Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden

"Is the tape in?" asked Jimmy over her shoulder and Trul gave a sleepy "Yes."

To her amazement, Agatha heard herself being cautioned and then Jimmy's flat emotionless voice asking her if she wanted a lawyer.

"No," said Agatha. "I haven't done anything."

"I have a report here that your fur coat was vandalized. In your preliminary statement, you said nothing about Mrs. Juddle. So why did you go to see her in the middle of the night?"

Agatha's mind went this way and that. Then she decided that the truth was the only thing that would serve.

"I didn't tell the police I had been to Francie because I was ashamed to say I had been consulting the local witch." Agatha unwound the scarf from her head and bent it forward. "Some hairdresser shampooed my head with depilatory instead of shampoo and my hair didn't seem to be growing back properly. Mrs. Daisy Jones at the hotel recommended Francie. I went along to her and bought a bottle of hair tonic. While I was there, she made several remarks about my coat."

"Exactly what did she say?"

"I can't remember exactly. She said something about all the little animals that had been killed to make it and that I shouldn't be wearing it. I was upset after the coat had been vandalized. I thought I would go and wake her up and see if she had any red paint marks on her hands or under her nails. I knocked at the cottage door, hard. The door swung open. I went upstairs to look for the bedroom. I wanted to surprise her asleep. I wanted to look at her hands. But when I pushed open the bedroom door and turned on the light, I saw her the way you found her. I should have checked to see if she was still alive, but I couldn't bring myself to do that. I phoned for the police and ambulance and then went downstairs to wait. Look here," said Agatha with some of her usual energy, "if I'd bumped her off, I would simply have run away. My fingerprints are over everything."

"So Mrs. Juddle gave you hair restorer. Anything else?"

"No," lied Agatha, thinking of that bottle of love potion which was still in her handbag, glad she had not left it in the hotel room for the police to find.

"So let's go back to the beginning again ..."

Jimmy carefully took her through her story several times, obviously hoping she would slip up or come out with another bit of information.

At last, she was fingerprinted and told she was free to go but cautioned not to leave Wyckhadden.

A police car drove her the short distance to the hotel. She went up to her room and wearily opened the door. The room was in chaos. At first she thought she had been burgled until she realized there was fingerprint dust everywhere. Because of the murder, the forensic team had been sent in immediately. There was a knock at the door. She opened it to find the night porter standing there.

"I forgot to tell you," he said, his eyes darting around the room, "that the police took your fur coat away for evidence. Here's the receipt."

"Thanks," said Agatha.

"What's this about a murder?"

"Do you mind? I want to sleep." Agatha shut the door in his face.

She was too tired to take a bath or shower. She creamed off her makeup, undressed and went to bed, but went to sleep with the lights on in case darkness should bring back the horrors of the night too vividly.

Agatha was awakened early in the morning by the shrill sound of the telephone. It was a reporter from the Hadderton Gazette. "Can't talk now," she said and hung up. Then she phoned the switchboard and told them that no calls were to be put through to her room and then fell asleep again. She drifted in and out of sleep, vaguely aware that from time to time someone was knocking at her door.

At last she rose about noon and had just bathed and dressed when the phone rang. "I told you not to put any calls through," she snapped.

"Mrs. Raisin? This is Inspector Jessop. I am downstairs and would like a few words with you."

Agatha hung up, checked her makeup carefully and adjusted the blue scarf around her head, then went downstairs.

"We'll go into the lounge," said Jimmy. "It's empty at the moment."

"No police sidekick?" said Agatha. "Is this a friendly call?"

"Hardly."

They walked into the lounge and sat down in huge armchairs by the long windows. On a coffee-table in front of them were spread the day's papers. "Nothing in the press yet," said Jimmy. "Too late for them."

"When did she die?" asked Agatha. "I mean, the other residents will tell you I was in the hotel all evening."

"We're waiting for the report. It is very hard to pinpoint the actual time of any death."

"Have you found out how someone could have got into my room and slashed my coat?"

"No, it could have been a previous resident. We're checking the maids. Of course, there's a passkey. About last night, let's start again now you are rested. Why should you think a woman whom you had consulted about hair tonic should have slashed your coat, all because of a few off remarks?"