A Purse to Die For (3 page)

She looked down at her feet.
"
I expect there was a very good reason. I can think of at least one.
"

"
Give,
"
Tony said.

Gina sighed and wondered how much she should say. But she had never been able to hide her thoughts from Tony.

"
Your parents were out in Vancouver for three years. The family never saw your mom pregnant, which I guess is why no one questioned anything.
"
Except Grandma, who knew everything about everyone.
"
Have you thought maybe the adoption wasn
'
t completely legit? Perhaps they didn
'
t go through all the correct channels, like a waitlist. It was the late 70s, after all. It wouldn
'
t have been hard to find a girl willing to give up her baby with no fuss.
"

"
Mom was never very patient,
"
Tony mumbled.

"
In any case, it doesn
'
t matter. Adoptions don
'
t affect anything once you
'
re over the age of eighteen,
"
she said.
"
And then, when you were over eighteen, why rock the boat? I can imagine she saw it was best for everyone. You
'
re named by name in the will, so you inherit regardless. It really doesn
'
t matter.
"

"
Doesn
'
t it?
"
he said enigmatically.
"
I think it matters rather a lot.
"

Gina stepped back toward the sliding glass door.
"
You
'
re thinking the health implications of not knowing who your birth parents are? Yes, I can imagine that would matter to you.
"

"
I wasn
'
t thinking of that,
"
Tony answered.

"
You can
'
t touch the capital, Reggie. It
'
s in trust. The lawyer made it quite clear.
"
Carla busied herself making the bed so she wouldn
'
t have to look at him.

"
You must have said something to make her do this. Treat us like a bunch of kids. What the heck did you do?
"
Reggie stormed around the room.

"
I didn
'
t do anything,
"
Carla grumbled, firmly tucking in a corner.
I just married you.

"
Becki, can I talk to you for a minute? Come out here to the garden, if you don
'
t mind.
"
Tony gestured from the back porch. Although he preferred modern architecture, he appreciated the graciousness of Grandma
'
s red-brick Georgian Revival…its classical proportions, hipped roof, columns, pilasters, cornices and spacious porches.

Becki joined him and they stepped down in silence to the back garden. The large maple tree there was starting to turn scarlet. Langdon Hills was blessed with hundreds of towering maples just like it on private properties all over town and in the town park up the street. Squirrels scampered across the yard on personal missions.

"
Something
'
s bothering me and I want to bounce it off you,
"
Tony said.

"
Is it about Gina?
"

"
No, actually.
"
He looked quizzical.
"
How…? Although I probably will want to talk to you about all that at some other time.
"
He kicked a stone onto the garden edge.
"
I was thinking about the way Grandmother died. Has anybody said anything? The police? Does it seem strange to you?
"

Becki was silent for a moment. Then she said,
"
I
'
ve been wondering what to do about this. Yes, it does seem odd. I was going to talk to Karl because I just don
'
t know enough about how people die this way. He might be able to get his hands on the autopsy results. I wouldn
'
t have said anything about it at all because why kill an old lady for the sake of a rickety old house? But the money is unexpected. It changes things. Do you know how she came to have so much money, Tony?
"

"
Actually, I do.
"
Tony frowned.
"
The thing is…who else knew she had that kind of money? You didn
'
t know
. A
nd I
'
m sure Gina didn
'
t, either. Did any of the others?
"

"
I
'
ve no idea,
"
said Becki.
"
But it makes for a heck of a motive.
"

"
Gina, I need to talk to you.
"

Tony
'
s voice reached her from behind as she mounted the stairs.
"
I
'
m just going up—
"

"
Now, Gina. It
'
s important.
"

She turned around to face him. He looked so earnest, just like a boy. Always, he had the power to persuade her. Gina sighed and descended the stairs.

"
Let
'
s go outside,
"
he said.

They walked out the front door.
"
Come off the porch.
"
He leaped down.
"
I don
'
t want anyone overhearing.
"

Gina followed him warily. Not now—she didn
'
t want to talk about the whole library scene. She didn
'
t feel clever enough to cover up her true feelings.

"
I want you to leave the house and go home today,
"
Tony said. He looked ready to burst.

Gina nearly fell over. What was this? She said nothing.

"
It
'
s too dangerous here. You might get hurt. You need to go home so I know you
'
re safe.
"
He blurted it.

"
What are you talking about?
"

Tony paced around her like a herding dog.
"
I think Grandma was murdered. I think someone knew how much money she had and put a pillow over her head.
"

Her mouth flew open.
"
You
'
re crazy.
"

"
Becki thinks it
'
s possible
too
. I
'
ve just talked with her. I want you out of here.
"
Tony stopped and stared into her eyes.

Gina was caught in a whirlpool.
Grandma murdered? One of the family? Who? Why?

Tony seemed to read her mind.
"
The killer may not have known what was in the will, that the money skipped a generation. You know what they say about it being easy to kill a second time if you can get away with it once. They may target one of the heirs now to make the pot bigger.

She felt her mind spinning. If she wasn
'
t safe, neither was Tony. Or Ian or Nellie, for that matter.
Could anyone be so heartless as to hurt Nellie?
That settled it. Finally, she said,
"
The Queen Mum.
"

"
What are you talking about?
"

"
What she said during World War II.
'
The children won
'
t go without me, I won
'
t go without the King, and the King will never leave.
'"

Tony looked puzzled. Then his eyes seemed to click into focus.
"
You won
'
t go unless I do.
"

"
That
'
s right. And we can
'
t leave Nellie.
"

"
I
'
m not going, Gina. I can
'
t.
"

"
I figured that.
"
She crossed her arms over her chest.

"
I don
'
t like it,
"
he said, frowning.

"
That
'
s tough,
"
Gina replied.

Chapter 5

"
I
'
m sure they
'
ll enjoy any hot breakfast, after yesterday.
"

"
Who
'
re you talking to?
"
a small voice asked.

Becki twirled and discovered Nellie staring at her.
"
Who am I talking to?
"
she repeated, stalling for time, hand on heart.
"
Good question. Um…
"

She could tell Nellie she was talking to herself, but she didn
'
t approve of lying to children. To anybody. Even little white lies.

"
I was talking to Mom, who isn
'
t really here in person, because unfortunately she happens to be…uh…dead
.
Normally I keep conversations with Mom private,
but these old floors
,
"
s
he squeaked a board with her toe
,
"
f
orgot to creak and warn me I wasn
'
t alone
. A
nd you caught me.
"

"
Dead like Grandma?
"
asked Nellie, pie-eyed. A little ragamuffin.

"
Right.
"
With vigour, she
continued to whisk
the bowl of eggs, vanilla and salt.

"
That
'
s okay, Aunt Becki, I talk to Macho.
"

She smiled in relief.
"
And Macho is…?
"

"
My monkey. He
'
s up in my room right now. Father doesn
'
t like it if I bring Macho down and walk around the house with him. He says I
'
m not a baby anymore. And of course I
'
m not.
"

"
Of course you
'
re not. You
'
re a lovely little girl.
"

"
If he knew I talked with Macho, he
'
d be so
mad
. Nobody else knows but me and Macho. And now you.
"

Feeling touched by the non-judgementalism of children and privileged her niece shared her secret about Macho, Becki said,
"
Well, if you keep my secret, I
'
ll keep yours.
"

"
Deal.
"
Nellie held out her little hand.
"
Shake.
"

Becki took Nellie
'
s delicate hand in hers and solemnly shook it, wishing the skin over her own knuckles didn
'
t look and feel quite so tree-barkish in comparison.

"
What
'
re you making?
"
Nellie asked.

"
Breakfast. You like French
t
oast?
"

Nellie nodded, staring at the counter and all the culinary activity evidenced there.

"
Want to help?
"

"
Yes.
"

"
Would you like to set the table?
"

Nellie hesitated.

"
It
'
s an important job. We
'
ll need knives and forks.
"
Becki dug into the utensil drawer and counted out the right number. Making her way toward the table, she said,
"
I
'
ll leave them all here. Put one fork and one knife in front of each chair. I
'
m sure you know forks go on the left and knives on the right. Oh, and napkins.
"
She searched the buffet along the far wall.
"
Which colour do you like best? Plain red or bright yellow with pictures of roosters and hens?
"

"
Both.
"

"
Good idea. Let
'
s put a red one at one setting, then a yellow one at the next. You going be a designer when you grow up?
"

"
You
'
re a designer right?
"

"
I
'
m a designer. You going to be a politician when you grow up?
"

"
Why?
"

"
You answer questions with questions.
"

Carla and Reggie entered the kitchen. Carla, thin, fair and pleasant-looking. Reggie, thick, dark and scowling. Carla must see
him as
muscular, seductive and aloof. Big mistake as far as Becki was concerned.

"
Morning
,
"
she said
.
"
You
'
re a bit early
.
Haven
'
t quite finished. But help yourselves to juice. It
'
s on the table.
"

"
Since we had Nellie,
"
Carla said, pulling out a chair,
"
we never get to sleep in. Though sometimes I let Reggie catch a few extra Zs. Smells like you
'
re treating us to something yummy.
"

"
Thought we could all use a little cheer.
"

"
Should be a ban on cheer in the morning,
"
Reggie said. He squinted in the light.

Becki dipped both sides of another piece of bread into the egg mixture. She laid it on the greased griddle with a sizzle. The aroma of butter and vanilla drifted up. When it was ready, she said,
"
Help yourselves from the bowl of strawberries and the pitcher of maple syrup on the table.
"

The others walked in.

"
Making French
t
oast,
"
Becki said.
"
Yours is up shortly.
"

"
How cool is that,
"
Gina said.
"
What can I help you with?
"

"
Bring the food to the table when it
'
s ready?
"

"
Perfect.
"

"
You
'
re a short order cook too, Aunt Becki?
"
Tony asked when Gina handed him his plate.

"
Know my way around a kitchen.
"

"
Write a food column for a paper, don
'
t you?
"
Jerry said.

She was surprised he remembered.
"
How to Spot an Aspiring Vegetarian
.
"

"
That
'
s why there isn
'
t any bacon,
"
said Reggie.

"
But not complaining. Delicious. Thank you,
"
Tony said.

"
You
'
re very welcome. Is Ian coming?
"

"
He was.
"

Becki decided to grab a plate for herself and join the others at the table.

"
Have any of you made plans since t
he big reveal?
"
Linda
'
s
raven hair, which was pulled back in a ponytail, gleamed like the lacquer on her nails.

Jerry nudged her.
"
Money
'
s not a subject for the table.
"

"
How many times have you dragged me to a restaurant for dinner with people I don
'
t even know, and all we talked about all night long was money?
"

"
That was business.
"

"
I
'
m just saying, it
'
s interesting,
"
Linda continued.
"
I mean, some of us need money more than others. You, for instance, Reggie. But the old broad sure fooled you, didn
'
t she?
"

Stunned silence. Except Reggie, who stood so quickly his chair fell backward, hitting the floor with a splintering sound. His teeth were clenched as tightly as his fists.

Ian chose that moment to saunter into the room.

In an effort to relieve the tension, he said in his pitchy voice,
"
Mother, Mother, off the wall...
"

"
Can I give you a hand?
"
Gina grabbed a dishtowel from the pantry closet.

"
Sure. Thanks.
"
Becki smiled. Her hands were busy with a soapy pan.
"
Most of the dishes are in the dishwasher. I
'
m just doing the leftover bowls and pans. Somehow I
'
m not surprised to see you here.
"

Gina grabbed a pan from the drying tray.
"
Just like old times
. Y
ou here on holidays, and me following you around like a little puppy.
"

Becki laughed.
"
True, how true. Those were really nice times. I loved coming here, being part of a real family. But I was thinking more that it would be you who volunteered to help with the work. Should you be doing it in that outfit? It
'
s gorgeous on you, by the way.
"

"
Thanks,
"
Gina
said
.
"
I know this designer discount place—I really should take you there.
"

Becki just smiled.

"
Besides, who else is there? Carla is trying to get Nellie to do her homework—always a daunting task
. A
nd Linda
?
Seriously, can you picture Linda offering to do housework?
"

Becki frowned.
"
I think she and Jerry were meeting with the lawyer about something or other.
"

"
Poor fellow.
"
Gina grinned. She could just imagine the scene—Linda trying to charm the lawyer into seeing their side of the picture
,
and Jerry attempting to bully the man with the threat of a lawsuit to challenge the will.

"
Do you honestly think they could overturn the will?
"
she asked.

"
No.
"
Becki was thoughtful.
"
I can
'
t imagine anyone suggesting your grandmother didn
'
t have all her senses when that will was signed. No one could support that. She knew what she was doing.
"

Gina sighed and picked up a large bowl from the tray.
"
They aren
'
t going to like it. And I feel funny about my parents. I can understand her not wanting Linda and Reggie to get hold of her money, but why would she cut out my mom?
"

Becki pulled the plug from the sink, letting the water drain.
"
I think it was a matter of fairness. This way it seems fair
. E
ach arm of the family gets the same amount of money
. I
t just goes to the next generation. They get control. And she knew you would share with your mom. You
'
d give a stray dog your very last bread crust, Gina.
"

"
I like dogs,
"
muttered Gina.
"
Not sure about all my relatives.
"