‘I’m told that you had known him since you were children.’
‘He was like a brother to me.’
‘And he handled all your financial matters?’
‘Totally. He had a proxy to act on my behalf.’
‘Did he have many friends?’
‘None that I know of. He was very close to his wife, but she has been dead for a few years.’
‘Family?’
‘Two brothers.’
‘Do you have their contact details?’
‘The elder brother, the lord, but he’s senile.’
‘And the younger brother?’
‘I don’t know where he is. I liked the elder brother, but not the younger.’
‘Any reason why?’
‘He was the black sheep of the family: always gambling, whoring, that sort of thing.’
‘Do you have anyone you can call to come over and be with you?’
‘I have plenty of friends. At my age, you get used to people dying. Is it murder?’ Mavis asked.
‘It is too early to speculate,’ Isaac replied. ‘Any reason to believe that it might be?’
‘Not really, but Garry had been murdered. I wondered if it was related.’
‘We have not made a connection between the two deaths yet.’
‘But you will.’
‘Why do you say that?’ Larry asked.
‘Montague knew everything. If you wanted to keep our family secrets, then all you had to do was rid yourself of Montague.’
‘Secrets worth killing for?’ Isaac asked.
‘None that I know of.’
Isaac wondered if the woman knew something that she was not telling him, but realised she probably did not. She was a old woman, feeling every one of her eighty-five years, and just talking.
‘Did Garry know any secrets?’ Isaac asked.
‘He may have found out something, but I don’t know.’
‘Are you hiding some information from us?’
‘No.’
‘Then why talk about secrets?’
‘Garry died, Gertrude died, and now Montague.’
‘Are you assuming they are related?’
‘Not really. I’m only sorry that I never saw Gertrude before she died.’
‘You cared about her?’
‘Of course I did.’
‘And Garry?’
‘He was her son. Personally, I did not care for him, but I always made sure that he came to no harm, and that he had money and a place to live when he needed it.’
‘You knew about his marriage and child?’
‘Montague kept a look out for him, hired a private investigator sometimes.’
‘And the rest of Garry’s history?’
‘The prison terms, the house in Greenwich, and Barbara Ecclestone. Yes, I knew.’
‘And Kevin Solomon?’
‘He’s always had someone watching out for him, although he never knew it. Who do you think paid for his drug rehabilitation?’
‘Very generous of you.’
‘Not generous. That’s what families do for each other; at least, my family.’
‘What about Garry’s wife?’ Isaac asked.
‘She’s fine.’
‘Any contact with her?’
‘None, but she lived with Bob Hampshire for many years. He treated her well.’
‘You knew him?’
‘I met him once or twice, nothing more. I even met Emily, or Emma as she calls herself now. There’s nothing to make of it. We moved in the same social circles, that’s all.’
‘Did Emma Hampshire know who you were?’
‘No. I was known as Mavis O’Loughlin.’
‘Constable Gladstone went to Ireland.’
‘She met Ger?’
‘Yes.’
‘He’s dying,’ Mavis said.
‘You know?’ Isaac asked.
‘His daughter phoned, asked if I wanted to visit him.’
‘And what did you say?’
‘I declined.’
‘But you wanted to?’
‘Yes, but he has his family with him. I spoke to him on the phone for five minutes. That’s another one who’s dying.’
Mavis Richardson then made a phone call. Five minutes later, another old woman arrived. ‘Sheila will stay with me. Would you please leave.’
Larry and Isaac could see that there was another person who was going to die soon. The recent events had sapped the life out of the woman. Larry felt sad as he left the house.
***
Wendy and Bridget were in the office when Isaac and Larry arrived. Wendy was looking more cheerful, a clear indication that her husband had been more cheerful than on her previous visit to see him.
‘What can you tell us, Bridget?’ Isaac asked.
‘Montague Grenfell was the second son of Lord Penrith. The other sons are Albert, the eldest and the current lord, and Malcolm, the younger. According to reports, the current Lord Penrith is close to death. Malcolm is the result of a second marriage of the previous lord to a younger woman.’
‘The younger son’s mother?’
‘She’s dead.’
‘Someone needs to tell the Grenfell family about Montague,’ Isaac said.
‘A job for you, sir,’ Wendy said.
‘What else, Bridget?’
‘All three men are childless. The title will expire on the death of Malcolm. On the passing of the eldest son, the title would have passed to Montague Grenfell. The records indicate that Lord Penrith has no money, other than a stately home and the money to maintain it. Montague Grenfell was only affluent due to his own abilities.’
‘Where can we find Lord Penrith?’ Isaac asked.
‘Leicestershire,’ Bridget answered.
‘Wendy, are you up to meeting aristocracy?’ Isaac asked.
‘I’ll need to practise my curtseying,’ Wendy replied.
‘Larry, can you follow up with Gordon Windsor and check out the crime scene at Bellevue Street again? See if you can figure out how a body lies undisturbed for thirty years.’
***
Sue Baxter was not pleased to see DI Larry Hill. ‘I thought we were free of you,’ she said.
‘It is still a crime scene,’ Larry said.
‘One room is.’
‘As you say, one room.’
Larry noted that renovations were proceeding. A body in the fireplace had given the place some notoriety and the house had been renamed ‘The Mummy’s Recline’, a somewhat macabre reference to the body’s condition and its position.
The room where the body had been discovered had been sealed off with metal bars, and police signs to the effect that it was a crime scene. Otherwise, the
