If Llamas Could Talk . . .: Jaswinder Mystery Series, #4

By Cynthia Washburn

Jaswinder falls in love—again—with a four legged adorable llama, Henrietta, that belongs to her friend and co-worker at Summerland Dental Clinic. When someone dies at the Camelot Camelid Boarding Facility, Henrietta falls under suspicion. Or do the police think that Jaswinder herself found the deceased's obnoxious come-on too much to put up with?

Fourth book in the Jaswinder Mystery series.

A clean cozy mystery.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cynthia Washburn
• Release date: Feb 10, 2015
• ISBN: 9781507094013

Book preview

Dedicated to Tammy, who gave me the idea.

Chapter 1

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You see, Jaswinder, a llama is very different from a camel.  Bev stood back from brushing her llama, Henrietta, and nodded with satisfaction. The two co-workers from Summerland Dental Clinic were both dressed in jeans and sweatshirts today. The mid-September afternoon sunlight made horizontal patterns of light on the inside of the weathered barn at the Camelot Camelid Boarding Facility.  It was warm inside and the smell of hay from the second floor loft permeated every breath.

The only camel I’ve ever seen was at the Greater Vancouver Zoo and I could smell it ten meters away, Jaswinder said.  But Henrietta . . . I think I would share a sofa with Henrietta.

It can be a challenge to keep them as clean as they need to be for a therapy visit to a hospice or a school visit but it’s all part of the job.  Are you sure you really want to do it, Jaswinder?  Bev pushed her brown hair back behind her ears where some stray strands had escaped from her casual ponytail.  Her glasses had been pushed to the top of her head.

Yeah, I do.  I mean, I’ll never be as knowledgeable as you are, Bev, but there’s something about alpacas and llamas . . . I had to pull over my car and stare at them the first time I passed an alpaca farm in Langley.  Jaswinder smiled, remembering the day.

Usually, she only went to the city of Langley occasionally, even though it adjoined directly with her own city of Surrey.  Her mother remarked more than once how much Surrey had grown in the twenty-five years they had lived there, growing from less than ninety thousand people to almost a half million now.  Langley had added to its population, as well.  In response and complaint to her mother, Jaswinder complained that the roads probably hadn’t grown much, since the traffic had increased even in the seven years she’d had her drivers’ license.

But Surrey still had lots of farms and open green spaces.  There was more than one llama and alpaca farm although cows and horses predominated.  She did remember from a long ago lesson in school that camelids—that was the animal group that llamas and alpacas belonged to—originally came from South America.

They sure are cute, she continued her response to Bev, somehow feeling that she should be giving a better, more mature answer.  Bev was probably about twenty years older but that had never made much of a difference between them.  Since Bev sat a couple of meters behind the reception counter where Jaswinder spent much of her day, they would have brief—or sometimes not so brief—conversations between patients coming and going.  Jaswinder had noticed that she got more insurance paperwork done on the Tuesdays and Thursdays on Bev’s days off, though.  She had developed the habit of saving jobs requiring more concentration for those days, if she was able to delay that work.

I think that’s why people aren’t afraid of them, Bev said, apparently having no problems with cute being the justification for wanting to work with llamas and alpacas.  And look at Henrietta’s long eyelashes—kind of like Bambi, don’t you think?

Jaswinder studied the white llama for a moment and then smiled.  Lucky she’s a girl.  Otherwise my mother would say, ‘Those lashes are wasted on a boy.’

Except the male llamas have the same eyelashes.  Wait until you get kissed by a llama.  You probably don’t know, Jas, that they call llama kisses, whiffles.  Bev laughed for a moment.  "So, Jaswinder, this is what you’ll have to do, to start, on Saturday mornings, bright and early.

Jaswinder nodded.  Right. I think I’ll come around eight in the morning since I’m used to getting up early for Summerland Dental.  I’m looking forward to this but I just hope I can do it properly.

Bev continued to explain, Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.  In the summer you’ll especially need to bathe and brush Henrietta thoroughly and use a blow dryer to dry her fur and then fluff her up.  Since she’s a certified therapy llama, we do it every weekend.  Don’t worry, she’s used to it.  We trim her toenails as well if they need it, but I’ll do that when I’m here.  Bev smiled over at Jaswinder.  It seems like a lot but you’ll get used to it.  And remember, you won’t be expected to do anything difficult by yourself for a long time.  Somebody more experienced will always be with you.

Since we are planning to show Henrietta at the upcoming Fair—and this also applies for when we do school visits—we want to walk her many times to practice, Bev continued.   "We teach her to walk on a loose lead at a brisk pace next to our shoulder because this will help Henrietta move a lot more naturally.  As well, if you touch and stroke her all over it gets her used to being touched before a judge or student or patient tries. If a judge cannot get their hand on a llama, he or she may not be able to evaluate her. Another thing is the stance that a llama should assume whenever the judge asks the handler to stop.  So, we work with our llamas and alpacas with what we call ‘squaring up’ the two front legs which should be together when looked at from the side and from the front there is a certain ideal spacing.  Same with the rear legs.

I had no idea there was so much to it.  But in terms of Henrietta’s day to day care, someone else takes care of her food and water on a daily basis?

Yes, the manager here—his name is Ernie—I’ll introduce you to him—practically lives in the barn and is really devoted to all the llamas and alpacas.  I know he looks a bit sketchy but he really is a nice guy.  Bev looked over her shoulder and lowered her voice. He does have a tendency to tip the bottle a bit, if you know what I mean, but he never lets it affect his care of the camelids.  I pay four hundred dollars a month to board Henrietta here and for day-to-day care when I can’t come.  It’s worth every penny.  Ernie usually has one or two volunteers that help out as well.  Just check in with him when you arrive.  He likes to keep track of people’s comings and goings.

Henrietta turned to look at Bev as though she understood and agreed with every word that her owner was saying. She always had a smile on her face and looked to Jaswinder to be the same height as she was, maybe five feet, five inches.

There’s Ernie, over in the corner with the pitchfork.  Let’s go over and say hello.

If Ernie had been standing on a street corner in her Newton neighbourhood or even walked into Summerland Dental Clinic, Jaswinder might have mistaken him for a homeless man even without the usual shopping cart.  His brown pants had several stains on the legs and the washed out plaid shirt hung loosely on his body, a couple of sizes too large.  Some stray straw had stuck to the sleeves.  A cap identified as belonging to, or perhaps just advertising, Acme Trucking completed his outfit.

As Bev introduced her to Ernie, Jaswinder kept her eyes on his face but tried to be careful not to look disconcerted at his appearance.  It’s suitable for the work he does, she told herself.  She found it didn’t really help to stare at his face with several days’ growth of a grey beard and small squinty blue eyes.  When he smiled briefly, she knew instantly that, if he showed up at Summerland Dental, the initial appointment to determine the course of treatment would take over half an hour.

A quick glance down confirmed that he was a heavy smoker; the yellow nicotine stained fingers shared their colour with his front teeth.  Jaswinder thought that she could smell alcohol emanating from him but she decided it was best to ignore that.  After all, it wasn’t like he was driving.  Ernie acknowledged the introduction politely enough but didn’t linger to engage in any conversation, other than to say that she should make sure to close the door to the llama pen whenever she came out.

Some young fool left their gate open once and it was a damn nuisance to get that alpaca under control and back in the pen.  He scowled for emphasis, casting a glance over at a large brown alpaca chewing contentedly a few stalls away.  Hanging on the wall at the back of the stall, an ornate wrought iron sign advised the name of the animal, Frederic III.  Make sure you keep Henrietta’s stall tidy, young lady, and we’ll get along fine.  No smoking in the barn . . . and no bringing fellas into the hayloft.  He chortled at his witty remark while Jaswinder told herself not to blush.  But she refused to laugh along.

Okay, Ernie, have a good day, Bev backed Jaswinder and herself away and back to Henrietta.  She looked at Jaswinder as they went back into the stall.  Don’t worry about Ernie; his bark is worse than his bite.  He’s just one of the characters you’re going to meet.

Who owns this facility, Bev?

It’s owned by Fred Hilton; you know, Hilton Toyota Dealership up on Fraser Highway?  I guess he wanted to diversify his investments.

I bought my Yaris from Peace Arch Toyota in White Rock but I know that other dealership.  An alpaca is an unusual investment for a car dealership, isn’t it?

Ah,  you know the rich are different from you and me.  That large brown alpaca, Frederic III is his.  It’s probably the most valuable animal here.  It’s his son, Kyle, who looks after it.  You’ll probably see him around.

Barb continued,  From what I understand, Kyle’s been given the job of looking after him as a punishment for wrecking his Dad’s car in some road race last year.  He does a reasonable job, I’ll have to give him that.  You know,  I’ve heard that Fred Hilton has part interest in a race horse as well.

Just keeping money in the bank is probably boring for him, Jaswinder said.

Bev picked up the grooming brush and changed the subject.  I’ll have to admit I was a little surprised when you asked about getting involved, Bev continued.  I mean, I know I’m completely addicted to the llama lifestyle but not everyone feels the same.  That’s why I only want to work part-time.  So just be warned; you might find yourself owning a flock of llamas in a few years and spending your vacations driving to exhibitions and fairs.  What would that fiancé of yours say to that?

Jovan?  I haven’t actually talked to him about this.  But he knows I’m an independent woman.

Sure . . . but an independent woman with a llama?

Jaswinder had to laugh.  He did look after Herbie for me last year.  You know, Mrs. Harrington’s Yorkshire Terrier?

"Except I’ve yet to meet a llama that you can put in a tote bag and take to