Agatha Raisin and The Murderous Marriage

revenge, but then he began to think something might have happened to her. At last he settled down in an armchair in front of the cottage window, jumping to his feet every time he heard the sound of a car, but there was only, first, the milkman, and then Mrs. Hardy going off early somewhere.

His eyes grew heavier and heavier. Why hadn't she even phoned?

He fell asleep at last and in his dream he was marrying Helen Warwick. He only knew he did not want to marry Helen but that somehow she had blackmailed him into it. He was standing at the altar, hoping that Agatha Raisin would come and rescue him when the sound of a key in the lock made his eyes jerk open.

He jumped to his feet, shouting, 'Agatha! Where the hell have you been?'

Agatha had not bothered to change out of her down-and-out outfit. James stared at the wreck that was Agatha, the black circles under her eyes and the terrible smell of stale booze mixing with the meths with which she had sprinkled her clothes at the beginning of the masquerade.

'Oh, Agatha,' he said, looking at her, pity in his eyes replacing the anger. 'I really thought Helen Warwick might have had something else to say, something useful. But if I had known it would upset you so much...'

Agatha sat down wearily. 'The vanity of men never ceases to amaze me. I did not go out and get sozzled because my heart was broken, James dear. Roy and I dressed up and went down to the packing-cases of Waterloo, where we spent the night. We found out something useful. Jimmy had a bag of stuff which a woman called Lizzie took away. We're going to get Roy's detective to try to track her down. Now all I want is to sleep. I nearly drove off the road on the way down here. Enjoy your visit to Helen?'

'No,' said James curtly. 'Big mistake. Gold-digger.'

Agatha gave a little smile and headed for the stairs.

'And burn those clothes,' yelled James after her.

EIGHT

SUDDENLY it seemed to Agatha that, after that adventure, everything went quiet. Mrs. Hardy begged an extra week. She had found a place in London but needed the extra time until the flat became available. The Bugle finally learned about the attempted shooting and ran some of the original interview with Agatha. At first there was hope that someone who knew something about Mrs. Gore-Appleton would come forward, but no one appeared to know anything of any importance. In fact, several people had contacted the police, people who had worked for her charity on a voluntary basis. But their descriptions did not add very much to what the police already knew. Bill Wong privately thought that Mrs. Gore-Appleton was probably settled comfortably in some foreign country where they could not reach her.

He called round one evening, saying dismally to James and Agatha that he was beginning to fear they would never get her now.

'What's this Fred Griggs was saying about the murder of Miss Purvey not being connected with the case?'

'There have been a couple of random stabbings in that cinema and we got some nutter for them. He says he strangled the Purvey woman.'

'And you believe him?'

'I don't, but everyone else seems determined to have one of the murders solved. Have you two found out anything?'

James looked at Agatha and Agatha looked at James. Agatha was still smarting over the Maddie episode. She did not know Maddie was off the case. If she told Bill about Roy's detective looking for the mysterious Lizzie, then the police would take over, Maddie might get some of the credit, and Agatha felt she could not bear that.

'No, nothing,' she said. 'I'm moving back next door.'

'When?'

'Just under three weeks now. It would have been sooner, but Mrs. Hardy begged the extra time. She's found a place in London.'

'Did that article in the newspaper not prompt anyone to come forward with information about Mrs. Gore- Appleton?' asked James.

'Yes, it did. Mostly rich, retired ladies who did volunteer work for her. Some had contributed quite a lot of money to the charity, but others hung on to their wallets when they realized that Mrs. Gore-Appleton only made a few token visits down among London's homeless, dispensing clothes and food. The description is pretty much what we had before - hard, middle-aged, muscular, blonde.'

'Didn't she have any friends among them?'

'No, they only saw her during office hours. They all remember Jimmy Raisin. Mrs. Gore-Appleton was very proud of him, they said. She said it all showed what a little kindness and care could do. Two of the ladies got the impression that Mrs. Gore-Appleton and Jimmy were lovers.'

'Well, we can't blame Jimmy for corrupting her, as she was running a bent charity when they met. How did she get away with it? She would need to be registered with the Charities Commission.'

'She never did that. Just hung out her shingle, didn't advertise for volunteers, simply canvassed a few churches. Quite a scam, in a way. One woman gave her fifteen thousand pounds, and she was the only one who would admit to the amount she paid, so goodness knows what she got from the others.'

Agatha thought of the waste of humanity she had spent the night with under the arches, all God's lost children, and felt a surge of fury. Mrs. Gore-Appleton had, in her own sweet way, been robbing the poor.

'I can't bear the idea that she should get away with it. At the moment, the villagers have dropped the idea that either James or myself did it, but I met the horrible Mrs. Boggles in the village shop the other day, and she sneered at me darkly about 'some folks can get away with murder'. If the case isn't solved, then who knows? Everyone might start to think that way again.'

'I'll let you know anything I can,' said Bill.

'How are things?' asked Agatha. 'I mean with you.'

'Maddie? Oh, that's finished. My mother is quite pleased, and so is Dad. I thought they would be disappointed, because they both hope to see me married.'

Agatha privately thought Mr. and Mrs. Wong would do anything in their power to drive off any female interested in their precious son, but did not say so, which went to show she had changed slightly for the better. The old Agatha had been totally blind and deaf to anyone else's feelings.

But she saw the pain at the back of Bill's eyes and felt a surge of hatred for Maddie.

'So what happens now with you two?' asked Bill.

There was an awkward silence and then Agatha said brightly, 'We'll soon be back to normal - me in my small cottage and James in his. We can wave to each other over the fence.'

'Oh, well, I'm sure you'll sort something out,' said Bill. 'I'm glad to see you've given up investigating murders, Agatha. Not that you weren't a help in the past, but mostly because of your blundering about and making things happen.'

Agatha looked at him, outraged. 'You can go off people, you know.'

'Sorry. Just my joke. But you've nearly got yourself killed in the past. Don't do it again.' His face beamed. 'I'd hate to lose you.'

Agatha smiled suddenly. 'There are times when I wish you were much older, Bill.'

He smiled back. 'And there are times I wish I were, Agatha.'

'Do you want coffee, Bill?' asked James sharply.

'What? Oh, no, I've got to be going.'

Agatha followed him to the door. 'Don't stay away too long. When I'm back in my own place, come for dinner.'

'That's a date. And nothing microwaved either.'

He kissed her on the cheek and went off whistling.

'Oh, God,' said Agatha, coming back into the living-room, where James was moodily kicking at the rug in front of the fireplace. 'I've just remembered. We're hosting the ladies' society from Ancombe. I'd better get along to the