Read Online Agatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist by M. C. Beaton - Free Book Online

shudder.
    She finally went down, calling to James. There was no reply and when she went outside, his car was gone.
    She drove along the now familiar road through Karaoglanoglu, noticing the police were out looking for anyone speeding. Two cars had been stopped. Agatha cruised past them virtuously at a low speed. Down past the army barracks, then the Jasmine Court Hotel and on into Kyrenia and round the new one-way system and down to The Dome. Following the example of the locals, she parked on the pavement in a side street and walked to the hotel.
    James was there, sitting with what she thought of coldly as "the murder suspects." She nodded to them curtly and sailed past them to a table overlooking the sea, where Bert was rising to greet her.
    "I think I'll sit here," said Agatha brightly. "I like to watch the sea." She turned her chair around so that her face was to the sea and her back was to James.
    "Have you been a widow long?" asked Bert after he had ordered wine.
    "Not very long," said Agatha.
    "And do you miss him?"
    "No, it was a strange business. I had left him years ago and I thought he would have died of drink, but he only died a few months ago." Agatha did not want to say her husband had been murdered in case this new beau thought she might be responsible for the murder of Rose.
    "What about you?" she asked.
    "My wife died two years ago. I've been pretty lonely since then." He laughed. "And frustrated. I'm not one for casual affairs."
    "Nor me," said Agatha, eyeing him speculatively and wondering what life would be like in Israel.
    "When I saw you in the pool, do you know, I had this funny feeling I had known you a long time," said Bert. "Have some more wine."
    Behind Agatha, Olivia brayed with laughter and said, "Oh, James, you are wicked."
    Agatha held out her glass and smiled into Bert's eyes. "This is a very romantic setting," she said.
    "Isn't it?"
    The sea was calmer that evening and heaved itself up against the rocks below the hotel with rhythmic little splashes. Agatha had a heady feeling of elation. She was embarking on a new chapter of her life. She could forget all about Carsely, about James, about murder. Nothing really mattered except this handsome man whose eyes were glowing at her across the table.
    There was a sudden rustling in the restaurant, then a silence. Agatha turned round. A beautiful young woman had entered the restaurant. She looked like a foreign film star. She had long black, glossy hair, which she wore down on her tanned shoulders. She was wearing a short white lace dress. Her long, long tanned legs ended in high-heeled strapped sandals. Her large brown eyes were rimmed with thick black lashes. The silence ended and there was a murmur of appreciation.
    Bert looked as if he had been shot through the heart. "She is very beautiful, isn't she," asked Agatha uneasily.
    He made a funny croaking sound. The vision was approaching their table.
    "Surprise!" she cried.
    Bert rose to his feet. "Barbara!" he said. "You're the last person I expected to see."
    "I thought I'd join you earlier than I'd planned." She looked down at Agatha inquiringly.
    "Oh, this is a tourist who's staying at the hotel--Mrs. Raisin."
    Agatha looked up at the beauty, bewildered. "Your daughter, Bert?"
    "I'm his wife," she said with a laugh. "Aren't you pleased to see me, Bert?" She turned to Agatha. "He wasn't expecting me until next week, but I thought I would surprise him."
    Agatha stood up. "Please have my chair," she said stiffly.
    "But you haven't finished your meal, Mrs. Raisin!"
    "I see my friends over there. I've got something I want to talk to them about."
    Agatha walked over, pulled out a chair and sat down between James and Olivia. A waiter brought over her half-eaten plate of kebab and rice and placed it in front of her.
    "Who is that glorious creature?" asked Olivia.
    "She's his daughter," lied Agatha, aware of James's cynical eyes on his face.
    "Then it's a very incestuous relationship," cackled Olivia. "She's