Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden

she'll be all right.'

'Mind if I join you?'

'Please.'

Agatha sat down. 'You're in the morning papers,' said Jennifer. 'All about you getting trapped on that Ferris wheel. The fairground people are sticking to their story that the wheel got stuck.'

Agatha walked over to the sideboard where the morning papers were spread out and picked up the Hadderton Gazette. She carried it back to the table and scanned the news item.

'They make light of it,' said Agatha, putting the paper down. 'Jimmy had to climb down from the top in that storm. He could have slipped and been killed. I could have frozen to death.'

'They're all frightened of the gypsies around here,' said Jennifer. 'The police usually don't do much. Jimmy Jessop was the only one who occasionally went after them. They'll probably get off with it. Some safety inspector will look at the Ferris wheel and then they'll get a smack on the wrist and told to be more careful, that's all. Agatha, I wonder if you'd come to Marks with me. There's a trouser suit I want you to look at.'

'That'll suit me fine. I'm not doing anything this morning.'

After breakfast, they set out in Agatha's car. 'I got fed up with walking in the rain and getting taxis,' said Agatha.

She drove into the central car-park, which was next to Marks & Spencer.

'It's over here,' said Jennifer, leading the way through brightly coloured racks of clothes.

Agatha put her head on one side. 'No, I don't think so. Very smart. But rather masculine. I mean ... maybe you like things masculine.'

'Not really. But I'm not a pretty person and I'm old.'

'Like to try something new?'

'Anything to brighten me up.'

Agatha chose a fine black wool skirt, a soft-yellow silk blouse and a long black velvet waistcoat. 'I see you've been letting your hair grow a bit,' said Agatha. 'Suits you, a bit longer. And ... er ... if you don't mind me saying it, you're getting a bit hairy.'

'What do I do about that? Go back to Jerome?'

'No, we'll go to Boots and buy a depilatory.'

But as they walked out of Marks, Agatha saw a poster in Wyckhadden's one expensive department store advertising the services of a make-up consultant. 'Let's try that. I could do with some advice myself,' said Agatha.

After an hour, with a bag of new cosmetics each and newly painted faces, they went to the store restaurant for lunch. Agatha looked at the non-smoking signs and sighed. The very sight of them made her long for a cigarette.

'Never been interested in any men?' asked Agatha bluntly. Jennifer paused, a forkful of salad half-way to her mouth.

'One is from time to time,' she said frostily. 'I'm not a lesbian, you know.'

Agatha decided to take the bull by the horns. 'It was just that someone said something about you ordering a love potion from Francie.'

Jennifer chomped angrily on her salad and then said, 'I suppose by someone, you mean that inspector of yours.'

'Well, yes.'

'The police have no right to go about gossiping with everyone and anyone.'

'I'm a close friend of Jimmy's. It just came out.'

'I suppose there's no harm in telling you. We get visitors at the hotel in the summer and at Easter. There was this retired doctor, very charming, a widower. We used to go for walks. I was frightfully keen on him. I could see the end of his stay approaching and I felt I would do anything to make him take a deeper interest in me.'

'Did it work?'

'I never got a chance to find out. I'd confided in Mary. To my horror, she told him about it, made a joke of it. 'Better watch what you drink,' that kind of thing. He was terribly embarrassed.'

'I'm not surprised,' said Agatha faintly.

'He left the next day without saying goodbye. I had a terrible scene with Mary and she broke down and cried and said she was frightened of losing me, so I had to forgive her. We've been together so long.'

'Good heavens,' said Agatha. 'I'd never have thought it of Mary. I mean--forgive me--I thought you were the one that kept Mary away from people. I mean, she told me that she never made any friends at work because you were always waiting for her.'

'That's not true!' Jennifer poked at a piece of lettuce on her plate. 'How do these things happen, Agatha? I've never been an attractive woman. When I took care of Mary during her breakdown, she was so pathetically grateful. She said I had brought her back to life. No one had ever appreciated me before. I knew she was really very clever, not like me. She was--is--one of those all-round clever people who can turn their hand to anything. She was a good computer programmer. But people in her office didn't like her, and that's the truth.'

'Why?'

'I went to an office party once and one of the men told me that I should get Mary to stop plotting and planning. Although she's very clever, Mary really had no confidence in herself, and so she always was afraid she'd lose her job, so if anyone bright came along, she would spread gossip, little poisonous things, near enough the truth to damage.'

'But why didn't you leave her?'

'She wants me, she needs me, and no one else does. I think if I left her, she'd kill herself and I couldn't have that on my conscience. I'm sorry I got so angry with you over the Joseph Brady business, but Mary told me you forced her into it and then told her she was silly.'

'I said nothing of the sort!'

'I believe you,' said Jennifer on a sigh. 'She won't like us having gone out together, so she'll start telling me, and the others, little things about you. She's already told Daisy that you've been trying to get your claws into the colonel.'

Agatha leaned back in her chair and stared at Jennifer. 'And I thought you were all such friends!'

'We're more like relatives. We haven't really got anything but each other and we're all old. You've landed into an old folks' home, Agatha.'

'The other thing that bothers me.' said Agatha, 'is that none of you talk about the murders. Why?'

'Do you think I ought to have the chocolate cake for dessert?'

'Why not? You're slim enough. You haven't answered my question, Jennifer.'

'Oh, that. I think we feel we shouldn't talk about it.'

'Bad form?'

'That's an excuse. No, it's because we're all pretty sure one of us did it.'

Agatha stared at her, but Jennifer was calmly ordering chocolate cake. 'What about you, Agatha?'

'May as well. If I can't smoke, I may as well have some comfort.'

The waitress left with their order.

'What makes you think it's one of you?' asked Agatha.

'Just a feeling.'

'Who do you think could have possibly have done it? Who's strong enough?'

'It wouldn't take much strength,' said Jennifer. 'Just a lot of rage and fright.'

'What about Mary?'

'I think if Mary had done it, she would have broken down and told me.'

'The colonel?'

'Perhaps. But what reason?'

'Daisy?'

'Too silly and weak.'

'Harry?'

'Oh, here's our cake.' Agatha waited impatiently until the waitress had left.

'I was asking you about Harry.'