Page 82 of Blow Down (The Plumber's Mate)
Phil nodded, which I reckoned was just his way of making her feel like she’d given away more than she knew. “Did any of the other people at that lunch have a key?”
“I don’t know. Amelia could have given a key to anyone. It’s not like she’d have told me.” She paused. “Uncle Arlo was there, though. He came round to take Daddy out for a meal. To cheer him up. He was very low, poor Daddy.”
“And they didn’t invite you to go with them?”
“I didn’t want to go,” she snapped, then looked like she realised that’d sounded a bit off. “I knew they’d only end up talking business, anyway.”
“They’re going into business together?”
“Uncle Arlo wants to expand his business. Daddy’s going to invest some money in it. I don’t know exactly what it involves.”
Huh. Seemed like when old Alex had married Amelia, he’d got the whole flippin’ family as a bonus.
If by bonus you mean millstone.
“And the bishop? Lance Frith? Have they got keys?”
“Look, I don’t know, all right? Why don’t you ask them?”
Phil smirked grimly, which I wouldn’t have reckoned was possible until he pulled it off. “I will.”
Vi left soon after, probably feeling a bit narked her gracious visit to the afflicted had turned into an interrogation.
“Interesting about Alex Majors investing in Fenchurch’s business,” Phil said with the air of someone who knew something I didn’t.
Trust me. It’s something I’m pretty familiar with. I made go on gestures at him.
“That big house of Fenchurch’s? Mortgaged for more than it’s worth. He made a few bad decisions in business lately, and if he doesn’t get a cash injection soon, he’s going under big-time. His whole bloody life is built on sand.”
Interesting, yeah—but what did it mean? I grabbed my notebook and scribbled, Arlo killed Amelia for money?
Phil shook his head. “All she had to leave was her jewellery. Even with the missing necklace, that wouldn’t cover half of it. And, more to the point, he knew about the will.”
I frowned. How did he know?
Apparently Phil could read frowns. “He witnessed it.”
I covered up the writing in my notebook and mimed signing the bottom of the page, giving Phil a questioning look.
“What, Arlo Fenchurch, sign something he hadn’t read?”
He had a point.
“Doesn’t matter in any case. He knew he wasn’t going to benefit. You can’t, if you’re a witness to a will. Legally speaking it makes any legacy to the witness null and void. So from his point of view, it’d make no sense to kill his sister. He’d want the connection to continue so he could get money out of her husband.”
I let my shoulders slump. Lance Frith? I wrote, and drew a picture of a diamond necklace underneath it.
All right, I drew a wonky circle with a diamond shape underneath, with little lines coming out like sun rays to show it was bling.
Phil raised an eyebrow, which managed somehow to translate in my head as There are newborn babies who can draw better than you can, Paretski. Seeing as my eyebrows don’t tend to be quite so eloquent, I just shoved a finger up at him.
He smirked, then turned more serious. “Maybe. Trouble is, where is it? If he was desperate enough to kill her for that bloody necklace, why hasn’t he been after you to find it for him?”
I had a light bulb moment and scribbled down, Lance + Vi in it together?
“Which explains why you were attacked because . . .?” He sighed and scrubbed his face with his hands, looking suddenly tired.
I had another light bulb moment, although we were definitely talking lower wattage this time. Alex did it? He has bling + doesn’t want me to find it.
