Devil's Delight--An Agatha Raisin Mystery by M. C. Beaton

Author:M. C. Beaton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group

* * *

The first person Agatha saw when Charles pulled up outside the entrance to the hospital’s Accident and Emergency department was Edward Carstairs. She jumped out of the car and hurried through the automatic doors to catch up with him while Charles sought out a space in the car park.

“Edward!” she called above the click of her heels on the polished linoleum floor. “How is she? What happened to her?”

“I’m not sure,” Edward said, barely breaking his stride as Agatha fell in beside him. “All I was told is that she asked for someone to call me.”

“Me, too,” Agatha said, and they turned a corner to see a uniformed police officer standing near a series of curtained booths.

“Paul,” Agatha called to him, recognising PC Paul Hastings. “Where’s Toni? Is she okay?”

“It looks like she’s going to be okay,” Paul said. “A doctor is with her now.”

“Paul, I’m Edward. Toni and I are…”

“Ah yes,” said Paul. “This is a bit awkward. Toni and I used to be…”

“Will you two pack it in!” Agatha raged. “Nobody cares, okay? I just want to see Toni! What happened to her?”

“I was one of the officers who attended the scene,” Paul explained. “She had been unconscious but was responsive when I spoke to her and she didn’t appear to have sustained any serious injuries. No other vehicles were involved and no one else was hurt.”

A doctor and a nurse appeared from behind one of the curtains.

“Are you here to see Miss Gilmour?” asked the doctor.

“Yes, I am,” Agatha said, brushing Paul and Edward aside. “How is she, doctor?”

“It appears she passed out while driving. Fortunately the car wasn’t travelling very fast and she has just minor bruising, but the fact that she passed out is concerning. She doesn’t appear to have been drinking or to be under the influence of drugs but we’re running tests now. I would like to keep her in overnight for observation.”

“Can I see her now?” Agatha asked.

“Don’t tire her out,” said the doctor. “She needs to rest.”

Agatha swept back the curtain and Toni beamed a huge smile at her before bursting into tears.

“Oh, Agatha,” she sniffed and Agatha handed her a tissue, taking a seat at the bedside. “I made such a mess—the car’s a wreck.”

“Don’t worry about the car, for goodness’ sake.” Agatha attempted to be sympathetic and reassuring but suspected that she had simply sounded stern. She took Toni’s hand. “The car doesn’t matter. The main thing is that you’re okay. Can you remember what happened?”

“I was heading back to the office when I suddenly felt all woozy and passed out,” Toni explained. She gently touched a graze on her cheek. “The next thing I knew there were people all round the car, checking on me, and then I heard Paul.”

Agatha assured her that both Paul and Edward were outside, waiting to see her.

“I don’t understand why I fainted,” Toni insisted. “It’s not like I had been drinking, or…”

“Or what?” Agatha asked when Toni paused. “Had you

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.