Agatha Raisin and the Love from Hell

think we’re psychic, Agatha?’
    ‘You called me Agatha. You’re improving. No. Why?’
    ‘You must admit it was an amazing leap of deduction on the part of both of us.’
    ‘I think it was because, for my part, I’d been thinking about nothing else for weeks. It’s a bit like a crossword. You stare at some clue and then decide you’ll never get the answer, and the next day you pick up the paper and glance at it and the answer snaps into your brain.’
    ‘Could be. I’m off then. See you in a week.’
    ‘You really think there’s a chance of him being at that monastery?’
    ‘A slim one, but yes, I do think it’s worth a try.’
    When Charles had gone, Agatha sat down, cradling a cup of coffee in her hands and thinking it was rather pleasant to be alone again, particularly now that she had nothing to be frightened of. Perhaps a lot of her discontent and frustration was because she would not accept middle age or the prospect of heading to old age. A life without men meant she could dress the way she wanted, be herself. No need to let herself go, exactly. She had a sudden sharp longing for a cigarette and tried to fight it down.
    Then she could feel the comfort draining away. How quiet her cottage seemed! She had the cats, of course. She did not really need to do anything. After what she had been through, no one should be expected to do anything. But she rose and began to do some housework and then went out into the garden to pull up weeds. She was bending over a flowerbed when a sudden sharp longing for James engulfed her.
    Faintly, she could hear her front doorbell ringing.
    With relief, she went to answer it. It was Bill Wong.
    ‘Do come in,’ cried Agatha. ‘Has she confessed? How did it go?’
    Bill followed her into the kitchen. ‘They both ratted on each other. Sheppard said it was all her idea, and he had not known she was going to do it. He only thought she was going to threaten Melissa. Of course, when she heard that, she said he had gone along with her every step of the way. It turns out she told him about the will. He was amazed Melissa had that amount of money. Then Megan got rattled when she learned James was romancing Melissa. She phoned her and asked her if Melissa had changed her will. Melissa said not yet, but that James had persuaded her that it would be a good idea to leave it in the family. Megan decided to act before the will was changed. There was the motive.’
    ‘It’s amazing, with all that money, she chose to live in a small cottage in a village,’ said Agatha.
    ‘She was evidently always tight with money, preferred to spend other people’s. Not all that strange a situation. You get millionaires living in council houses. There was a man won four million on the lottery. Never told anyone. Lived in a council flat, worked at a jam factory, had a pint with his mates, just as always. Relatives found out the extent of his wealth when he died. In his will, he said he had realized the money would mean he would have to give up his mates and his job.’
    ‘Is Wilkes giving me any credit for solving his case?’
    Bill looked awkward. ‘He’s going around saying I solved it.’
    ‘Oh, well,’ said Agatha. ‘That way it keeps it in the family, so to speak. I tell you this, Bill. Never again. If a body with a knife in its back falls in front of me, I’ll simply step over it and forget about it.’
    ‘Ever thought of starting a detective agency?’
    ‘You know, I did at one time, but then I thought it would probably be nasty divorces and missing pets.’
    ‘I told Ma she had been a bit abrupt with you and Charles and so she’s invited you both to dinner next Sunday.’
    Agatha repressed a shudder. ‘We can’t. We’re going on holiday.’
    He raised his eyebrows. ‘You mean, you and Charles?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘Am I looking at the next Lady Fraith?’
    ‘No, nothing like that. He’s about ten years younger than me. We’re just friends.’
    ‘Where are you going on holiday?’
    ‘Prague,’ said Agatha, having a sudden fear that if she said the south of France, Bill might check on her movements to see if she was trying to contact James.
    ‘Prague, eh? Why Prague?’
    ‘Sentimental journey. I spent part of my honeymoon there.’
    ‘Have a good time. I see you haven’t given up smoking.’
    Agatha looked at the smouldering cigarette between her fingers in dismay. ‘I thought I had. I didn’t even know I had started again.’
    ‘If you hear anything at all from