Free Too Soon a Death: A Scottish mystery where cosy crime meets tartan noir: Borders Mysteries Book 2 by Janet O'Kane

been offered a job in Newcastle and is planning to bring wifey and sprog up to live just over the Border in Northumberland. They’re already house-hunting around Alnwick.’
    ‘Oh.’ Zoe had no idea how to respond. Had anyone else presented her with this development, she might have argued it could be good for all the parties involved, especially the children. However, she knew the strength of Kate’s antagonism towards Ken precluded any chance of such an agreement being acceptable to her. ‘What do your parents say?’
    ‘They’re as upset as I am. Don’t forget they had to pick up the pieces when Ken walked out on us. I don’t know what I’d’ve done without them. Mhairi wasn’t two months old.’
    ‘So how did you respond?’
    ‘I was very calm. At first, anyway. I asked him if this meant he was going to start paying maintenance. Needless to say, he hadn’t even considered that possibility. Things went downhill from there.’
    ‘Did you manage to agree on anything?’
    ‘Only that he’s going to consult a solicitor, so I must spend money I don’t have on doing the same.’ Kate’s glass thumped as she deposited it on the table. Seeing Zoe wince, she picked it up again to check for cracks, then set it down more carefully. ‘Anyway, I’ll do what I have to. He’s not going to disrupt our lives again.’
    ‘Have you told Mather? Sorry—Erskine.’
    ‘Not yet. As you know, his job doesn’t respect normal people’s routines. And it’s not his battle anyway.’
    ‘True.’
    ‘Can we talk about something else?’ Kate asked. ‘What have you been up to today?’
    Zoe told her about Mac’s early-morning adventure and Kate agreed the stray dog was most likely the one that attacked her father’s sheep, even though the incidents were several miles apart. Ranald had informed the police and warned other farmers nearby to be on the alert.
    ‘And I’ll be going to see my solicitor too, following your brother’s visit.’
    Kate looked blank. ‘Why?’
    ‘Sorry, I assumed you knew. Robbie’s offered to sell me all this.’ Zoe extended an arm to indicate the field that surrounded them. ‘I’m going to be a landowner.’
    ‘Really? He almost never sells anything. I had to work on him about letting you buy the house.’
    ‘I got the impression it’s just a small part of a bigger plan, what he described as rebalancing his portfolio. I hope I haven’t been indiscreet in mentioning it.’
    ‘Of course not. Robbie’s always far too busy these day to tell me what he’s up to. I was surprised he found time to come down to Mum and Dad’s barbecue, though he needn’t have bothered, seeing as he ended up having a row with Dad.’
    ‘Not a serious one, I hope.’
    ‘I doubt it. Dad pretends to disapprove of Robbie’s flashy lifestyle—especially all the holidays they take, and sending the girls to a private school—but secretly he’s proud of how well he’s done. Especially for someone who was thrown out of agricultural college.’
    ‘So Robbie did try to go into the family business?’
    ‘Only because it was expected of him. And although he had to face telling Mum and Dad about being asked not to go back to college, he was pleased really. They sent him to work with Uncle Bill, who at the time was doing up some old cottages to sell. It was meant as a sort of penance, but instead he got the property bug.’
    ‘He’s obviously good at it.’
    ‘The money to be made in the Borders is paltry compared with Edinburgh, so that’s where he mainly operates now. And lives. Because the lovely Ingrid wouldn’t be seen dead in a pair of wellies.’
    ‘I got that impression from our brief encounter last night.’
    ‘He was never going to hook up with anyone normal. They met on a skiing holiday in Switzerland.’
    ‘Ordinary people go skiing too, you know. I’m not very good, but I do enjoy it.’
    ‘Is there any dangerous sport you haven’t done?’
    ‘They’re not dangerous if you do them