Left You Dead

94

Glenn Branson and Jack Alexander both sat in silence for some moments, absorbing what Roy Grace had just told them. Trying to make sense of it.

Then Grace called Aiden Gilbert, whose team was working on recovering documents from the hard drive of Eden Paternoster’s laptop. He told Gilbert what he needed very urgently, and he promised to take a look immediately.

True to his word, less than five minutes later, a document labelled New Will as well as the life insurance policy taken out by Eden Paternoster in favour of Rebecca Watkins came through on Grace’s email.

The three detectives immediately studied the documents. The will was a short and simple document, properly signed and witnessed by two people, one called Jo Cabot, Legal Executive, and the other, Miro Afonso, Assistant Solicitor. Attached to it was a covering letter, signed off by a woman called Jill Riddle, Head of Wills and Probate, Cardwell Scott LLP.

‘Let me get my head around this,’ Branson said finally, looking baffled. ‘She’s basically leaving everything she has, bar a few small bequests, to the woman who’s sleeping with her husband? Or am I missing something?’

‘I’d say you’d just scored what golfers might call a hole in one,’ Grace replied, looking equally baffled.

‘Her boss,’ Alexander commented. ‘The Ice Queen? Excuse me, but what the hell is going on here?’

‘Oh, what a tangled web we weave,’ Grace replied.

‘“When first we practise to deceive,”’ Alexander quoted.

Both his colleagues looked at him.

‘What film’s that from?’ Branson asked.

Alexander shook his head. ‘People think it’s from Macbeth, but it’s actually in Walter Scott’s poem, “Marmion”.’

‘Never took you for a poet, Jack,’ Branson said.

‘I’m not. But I am a mine of useless information.’

‘Who do people generally leave their money to in their wills?’ Grace asked.

‘Their other half?’ Branson ventured.

‘So,’ Grace said, ‘we’ve been putting all our focus on Niall Paternoster — and perhaps that’s not misplaced. What about this as a hypothesis — bearing in mind we know from what Rebecca Watkins told us last night that Eden confided in her about her marriage problems.’ He paused before continuing.

‘A big part of these marital problems, unknown to Eden, is that Rebecca Watkins is having an affair with her husband — Niall. Only Rebecca Watkins and Niall Paternoster know this. Rebecca plays on Eden’s vulnerability and builds a friendship with her. She plays the game of being the considerate, trusted, forever friend, someone who will support her out of this situation, help her build her life back and plan for the future.’

He paused to let this sink in. ‘Rebecca then puts a cunning plan to Eden — leave all your money to me, fake your disappearance, setting up Niall as the possible murderer, but without sufficient evidence for him ever to go to trial. And bingo! There’s no body, but as we’re going to map out the rest of your life and get you to a better place, what’s a seven-year wait to be declared legally dead to collect the cash?’ He looked at the two detectives. ‘It may sound far-fetched, but we need to consider everything. Where are we with obtaining Eden’s medical records?’

‘We’ve requested them, but they haven’t arrived yet. Maybe we should go and pay the solicitor who drafted the will a visit, boss?’ Branson suggested. ‘I know the firm, they’re local, just opposite Brighton Library.’

Grace looked at his watch: 11.34 a.m. ‘They’ll be closed today but we’ll go Monday morning, Glenn. Maybe we can catch her between clients, or else in her lunch break.’

‘Will she talk to us? You know what briefs are like. Or should we get a warrant?’

‘No, that would be too heavy-handed and I think we’d struggle to get one for this — client confidentiality is sacrosanct. Let’s just try our natural charm.’

Branson gave him a quizzical grin. ‘Yours or mine?’

‘Really? You think you have some?’ Grace replied.

His colleague shook his head. He shot a glance at Alexander, who was smiling, then back at Grace. ‘I honestly don’t know why I like you.’

‘Could it be my natural charm?’