An Accidental Corpse by Helen A. Harrison

Author:Helen A. Harrison
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dunemere Books
Published: 2018-07-08T01:09:43+00:00

Thirty.

“Who was that?” asked Ted as Alfonso replaced the receiver. He had come into the central hall—where the telephone sat on an elaborately carved Chinese rosewood table—from the kitchen, where he was preparing a large casserole for the several guests who would be staying with them for the funeral.

“Juanita Diaz Fitzgerald, the lovely lady I met at Yardley and Williams on Sunday. She and her husband and son witnessed the accident. Their car was heading down Fireplace Road as Jackson’s was going up. They saw the whole thing. I invited them to tea this afternoon.”

“Why did she call?” Ted wondered.

“I don’t really know. She was a bit mysterious, said she’d tell me in person. They’re from the city, out here on holiday. Perhaps she’s just curious to know more about Jackson. We shall soon find out.

“What time are we expecting Charles and Frank?” he asked. Two of Jackson’s brothers were flying in, Frank from California and Charles from Michigan.

Like an efficient social secretary, Ted had made all the connections. The long-distance telephone lines had been busy for the past two days.

“They’re going to stay in the city tonight with Jay and Alma, and come out on the train tomorrow morning. Alma isn’t well, so Jay begged off. The Potters will put them up—Jeffrey will pick them up at the station. Sande and ’Loie are driving down from Connecticut today with the kids and mother Stella. They’ll stay here with us tonight and tomorrow night, and go back on Thursday unless there’s some reason for them to stay on.”

Alfonso was sanguine about Lee’s relations with the Pollock family.

“I doubt Lee will be wanting them to hang around. She and Stella have their differences, and she’s suspicious of Sande’s motives. According to her, he thinks he’s entitled to some compensation for all the years he babysat Jackson. I daresay he is, but not by her lights. I think she’s being unreasonable, but she’s in no state to be reasoned with. She told me that Jackson’s will leaves everything to her, nothing to any of the brothers. That was certainly her doing—she wants complete control of his estate, just as she had control of his career when he was alive. Even Sidney Janis, one of the shrewdest dealers in New York, has to get her consent before he makes a sale.”

Ted sniffed his disapproval. “As if Sidney doesn’t know what he’s doing. She has him to thank for Jackson’s prices. Why, he told me Ben Heller is paying eight thousand dollars for a big 1950 canvas. Eight thousand, can you believe! Lee should be kissing Sidney’s ring instead of second-guessing him.”

“But you know,” Alfonso reflected, “when Jackson boasted about his prices, his artist friends weren’t pleased. In fact, to be blunt, they were envious. Even as they were slapping him on the back and toasting him with the drinks he bought them, you could almost hear them thinking, Why him and not me?”

Ted agreed. “The art world is so competitive, and such a slave to fashion.

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.