Page 18 of Death By Llama
“Oh gosh, Jimmy will be a mess.Peanut was his best friend,” Dave said, shaking his head woefully.
Brandy nodded in agreement.“This is terrible.”
“Peanut was Jimmy’s best friend?”I tried again to recall if I’d ever seen the rotund little man.Jimmy had been my pub’s cook since I arrived in Friendship Harbor, and I just didn’t remember ever seeing Peanut in Steamy’s.Or as the Santa at last year’s Christmas events.And I certainly hadn’t seen Jimmy rushing to Peanut’s aid during his fight with St.Nick.
But this was Jimmy we were talking about, so who knew what my older, curmudgeon of a cook acted like with a bestie.I suspected he acted like he did with everyone.Quiet and standoffish.
No lie, I was glad Jimmy wasn’tmybest friend.I liked Jimmy in all this quirkiness, but I was too chatty for him.
“Yes, they’ve been best friends since they were the star quarterback and wide receiver, respectively, at Friendship Harbor High,” Justin said.“They called Jimmy “the man with the golden arm.”
That seemed an awfully long nickname.
Also, I had an incredibly difficult time seeing Jimmy as the star of anything other than grunts and clam chowder.Peanut was probably going to be the star of my nightmares tonight.
“Why did the llama have his hat?”Space Buns, twisted her lips dubiously.
Justin frowned at the two teens as if just realizing they were there, and he wasn’t sure why they were there.Join the club.
But before he could respond, the teenager’s question was answered by a voice that sounded as if it belonged to the Crypt Keeper.
“Because that darned beast has been a menace ever since Sunny got the wretched thing.”
Eleanor Hall.
“Mom,” Millie said, rolling her eyes at the older woman, although Eleanor was too busy glaring at my llama to notice.
Millie Hall, unlike her mother, was a sweet woman, who had clearly done terrible things in a past life to deserve such a horrible harpy for a mother in this one.
Jack rumbled loudly in his chest in response to the ancient woman’s glower.He also raised his wooly head and began to gurgle slightly.A sure sign he was gearing up to spit.While I understood why he’d want to spit at Eleanor, I knew it wouldn’t be good timing.
Justin moved to stand between Eleanor and my irritated llama.“As I said, we have no reason to believe this is anything other than an unfortunate accident.”
Eleanor harrumphed indignantly.
She was the undisputed star of harrumphing.
“Maybe you should take Jack back to your booth,” Justin said to me.
I nodded, glancing around to see that not only was a crowd still surrounding the rock wall of the cliff, but they were also moving to observe what was going on with our group—many of them eyeing Jack warily.
As I surveyed the sea of dismayed faces, my eyes landed on Saint Nicholas.He stood among the onlookers, his arms crossed over his chest.But what really grabbed my attention was his expression, his mouth set in a slight smile.He looked almost smug.
Not exactly the reaction someone should have to a man falling to his death.
For just a brief moment, our eyes locked, and his smug expression faded into one of passive indifference.Then he dropped his arms to his sides and turned to walk away from the watching group.
Well, that was interesting.Was Saint Nick somehow involved?Maybe a little retribution for Peanut ruining his Saint Nicholas performance?
That seemed rather extreme.But from what I’d overheard during his fight with Peanut, he definitely had a flair for the dramatic—and not just in his acting.
I turned away from the bystanders and caught Jack’s lead.
“I’ll take him back to my booth and see if George and Jimmy can bring him back to my house,” I said.
“Or bring him to the glue farm,” Eleanor suggested.
I shot her a dirty look, and I heard Jack gurgle again, working up for an extra gooey glob of phlegm.But rather than say anything to the old woman, I hurried to lead him through the crowd.A mother grabbed her young child’s shoulders and pulled him back against her as we passed.
