As the Pig Turns - By M.C. Beaton Page 0,62

stocking foreign produce and ignoring the homegrown stuff.’

There was a ring at the doorbell. ‘I’ll go,’ said Charles. He looked through the spy hole. ‘It’s Wilkes.’

‘Let him in,’ groaned Agatha. ‘What’s happened now?’

But Wilkes had come to deliver a lecture. He believed in solid police procedure and felt Agatha’s and Simon’s wild flights of intuition were somehow cluttering up the investigation. In vain did Agatha point out that if it hadn’t been for Simon, they would never have found out about Tulloch. She was told firmly that from now on, she and her staff were to leave matters strictly to the police.

When he had gone, Toni said, ‘We should have told him about our suspicions of Richards.’

‘I tell you what,’ said Agatha angrily, ‘I’m tired of that pompous twat treating me like a schoolgirl. I’ll show him.’

‘How?’ asked Charles.

‘We’ll all go to bed and have a good rest, and then we’ll follow one of Richards’ trucks and see where it goes.’

‘I’ll see if James is at home,’ said Charles. ‘He’s more of the derring-do type than I am.’

But Charles returned shortly to say that James was not at home. ‘Oh, well,’ he said reluctantly, ‘I’d better go with you. If I were you, Agatha, I’d phone up Doris and ask her to come and collect your cats.’

‘Why?’

‘I think what you are proposing is dangerous. Anyone who could employ a vicious psycho like Tulloch might make sure you don’t stay alive.’

They decided to tail one of the trucks during daylight, when there would be plenty of traffic on the road.

Agatha had recently bought a Mercedes, and they elected to use that, as Charles had a penchant for buying the cheapest secondhand car he could find.

They waited outside Richards Supermarket until they saw one of his large trucks move out. Charles was driving the Mercedes.

‘If it’s going to call in at local farms to pick up milk and stuff, we’ll have wasted a day,’ he said.

But the truck rolled steadily southward. ‘He’s taking the Dover road,’ said Agatha excitedly. ‘If they take the ferry, we’d better stay in the car.’

But before Dover, the truck swung off the main road. ‘The traffic’s thinner here,’ said Charles. ‘I’d better hang back a bit. We’re right in the open countryside. Look, they’re pulling into that lay-by. I’d better go on past, park somewhere and walk back and try to spy out what they’re doing.’

He drove on and parked up a farm track under a stand of trees. ‘There was a hedge opposite that lay-by,’ he said. ‘If we cross over into that field opposite and make our way back, we should be able to see what’s going on.’

Soon they were huddled behind the hedge. Several very tough-looking men had descended from the truck and were sitting beside the road, drinking coffee out of flasks and eating sandwiches. Agatha’s stomach gave such a loud rumble, she was frightened they would hear it.

The day dragged on. The driver then got into the cab, but instead of starting up the engine, he settled himself down to sleep. The others climbed into the back of the truck, and then all was silence.

‘There must be something up,’ whispered Toni. ‘I mean, what are they waiting for?’

The sun finally descended slowly down the sky. Charles was asleep, and Toni felt her eyes drooping. Only Agatha, smarting over Wilkes’s lecture, kept her eyes fastened avidly on the truck.

At last she nudged Charles awake. ‘I can hear a car coming,’ she whispered. ‘Keep down!’

Headlights cut through the night. A car came to a halt. A man got out and banged on the doors of the truck.

‘Who is it?’ asked Toni.

The man moved into the headlights of his car. ‘It’s Richards,’ said Agatha excitedly.

Tom Richards spoke to the driver. The truck moved off slowly. Richards got into his car and followed.

‘Let them get away and we’ll try to catch up with them,’ said Charles. ‘I’ll need to drive without the headlights on in case they see us.’

As they drove off as slowly and quietly as they could, Agatha muttered, ‘Can’t you go any faster? They could be anywhere.’

‘They might stop suddenly and hear our engine,’ said Charles. ‘Look, I can see their lights in the distance. They’ve gone up that country lane. I’ll follow as far as I dare.’

A large barn loomed up against the night sky and the truck, and Richards stopped outside it.

‘Agatha,’ said Charles, ‘before we go any further, wouldn’t it be an idea to phone the police? These are stone