Dying for a Garden Party by V L McBeath

Author:V L McBeath [McBeath, V L]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781916134003
Publisher: Valyn Publishing
Published: 2019-09-20T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Eliza sat next to Inspector Adams at the dining-room table and read the will that was placed between them.

“Gracious,” she said when she reached the bottom of the second page. “Maria Hartley wasn’t exaggerating when she said it was complicated.”

“What does it say?” Connie asked.

“It’s more what it doesn’t say.” Eliza sat back in her chair. “We need to find out the exact date of the marriage between Mr Hartley and Maria. In a nutshell, it says that if Mr Hartley dies within the first five years of their marriage, she’ll be entitled to an allowance of one thousand pounds a year, which must come from assets that will go into a trust. The rest of the estate will go to James and Robert.”

“And what happens after five years?” Sergeant Cooper asked.

“She gets the lot.” Eliza’s eyes flitted between Connie and the sergeant.

“So the sons get nothing?” Connie sat herself on the seat opposite.

“That’s my reading of it. Do you agree, Inspector?”

Inspector Adams stood up and walked to the window. “We’ll need to get someone with a legal brain to check the wording, but I’d say that just about sums it up.”

“Well, I’ll be blowed,” Sergeant Cooper said. “That’s a right turn-up.”

“Anyone any idea when they got married?” Inspector Adams asked.

The three of them shook their heads, but Eliza stopped. “Wait a minute, didn’t Father tell us? He said he’d spoken to Mrs Hartley about going on the train to Scotland, and she’d told him it was shortly after she’d got married … about five years ago.”

“Yes.” Connie’s eyes sparkled. “And Mrs Petty told us that news of the divorce was in the papers in 1896.”

“The same year the will was written,” Eliza said.

“That’s right.” Connie was bouncing. “She said Mr Hartley had married Maria within a month. That would all fit together. She must be the killer.”

“Not necessarily, Mrs Appleton.” Inspector Adams’ tone subdued the mood in the room. “It all depends on whether the five-year date was just approaching or had passed.”

Eliza nodded. “If the five years hadn’t passed, it would be to James and Robert’s advantage to take their father’s life. If James had asked him to change the will, and he refused, the only way they could inherit the money would be if their father died before the deadline was reached.”

“But if it had passed, Maria is more likely to be the murderer. She could then inherit the money and escape back to the man waiting for her in London.” Connie’s face looked radiant.

“Surely not,” Sergeant Cooper said. “Not a nice lady like Mrs Hartley. She said the man in London was invented by James and Robert to make their father jealous. He didn’t really exist.”

“We only have her word for that.” Connie glared at the sergeant.

Inspector Adams returned to the table. “And at the moment we only have James and Robert’s word to the contrary.”

Eliza held up her hands. “Let’s not make any more assumptions. We need to speak to the family and find out what they know.

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