As The Pig Turns

Richards character strikes me as fishy.’
    ‘Patrick did a check on him,’ said Toni cautiously. ‘He is what he appears to be – a successful businessman.’
    ‘Nonetheless, do it,’ said Agatha, ‘and I want Phil following behind you to keep a watch on you, just in case.’
    James came back as she rang off, carrying her drink and a coffee for himself. Agatha suddenly found herself missing Charles. She did not want to move in with James. She would not be allowed to smoke. And his fussy bachelor ways would get on her nerves. Her cottage was protected by first-class security.
    ‘I think I’d be better off in my own home,’ said Agatha after a gulp of her drink. ‘It is secure. Come on, James, you know we’d get on each other’s nerves.’
    He gave a reluctant smile. In that moment, Agatha wavered. Oh, those blue eyes of his and that smile which lit up his whole face. That hard, muscular body . . .
    She gave herself a mental slap.
    For his part, James felt that old pull of attraction towards Agatha. Her hair was shining in the sunlight, and the colour had returned to her face.
    ‘Can’t you just for once leave this one to the police?’ he asked.
    ‘No, I can’t,’ said Agatha. ‘I must get to the bottom of things. What knowledge did a common copper like Beech have that was worth a lot of money? That’s what I would like to know. His macabre death was revenge, I think, but also a warning to anyone else.’
    ‘Leave it for now, anyway,’ said James. ‘Let me take you home.’
    Agatha wavered but realized she was still weak from shock. ‘All right,’ she said, finishing her drink. ‘But I don’t think I’ll go home yet. It will still be full of police. I’ll book a room at the George Hotel after I buy myself some cheap clothes.’
    Sir Charles Fraith heard the news of the dead head delivered to Agatha on the car radio later the next morning. When he arrived at his Warwickshire mansion, he went straight to the kitchen where he kept the keys to Agatha’s cottage. They were usually hanging on a board along with various other keys to the garage, the cellar and so on. But Agatha’s keys were missing. He called to his manservant, Gustav, ‘Have you taken Mrs Raisin’s keys?’
    ‘Wouldn’t touch them,’ said Gustav, who disapproved of Agatha.
    ‘Ask around. The village women were in to clean, weren’t they? And ask my aunt.’
    He waited impatiently until Gustav returned. ‘Nothing,’ he said with gloomy relish.
    ‘Check all the locks. Make sure no one could have broken in.’
    ‘You probably left them somewhere.’
    ‘Oh, just do what you’re told for once in your miserable life.’
    Gustav eventually found there were faint scratches around the lock on the kitchen door.
    ‘I’d better get to Agatha quickly,’ said Charles. ‘She isn’t answering her phone.’
    A call to Bill Wong elicited the fact that Agatha was staying at the George. Charles got into his car and set off for Mircester.
    Toni decided that it would be a mistake to visit Mrs Richards in her home. With Phil in his car parked behind her car a little way away from the Richardses’ villa but with a clear view of the front, Toni settled down to wait.
    The news of Gary Beech’s head had been flashed on television. If Fiona Richards saw it and her ex-husband was implicated in any way, she might rush to him – always assuming she knew something.
    The day was unusually warm. The sun beat down on Toni’s little car. After an hour, Fiona Richards appeared. She was on her own. Fiona drove off at a sedate pace, and Toni with Phil behind followed her black BMW.
    Then Fiona parked in the town square. Toni slid into a parking place a few places away and set out to follow on foot.
    To Toni’s dismay, she went into the George Hotel. Agatha had phoned again before Toni had left the office to say that she would be staying at the George.
    She heard the receptionist say, ‘Good day, Mrs Richards. Your friend is waiting for you in the dining room.’
    Toni had forgotten to take any money out of the petty cash and hoped her own credit card would stand the strain of a lunch at the George. She turned and saw Phil hovering behind her. ‘She’s gone in for lunch to meet someone,’ said Toni. ‘I’d better go into the dining room as well.’
    ‘Don’t waste your money on an expensive meal,’ said the ever-practical Phil. ‘You can’t get near her when she’s with someone. Go into the dining room and get a look at whoever