Page 33 of Death By Llama
“Well, I might have liked to have taken a walk too,” my mother pointed out.
Now I felt bad for thinking it was insensitive not to be included in the Bar Harbor plans.Apparently, I was guilty of the same thing.Though I seriously doubted my mother would have wanted to take a walk.
Then my mother’s eyes focused on my knee.“Sophie, you’re hurt.”
I looked down, realizing for the first time that not only was there a little bit of blood on my—actually mom’s—pants, but there was also a tear.
“Oh,” I said, bending down to inspect the damage.“You know how clumsy I can be.Especially in these elf shoes.I slipped and took a bit of a fall.”
“Are you okay?”Cameron asked.
I nodded quickly.“It looks worse than it is.I’m sorry about your pants, Mom.I’ll pay you for them.”
My mom pursed her lips, studying the hole.“They were new, but I’m just glad you’re not badly hurt.You don’t need to pay me back—you can’t afford that price tag.”
I smiled at my mother.That was such a typical response for her—trying to be a mom, but also tallying up the price of things.In the end, she always came through on the mom part, but it was a bit of a battle for her.
I glanced back to Cameron and realized that he still looked grim.I suddenly noticed he wasn’t just worried—he was also irritated.Irritated that I might have been doing a little sleuthing?I wasn’t sure how I felt about that, but it seemed like this was a good time to call an end to the evening.
“I’m sorry again to have worried you,” I said, focusing on my mother.“I’m sure you and Dad are totally exhausted, and we have a full day planned for tomorrow.”
My mom nodded.“I am tired, and your father has already gone to bed.”
I smiled at that, how classically Dad.He wasn’t worried about what I was doing, and I knew that was because he trusted that I was just fine.
I slipped out of the windbreaker Oliver had lent me and handed it back to him.
I moved to give my mom a hug goodnight.“I’ll see you tomorrow.I have to go check on Jack and then get some sleep myself.”
I said goodnight to Cameron, who gave me a hug that was accompanied by a deep heartfelt sigh that made me uncomfortable.
“Where’s Henry?”Oliver asked Cameron.
Cameron shrugged.“I don’t know.”
It was Oliver’s turn to look grim.I tried to catch his eye, but he just started up the stairs at a fast clip.
I waved to Mom and Cameron, glad that I’d actually left my keys in my car.I still lived under the notion that Friendship Harbor was a very safe place, even though we did have an inordinate amount of murders.But I hadn’t heard of any car thefts, so there was that.
As I got into my car, I considered that Peanut’s death could still be a murder.
And I had only one suspect if it was—narcissistic St.Nick.That man really rubbed me the wrong way.But that was only my own suspicion.I had no facts.I knew I needed more than a gut reaction.
Though my gut was highly accurate, it wouldn’t hold up in court.
NINE
“Well,this has always been a sweet little place,” my mother said after we had strolled through Bar Harbor for an hour.
It sounded like a compliment, but it wasn’t.I knew her tone.She said it the way you did when someone showed you pictures of their baby and you had to scramble for a compliment.My mother didnotbelieve all babies were cute.
And she clearly wasn’t impressed with the local shops and the natural splendor of her surroundings.
Oliver and I exchanged a look.
Honestly, if she couldn’t find a town as quaint and picturesque as Bar Harbor charming, she just needed to stay in her bubble in the valley.
“It is if you like Hallmark movies,” I told her.“And unobstructed mountain vistas, with a boreal forest overlooking ocean cliffs and rocky beaches.”
