Murder in Style by Veronica Heley Read Free Book Online Page A

amused as he turned on his sister-in-law. ‘Juno, did you know she was going to leave the shop to you?’
    Juno roused herself. ‘Well, yes. I suppose so. We signed identical wills, leaving everything to one another. Nineteen ninety-nine. Yes, that would be about right. I haven’t done anything about updating my will. I know I ought to.’
    The man in the wheelchair smiled, showing very white teeth. ‘Yes, my dear. You really must.’
    Ray looked uneasy for a moment, then grinned. ‘Well, if Juno gets the shop, I suppose I get the houses and her portfolio of shares.’
    â€˜Er, no,’ said the solicitor, unperturbed. ‘This house is in her name, is it not? I have done the conveyancing for all the houses owned by the sisters, either for private or for business purposes. The deeds for the private houses have always been in the names of Poppy or Juno alone. This house is in Poppy’s name.’ He twitched a smile, signalling that he was about to make a joke of sorts. ‘Mrs Cocks always made the excuse that you were having a minor problem with the bank at the time.’ The smile faded. It wasn’t much of a joke.
    Ray’s bonhomie began to fade at the edges. ‘Well, yes. I suppose, sometimes there was that. But this house comes to me now, right?’
    The solicitor returned his eyes to the will. ‘“Everything of which I die possessed.” This house is in her name, and therefore passes to her sister.’
    Ray shot to his feet. ‘You mean that by some freak of the law, which was certainly not intended by my wife, Juno gets this house as well as the shop?’
    The solicitor nodded. ‘Together with all the other properties owned by The Magpie partnership.’
    â€˜But …!’ Ray swayed on his feet, going red … and then the blood left his cheeks and he began to shake. ‘You can’t mean …! What about the houses she and Juno bought and did up to let? I was so angry when I found out about them! What sort of wife conceals her assets from her husband like that, eh? How deceitful is that! But now, it’s payback time and I come into my rights. She didn’t own those houses when the will was made, did she? So they must come to me.’
    The very slightest of frowns marred the solicitor’s brow. ‘As a matter of fact, she and her sister did own two houses when the will was signed. Those houses, and however many more there are now, are covered by the wording of the will which includes all properties owned by the partnership. It doesn’t matter whether there were two or ten properties at the time of her death.’
    â€˜I don’t believe it!’
    The solicitor didn’t bother to repeat himself.
    Ray was getting desperate. ‘Look, she was pretty well fixed, always had plenty in the bank. I know she dabbled in the stockmarket, because she had to sell some shares when she bought me my new car. She’ll have left me her shares, at the very least.’ Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
    The solicitor was getting bored. ‘I repeat, your sister-in-law is the residual legatee.’
    Silence as this began to sink in.
    It was as if the solicitor had chanted a spell and turned them all to stone.
    The solicitor continued, ‘You must remember that this will was made seventeen years ago at the start of the sisters’ partnership. At the time of her marriage, the testator owned nothing of her own except the small house which her father gave her on that occasion. You and she signed a pre-nuptial agreement to the effect that you would keep the garage in the event of the marriage breaking down, and that she would keep the house. Two years later, when the partnership agreement was signed and this will was drawn up, Mrs Cocks owned not only her house but also her half of The Magpie partnership, which by that time included the shop and two run-down terraced houses in parlous state. At that point