Justin leapt to his feet, startling both Tom and Cassie, but he didn't advance on them. Instead, he stood with his arms at his side, fists clenched. "This is an outrage—"
"Sit down, Mr Howell!" Tom said firmly. Justin looked down at his mother, who raised a hand and gently encouraged him to do so. Tom looked between mother and son. "I imagine you both knew what was in the will, or at least you had a good idea. We've been examining your aunt's activities very closely and it's clear she was dedicated to her passion, the natural world—"
"That was all she cared about," Janet said, interrupting him, the first words she'd spoken since they'd sat down. "Not me, the family or this place," she said, absently indicating the house with a flick of the hand and shaking her head. "The place is falling down around us but she didn't care. Just the birds… always the birds."
"And she planned to do what?" Tom asked. "Leave her estate to wildlife charities? You may as well tell me because you didn't find the copy of her will. We'll canvass the local solicitors and I dare say one will have it lodged with them for safety. Were you concerned Mary would leave you and your son with nothing?"
"I don't see how killing my aunt would change the nature of her will, Inspector," Justin said with obvious disdain for the suggestion. "I know you are the professional detective here, but you're barking up the wrong tree."
"No, you're right. Killing Mary wouldn't change what was in her will—"
Justin shook his head in disbelief. "So why on earth would you think that I did?"
"You didn't, Mr Howell…" Tom said, turning his attention to Janet, "did he, Janet?"
Chapter Thirty-Two
Janet Beckett was avoiding Tom's gaze, still fiddling nervously with her hands. Justin reached out and covered her hands with his right. Her eyes darted up at her son, but she didn't speak.
"Now you just hold on a minute," Justin said, glaring at Tom.
"But you did dispose of the body," Tom countered. "When your mother called you to tell you what she'd done, you came out here and retrieved your aunt's body. Then you wrapped it in a shawl she owned and drove out to Blakeney where you either have a boat, or access to someone else's, and you dropped her in the harbour fully anticipating the tide would draw her out into the sea. She would never be found. And no one would ever know what either of you did that night."
Justin exaggerated his exhale. "That's a rather fanciful story, Inspector. I do hope you have something to back it up, otherwise I will be making a complaint to your superior officer."
"I'll get to that, don't worry," Tom said. "But no one sneaked up on Mary. She wasn't assaulted from behind. She was struck once, and she was facing whoever did it. There were no indications of a struggle, no defensive wounds, and we don't believe she was out doing her rounds in her role as a volunteer 'Watcher' of the wildlife reserves. She wasn't properly dressed for it. We believe she was here, at home, in a place where she felt comfortable and safe. Now that only leaves you, Janet. There was no one else here. I put it to you that you argued over what exactly, we don't know. Money, perhaps?" He waited briefly for a reaction. Janet glanced up at him, but away again. "By all accounts, your sister was a spiky character. Was she prone to browbeating you, pointing out how you needed her or were a drain on the family resources? I don't know but… this time, for whatever reason, you lashed out with whatever was to hand. I doubt you planned to kill her but you did. And then you panicked and called Justin, the same as you always do. And he took it from there. How close am I?"
Justin squeezed his mother's hand firmly. "Say nothing, Mum. The man's lost his marbles."
"But, of course, this was a hastily thrown together plan, but one worthy of congratulation because you almost pulled it off," Tom said. "By disposing of the body in such a way you would have time in which to find a way to counteract Mary's wishes in her last will and testament, while waiting for the years to pass before she could legally be declared dead. And opposing her will was something you'd been working towards for a long time."
"Is that so?" Justin asked, his eyes narrowing.
"Yes, you see this impromptu burial at sea wasn't the original plan, was it? The plan all along was to bring Mary's state of mind into question. The first time we met," he pointed to Justin, "you indicated to me that your aunt suffered from a paranoid delusion regarding someone stalking her. You even suggested that it ran in the family. However, your own mother was positively lucid on that night. But when I came to discuss Liam Hansell's visit and Mary's relationship with Daniel Crowe, Janet seemed to be struggling with her mental acuity. Much as she has exhibited today." He gestured to the weather outside and focussed on Janet again. "Now, either you've experienced a rapid descent in your health or this is all a bit of a show and you've been playing it up for our sakes. The latter would indicate your knowledge and complicity in the plan, Janet."
"I'm getting a little tired of this, Inspector—"
"So am I, Justin. And so was your aunt. The stalking, the late-night prowlers… the harassing phone calls
