The Silence of the Llamas Read Online Free PDF Page A

you help Ben,” Dana suggested as she left them.
    “I’ll go,” Lucy said. “I just called Matt. He wasn’t far. He’s already on his way.”
    Suzanne followed her out into the meadow. “Good idea. I wonder if they’ve called the police.”
    Lucy wondered about that, too. But they probably hadn’t had a chance to do that yet, she thought. As Lucy jogged overto Ellie and the felled llama, another woman pulled the gate open and ran toward them. She carried a plastic bucket of water that sloshed from side to side in one hand, and held a bucket of rags in the other. She was moving surprisingly fast, considering the load and her age, Lucy thought, which was probably somewhere in her late sixties or even early seventies, judging from her white hair and short, stout body.
    “Buttercup is badly hurt, Dot. Please take a look at her,” Ellie called out.
    Dot reached them and dropped her buckets. She was panting a bit, her round face flushed. She had pale white skin and small blue eyes, and her hair, wound in a knot at the back of her head, fell loose around her face as she bent to examine the llama.
    “She looks bad. That pellet got her right in the head. Poor girl. Half an inch lower and her eye would be out.”
    Lucy took in a sharp breath at the description.
    “It’s bad enough as it is.” Ellie gently stroked the llama’s head, careful not to touch the red spot. “Poor Buttercup,” she murmured.
    The animal kept her eyes closed, breathing heavily. Then she suddenly began to shiver and jerk. Her limbs stiffened, and her eyes opened and rolled back in her head.
    Ellie jumped back. “What’s happening? What’s wrong with her?”
    “She’s having a seizure from the head injury,” Dot replied quietly. “We have to be calm. The more we react, the worse it will be for her. Can you give me something to put under her head?”
    Ellie pulled off her vest. The old woman wadded it up and slipped it under the llama’s head as a pillow.
    The llama continued to jerk spasmodically, her hooves flicking and back legs kicking dust up on the ground. Dot took a position at the animal’s head, out of the way of her legs.
    Ellie rose to her feet and stepped back, then stood beside Lucy. “Is that it? Is that all we can do for her?”
    Dot glanced up at her a moment. “That’s all for now. It will pass soon. At least she’s not up, wandering around. I’ve seen horses with focal convulsions. They try to kick out of the stall. It’s better that she’s on the ground,” Dot said as she stroked the llama’s neck. “It should be over in a little while.”
    “There, there. It’s all right, Buttercup. We’re right here with you,” Dot crooned lovingly.
    The llama’s body went slack. Her eyes closed. For a moment, Lucy thought she had died. But the animal’s chest still rose and fell with shallow breaths. Her mouth hung open, and her big tongue flopped to one side, hanging over Ellie’s sweater.
    “The seizure is over. She’s coming around. But she might convulse again. We have to watch her.” Dot came slowly to her feet.
    She wasn’t very tall, Lucy realized, though her assertive presence gave the impression of a taller, bigger woman. Her apple-shaped figure was covered by a large plaid flannel shirt. She wore baggy jeans underneath and dark green, knee-high rubber boots.
    Ben appeared. He had taken a few llamas back to the barn and come through the gate again. “What’s going on? How’s Buttercup?”
    “She had a seizure. But it finally stopped,” Ellie reported. She looked up at her husband. Her face was pale and frightened. “How about the others? What should we do?” She lookedoverwhelmed. “How can we take care of them all? What about the festival? There are people out there, expecting activities, demonstrations . . .”
    “The event has to be called off. Everyone has to go. This is an emergency, Ellie. Have you called the vet?”
    “Me . . . ? When did I have a chance to call him?” Ellie