‘So that means that you acted throughout his marriage to Lady Archergait and in the period leading to her death.’
‘Yes we did, although at one point, Lady Archergait used her own family solicitors.’
‘How do you know that?’
‘Because at one point, they were involved in drawing up a will on her behalf.’
The DCC showed surprise, involuntarily but only momentarily. ‘We’ve been told that Lady Archergait had made a will leaving all her property to her two sons,’ he continued. ‘According to our source, at the time of her death Lord Archergait destroyed it and denied its existence.’
‘Then either your source or their source is malicious,’ said the solicitor. ‘Because that story just isn’t true. Lord Archergait didn’t tear up the will: it was superseded, about five years before Lady Archergait’s death, by a joint will in which they left their property to each other, passing to the sons after them.’
‘That’s funny. It doesn’t quite fit the picture painted for us of Lord Archergait as a domestic tyrant.’
‘Don’t be so sure. The joint will was Lord Archergait’s idea. I was only an assistant then but I was entrusted with drawing it up. I got the impression that he had only just found out about Lady A’s earlier arrangement and had made her change it, naming him as principal beneficiary. From a hint she dropped once, I formed the impression that she had only agreed on the basis that the sons were named as second beneficiaries.’
‘I see,’ muttered Skinner. ‘So presumably that joint will remains in existence, given that Archergait never did sign the most recent one in favour of the Faculty?’
Mrs Johnson hesitated. ‘This is where it starts to get difficult for me.’ She stared at the ceiling for a few seconds, then back at the policeman. ‘Oh, what the hell. You’re a client too, so this is just between you and me.’
‘Until it gets to the witness box.’
‘Fair enough. The joint will is no longer in force. Lord Archergait gave me a letter a month ago, renouncing its terms.’
‘Why did he bother?’
‘It was part of the setting-up process for the bequest. He and Barnfather knew that it couldn’t be done overnight, so to guard against either one of them dying during the setting-up process, they entered a joint minute of agreement setting out their intention and naming each one as the other’s executor, in the event of death, with power to complete the transaction.’
The DCC threw his head back and sucked in a long hissing breath. ‘I see.’
He looked across the table at the lawyer. ‘So what’s the position now?’
‘There’s no one left to execute the trust deed. In theory both old men died intestate.’
‘In theory?’
‘Yes, because the King brothers could execute the deed, on their father’s behalf at least. Alternatively, they could go to Court to have the original will reinstated. Or they could do nothing and it would have the same effect, since they’re the only blood relatives.’
‘For the brothers to execute the deed, would they have to be in agreement?’
‘For sure. If either one objected, it couldn’t be done . . . unless, of course the Faculty tried to raise an action to implement the joint minute of agreement.’
‘Would such an action succeed?’
Hannah Johnson smiled again. ‘It might, but my guess would be that it could be appealed all the way up to the House of Lords. In that event the whole estate would go on legal fees.’
‘Have you had any indication yet of what might happen?’
She nodded. ‘I’ve had a letter from solicitors acting for Norman King, asking for information on the amount of the estate. I’ve spoken to them. They didn’t confirm it but I’m in no doubt that he intends to claim a half share.’
‘Do you think Norman King knew of his father’s intention, and of the joint minute?’
‘The letter from his solicitor seems to indicate that he did, which surprises me a little, since Lord Archergait and Lord Barnfather both stressed the need for confidentiality. I hope I need not tell you that nothing would leak from my office.’
‘Of course you needn’t,’ said Skinner. ‘But who could have told him about it?’
‘That’s the big question,’ she answered. ‘So far, I can only think of the person who witnessed the document.’
‘And who was that?’
‘Lord Archibald, the Lord Advocate.’
43
Bob Skinner stood at the window of the Chief Constable’s office and gazed at the empty chair behind the desk.
‘Where are you when I need you, Jimmy?’ he pondered aloud. ‘If ever I missed your sound political touch in an investigation, then it’s now.’
Seated in the soft leather suite, Andy Martin, Mario McGuire and Neil McIlhenney looked up at him. ‘Come on, Boss,’ said the Head of CID, ‘this idea of the Chief as a smooth operator is a figment of your imagination. On most of the occasions when he’s had to deal with politicians he’s done it with a great big club.
‘He gets on with Councillor Topham because she’s fucking hypnotised by him, that’s all. And in the past he’s seen off at least one Minister of the Crown that I know of.’
Skinner scowled at him from his seat in the fourth chair in the group. ‘Maybe so, but I still wish he was here. I value his judgment as much as his skill as a hypnotist. Christ, what a situation we’re in. The Home Advocate Depute is shaping up as the number one suspect in a double murder. Not only that, but the Lord Bloody Advocate could be involved too.’
He looked across at McGuire and McIlhenney. ‘You checked with the Dean of Faculty, and with Maxwell, like I asked?’
‘Yes, sir,’ the Inspector confirmed. ‘The Dean said that only he and the Treasurer of the Faculty knew about the bequest . . . and they didn’t know about any minute of agreement. As for Colin, he swears blind that he didn’t tell anyone about Archergait’s plans, other than us.’
‘The old man didn’t tell his son himself, did he?’ asked Martin.
‘Not according to Clarissa Maclean, King’s lady advocate friend,’ said McIlhenney. ‘She said they hadn’t spoken in a year.’
‘How close a friend is she?’
‘Intimate, according to Maxwell. King was divorced a year or so back. His wife took him to the cleaners in the settlement too.’
‘Aye,’ McGuire broke in. ‘There’s another piece of motive. He’s skint, and he hears that his old man’s going to do him out of his inheritance. I’ve seen cases go to trial with less evidence than we’ve got here already.’
‘So have I, Mario,’ said Skinner, with feeling, ‘but not with an Advocate fucking Depute in the dock. We’ll need to eliminate every shadow of a doubt in this investigation. I want to be able to prove that he was in possession of cyanide, and I want a positive identification of him as the man who took old Barnfather across the sands to his death.
‘The existence of the joint minute of agreement is the clincher. It meant that if King wanted to preserve his claim to the family money, he had to get rid not only of his father, but of Barnfather as well, since he had the power to complete the trust arrangements even after Archergait had been taken out.
‘If Hannah Johnson’s right and he did know about it and what it meant, then it looks as if only Lord Archibald could have told him.’
He shook his head and snorted. ‘We’re looking at a situation in which the Lord Advocate himself is the crucial witness in the trial of one of his own deputies. Christ, Andy, and you wonder why I wish Jimmy was here!’
‘What will it mean for Lord Archibald, Boss?’ asked McIlhenney.
‘Resignation, probably before the trial, possibly as soon as King is charged. It’s a real bastard, Neil, I tell you.
