Free Pulling The Wool: A Magic Garden Mystery (Book 1) by Demy Watts

at her back of her closet once again.
    “Time to whip up some dinner. Are you coming down, Essie?”
    “No…I think I’ll snooze for a bit. Please, wake me up when dinner is served.” He closed his eye and curled himself up into a ball. Fern smiled to herself.

    F ern whipped up a delicious chicken casserole with potatoes and just as she set the table, she heard laughter outside the front door. In walked Zinnia and Alana together, their heads bent in conversation.
    “Hello, Fern. Look who I bumped into on the way home.”
    Fern stepped forward and greeted her aunt and friend.
    “You’re both just in time. Dinner is served.”
    Fern’s ears detected a loud thump and a moment later, Essie appeared on the stairs. He must have heard. She smiled at him.
    “Hey, Alana, come through.” Fern took her coat and hung it up.
    “Smells delicious and I’m starving.” Alana sniffed the air appreciatively and followed her and Zinnia into the kitchen, where they took a seat at the table. Zinnia grabbed a bottle of red wine and they settled themselves in for supper.
    A small bowl had been put out for Essie and he tucked into his meal. Alana watched him with fascination.
    “Goodness, Fern. Look at Essie chomp into that food. Honestly, I’d swear that cat was half human sometimes.”
    Fern and Zinnia caught each other’s eye and burst out laughing.
    “I know what you mean, Alana. Sometimes, I wonder that same thing too.”
    Once Fern served out the food, they discussed the aftermath of the sheep poisoning.
    “So, how’s our famous sleuth doing a couple of days on from solving the crime?”
    “Alana. Don’t call me that.”
    Alana held up her hands, a smile on her lips. “Relax, Fern! I promise I haven’t said anything, I know I’m sworn to secrecy. Still, I’d love to interview you on air.”
    Fern shook her head. “You know, I can’t do that for legal reasons.”
    “I do. Still, your intuition skills were amazing. I can’t believe you cracked it just from watching the interview.”
    Fern smiled. She hadn’t told Alana about her animal speaking skills and therefore couldn’t divulge her conversation with the barn cat.
    “It was just the way he looked on screen – he just seemed pained when Lady Cecily said that he probably loved the sheep more than her. So, that struck a chord. Also, I discovered the fact that he was the only one who had access to feed the sheep. After that, it all just clicked into place.”
    “Well, no one else made the connection, Fern. You did good, girl!” They all raised their glasses to clink with each other.
    “I heard some very interesting gossip today, when I was out on the Barker farm earlier.” Zinnia took a sip of her wine. “It all ties up and explains the odd behaviour of Angela and Charles.”
    Alana pushed her glasses further up her nose. “Ooooh, do tell. Do I sniff a story?”
    Zinnia laughed. “Yes, I think you probably will be covering this. Turns out that the young Pince-Wittington has proposed to Angela Barker, hence all the sneaking around like Romeo and Juliet.”
    “No way!” Fern burst out her surprise, shaking her head. “Who would have ever thought that? But it totally explains why they were so keen to keep their movements off the radar.”
    “Yes, it does,” Zinnia, agreed. “Looks like the horse-loving man had found the farmwife of his dreams.”
    “Well, I never.” Alana sipped her wine. “So, even with all the animosity between Matthew and Sir Chesterton, it looks like they’ll be thrown together after all.”
    “Well, actually in more ways than one. Hence the reason I was down at the Barker farm today.”
    “More news?” Fern sat forward in her seat. This was all quite surprising.
    “Yes. Matthew has agreed to buy Sir Chesterton’s sheep. The Pince-Wittington’s have decided to head off on a cruise around the world, leaving Charles in charge.”
    “Wow!” Fern and Alana looked at each other, shocked.
    “Well, I guess we’ll have to find