Agatha Raisin enquête, tome 11 : L'enfer de l'amour

“The corpse was cold but not stiff, which means she had been dead over thirty-six hours,” said Wilkes. “Of course, I’m sure the flies will give us some clue.”
“Flies?” asked Agatha
The policewoman, who had not previously spoken, suddenly threw back her head, closed her eyes and began to recite, “After death the body begins to smell, and attracts different types of insects. The insects that usually arrive first are the Diptera, in particular the blowflies, and the flesh-flies, or Sarcophagidae. The female will lay their eggs on the body, especially around the natural orifices and in any wounds. Flesh-flies do not lay eggs but deposit larvae instead.
“After about a day, depending on the species, the eggs hatch into small larvae. These larvae live on the tissue and grow fast. After a short time, they moult, and reach the second larval stage. They continue eating and moult to the third stage. This takes about four to five days. When the larvae are fully grown, they become restless and begin to wander. They are now in their pre-pupal stage, about eight to twelve days after the eggs were deposited. Typically it takes between eighteen and twenty-four days from the pupae stage. The exact time depends on the species and the temperature in the surroundings, so by estimating the age of the insects, scientist can estimate the time of death.”
She closed her mouth like a trap. “Are you for real?” demanded Agatha.

She handed Bill a cup of coffee. He studied her, his almond-shaped eyes curious in his round face.
“So what did you find out?”
“That she lived in a fantasy world and thought she was a detective, among other things, but I told you that. She was also prepared to cheat to maintain the fiction of being a perfect housewife. She would buy cakes and then say she had baked them.”
Bill laughed. “Do you remember how we first met? You’d entered a quiche in a baking competition, the judge dropped dead eating it, and we found out that you’d bought it and tried to pass it off as your own baking.”
Agatha flushed.

“She must have changed since she left you,” said Agatha. “Everyone in Carsely praised her cakes.”
“Oh, that. She probably did what she did when she was married to me.”
“Which was?”
“She’d find a good bakery and buy cakes and then put homemade wrappings on them and say she had baked them herself. I mean, only rather sneaky and mean people would do a thing like that.”
Charles glanced at Agatha’s face, for Agatha was notorious for trying to pass off shop goods as her own work.

“Let’s grab a bite to eat. Give me some money, Aggie, and I’ll get it.”
“No,” said Agatha. “You get it.”
“I told you, I forgot my wallet.”
She leaned across quickly, thrust her hand inside his jacket, and pulled oud his wallet. “There you are.”
“Bless me, I was sure I had forgotten it.”
“Good try, Charles. Get food.”

“I wonder if he’s handsome,” said Agatha as she walked across the main car-park with Charles.
“Luke Sheppard? You mean because Melissa was an attractive woman?”
“If you like stringy, faded blondes and itsy-bitsy little middle-aged women who dress like schoolgirls.”
“Late thirties isn’t middle-aged these day. If it is, you’re ancient, Aggie.”

Agatha and Charles followed the thin figure of Josie out and down the stairs. Out in the street, Agatha said to Josie, “You should eat more.”
Josie flicked back her lank hair and stared insolently at Agatha’s stocky figure. “You should eat less, Granny.”
“You insolent little pig,” snarled Agatha.

“Aren’t we all supposed to be in the manor-house library?” jeered Megan. “While the great detective accuses and the guilty one breaks down? Why don’t you both take your fairy-tales and run along or I will call the police and charge you with harassment”

Marquée par le climat extrème qui caractérisait la petite ville balnéaire, Agatha s'étonna de trouver ce jour-là une mer d'huile sous un soleil à peine voilé.

Pourtant, elle avait l'impression que c'était le début de la fin. Adieu la santé, et bonjour l'incontinence et les bas à varices. Elle s'imaginait déjà appuyée à un déambulateur.

- Honnêtement, Charles, ton avarice me laisse perplexe. Tu n'es quand même pas dans la dèche.
- Je crois que tout a commencé avec les frais de succession. D'autant que mon père avait laissé péricliter nos terres. Les fermes ne rapportaient rien, et je me suis donné un mal fou pour remonter la pente.. Il a fallu que je me dégotte un excellent courtier pour faire fructifier mes placements. Perdre le domaine et le manoir, c'était une idée que je ne supportais pas. Du coup, je me suis habitué à économiser sur tout, et le réflexe est resté.Tu sais, je suis allé jusqu'à suivre des cours de gestion agricole et de comptabilité pour éviter de payer un professionnel.