Free The Christmas Puzzle (Pitkirtly Mysteries Book 8) by Cecilia Peartree

you’re going to fall over.’
    Christopher doubted that very much. He could see that if he fell over he might land in Jason Penrose’s lap, and that idea was enough to keep him upright. Still, he accepted a restorative glass of brandy and sipped at it, reflecting meanwhile on how nice Tricia Laidlaw was, and what a comfortable partner she would make for somebody.
    ‘Are the police really planning to bring in an archaeologist?’ said Jason.
    Christopher nodded. ‘They’ve already asked the Council archaeologist to stand by. But they’ve got their own people working on the bones anyway. As well as – the rest of it.’
    ‘Was it really Jackie Whitmore?’ said Tricia.
    Amaryllis nodded. ‘I don’t know if her father will have to do a formal identification but it’s definitely her.’
    ‘Poor wee thing,’ said Tricia, reinforcing Christopher’s opinion of her. ‘She was so young.’
    ‘You said you thought she’d been in there for twelve hours,’ said Jason.  ‘What did you base that on?’
    ‘Just experience,’ said Amaryllis. ‘When you’ve stumbled across as many corpses as I have....’
    ‘Quite,’ said Jason, as if to cut her off before she said anything worse. ‘I take your point.’
    Christopher reflected that Amaryllis, on the other hand, wouldn’t make a comfortable partner for anybody. She was glaring at Jason again, as spiky and on edge as a cat that had just spotted a rival at the end of the garden.
    ‘Do you still want to use Pitkirtly Island for a field trip?’ said Christopher.
    ‘I don’t think we’ll be allowed to, not for a while at least,’ said Jason. ‘The police have closed it all off now. The local dog walkers won’t be pleased.’
    ‘Was the man with the little white dog there when you arrived?’ enquired Amaryllis.
    ‘Yes, of course he was. He was the one who found the hole – or at least his dog did.’
    ‘I suppose he probably walks round that way every morning,’ Amaryllis mused. ‘It must have been a shock for him... Did you catch his name?’
    ‘No, but the police are bound to have it.’
    Jason was watching Amaryllis with a puzzled expression. She often affected people in that way.
    ‘Are the FOOP people meeting again tomorrow?’ she asked.
    ‘I think so. I’m only up here for a few more days, so we’d better make the most of it. We may have to explore some different options.’
    ‘You could go to Culross instead,’ said Tricia. ‘They’ve got plenty of history there.’
    ‘Mmm,’ said Jason. ‘I like to find history in unexpected places. I’d be over the moon if we found something that suggested Roman occupation.’
    ‘That might be more likely at the far side of the Forth Bridge,’ said Zak. ‘Across the river from the Roman fort at Cramond.’
    Christopher regarded his protégé with approval. Zak was good at considering all the evidence quietly and then reaching a reasoned conclusion. Unlike some people, who just pulled remote possibilities out of the air before looking for any evidence. He wouldn’t put it past Jason Penrose to manufacture his own evidence, he thought darkly. He looked forward to talking through that idea with Amaryllis as they walked home. Maybe then she could investigate and together they could discredit the man. Any man who went around in a long dark coat and skin-tight jeans at his age deserved everything he got.
     

Chapter 9 Police Harassment
     
    It might have been going on for a while, but Amaryllis first noticed it when a police car drew up alongside her as she walked towards the tram on Friday afternoon to get ready for her first real shift as an elf.
    ‘Can I help you?’ she said politely, having resolved to be pleasanter to the police as part of her preparations to stand for the local Council.
    ‘Where are you going?’ said a constable she didn’t know, leaning out of the window.
    She gestured towards the tram. ‘In there. I have to get ready to be an elf.’
    She expected the usual amusement and