(15/30) The Deadly Dance (12 page)

Agatha had been aware for several weeks now of a naggingpain in her hip. But her mind shrieked against the very idea of her having rheumatism or arthritis. Those were ailments of the elderly, surely.

Joyce Peterson lived in a small cottage that leaned slightly towards the road.

Agatha’s hand hovered over the bell. “I wonder why she wasn’t invited to her son’s engagement party.”

“Ring the bell,” said Charles. “You’ll never find out if you don’t ask.”

“Why do I never phone first?” mourned Agatha.

“Because you’re an amateur.” Charles’s voice had an unfamiliar edge to it.

Agatha was just turning to stare at him in surprise when the door opened. A tall blonde woman answered the door. She was wearing tight jeans and a white shirt tied round her trim waist. Her beautiful, expressionless face was half hidden by a wing of her hair.

“Is Mrs. Peterson at home?”

“I am Mrs. Peterson, or was. What do you want?”

Agatha handed over her card. “We are investigating the murder of your husband.”

“Murder! But I was told it was suicide!”

“Please, may we come in? I am Agatha Raisin and this is Sir Charles Fraith. We’ll tell you all about it.”

She nodded and turned away. They followed her through a kitchen and into a long airy room at the back. Agatha was amazed. From the outside, the cottage looked as if it would not have any significant space at all. The room had obviously been extended out to take space from the long garden at the back.

It was tastefully furnished, a mixture of modern and some good antiques.

Joyce sat in an armchair by the open French windows. A gentle breeze floated in, bringing with it the scent of late roses from the garden. Charles and Agatha sat on a sofa opposite her.

She did not ask any questions, simply waited in silence.

Agatha explained how they had found out about the sleeping pills. Still, Joyce said nothing.

“Why weren’t you invited to your son’s engagement party?” asked Charles.

“I was invited but I preferred not to go. Much as I love my son, he said some unforgivable things when I divorced his father. I met the Laggat-Brown female once. Detestable woman. Jason crawls to her. Cassandra is all right, but silly and empty-headed.”

“Why did you divorce your husband?” asked Agatha.

“Why not? You mean I should have stood by a jailbird? He was charged with not only insider trading but pocketing money from clients’ accounts. Then there was another woman.”

“Who?”

“I don’t know. But I checked his credit-card bills one day. There was a diamond necklace from Asprey’s, hotels and meals in Paris, perfume, clothes, all that. When I challenged him, he said the Paris trips were business and the presents were for clients. I was going to divorce him even if he hadn’t gone to prison. Prison simply made the divorce proceedings easier.”

“Did he know Mr. Laggat-Brown?” asked Charles.

“If he did, he never mentioned it.”

“What kind of man was your husband?”

The room was growing dark and there came a faint rumble of thunder in the distance.

“When I met him, he was very charming. A high-flyer. I like the good things of life. Then I had Jason. He was such a darling little boy.”

“You must have been married very young,” said Charles.

“I was eighteen. I wanted to keep the boy at home, but by the time he was eight, Harrison insisted he was sent away to prep school and then Winchester. He began to change. Very much his father’s boy. Little time for me.”

A sudden puff of wind lifted the wing of hair back from her face, and in the lamplight they saw her cheek was marred by a large bruise.

“That’s a nasty bruise,” said Charles.

“Silly of me,” she said. “I didn’t notice a cupboard door in the kitchen was open and walked right into it.”

There came the rattle of a key in the front door and a man’s voice called, “Joyce!”

“In here, dear.”

A tall man carrying a briefcase walked into the room. He was well-built and tanned with very light grey eyes. He was wearing a well-cut business suit.

“Mark, these people are detectives. They say that Harrison was murdered.”

Those eyes of his, as cold as chips of ice, fastened on Agatha and Charles. “You’re not the police, so get out of here.”

“But Mark—”

“Shut up. You two. Out!”

“You’d better go.” Joyce’s voice sounded weary.

Agatha turned in the doorway. “You have my card. If there’s anything I can do …”

“Just go.”

“Isn’t it amazing,” said Charles as they hurried to the car-park just as fat drops of rain were beginning to fall. “They marry one bastard, then as soon as they’re free, they marry another. I’ll never understand women.”

“I’ve just remembered something.” Agatha slid into the passenger seat. “I forgot to leave Roy a key. That’s why he didn’t answer any of my calls.”

“Oh, Aggie. Of all the things. You’ll just need to hope he’s found refuge with Mrs. Bloxby.”

In Agatha’s cottage, there were two notes on the kitchen table. One was from Doris Simpson saying she had let the cats out after feeding them. The other was from Roy. “I don’t know what you think you’re playing at, you old bat, but if it hadn’t been for Emma I would have had a rotten time. Doris Simpson finally let me in. I’m off to London. No point in staying. Roy.”

“Snakes and bastards,” muttered Agatha.

“Your trouble,” said Charles, who had read the note over her shoulder, “is that now you’re running around being a professional detective, you think your friends are to be picked up and left at will.”

The doorbell rang. “You get it, Charles,” said Agatha. “I’ll try Roy on his mobile.”

Charles opened the door. Emma stood there, fresh makeup, golden trouser suit, shielded from the rain under a golfing umbrella.

“Oh, come in,” said Charles. “Agatha’s on the phone.” He led the way into the kitchen. “Can I get you something?”

“No, Em all right, Charles. I’ve been thinking. I owe you not one but two lunches. My turn next.”

And she gazed at Charles with simple adoration in her eyes.

Alarm bells went off in Charles’s head. “That’s very kind of you, Emma, but Em afraid I have to leave. Got things to attend to.”

Emma’s face fell. Agatha came into the kitchen. “Oh, it’s you, Emma. Thank you for looking after, Roy. He’s been singing your praises.”

“Has he forgiven you?” asked Emma.

“Oh, yes,” said Agatha and Charles noticed a flicker of disappointment in Emma’s eyes.

Agatha had mollified Roy by promising to travel up to London and buy him the best meal in town.

“Isn’t it a pity,” said Emma brightly. “Charles has just told me he is leaving.”

Agatha’s bearlike eyes focused on Charles. “But we’ve got so much to find out.”

“Sorry, Aggie. Got to go. I haven’t unpacked my bag, so I’ll be off.”

“Ed better go, too,” said Emma, anxious to hang on to Charles until the very last minute.

“Can’t I persuade you to stay?” asked Agatha, following them to the door.

“Sorry.” Charles picked up his bag and kissed her on the cheek.

He walked out to his car with Emma following. “Goodbye,” she said, turning her cheek towards him for a kiss. Charles pretended not to notice. He slung his bag in the boot and then got into the driver’s seat.

Emma walked to her cottage and stood on the doorstep, waving and waving until his car had turned the coiner of Lilac Lane and disappeared.

Agatha felt forlorn.

Charles drove down to Moreton-in-Marsh and parked by the war memorial. He took out his mobile phone and called Agatha. “Feel like dinner?”

“Yes, but I thought you’d gone!”

“I’m parked by the war memorial in Moreton. Come down and collect me and I’ll tell you about it.”

Over a pub dinner, Agatha exclaimed again, “I can’t believe it. Emma!”

“That’s the reason for the new hairdo and the new clothes.” “Emma’s such a simple, friendly person. Surely you must be mistaken.”

“No, I’m not. She could be dangerous.” “How?”

“I just feel uneasy about it. I’ll creep back with you. I’m sure she goes to bed early. You haven’t really talked much about Laggat-Brown, now that we’re on the subject of romance.”

“I had dinner with him and he seemed very pleasant.”

“He’s my prime suspect.”

“Come on, Charles. He’s got a cast-iron alibi and he wouldn’t want to murder his own daughter. It’s obvious he adores her. My money’s on Jason. He’s the only one with a motive.”

“But to kill his own father! Wait a bit. That’s out. He was in Bermuda.”

“So he was.-We seem to be going round and round.”

“What about Joyce Peterson’s new squeeze? Maybe he’s fanatically jealous of the ex and wanted revenge. Maybe he meant to shoot Jason. You know, Aggie, if it hadn’t been for that death threat, we wouldn’t be in such a muddle. What if the death threat was a blind? What if the intended target wasn’t Cassandra? Don’t you see, she’s the stumbling block. As long as we keep looking on Cassandra as the intended victim, we’ll get nowhere. So let’s take Jason as a possible.”

“Can’t see why,” Agatha said.

“What about Mrs. Laggat-Brown?”

“Possible. Husband’s in the clear. What about the Felliets?”

“I know George very well and I can’t imagine him doing anything murderous.”

“What about the daughter? She might know something about the Laggat-Browns.”

“I never met her. I believe Felicity is very beautiful.”

“It’s a long shot. Could you phone Sir George and ask if he now knows where she is?”

“He’ll wonder why we’re asking. I think I should drop along to Ancombe tomorrow and ask him in the way of conversation. Say I happened to be passing by.”

Emma heard the sound of a car turning into Lilac Lane and ran upstairs to the landing and looked out.

Charles and Agatha got out. They were laughing at something. At me? thought Emma, and put her arms across her body and hugged herself in a paroxysm of jealousy.

In that moment, she hated Agatha Raisin. As she prepared herself for bed that night and then lay down under the duvet, she fantasized that with Agatha out of the way, Charles would turn to her. He obviously had a penchant for older women. If Agatha was killed during an investigation, no one would ever think of Emma. Of course, she wouldn’t actually do it. Would she?

Charles strolled through Ancombe the next morning. Agatha had driven him down to Moreton to collect his car. She had gone off to the office and he had decided to drive to Ancombe, park his car a little ways from where the Felliets lived and see if he could bump into George as if by accident.

He went into the general stores to buy cigarettes. He rarely smoked, usually preferring to “borrow” a cigarette from someone else, but this was one of the rare days when he really wanted a smoke.

As he entered the store, he heard the woman behind the counter saying, “That’ll be seven pounds and fifty pee, Lady Felliet.”

Charles forgot about the cigarettes. What was her first name? Something odd. Crystal, that was it.

He moved forward as Lady Felliet turned away from the counter. “It’s Crystal, isn’t it?”

She was a tall woman. He remembered she had been a blonde beauty when he used to go to deb dances in his early twenties. The blonde was now streaked with grey and worn in a knot at the back of her neck. Her hazel eyes were still beautiful, but two hard lines scored down either side of a mouth that had a discontented droop. She was wearing a tweed suit that had seen better days over a silk blouse, thick stockings and serviceable walking shoes.

“Who are you?” she demanded.

“Charles Fraith.”

“Charlie? Of course it’s you. Good heavens. George told me you’d called round the other day. What brings you here?”

“I’m staying with a friend in Carsely. Went out for a drive and suddenly felt I wanted a cigarette.”

“Get your cigarettes and come home for coffee. We don’t see many people these days.”

Charles bought a packet of Bensons and joined her again. “It wasn’t so bad in the beginning,” said Crystal. “Oh, thank you.” Charles had taken the shopping basket from her. “I really should get one of those carts on wheels. But so naff.”

“Not any more,” said Charles. “What were you saying about the old days?”

“Well, not so far back. I make it sound like centuries. But that’s what it feels like sometimes. When we first moved here, we got invited for weekend house parties and things. People, however, do expect one to return hospitality. I gave a few dinner parties in our poky little cottage, but it didn’t work and finally the invitations stopped coming. I hate that Laggat-Brown creature.”

“Wasn’t her fault you lost your money, though.”

“True. But I mean the feelings of humiliation. She did crow over one. Here we are. George will be delighted.”

George did look pleased to see Charles. “Do you mind if I leave you boys to your coffee?” said Crystal. “I really must do some gardening.”

“Go ahead. I’ll make the coffee,” said George.

Charles followed him into the kitchen and waited while George boiled the kettle and put spoonfuls of instant coffee in two mugs. Charles recognized it as the cheapest instant coffee that could be bought.

“Right,” said George. “Grab your mug, old man, and follow me through.”

When they were seated, he went on, “I do feel sorry for Crystal. All this scrimping and saving is getting to her.”

“You could get a job,” said Charles.

George goggled at him. “No one will employ me at my age.”

“You’re only … what? Forty-four?”

“Forty-five. And where could I work?”

“Tesco’s supermarket at Stow are always advertising for staff.”

“My dear fellow, can you see me on the till? Crystal would die of shame.”

“They need people at supermarkets to stack the shelves. Or what about these all-night garages? They’re always looking for someone. It would pay your grocery bills. Doesn’t your daughter help out?”

“Felicity has expensive tastes. T really don’t think she has anything left over at the end of the month.” “What is she doing again?” “Working as personal assistant to some couturier.” “Where?”

“In Paris, where else? Rue Saint-Honore.” “Which couture house?”