'And you are divorced?'
'Yes. He was snobbish but it was as if Mother went out of her way to look common when he was around. She wouldn't help out with Annabelle's education.'
'Didn't you get a good settlement from the divorce?'
Fran turned red. 'I had an affair. I looked on it as a passing fling but my ex got a private detective on to it. He said if I didn't just walk away from the marriage, he would bring out my adultery in court. I should have stood my ground and fought for some money for Annabelle's education, but I was so ashamed and Mother said, 'Don't worry about it. I'll give you an income.' It wasn't enough.'
'When your daughter grew up, did she come to resent her grandmother?'
'Annabelle doesn't resent anyone. A girlfriend with money suggested they open a dress shop in the King's Road in Chelsea. It did and does very well.'
'Annabelle isn't married?'
'My daughter is a lesbian.'
'Oh. Do you own your own house?'
'No. Mother bought it for me. Or rather, she bought it and took the rent out of my allowance. It's a poky former council house in Mircester.'
'And you all knew about your mother's special salads?'
Fran shrugged. 'Couldn't not. As far as I can remember, she's served up the beastly things.'
'But you'll be able to sell the house now?'
'Yes, thank God. We're all going to try and stay here at the manor until this dreadful murder is solved. It must be someone from the village.'
'Why?'
'Because none of us has the guts. She really ground us down.'
'Is the kitchen door always open during the day?'
'Yes, anyone could have come in that way. You know what these villages are like. Lots of inbreeding. I think it was done by someone mad.'
'Where is Jimmy at the moment?'
'He's up at the shop, clearing out.'
'Perhaps I might go up there for a word with him. And then perhaps Sadie might like to talk to me.'
'I really don't think my sister or Bert can tell you anything further.'
Agatha had to park a little way away from the shop. There was a crowd outside and the road was almost blocked by tractors and cars.
She walked forward and pushed her way to the front of the crowd. A rejuvenated Jimmy was shouting, 'Everything must go. Fifty pee a box.'
He's practically giving the stuff away, thought Agatha.
Groceries and vegetables from the shop had been piled into separate boxes. The boxes were disappearing rapidly as the villagers bought and bought, carrying stuff back to their cars and tractors and returning for more.
Jimmy's thin face was flushed and his eyes were shining. Hardly the grieving son, thought Agatha. She retreated to her car and decided to wait. It wouldn't be long before everything was gone.
One by one, the vehicles laden with groceries began to move off. Agatha's stomach rumbled. She fished in the glove compartment of her car and found a Mars Bar, ate it, and lit a cigarette.
When the last vehicle had gone, she climbed stiffly from her car, her treacherous hip sending pain shooting down her leg. She limped towards the shop and then heaved a sigh of relief as the pain subsided.
'Mr Tamworthy?'
Jimmy, who was closing the shop door, turned round. 'Oh, it's you.'
'I wanted to ask you a few questions, if that's all right.'
He hesitated and then said reluctantly, 'You'd better come in, but I don't think I can be of much help.'
He led the way into the shop. The wooden shelves were empty of groceries. A few newspapers and a cabbage stalk lay on the floor. Agatha followed Jimmy through the shop, into the back shop, and up a wooden staircase. He opened a door at the top and ushered her in.
She found herself in a bleak little room. Jimmy sat down at a round table at the window. Agatha sat down opposite him. She looked around. There were no books or paintings. The table she was sitting at was flanked by three hard upright chairs. A battered sofa and coffee table were placed in front of a television set. She wondered whether his bedroom might contain more signs of individuality.
Jimmy's face was a polite blank.
'Can you think of anyone at all who might have wanted to kill your mother?' began Agatha.
'Mum irritated a lot of people but not enough to make anyone want to kill her.'
'Did she have trouble with anyone apart from the villagers recently?'
He shook his head. Then he said, 'Blentyn's were annoying her a bit.'
'Who are they?'
'A building developer. He was anxious to start building on the bit of land where those ruined houses are. Mum kept telling him to wait. The boss, Joe Trump, he said that recession was coming and if she didn't hurry up, he'd be unable to sell the houses. He was quite threatening.'
'Where can I find Blentyn's?'
'Out on the industrial estate at Mircester.'
'You must have hated your mother for having stuck you in this shop,' said Agatha.
'She was my mother. You can't hate your own mother.'
'It happens,' said Agatha. 'What will you do now?'
His brown eyes gleamed. 'I'll travel. I'll go to all the places I ever wanted to see.'
'When is the funeral?'
'We don't know. The police said they would let us know when they are releasing the...the...body.'
His eyes filled with tears and he shouted, 'I was enjoying myself. This was
Suddenly nonplussed, Agatha rose to her feet and muttered, 'I'll talk to you later.'
She clattered down the wooden stairs and out through the shop. It had begun to rain. Long fingers of rain were trailing across the stubble of the fields.
Agatha cursed herself as she walked to the car. Why had she run away like that? A real detective would have persevered.
Toni looked down from the window of her flat that evening and shrank back as she saw her brother coming along the street with two of his mates. They were glancing up at the buildings, searching for something. She had a sickening feeling they were looking for her.
She took another cautious look. She had phoned a friend, Maggie Spears, earlier and had asked her to come round. To her horror, she saw the three stop and start to talk to Maggie. Maggie said something, tossed her head and walked on. Then, to Toni's relief, Maggie walked straight past the entrance to the flats.
Five minutes later, Toni's phone rang. It was Maggie. 'That no-good brother of yours was asking where you were. I'll come back when it's safe. I told him you lived in Beacon Street, you know, out on the Evesham Road.'
'Thanks, Maggie,' said Toni. 'I'll be glad to see you.'
Chapter Seven
Phil drove up to the manor, parked discreetly behind the stables as he saw a police car approaching and went in search of the gardener, Fred Instick.
