrieve it resulted in him throwing paperwork all over the floor and cutting off Jemima in mid-sentence.
    He was too late pressing the green button to answer the mobile. While he was picking everything up, the office phone rang again.
    ‘The line went dead,’ said Jemima indignantly.
    ‘Sorry, that was my fault. I was trying to get hold of my mobile phone and I pressed the end call button by mistake. Can I call you back later? I don’t know who was trying to get me on my mobile but not many people know that number so I’d better find out in case it’s urgent. It might even be Caroline. Or one of the kids.’
    ‘Oh, well, in that case I’d better let you go,’ said Jemima. Her words and her tone communicated different messages, but he decided to pretend