either.’
‘So let’s get along to the vicarage.’
‘After I’ve had something to eat. You might have made me some breakfast as well, Charles.’
‘You were asleep.’
‘Oh, I’ll fix something.’
Charles watched, amused, as Agatha took a packet of frozen curry out of the fridge and put it in the microwave. ‘You’re surely not going to eat curry for breakfast?’
‘Why not?’
Charles waited while Agatha took the curry out of the microwave when it was ready and ate the unappetizing-looking mess, accompanied by strong black coffee, with every appearance of enjoyment.
Then she lit up a cigarette. ‘Can I have one of those?’ asked Charles.
Agatha gave him a steely look.
‘Have you heard of enabling, Charles?’
‘Sounds like therapy-speak.’
‘I mean you can buy your own. I may smoke but I do not encourage other people to do so, particularly when they show every sign of being able to do without it.’
‘You’ll be a saint yet, Aggie. And talking of saints, let’s go and see Mrs Bloxby.’
Mrs Bloxby was watering the vicarage garden. ‘So many greenfly and aphids,’ she mourned. ‘It’s these warm summers. Said on the radio it would be cooler today, that it would go down to about seventy degrees Fahrenheit. I never thought I’d live to see the day when seventy degrees in England was considered getting cooler.’
‘There’s rain forecast,’ said Charles. ‘We’re still on the hunt for Melissa’s character.’
Mrs Bloxby turned off the hose and joined them at the garden table. ‘What have you found out?’
They told her all they knew. She listened carefully and then she said, ‘I’ve been thinking a lot about Mrs Sheppard since I saw you last. My first impression of her, I remember, was that she was a psychopath.’
‘What!’ exclaimed Agatha. ‘You mean like a serial killer!’
‘No, no. There are different degrees of psychopathy. It was something about the eyes. She often had a blank fixed stare which reminded me of someone I once knew. I thought at the time I was being over-dramatic, but what you have told me seems to add up to the character of a certain sort of psychopath – the compulsive lying, the total lack of conscience. Also, looking back, I don’t really think Mrs Sheppard liked anyone at all.’
‘That’s interesting,’ said Charles. ‘Why we came to see you was we wondered if anyone had inherited her cottage?’
‘I heard through village gossip that she had not left a will and that there are no children.’
‘I would like to have a look inside,’ said Agatha. ‘I’d like to see what she was typing.’
‘It’s probably at Mircester police headquarters in an evidence box.’
‘I’d still like to get inside that cottage.’
‘Mrs Simpson cleaned for her. She may still have a key.’
‘She says she gave it back.’
‘Maybe I shouldn’t tell you this,’ said Mrs Bloxby, ‘but Mrs Simpson was always worried about losing clients’ keys and she once let slip that she always makes a copy.’
‘Bingo!’ cried Agatha. ‘Come on, Charles. Let’s go back and see Doris.’
Doris Simpson insisted mulishly that she never would dream of copying her customers’ keys, until Agatha shouted at her that they damn well knew she did. Doris said huffily that, well, perhaps she might still have a key to Melissa’s cottage, and was promptly bundled into Agatha’s car and driven to her home and asked to find it.
‘I feel we’re doing the wrong thing,’ said Charles, as they walked to Melissa’s cottage.
‘Why?’
‘Because if Fred Griggs comes strolling past, we’ll be in bad trouble if we’re caught.’ Fred Griggs was the local policeman.
‘Look,’ said Agatha as they parked outside. ‘No police tape. It’s been removed. We can just say she borrowed something of mine and I wanted it back.’
‘And Fred will say, “What’s all this? Why didn’t you ask the police?”’
‘And I’ll say that we know the police are too busy.
‘So let’s get along to the vicarage.’
‘After I’ve had something to eat. You might have made me some breakfast as well, Charles.’
‘You were asleep.’
‘Oh, I’ll fix something.’
Charles watched, amused, as Agatha took a packet of frozen curry out of the fridge and put it in the microwave. ‘You’re surely not going to eat curry for breakfast?’
‘Why not?’
Charles waited while Agatha took the curry out of the microwave when it was ready and ate the unappetizing-looking mess, accompanied by strong black coffee, with every appearance of enjoyment.
Then she lit up a cigarette. ‘Can I have one of those?’ asked Charles.
Agatha gave him a steely look.
‘Have you heard of enabling, Charles?’
‘Sounds like therapy-speak.’
‘I mean you can buy your own. I may smoke but I do not encourage other people to do so, particularly when they show every sign of being able to do without it.’
‘You’ll be a saint yet, Aggie. And talking of saints, let’s go and see Mrs Bloxby.’
Mrs Bloxby was watering the vicarage garden. ‘So many greenfly and aphids,’ she mourned. ‘It’s these warm summers. Said on the radio it would be cooler today, that it would go down to about seventy degrees Fahrenheit. I never thought I’d live to see the day when seventy degrees in England was considered getting cooler.’
‘There’s rain forecast,’ said Charles. ‘We’re still on the hunt for Melissa’s character.’
Mrs Bloxby turned off the hose and joined them at the garden table. ‘What have you found out?’
They told her all they knew. She listened carefully and then she said, ‘I’ve been thinking a lot about Mrs Sheppard since I saw you last. My first impression of her, I remember, was that she was a psychopath.’
‘What!’ exclaimed Agatha. ‘You mean like a serial killer!’
‘No, no. There are different degrees of psychopathy. It was something about the eyes. She often had a blank fixed stare which reminded me of someone I once knew. I thought at the time I was being over-dramatic, but what you have told me seems to add up to the character of a certain sort of psychopath – the compulsive lying, the total lack of conscience. Also, looking back, I don’t really think Mrs Sheppard liked anyone at all.’
‘That’s interesting,’ said Charles. ‘Why we came to see you was we wondered if anyone had inherited her cottage?’
‘I heard through village gossip that she had not left a will and that there are no children.’
‘I would like to have a look inside,’ said Agatha. ‘I’d like to see what she was typing.’
‘It’s probably at Mircester police headquarters in an evidence box.’
‘I’d still like to get inside that cottage.’
‘Mrs Simpson cleaned for her. She may still have a key.’
‘She says she gave it back.’
‘Maybe I shouldn’t tell you this,’ said Mrs Bloxby, ‘but Mrs Simpson was always worried about losing clients’ keys and she once let slip that she always makes a copy.’
‘Bingo!’ cried Agatha. ‘Come on, Charles. Let’s go back and see Doris.’
Doris Simpson insisted mulishly that she never would dream of copying her customers’ keys, until Agatha shouted at her that they damn well knew she did. Doris said huffily that, well, perhaps she might still have a key to Melissa’s cottage, and was promptly bundled into Agatha’s car and driven to her home and asked to find it.
‘I feel we’re doing the wrong thing,’ said Charles, as they walked to Melissa’s cottage.
‘Why?’
‘Because if Fred Griggs comes strolling past, we’ll be in bad trouble if we’re caught.’ Fred Griggs was the local policeman.
‘Look,’ said Agatha as they parked outside. ‘No police tape. It’s been removed. We can just say she borrowed something of mine and I wanted it back.’
‘And Fred will say, “What’s all this? Why didn’t you ask the police?”’
‘And I’ll say that we know the police are too busy.
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