‘Yes. There’s Vernon, of course. But Dad doesn’t think much of Vernon, as you might have noticed.’
‘I got the impression that he doesn’t regard Vernon as a potential business partner,’ said Cooper.
Natalie laughed. ‘You have a way with understatement, don’t you? It’s quite sweet.’
Cooper felt himself starting to blush. He’d never hear the last of this from Fry.
T must try to get the chance to talk to Vernon himself some time,’ he said, as he began to put his notebook away.
‘Good luck. He isn’t very communicative.’
‘He fits in OK at the firm, though, doesn’t he?’
Natalie shrugged. ‘On his own terms. Nobody goes out of
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their way to make Vernon feel as though he belongs. Especially not my dad. If Vernon ever had the idea that he might become a sort of substitute son to my dad, then he soon got a rude awakening. Dad didn’t see things that way. Once David was gone, he was gone, and nobody else has ever mattered to Dad. Yet you ought to hear him sometimes, when he’s talking to bereaved families. All the stuff he spouts about families turning to each other for support in their time of need. Oh, he’s full of advice then, all right. It’s enough to make you feel sick.’
As if on cue, the door opened and Melvyn Hudson came back into the room. He looked surprised to see his daughter still there, and then surprise gave way to anger, which was rapidly controlled and disappeared from his expression.
‘I’m sorry to have kept you waiting,’ he said. ‘Death happens at the most inconvenient times, as I’m sure you know. Has my daughter been keeping you entertained?’
‘Yes, we’ve had a very interesting conversation,’ said Fry.
‘Oh? Well, Natalie probably has other things to do. So if there’s anything else I can help you with, I do have a few minutes.’
Fry stood up. ‘Actually, I think we have all that we need for now, Mr Hudson,’ she said.
Cooper was caught off guard and was a bit slow getting to his feet.
‘Are you sure?’ said Hudson.
‘We’ll be in touch, if necessary. But there are quite a number of other enquiries to make.’
Hudson followed them to the door. Cooper had a sudden, irrational urge to walk past the big ornate mirror in the hallway with him, to see if Hudson was reflected in the glass.
‘Just one thing, Mr Hudson,’ he said. ‘Have you ever been to Alder Hall?’
‘No, I don’t believe so.’
‘Or visited the grounds for any reason?’
‘Not that I can recall.’
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When they got to the car, Cooper turned to Fry. ‘Why did you do that?’ he said. ‘Hudson hadn’t told us anything at all. We never got round to asking him the important questions.’
‘Do you think he would have told us the truth?’
‘Well, no.’
‘So what was the point? Now we’ve left Mr Hudson with the impression that his daughter may already have told us what it was we wanted to know. It’s obvious they don’t trust each other an inch. I’m going to leave him worrying about that for a while, and he might be more forthcoming when we tackle him again.’
‘That’s sneaky.’
Cooper started the car and they drove back towards West Street.
‘How does inheritance law stand?’ he asked. ‘What if Melvyn Hudson hasn’t made a will - who would actually inherit?’
‘I think it would have to go to probate,’ said Fry. ‘There’s some complicated formula the courts use to share out any part of the estate that isn’t willed to a specific individual. There are probably other beneficiaries entitled to a share.’
‘But Natalie Hudson would be a principal beneficiary, wouldn’t she?’
‘Yes, I’m sure she would. But she doesn’t want the business. She has no interest in it.’
‘She might want the money,’ said Cooper. ‘If there’s one of the big American corporations lurking in the wings to snap up Hudson and Slack, Natalie could find herself suddenly very well-off.’
‘Mmm. Especially if Abraham Slack could be tempted to part with his share, too.’
‘Well, his beneficiary would be Vernon, surely? I wouldn’t fancy the idea of Vernon Slack running my business, would you?’
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‘No.’ Fry looked thoughtful. ‘I wonder if that’s what it says in Abraham’s will.’
‘These family-owned businesses do produce a lot of problems. It’s the way feuds start. Bad enough when it’s all within the same family, must be worse when there are two families involved. The founders may have got on together perfectly well, but it doesn’t mean subsequent generations will.’
Ben Cooper’s phone was ringing as he walked into the office. He snatched it up, his head still full of images of furtive funeral directors and unidentified coffins slipping into the flames.
‘At last,’ said a voice. ‘I didn’t think anybody was going to answer. I thought you must all be out fighting crime.’
‘Who am I speaking to?’ asked Cooper.
