A Purse to Die For (2 page)

Chapter 3

Becki faced the luxurious oak casket, topped with an arrangement of roses, lilies and daisies. She had made a huge mistake including her over-cheery favourites. Too casual. Not as offensive as snapdragons, but close.

Eventually Godmom
'
s casket was lowered into its rectangular hole. She had to admit the ritual sickened her as much as it did six-year-old Nellie, who was parting with her lunch off to one side. It never got any easier. So long ago, Mom and then Father had died. As the years flew by, the Grim Reaper had snatched away relatives of friends, then friends of friends, then dear friends themselves, and, dammit, now Godmom. She felt twice as old as Methuselah. Judging by her former teenage standards, she
was
an
cient. Younger than Joan Rivers, younger than John Travolta.
Yes, but o
lder than Catherine Zeta-Jones.
S
till her doppe
lganger.

Godmom dead.

She wondered how an accidental smothering worked exactly.

Her husband, Karl, was Chief of Police of Black Currant Bay, so maybe that had something to do with the feeling something was a wee bit off.

Nellie finally fell asleep in her room, which relieved Carla. She was able to appreciate how pleasant it was to spend time with her big brother, Jerry, after all these years, even if he was probably only present for the funeral and the reading of the will. Even if he
'
d felt it necessary to bring Linda.

Standing in the dining room, which usually felt grandiose, but today felt inadequate, Carla was surrounded by the bustle of the on-going
,
post-funeral reception, including the ring of serving utensils on china plates and the choruses of
Oh my, I haven
'
t seen you since…
It felt like a miracle to have the opportunity to talk with her favourite brother. Not at all right, she knew, to have a favourite brother. But even Jerry would never dare joke that she only preferred him because Giuseppe was long dead. The solemn occasion, the crowd and the level of noise in the room lent an intimacy to their brother-sister tête-à-tête. If only she could completely shrug off the awkwardness from not having seen each other of late.

"
Nellie
'
s grown so much,
"
Jerry said.

"
How about your TV-star son? Freaks me out Ian
'
s older than me.
"

"
You watch his show?
"

"
Course.
"

Holding back a section of her layered, shoulder-length, dirty-blond hair, she hunched her lean frame slightly to take a bite of the sandwich she
'
d chosen from the catered buffet. Filling oozed onto the corner of her mouth, and she used a finger to guide the egg salad in.
Hard enough to maintain an image,
she thought,
without having egg on your face.
Luckily Jerry was momentarily distracted by loud lau
ghter from Gina and Tony and
didn
'
t seem to notice.

"
Mom allowed
Design at Nine
to broadcast in her house?
"
he asked as soon as he turned back.

"
She could hardly stop me from watching what I wanted in the privacy of our room.
"

"
Just can
'
t figure out how you were able to stand living here with her.
"

"
No choice.
"

"
Reggie still doesn
'
t have a job?
"

She looked around to make sure Reggie wasn
'
t within hearing distance.
"
He
'
s working again, but you know about the gambling debts. Then there
'
s child support for Mark. It
'
s taking longer than we thought to build up a down payment. No point wasting our money on some cheap house on the wrong side of town, right? If Mom taught us anything…
"

"
…it was to buy quality,
"
Jerry finished.
"
Yup, she taught us that.
"
He glanced at Linda, who was still busy ogling the selection of silver trays set out on the mahogany table.

Nellie was proud of one thing about herself, and that was being the best in the whole wide world at pretending to be asleep.

After Mom tip-toed out and shut the door, she whispered to Macho, monkey king of her stuffed animal kingdom,
"
I saw that detective guy hanging around the cemetery.
"

Macho looked concerned.

"
Mom said he was there to pay respects, but didn
'
t want to intrude. And you know what else she said? She said that pile of dirt beside Grandma
'
s coffin was so men could fill in the hole over Grandma after we left. Gross, right?
"

Macho nodded.

She cried. And after a while, she said,
"
I
'
m going to take a peek at what
'
s going on downstairs. Want to come?
"

Chapter 4

It was hot in the dining room. Gina rushed in a little late and discreetly slid into the single unoccupied antique chair at the far side of the huge oval table. She mouthed
"
hi
"
at Becki beside her, who smiled back. Sun poured in from the bay window behind her. The large green dining room, normally so cold, seemed stifling today.

Across the table and down toward the head of it, she could see Tony and Ian, listening intently. The lawyer, a well-fed man with glasses and receding grey hair
,
sat in the one remaining dining
-
room chair with arms. The back of his head reflected in the mirror that served as the back wall of Grandma
'
s enormous china cabinet. The contents within the hutch were a young girl
'
s treasure trove. Many times as a child, Gina had stared at the colourful
D
epression glass, the painted china tea cups and the figurines, wishing she could take them out and…

Oh, dear. The lawyer paused in his talk and was looking at her. He frowned. Gina felt herself blush. The man then cleared his throat, continued reading.

"'
To my dear goddaughter, Rebekkah, I leave my Piaget diamond watch to remember me by and two hundred thousand dollars with which to travel the world. We spent many a pleasant hour dreaming about places to visit. Now I want you to do it.
'"

Becki made a choking-sob sound. Gina smiled inwardly with satisfaction. It was so good that Grandma had thought to give Becki these things. Gina nearly reached for her hand and then stopped herself, realizing it might cause Becki to react even more emotionally. Instead, she fixed her eyes on the painting that graced the opposite wall. Definitely an old-world hunting scene with mounted riders and dogs. As a kid that picture had both haunted and fascinated her. She
'
d always been glad the fox was offstage.

The lawyer looked up once more.

"
I have been left strict instructions to read the next bit verbatim:

'
I am a proud woman, one who values dignity. I admit to some disappointment regarding my own offspring. I expect even now they are sparring over
china and silver, items of
paltry value that can make no difference to their standard of living. I have seen other families ripped apart by human vultures fighting over remains of little value. It disgusts me, but I fear it to be probable among my own children and their spouses
,
and I won
'
t have it. For this reason, I have elected to leave the bulk of my estate to the next generation.
'"

There was a collective gasp.

"
What the hell—
"
Jerry yelled from down the table.

The lawyer ignored this and continued.
"'
To my dear granddaughter, Nellie, I leave you this house and all the contents, with the exception of the aforementioned items. These will be left in trust and deeded to you upon your 18
th
birthday. I leave you an additional one million dollars in trust, which you will also receive on your 18
th
birthday. It is my express wish you will use this for your education and for maintenance of this house, which I hope you will continue to inhabit. I trust this will allow your parents to live in the manner to which they have become accustomed.
'"

Gina giggled—she couldn
'
t help herself.

The lawyer grunted and looked up fiercely.
"'
To my remaining three adult grandchildren, Ian, Tony and Gina, I leave the remainder of my estate to be divided equally.
'"
The lawyer paused.
"
She leaves a note concerning each of you
,
which she has requested I read aloud.
'
Ian, I expect you will squander your entire inheritance on decadent living. I trust you will have the decency to practice any sordid behaviour discreetly.
'"

Ian
'
s gasp was audible.

The lawyer continued.
"
Tony, although you are not of my blood, I feel you are the grandchild most like me in many ways
,
and thus I include you as an equal legatee. Practice your architectural design talent well and make our name proud.
'"

Gina felt the shocked silence around the room. What did it mean? She looked at Tony, who seemed equally puzzled. He leaned forward.

"
What does she mean,
'
not of my blood
'
?
"

The lawyer took off his glasses.
"
You
'
re adopted. Surely you knew.
"

"
No,
"
Tony said.
"
I didn
'
t know.
"
He looked absolutely stunned.

"
Well, that explains the blue eyes,
"
Jerry said.

"
What on earth do you mean?
"
Linda asked, fumbling with a compact.

"
No one has had blue eyes in this family for three generations. And Mandy has brown eyes too. So it
'
s scientifically improbable. Blue eyes are recessive.
"

Linda snapped the compact shut and turned to scold him.
"
If you knew that all these years, why didn
'
t you say something?
"

Jerry shrugged.
"
I always figured Mandy had an affair.
"

Tony was out of his chair in an instant.
"
Why, you—
"

Ian grabbed him by the arm.
"
Hold on there, mate. Keep it cool.
"

Gina
rose
to her feet.
"
But…but that means you
'
re not my cousin.
"

There was stunned silence in the room. Gina glanced around, stricken. This had come out all wrong. Aunt Linda looked horrified. Ian
'
s mouth was open and Tony—well, Tony was staring straight at her.

"
I mean,
"
Gina blurted,
"
of course you
'
re my cousin, you
'
ll always be my cousin, but we
'
re not…
"
She couldn
'
t find the word. The room grew even hotter.

Tony looked odd.
"
No, I guess we
'
re not.
"

Gina sat down with a plop. Her face burned.

"
Young lady, children who are legally adopted have all the rights of natural children in this country,
"
the lawyer said sternly.
"
Tony has as much right to this inheritance as you do.
"

"
Oh, no!
"
Gina cried.
"
I didn
'
t mean—
"
She stopped, aghast.

"
What she means is,
"
Tony leapt to the rescue,
"
we
'
re all a bit shocked about this unexpected turn of events and need some time to take it in. But by all means, go on with the reading.
"

The lawyer reached for his glasses and cleared his throat.
"
To my beloved granddaughter, Gina, I wish a lifetime of happiness. The security of this inheritance should allow you to marry whom you wish and pursue your career dreams.
"

"
See? I was right.
"
Tony said softly.
"
She did love you.
"

"
Sir? Ummm, Mr. Hadley? Have you any idea how much a third of the remainder will be?
"
Ian
'
s voice was high and strident.

The lawyer stared at Ian with disapproving eyes.
"
After the initial gifts and endowments are taken care of and probate paid…I would imagine…in the neighbourhood of two million. I can
'
t be exact, of course.
"

"
Two million—
"
Ian shot to his feet.

Linda was stunned.
"
Two million? That means she had over seven million dollars. Jerry, where did she get all that money? And why didn
'
t you know about it?
"

"
I can
'
t believe she didn
'
t leave me anything.
"
Jerry slammed shut the door to the guest room.

Linda
'
s laugh was verging on hysterical.
"
It
'
s the final insult, isn
'
t it? The old bitch had to have the last laugh, as always.
"

"
It
'
s a disgrace—that
'
s what it is—that I have to go to my own son for money. I
'
ll never forgive her. Never.
"

Linda gazed critically into the en-suite mirror.
"
At least Ian is a sweetie. He
'
ll share nicely, you wait and see.
"

Jerry sat on the edge of the bed.
"
It
'
s the principle of the thing. I can understand her not wanting Reggie to have it. He
'
s such a loser. But I
'
m a successful businessman. Why did she doubt me?
"

Linda shrugged into the mirror.
"
She
'
s a harridan. One of those ghastly hags from the old myths. What would you expect?
"

"
Or maybe…
"
Jerry brightened,
"
maybe she thought I was so successful, I wouldn
'
t need the money and would be insulted by it? Do you think that could be it?
"

Linda nearly choked.
"
Hardly. She was hateful and you know it. She meant it to hurt.
"

Jerry fell back onto the bed.
"
The whole thing was a waste,
"
he mumbled.
"
Why did I bother?
"

Linda turned from the mirror.
"
What was a waste? Jerry, what are you talking about?
"
Her voice was sharp.

Gina stood on the terrace waiting for Tony to join her. With the lawyer gone, everyone had awkwardly scattered. Uncle Jerry was the first to go, storming out with Aunt Linda creating a perfumed wake. Reggie and Carla disappeared somewhere
.
Tony had accompanied the lawyer to the door.

What was she to make of it all? On one hand, there was the surprise of becoming suddenly rich. How thrillingly wonderful it would be not worrying about money anymore. At the same time, she felt a twinge of guilt. What about her parents? Would they resent being overlooked in favour of the next generation, in the way that Ian
'
s parents obviously felt? She closed her eyes. It was absolutely imperative there not be a rift in her own family over this. Right then and there she pledged to put half the inheritance in her parents
'
names. They could enjoy an even better retirement.

"
Deep in thought?
"
Tony had crept up behind her.

Gina kept her eyes focused on the garden. A few late roses bravely withstood the change in season.
"
It is a lot to think about. You, more than anyone.
"

He frowned.
"
Can
'
t say I
'
m looking forward to the confrontation. It won
'
t be pleasant. I wonder why she didn
'
t tell me.
"