With Phil in his car parked behind her car a little way away from the Richardses’ villa but with a clear view of the front, Toni settled down to wait.
The news of Gary Beech’s head had been flashed on television. If Fiona Richards saw it and her ex-husband was implicated in any way, she might rush to him – always assuming she knew something.
The day was unusually warm. The sun beat down on Toni’s little car. After an hour, Fiona Richards appeared. She was on her own. Fiona drove off at a sedate pace, and Toni with Phil behind followed her black BMW.
Then Fiona parked in the town square. Toni slid into a parking place a few places away and set out to follow on foot.
To Toni’s dismay, she went into the George Hotel. Agatha had phoned again before Toni had left the office to say that she would be staying at the George.
She heard the receptionist say, ‘Good day, Mrs Richards. Your friend is waiting for you in the dining room.’
Toni had forgotten to take any money out of the petty cash and hoped her own credit card would stand the strain of a lunch at the George. She turned and saw Phil hovering behind her. ‘She’s gone in for lunch to meet someone,’ said Toni. ‘I’d better go into the dining room as well.’
‘Don’t waste your money on an expensive meal,’ said the ever-practical Phil. ‘You can’t get near her when she’s with someone. Go into the dining room and get a look at whoever she is meeting and then join me in the café across the road. We can have a cheap snack and wait until she comes out.’
‘Good idea.’ Phil went off, and Toni made her way through to the dining room.
Mrs Richards was talking to a man, and from his appearance, Toni guessed that the man was her ex-husband. Agatha’s notes on the case included detailed descriptions of all the people she had come across.
She retreated and joined Phil, who was seated at an outside table at the café. ‘It looks as if she’s with her ex-husband,’ said Toni. ‘I’ll try to talk to her again when she’s on her own. I mean, she was friendly enough before.’
‘I’ll go and have a look,’ said Phil. ‘I sneaked a photograph of him.’
He had just gone when Toni’s mobile phone rang. It was Charles. ‘Do you know if Agatha is at the George?’ he demanded. ‘It looks as if someone’s stolen my set of keys to her cottage.’
‘Yes, she’s staying at the George,’ said Toni. ‘I hope you didn’t have the code to the burglar alarm with the keys.’
‘Oh, God, it’s pasted above the hook.’
‘Charles!’
‘Got to go.’
Agatha awoke and blinked groggily. Someone was hammering at her hotel-room door. She heard Charles’s voice shouting, ‘Agatha! Open up!’
She struggled out of bed, shouting back, ‘Give me a minute.’
Her hair was all over the place, and her face looked tired and white. She gathered up the set of cheap clothes she had bought, unlocked the door and dived into the bathroom. ‘Take a seat,’ she called. ‘Getting dressed. What’s up?’
‘I’ll tell you when you come out.’
Charles opened the minibar and helped himself to a whisky.
Agatha quickly showered and put on underwear and the loose cotton dress she had bought. She brushed her hair until it shone and carefully applied a layer of make-up with a hand made expert over the years.
When she emerged, she glared at the glass of whisky in Charles’s hand, noticing from two small empty bottles that it was not his first.
‘Oh, do make yourself at home,’ she said sarcastically. ‘Hear about the head?’
‘Yes, frightful.’
‘Is that why you are here raiding the minibar?’
‘Well, not exactly. It’s like this . . .’
Agatha heard him out and then said, ‘I’ll get on to the security firm and get them round tomorrow. I suppose the police will be at my cottage for most of today. I should charge you. I’ll need to change all the locks and the burglar alarm.’
She sat down suddenly on the bed. ‘I still feel shaky. I went straight to bed when I got here.’
‘You need lunch.’
‘Are you buying?’
‘Of course,’ said Charles reluctantly.
They were about to enter the dining room when Agatha saw Fiona Richards and her husband.
She backed away. ‘Let’s get out of here,’ she hissed. ‘The Richards female is in there with her husband. We’ll have lunch somewhere else.’
As they left the hotel, Agatha spotted Phil and Toni in the café opposite and went