• Пожаловаться

M Beaton: Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham

Здесь есть возможность читать онлайн «M Beaton: Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham» весь текст электронной книги совершенно бесплатно (целиком полную версию). В некоторых случаях присутствует краткое содержание. категория: Детектив / на английском языке. Описание произведения, (предисловие) а так же отзывы посетителей доступны на портале. Библиотека «Либ Кат» — LibCat.ru создана для любителей полистать хорошую книжку и предлагает широкий выбор жанров:

любовные романы фантастика и фэнтези приключения детективы и триллеры эротика документальные научные юмористические анекдоты о бизнесе проза детские сказки о религиии новинки православные старинные про компьютеры программирование на английском домоводство поэзия

Выбрав категорию по душе Вы сможете найти действительно стоящие книги и насладиться погружением в мир воображения, прочувствовать переживания героев или узнать для себя что-то новое, совершить внутреннее открытие. Подробная информация для ознакомления по текущему запросу представлена ниже:

M Beaton Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham

Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham: краткое содержание, описание и аннотация

Предлагаем к чтению аннотацию, описание, краткое содержание или предисловие (зависит от того, что написал сам автор книги «Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham»). Если вы не нашли необходимую информацию о книге — напишите в комментариях, мы постараемся отыскать её.

After a home dye job ruins her hair, Agatha Raisin, the prickly yet lovable amateur sleuth, turns to the wonderful new hairdresser in the neighboring town for help. And as Agatha soon learns, Mr. John is as skilled at repairing her coiffure as he is at romancing her heart. But the charming Mr. John isn't all he appears to be. According to gossip around the salon and the village, some of his former clients seem to be afraid of him. Could Mr. John really be a ruthless blackmailer? When a murderer strikes at the busy salon, Agatha must discover the truth and the killer's identity before it's too late.

M Beaton: другие книги автора


Кто написал Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham? Узнайте фамилию, как зовут автора книги и список всех его произведений по сериям.

Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham — читать онлайн бесплатно полную книгу (весь текст) целиком

Ниже представлен текст книги, разбитый по страницам. Система сохранения места последней прочитанной страницы, позволяет с удобством читать онлайн бесплатно книгу «Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham», без необходимости каждый раз заново искать на чём Вы остановились. Поставьте закладку, и сможете в любой момент перейти на страницу, на которой закончили чтение.

Шрифт:

Сбросить

Интервал:

Закладка:

Сделать

“That’s interesting,” said Agatha. “Is his grave in the churchyard?”

“There’s a memorial stone, but that’s all. No one knows what happened to his remains. You see, people began to make pilgrimages to his grave to pay their respects to the ‘good Earl Simon.’ Rumour has it that the remains were dug up, burnt, and the ashes scattered to prevent worship of this dangerous democrat. The curator at the Almonry-the Evesham museum-he thinks Henry the Eighth was responsible, because a lot of the relics at Evesham Abbey were destroyed during the dissolution of the monasteries. Am I boring you?”

“No, I didn’t know all this. I’d better take a closer look at Evesham.”

“So tell me all about yourself and your love life.”

They had drunk one bottle of wine and he had ordered another. Agatha, now slightly tipsy, found herself telling him all about James and about her brief fling with Charles. But she did not tell him that James knew all about Charles.

“So where is James now?”

“I don’t know,” said Agatha sadly. “Abroad somewhere.”

“You’re an attractive woman.” He reached across the table and took her hand in his.

Agatha laughed and disengaged her hand. “You make women feel attractive.”

“Tell me more about yourself.”

Agatha talked on but mostly about her days in public relations. Somehow the fact that Bill Wong hadn’t phoned her hurt and so she did not brag about her detective abilities or mention his name.

And while she talked she began to wonder whether he would want to stay the night and whether she would let him. By the end of the meal she was languorously tipsy and was planning to invite him in when they got home.

As they left the restaurant, which was attached to the Crown Inn, Agatha saw Mrs. Friendly emerging from the adjoining bar. “Mrs. Friendly,” called Agatha.

Mrs. Friendly stood stock-still. Her eyes were wide with fright and her face paper-white as she looked at Mr. John. She made an inarticulate sound and turned and went hurriedly back into the bar, pushing her way through people until she was lost to view.

Outside, Agatha said, “You frightened her.”

“Who?”

“Mrs. Friendly.”

“Who’s she? Sounds like Happy Families. Miss Bun, the Baker’s Daughter, Mrs. Friendly, the-”

“No, no. She was really frightened. The woman who was staring at you just as we left.”

“I saw no one I know. The restaurant behind us was crowded, Agatha. She probably saw someone behind us.”

Tipsy as she was, a little warning bell was beginning to sound in Agatha’s brain. She had talked a lot about herself, but she knew practically nothing about this hairdresser apart from the fact that he possessed a good knowledge of Evesham history.

“Should you be driving?” she asked. “We’ve had rather a lot to drink.”

“I’ve a hard head. Don’t worry.”

“If you’re sure. The fact that I know a lot of the police won’t help us if we’re caught.”

But he had marched ahead of her to the car and did not hear her.

When they reached her cottage and got out, Agatha turned to him and said firmly, “Thank you so much for a delightful evening.”

“Aren’t you going to ask me in?”

“Not tonight. I’ve had too much to drink. The next dinner’s on me.”

“I’ll keep you to that.” He bent to kiss her. Mrs. Friendly’s frightened face rose up in Agatha’s mind and she turned her face so that his kiss landed on her cheek. “Good night,” she said hurriedly and left him standing by the car, looking after her.

Agatha pottered about her house and garden the following day. It had rained during the night but the day was once more hot and stifling. The newspapers reported it was the hottest August in England since records had begun. There seemed to be a plague of mosquitoes and the Cotswold spiders were everywhere. Agatha did not like killing spiders and scooped the beasts up in kitchen paper and threw them out into the garden. One was descending from the kitchen ceiling in front of her eyes. She glared at it and it hurriedly retreated upwards, almost as if it were hauling itself up hand over hand.

She was wearing a washed-out cotton caftan she had bought years ago, with nothing underneath. On the kitchen floor, still in its box, was an electric fan she had bought in Evesham. She sighed. She tore open the box and lifted it out. It was in pieces. Did nothing come whole these days? She read the instructions carefully but could not unscrew one piece so as to attach the fan. She was just about to kick the infuriating thing across the floor when the doorbell rang.

Would she ever stop going to answer the door without hoping with all her heart that when she opened it James Lacey would be standing on the doorstep?

But it was Charles who stood there, looking cool and barbered.

“Come in,” said Agatha, her voice curt with disappointment. “What brings you?”

“Got bored.” He followed her into the kitchen.

“You can make yourself useful. I can’t put that fan together.”

“Make us a cup of coffee and I’ll do it.”

Charles worked away busily at the large pedestal fan. “Have you got one of those screwdrivers with the little cross at the head, Aggie?”

“In that box on the kitchen table. How do you want your coffee?”

“As ever. Milk, no sugar. If you loved me, Aggie, you would remember.”

“There’s your coffee, Charles. I’m going upstairs to put some clothes on.”

Agatha went upstairs, took a quick shower, towelled and dressed in shorts and a cotton top.

When she went back to the kitchen, the fan was spinning busily.

“How clever of you, Charles,” said Agatha. “What a relief! How did you get that big screw undone?”

“You unscrew it clockwise.”

“Now, how was anyone supposed to know that?” Agatha sat down at the kitchen table. “I may have stumbled across a mystery, Charles.”

“What bleeding body have you tripped over?”

“No body.” She told him about overhearing the pleading woman while she was in the toilet at the hairdresser’s. “Then I went out with this Mr. John for dinner and as we were leaving, we ran into Mrs. Friendly.”

“Who is she?”

“Newcomer to Carsely. Arrived last winter. Has one of those little cottages opposite the church. Mr. John said she must have been looking at someone in the restaurant behind us but I’ll swear it was him she was frightened of.”

“Is there a Mr. Friendly?”

“Yes, he’s a building contractor.”

“Do you think this hairdresser could have got his leg over, or maybe he’s indulging in a spot of blackmail?”

Agatha’s eyes gleamed. “I thought of blackmail. The way women talk to their hairdressers! You should hear them.”

“Let’s go and see this Mrs. Friendly.”

Agatha shifted uneasily. “What? Now?”

“Why not? Don’t beat about the bush. Ask her why she was so frightened.”

“Shouldn’t I phone first?”

“Let’s surprise her.”

“All right,” said Agatha reluctantly. “I’ll put the cats out in the garden and lock up.”


Mrs. Friendly’s cottage was small and neat, two-storied, with no garden at the front.

They rang the bell. The door was opened by a very hairy man. He was wearing a tank top and shorts and grizzled hair sprouted all over his body. He had tufts of hair in his ears and hair sprouting out of his nose. His eyes were surprisingly weak and pale, peering at them from out of all this hairy virility. He must have been nearly sixty and Agatha thought he looked thoroughly unpleasant.

Читать дальше

Шрифт:

Сбросить

Интервал:

Закладка:

Сделать

Похожие книги на «Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham»

Представляем Вашему вниманию похожие книги на «Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham» списком для выбора. Мы отобрали схожую по названию и смыслу литературу в надежде предоставить читателям больше вариантов отыскать новые, интересные, ещё не прочитанные произведения.


Отзывы о книге «Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham»

Обсуждение, отзывы о книге «Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham» и просто собственные мнения читателей. Оставьте ваши комментарии, напишите, что Вы думаете о произведении, его смысле или главных героях. Укажите что конкретно понравилось, а что нет, и почему Вы так считаете.