Read Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage for Free Online Page B

night?’
    Bill’s voice, husky with tenderness, replied, ‘You know I did.’
    ‘Let’s go or we’ll miss the start of the movie. But you will find out what you can?’
    ‘I’ll take a run over there tonight.’
    There was a scraping-back of chairs, then Agatha heard their retreating footsteps.
    She felt desperately alone now. Bill’s friendship had always been rock-solid. He had been her first friend in a hitherto friendless life. Now she felt she had no one to trust, certainly
not James, who seemed to be handling the current situation by treating her as impersonally as he would another man.
    And yet Bill Wong was obviously very much in love. What could he see in such a hard-faced bitch?
    James looked at Agatha’s gloomy face on her return and demanded to know what had upset her.
    Wearily, Agatha told him of the overheard conversation.
    James listened, his blue eyes intent. Then he said, ‘You cannot blame Bill for falling in love with an ambitious woman detective. I don’t think it’ll last long. You can’t
choose his girlfriends for him.’
    ‘When he calls this evening,’ said Agatha huffily, ‘I’m not speaking to him.’
    ‘And what good will that do? He’s our only contact with the police. Instead of going into a huff, Agatha, you should simply tell him what you overheard. Maddie said some nasty things
about you, but Bill said none.’
    ‘I don’t want to speak to him again!’
    ‘Agatha, be sensible.’
    ‘I’m sick and tired of being sensible,’ shouted Agatha and burst into tears.
    He gave her a clean handkerchief, he fetched her a stiff brandy, he suggested she lie down.
    And Agatha, who had suddenly and desperately wanted a shoulder to cry on, a shoulder to lean on, pulled herself together and said on a sob that, yes, she would see Bill.
    She would have been comforted could she have known that James felt as if he could cheerfully strangle both Bill Wong and Maddie, but James showed none of this as he returned to his computer.
Agatha went up to bed for a nap, James tried to work, but his doorbell sounded shrilly. He thought it must be some persistent member of the press. Normally he would not have answered the door, but
he had a desire to relieve his feelings on somebody, even if that somebody was Bill Wong.
    So he opened the door and found Roy Silver on the step.
    James took the hapless Roy by the throat and shook him hard. ‘Get the hell away from here, you little worm,’ he roared. James gave him a final shake and then a push and Roy staggered
backwards and fell into the hedge.
    ‘I only came to help,’ said Roy shrilly. ‘Honest. I’ve got information about Jimmy Raisin. I’ve found out things which might explain why someone murdered him. I did
it to help Aggie.’
    James, who had been about to slam the door, hesitated. ‘What are you talking about?’
    Roy extricated himself from the hedge and tittuped forward cautiously. ‘I hired a detective to find out about Jimmy Raisin. I’ve got her report.’ He held up the briefcase he
had managed to hang on to during James’s assault on him.
    ‘Oh, very well,’ said James. ‘Come in and I’ll see if Agatha’s prepared to listen to you.’
    When Agatha came down the stairs, Roy backed nervously behind a chair. He had blonded his hair, which somehow made his face look weaker and whiter.
    But Agatha had had time to think. If Roy had any worthwhile information, then she and James might solve the case and that would leave Bill and his precious Maddie with egg all over their
faces.
    ‘Sit down, Roy,’ she said. ‘If you’ve got anything of importance, I’d like to hear it, but don’t think I’m ever going to forgive you for what you did to
me.’
    ‘He stopped you from committing bigamy,’ said James.
    Agatha glared at both of them.
    ‘Let’s hear what he has to say,’ said James mildly.
    Agatha nodded. Roy edged round the chair and sat down nervously, his briefcase on his lap. ‘I assume,’ said Agatha,