- "When the cat's away the vet will pay..."
- ―The Vicious Vet's tagline
Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet is the second book in the Agatha Raisin series of mystery novels by M. C. Beaton. The story was published August 1, 1993.
Synopsis[]
A PURR-FECT CRIME IN THE COTSWOLDS.
Former London PR agent Agatha Raisin still hasn’t adjusted to village life, where the only prospect for a hot evening out is a meeting of the Ladies Society. And since her overtures toward James Lacey—the retired military man next door—have failed, Agatha jumps at the chance to visit the new vet, who’s single and good-looking. Although Agatha’s tabby hasn’t a thing wrong with him, Hodge endures having a thermometer shoved up his bum in the name of romance. Unfortunately his sacrifice is all for naught when the vet is soon found dead next to a high-strung horse.
The police call the vet’s demise a freak accident, but Agatha convinces the hard-to-get James Lacey, who’s also bored in the Cotswolds, that playing amateur detective might be fun. Unfortunately, just like curiosity killed the cat, Agatha’s inept snooping is soon a motivation for murder...
Plot[]
Chapter 1
Agatha Raisin returned to Carsely from a two-week holiday in the Bahamas tanned and embarrassed. She went there in pursuit of James Lacey, who was due to visit the Bahamas but having heard that Agatha was also going to the Bahamas changed his plans last minute and travelled to Cairo instead. She felt slightly better after reuniting with her cat, Hodge, who she picked up from a cattery in Cirencester.
The next morning while shopping for groceries at Harvey's, Agatha bumped into Mrs. Bloxby and was invited to a meeting of the Carsely Ladies' Society that evening at the vicarage. At the meeting, she was asked all about her holiday, to which she bragged about the beautiful weather and beaches. She also learned from the meeting that Carsely had set up a veterinary surgery headed up by Mircester resident Paul Bladen.
Whilst at the butcher's the next day, Agatha met the legendary Paul Bladen. She introduced herself to him and admitted that she was planning on coming to his surgery later on with her cat. He suggested she come at two o'clock and Agatha headed back home, slightly swept up with the handsome vet. She spent an inordinate amount of time trying to beautify herself before taking Hodge to the appointment, ultimately arriving at the surgery in a cherry-red dress and high heels.
She was annoyed, however, to find that she did not have an appointment with Paul at two o'clock as she had thought but rather, the surgery opened at two o'clock. As a result, there was already a large queue of people waiting for their pets to be seen; including Doris Simpson, Miss Simms and Mrs. Josephs. There was also a newcomer, who Doris identified as widowed Mrs. Huntingdon. Mrs. Huntingdon's appointment with the vet took three quarters of an hour, furthering Agatha's annoyance. When it was finally Agatha's turn, her irritation quickly disappeared upon being greeted by Paul, and the knowledge that there was nothing actually wrong with her cat...
Paul examined Hodge and concluded, despite Agatha's claim that Hodge's appetite had changed, that he looked perfectly healthy. Agatha first thought that Paul had handled Hodge rather cruelly but on second thought reassessed his actions as firm and efficient. Paul then asked Agatha out to dinner in Evesham that night, an offer which she happily accepted. Agatha returned home feeling triumphant and called her friend Mrs Bloxby to share the news. However, Mrs. Bloxby's response was not as Agatha had hoped. She warned Agatha to be careful as she believed Paul to be cold and calculating. Agatha convinced herself that Mrs Bloxby was just jealous.
That evening, she headed to Evesham for her date. As she left Carsely, she had a minor car accident driving through the snow. Another car driving by stopped to see if she was okay. Of course, the other driver turned out to be James Lacey. She asked whether he would be able to give her a lift into Evesham but James informed her that the snow was too heavy for them to drive to Evesham. The damage to Agatha's car was not too severe, mainly affecting the exterior bodywork of the car, so she was able to follow James back to their cottages. She hurried into her home and tried to hire a taxi but no one rang up would drive her with such bad weather. She then phoned up the restaurant and discovered that Paul had not arrived either. Next, she found Paul's number from the phone directory and called up, surprised to find that a woman picked up. She informed Agatha that she was Paul's wife and that he was busy. Agatha was shocked.
The next afternoon Agatha's doorbell rang and she found Detective Sergeant Bill Wong at her door. She invited him in but Bill picked up on the not so subtle fact that she was hoping for a visit from someone else. She explained the events of the previous night to him, including the embarrassing phone call to Paul's wife, but Bill assured Agatha that Paul had separated from his wife five years ago and that their divorce came through just last year. Bill, also being from Mircester, went on to share that Paul partnered with Peter Rice to start a veterinary practice in Mircester some time ago. During the first few weeks they were extremely busy, mainly with female clients, but it soon transpired that Paul wasn't the best vet. He wasn't too fond of pets but was more suited to larger farm animals.
After Bill left, Agatha phoned up the nearest garage to come tow her car to fix. Once they had taken her car, she wrapped up warm so she could head out on foot to the Red Lion but the phone suddenly rang. She answered, hoping finally for a call from Paul. Instead, she was surprised to find it was Jack Pomfret, a former rival from her days working in public relations who she maintained an amicable relationship with. Jack revealed that he had taken a page out of Agatha's book and also retired early, but now found himself with too much time on his hands. He explained that he was thinking of starting up a new PR firm and would like to meet with Agatha to discuss her potential involvement in the business. Agatha jumped at the idea to temporarily get out Carsely and meet with Jack in London.
Chapter 2
Wanting to take Hodge with her, Agatha rented a flat in London. Once in London, Agatha met up with Jack for a business lunch. He outlined a seemingly well thought out business plan, with two major clients lined up. The managing directors of both companies happened to be nearby in the city, so Jack set up a second meeting at Agatha's flat. Agatha quickly found herself happily back in her old business ways, particularly with both the managing directors flirting with her. After the businessmen left, Jack explained that all Agatha needed to do was contribute a fee to help Jack start up the firm. Once he sorted out the admin side of the company, it would be down to Agatha to work her magic with the clients. Agatha told Jack that she would think it over and call him back the next day, as the financial contribution he was asking of her would wipe out almost the entirety of her savings. As she saw him out, she realised that Hodge was no where to be seen. She frantically searched the flat before taking to the streets, calling out for Hodge on nearby roads. Finally, she found him and brought him back with her, however, upon returning to the flat she found Hodge napping in the kitchen and realised she had mistaken a stray tabby for her own Hodge. She momentarily debated returning the stay to the streets or giving him to the RSPCA but ultimately decided the best thing for the cat would be for her to adopt him herself.
She gave her friend Bill a call to share the exciting news, only to be met with skepticism from Bill. He pointed out that the meeting with the managing directors didn't seem legitimate in his opinion. He also suggested calling round to Jack's house to get a better idea of his intentions and his commitment to the business. Agatha was irritated that she had been rather naive and, even worse, that Bill had picked up on it! After speaking with Bill, she phoned Roy to find out Jack's address. She was surprised to hear that Jack lived only round the corner from where she was staying and set off to call on him. However, when she arrived at the address Roy gave her, she found that Jack no longer lived there. The new homeowner gave Agatha Jack's new address and some mail to pass on. Agatha arrived at the new address to find him living in a basement flat in a rundown area. Jack's wife Marcia answered the door to her and invited her in to talk after Agatha lied about researching on behalf of the Spanish government why Brits who moved to Spain didn't settle and returned. Marcia explained that they had moved to Spain and set up an English bar on the Costa Del Sol, with Marcia working hard in the kitchen while Jack worked front of house. They struggled to bring in a steady stream of customers, especially when the tourist season had ended, and ultimately had to sell up and moved back to England. With her nagging doubts confirmed, Agatha thanked Marcia for her time and left. On her way back, Agatha was spotted by Jack at a tube station. He stayed out of her way and when got home and spoke to his wife he realised that Agatha had sussed him out. Annoyed that he had invested so much money into impressing her with the meal at the Savoy and hiring two actors to play businessmen, he thought about how he could possibly save face and succeed in convincing her to hand over money for their 'new business'. When Agatha returned to her flat, she decided it best to rent another flat for the duration of her stay in London in order to not only avoid any confrontation with Jack when he inevitable sought her out again, but also because she was embarrassed about her own gullibility. As she predicted, Jack did indeed turn up to her flat later on, only to find no sign of Agatha.
Before her stay in London ended, she took her newly adopted cat to a vet to get its shots having decided that as she was already caring for one cat, she may as well care for two. She named the new cat Boswell. One evening as she was waling back from a trip to the theatre, she was nearly mugged. This made Agatha re-evaluate the idea that she could easily fit back into city life and reflect on how she'd lost her streetwise instincts since settling in to the small town life of Carsely, where she often didn't even bother to lock her car at night. When it was time to return to Carsely, she felt more secure, as if she were coming home. Her thoughts quickly turned to Paul Bladen, particularly now that she has a new excuse to call round to Paul's surgery thanks to her new cat - even if at the back of her mind she recalled Bill's remark about Paul not actually liking cats and small pets. Bill soon proved to be right about another thing, as Agatha turned up at the vet's to find the waiting room completely empty yet she still had a long wait as Paul was busy at Lord Pendlebury's stable looking at his race horses. After she was eventually seen, she confronted Paul about being stood-up for their dinner in Evesham and the call to his wife. Suddenly full of charm again, Paul apologised. He said he was sure that she wouldn't have attempted to get to the restaurant in that awful snow and that the women she spoke to on the phone was just this sister being silly. To make it up to her, he invited her to another dinner - this time in Mircester. As she considered his offer, she noticed James Lacey through the window and then agreed to the date with Paul. When she got home to her cottage, Jack Pomfret called her to explain but she hung up the phone on him before he could lie to her anymore. She then received a call from her friend Bill, who was sorry to hear about the business in London and invited her to dinner that evening. She politely turned him down as she had already arranged to dine with Paul, to which Bill remarked that Paul was likely after her money too.Characters[]
In order of appearance:
- Agatha Raisin, a middle-aged woman who took an early retirement and moved to the Cotswolds
- Mrs. Bloxby, the vicar's wife and Agatha's close friend
- Mrs. Mason, chairwomen of the Ladies' Society
- Miss Simms, secretary of the Ladies' Society
- Paul Bladen, the village's new vet
- Doris Simpson, Agatha's cleaning lady and friend
- Mrs. Josephs, the village librarian
- Jack Page, a local farmer
- Henry Grange, a local farmer
- Mrs. Huntingdon, a widow and recent incomer
- Miss Mabbs, a nurse and receptionist at the vet's surgery
- James Lacey, Agatha's neighbour and love interest
- Bill Wong, a local Detective Sergeant and another of Agatha's close friends
- Jack Pomfret, a former rival and friend from Agatha's public relation days
- Roy Silver, Agatha's close friend and former assistant
- Marcia Pomfret, Jack Pomfret's wife
Trivia[]
- Agatha's car accident happened on the A44 and James noted that the heavy snow would have caused Fish Hill to close. Both of these are real roads in Gloucestershire and Worcestershire, respectively.
Cultural references[]
- Paul Bladen notes that Agatha's cat has the same name as one of famed writer Dr. Samuel Johnson's cats.
- Agatha wore a dress from designer Giorgio Armani to her date with Paul.
- Agatha and Jack meet for lunch at the Savoy Grill in London.
- Agatha contemplates giving the stray cat she found to the RSPCA, Britain's largest and oldest animal welfare charity.
Adaptations[]
Radio[]
- Main article: The Vicious Vet (radio episode)
- Main article: The Body in the Bathroom
The events of this story were adapted as part of the first season of the Agatha Raisin radio series.
Television[]
- Main article: The Vicious Vet
The events of this story were adapted as part of the first season of the Agatha Raisin television series.
Other covers[]
