As The Pig Turns

went to the industrial estate, Patrick went home and changed out of his suit, collar and tie and shiny shoes. He put on old casual clothes, a scuffed pair of boat shoes and a baseball cap.
    It was a glorious day in June. He cycled out to the estate, feeling he needed the exercise. The English are not very used to good summers, and the warm weather appeared to have taken a lot of people by surprise. He could see men and women carrying coats and jackets.
    He cycled into the industrial estate and propped his bicycle at the side of the café. He realized he hadn’t had any lunch and ordered a hamburger, chips and tea. He could hear the man and woman who ran the café chattering in Polish. There were Poles everywhere in Gloucestershire. The lunch rush was over. He selected a table where he could get a good look at the entrance to Country Fashions.
    Then he saw Bill Wong and Alice Peterson emerging and getting into their unmarked police car and driving off. He jerked down the peak of his baseball cap and turned his face away as the car slowed down opposite the café and then heaved a sigh of relief as it accelerated and drove off. He was served his hamburger, chips and tea. The tea was hot and freshly made. The hamburger was good, and to his amazement, the chips were from real potatoes, not the frozen kind.
    He had a sudden longing to be able to sit here, relaxing in the sun, forgetting about detective work. But what would he do if he retired? He did not have any hobbies. Perhaps he and Phil could retire together and take up golf. At last, he decided reluctantly that he’d better get on with it and have a closer look at the factory.
    As he approached it, a truck drove up and went round the back of the factory. Patrick paid for his food and pushed his bike in the direction the truck had gone. Men were unloading skins from the back of the truck.
    ‘What are you doing here?’ demanded a sharp voice.
    Patrick swung round and found himself confronted by a man in the uniform of a security guard. Fortunately, Patrick had studied the list of businesses on a board as he had entered the industrial park.
    ‘I think I’m lost,’ he said. ‘I need a pump for the pond in my garden.’
    ‘You want Aquaria Plus, Lot eleven, over there,’ said the guard. Patrick got on his bicycle and cycled off.
    Patrick lived in a flat and didn’t have a garden, but he was always cautious, and some instinct prompted him to cycle to Aquaria Plus, dismount and go inside. As he inspected a selection of pumps, he glanced out of the window. The security guard was standing there. Patrick fell into conversation with a sales assistant, and when he looked up again, the security guard had gone. He waited a few minutes and then said apologetically that he would need to consult ‘the wife’.
    He cycled back to the café and ordered a cup of tea and a doughnut, sitting this time with his back to the factory. Perhaps the security guard was simply overzealous. Still, it was something to report.
    Early that evening, Charles Fraith was fumbling for his keys to Agatha’s cottage.
    A heavy hand fell on his shoulder. ‘What are you doing?’ demanded a Scottish voice. Charles swung round. A police sergeant was standing, glaring at him.
    ‘I’m a friend of Mrs Raisin,’ he said crossly. ‘I usually have the keys to her cottage, but I forgot that they had been stolen. What are you doing here?’
    ‘I am Sergeant Tulloch, following orders. A policeman will be along soon to relieve me.’
    ‘What has she been up to?’ asked Charles, ringing the doorbell.
    Agatha answered it. ‘It’s all right, Sergeant,’ she said. ‘Come in, Charles. Sergeant, would you like a cup of tea?’
    ‘Thanks, missus. Grand. Still hot out here.’
    ‘You might have given me a new set of keys,’ complained Charles, following Agatha into the kitchen.
    ‘I like the feeling of not having to find you in residence when I get home,’ said Agatha. ‘Wait till I make that copper a cup of tea and I’ll tell you what’s been happening.’
    She made a pot of tea and then arranged it with milk, sugar and a plate of biscuits and carried it outside. She then brought out a canvas chair and told him to make himself comfortable.
    When she returned, Agatha explained about the interest in her cottage and Country Fashions. ‘So Bill decided to give me a police guard,’ she ended. ‘I’d love to get inside that factory.’
    ‘What about James? He was always a dab hand at breaking and