Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage

made a left at Kensington Gardens and headed over to the City.
    Roy was in his office. He backed away behind his desk when he saw the grim look on Agatha’s face. ‘What have you been up to, sweetie?’
    Agatha told him all about the fire, the attempted shooting, and their investigations. Roy visibly relaxed, assuming that all this mayhem was the reason for Agatha’s angry face and not anything to do with himself.
    ‘Perhaps it’s that Hardy woman after all,’ he said when Agatha had finished. ‘She turned up out of nowhere to live in Carsely. What if she’s really Mrs Gore-Appleton? I mean, coincidences happen the whole time. Lots of people move to the Cotswolds and find themselves living next to someone they’ve been trying to avoid all their lives. So how’s this? She takes your cottage. The fact that your name is Raisin and you’re probably Jimmy’s wife amuses her. It’s not all that usual a name. She knows about your proposed wedding to James but thinks you must be divorced. Jimmy may not even have mentioned you. Then, in his fumbling, drunken wanderings, he runs into her, recognizes her as his old buddy and tries to put the screws on her. She bumps him off. Then she goes to that cinema in Mircester and there, in the cinema, she sees Miss Purvey and, what is worse, Miss Purvey sees her, so Miss Purvey must be silenced . . .
    ‘Now she’s running scared. She tries to burn the pair of you to death, but some neighbour starts screaming, “Fire!” and she sees your light upstairs and hears you shouting, “James!” or something and decides, as you are not going to die, she’d better start heaving buckets of earth around to make sure she’s not suspected. Then she thinks up a scheme to throw you off the scent. She hires some actor or villain to stage that hold-up and give you a fright and at the same time she can figure as the heroine of the piece, and who’s going to suspect a heroine?’
    ‘That’s very clever, Roy, and I wish it could stand up, but the fact is James and I went into her cottage – I’ve still got the keys – and we went through her papers and she is exactly who she says she is.’
    ‘Damn.’
    ‘Your detective seems to have a touch with the down-and-outs that the police lack.’
    ‘The problem with Iris is that she’s very busy at the moment. She’s overworked. She’s got at least a couple of battered wives on her books.’
    ‘See if you can get her. I’ll pay her.’ Agatha walked to the window and stared out unseeing at the jumble of City roofs and spires.
    Then she swung round. ‘I know, we’ll go and see what we can find out.’
    ‘We, Paleface? I’ve a job to do here, remember?’
    The door opened and Bunty, Agatha’s former secretary, popped her head round the door. ‘Oh, hello, Mrs R. Roy, Mr Wilson wants to see you.’
    ‘I’ll wait for you,’ said Agatha.
    Roy went off, straightening his garish tie and wondering whether it was too gaudy for a rising young executive.
    Mr Wilson surveyed Roy for a few moments and then said, ‘You’ve got the Raisin woman there.’
    ‘Just dropped by for a chat.’
    ‘That one never drops by for a chat. What does she want? To wring your neck for having buggered up her love-life?’
    ‘No, she wants my help. She’s crazy. She wants us to go among the down-and-outs and find out more about her husband’s background.’
    ‘Then do it.’
    ‘What?’
    ‘I said, do it. Agatha Raisin may be the nastiest, most ball-breaking woman I have ever come across, but she’s the best PR in the business and I would like her on the payroll. I want you to be very nice to her. I want you to point out to her that since she retired, her life has been nothing but stress and murder down in that village. Hint that there’s a good amount of money to be made. Put her in your debt.’
    ‘But I’ve got a meeting with Allied Soaps this afternoon.’
    ‘Patterson can take that. Off with you, and keep the old girl sweet.’
    Roy trailed miserably back to his office. Allied Soaps was an important account and Patterson would dearly like to get his hands on it. Life just wasn’t fair.
    He opened the door of his office and pinned a resolute smile on his face. ‘Guess what? I’ve got a slow day, so we can go.’
    Agatha looked at him suspiciously. ‘What did Wilson want with you? Not trying to get me back on the payroll?’
    ‘No, no.’ Roy knew that if he told Agatha that was the only reason he was going to help her, it would