Catnip (Dunbarton Mysteries Book 1) Read Free Page A

and another old servant
to be here this afternoon to witness my signature. Both can be relied upon
completely. Wilf is the least communicative person I know and Celia understands
why secrecy is absolutely essential. Also, my doctor, Raymond Harris, will be
here to sign an affidavit attesting to my mental competence. What I want you
for is to check the will over, add any necessary legal language and then
notarize it. I don’t want them breaking it once I’m gone. I’ve arranged for all
of them to be out this afternoon so that they’ll know nothing of your visit.
You and I are the only ones who can know what’s in it.” One crippled hand
clutched his arm convulsively, and he wondered what was so shocking about her
will that she should go to such lengths to ensure her family would know nothing
about it. Little did he imagine.
    “You might as well know right
now, Christopher, there’s little love lost between my family and myself. Oh, they
make up to me all right, especially that Alice. It’s ‘Mother, dear,’ this and ‘Mother,
dear,’ that. But I know it’s just because of the money. My husband, Robert left
everything to me. He was ten years older than myself and already a wealthy man
when I married him.
    “Do you know anything of the
history of this town, Christopher?” He nodded and she continued. “Then you’ll
know that it was built on two things: the harbor and lumber. The harbor meant
that the Great Lakes ships could dock. That meant access to markets in the rest
of the country and the US. Lumber meant jobs and ultimately wealth for this
area. At one time there was a mill and two large furniture companies in this
town. The Dunbars owned the mill and one of the furniture companies. They owned
the ships that took their products to market. Robert’s grandfather built the
company into a well-respected firm and Robert’s father continued to develop it
when he inherited it. He was the one who had this house built. The finest one
in the area. When Robert inherited the company, he sold the mill. The ships
were long gone by then. He turned the furniture company into one of the largest
in the country.”
    Chris nodded. Not only had it
been one of the largest, but also one of the finest as well, renowned for fine
quality and craftsmanship.
    “What’s more, he had a flair for
finance. He didn’t believe in putting all of his eggs in one basket. ‘Diversify,’
he used to say, ‘Make your money work for you.’ He bought early into companies
such as I.B.M. If he hadn’t died so suddenly I’m sure he’d have been one of the
wealthiest men in the country by now. And Robert junior was just like him. Top
marks in school, athlete, popular. He had it all. Robert had always planned on
turning the business over to him, but it wasn’t to be. With Robert junior gone
that left only James.” She sat for a moment, eyes distant, remembering.
    “James runs the company now, does
he not?” he asked gently.
    She started, then snorted. “Runs
it into the ground’s more like it. He has no drive, no ambition. It’s not his
fault, though. He was a man, once, before that woman got hold of him. I knew
the minute I saw her she was wrong for him. But James was smitten. She was a
beauty all right, I’ve got to give her that. Big blue eyes and a pile of golden
hair. They made a handsome couple. Alicia, my grand-daughter, has her mother’s
hair, but those blue-green eyes, they’re her grandfather’s. It gives me a turn
every time I look at her. It’s too bad she didn’t get a little of his spunk,
too. She had plenty of it when she was a youngster, always in some scrape or
another, but lately I’ve begun to wonder if the girl’s all there. She’s bright
enough. She took her degree in English Literature and Theat er at Guelph University, but then her mother wanted her home and home she came. At
least she was educated, though, I saw to that. My daughter-in-law wanted to
send her to one of those fancy schools in Europe and