Death Knocks Twice

by Robert Thorogood

  There was a scribble of blue ink above the printed-out name of Freddie Beaumont. And, looking elsewhere on the page, Richard could see that Matthew and Hugh had also signed their signatures above their names. So that was three of the five signatures.

  Tom and Lucy were the only two members of the family who hadn’t signed.

  Richard looked up from the document.

  ‘Can you tell me,’ he asked, ‘how was Freddie when you saw him?’

  ‘Good question,’ Zoe said. ‘I think he was drunk. Or jet-lagged. But he seemed somewhat strange, I can tell you. Disconnected from reality. And he didn’t look as though he’d washed in days. Not that any of this matters of course. His signature was still legal. Which finally brings me to yesterday. Because, yesterday, I received a visit from Lucy Beaumont. And she explained to me that Freddie had been murdered.’

  ‘You didn’t know already?’

  ‘I didn’t. And I was shocked, I can tell you. I’d only seen him the week before. But Lucy wanted to double check that she now inherited the whole estate on her own. So I got out her grandfather William’s will. Let me show you.’

  Zoe picked up a second document from her desk that Richard could see was titled ‘Last Will and Testament’. Turning a couple of pages to find the relevant passage, Zoe then said, ‘Here we are. Because it says quite clearly here that the estate only remains in trust for as long as Freddie Beaumont is alive. The moment he dies, then Freddie’s oldest surviving child inherits, as long as he or she is “over eighteen years old, is legally sane, has no unspent prison time, and hasn’t been declared bankrupt in the last five years.” As Lucy clearly meets all of these criteria, I was able to tell her that it didn’t matter that Freddie had signed the document of dissolution, his death had automatically triggered the dissolution of the trust and she’d indeed just inherited the whole estate.’

  ‘How did she react when you told her this?’

  ‘She wasn’t very happy.’

  ‘She wasn’t?’

  ‘No. Although she was pleased to discover that she’d just inherited the estate. The problem was that she didn’t know that Freddie had signed the document of dissolution the week before. And, I must say, I was somewhat confused myself. You see, I’d rather presumed that the whole family had known that Freddie was on the island and had signed the document.

  ‘But as soon as Lucy found out that it had been Hugh who’d been in here with Freddie, things got really strange. First of all she went silent. I’ve no idea why. But we sat in silence for so long that I started talking. You know, trying to explain how I couldn’t have stopped Freddie from signing, and it didn’t matter anyway. Because Freddie had died, so Lucy still inherited everything. There was no real harm done.

  ‘In the end, she just stood up, told me to proceed with selling the plantation as soon as possible, and then turned and walked out of here. But there was a look in her eyes that was so cold and calculating that it frightened me. That’s why I was thinking of ringing you anyway. It was like she was planning to do something… drastic. Although I’ve no idea what that “something” was of course. She was gone before I could ask her. But either way, I was troubled to learn that Freddie had died so soon after signing the document.’

  ‘You think it’s suspicious?’

  ‘I wouldn’t like to say. But in our business it’s considered a surprising coincidence if someone dies within a few months of signing an important legal document. Freddie only survived three days after signing his.’

  ‘I agree,’ Richard said, his mind already trying to organise the facts that he’d just learned. In particular, he felt a dark sense of fury that even though Hugh had finally admitted to the Police that he recognised Freddie the moment he saw his dead body on the floor of the shower room, he’d still not told them that he’d actually been with Freddie three days before he was murdered.

  Richard thanked Zoe for her help and he and Camille left the solicitor’s office. It was obvious they needed to talk to the Beaumont family again as a matter of urgency. So, as Camille drove them both to the plantation, Richard phoned Hugh and told him to assemble the whole family at the house.

  ‘Thank you all for meeting us,’ Richard said as he entered the sitting room where the family were waiting – but Richard noticed that while Tom, Matthew, Hugh and Sylvie were all present, Lucy was missing.

  ‘Where’s Lucy?’ he asked irritably.

  ‘I don’t know,’ Sylvie said, looking up from her phone. ‘I rang her on her mobile, but she didn’t answer. So I left a message that she was to meet you here. I’m just texting her now.’

  ‘Maybe we should wait for her?’ Hugh said, and Richard could see that he was nervous. Good, Richard thought to himself. He should be.

  ‘No need,’ Richard said, deciding that he didn’t have the patience to wait any longer before Hugh started telling him the truth. ‘I’m sure she’ll be with us soon enough. In the meantime, my partner and I still have a few questions. You see, we’ve just come from Zoe Winstanley’s office. And she told us a very different story about your plantation than the one you’ve told us. You see, according to her, the estate isn’t worthless. It’s worth five million dollars. To the right buyer. As you all knew, but didn’t tell us.’

  Richard saw looks of surprise ripple through the room, but it was Hugh that Richard was most interested in. He looked guilty as sin, and Richard could well imagine why. After all, Hugh must have guessed that if the Police had just spoken to Zoe, then presumably they now knew that Hugh had been with Freddie when he signed the document of dissolution, three days before he was murdered.

  Sylvie could see how Richard had turned his attention to her husband, and she drew herself up in her seat.

  ‘Yes, well, I don’t see why we had to tell you,’ she said as regally as she could.

  ‘You don’t?’

  ‘Because we looked into selling up earlier in the year, but we didn’t all agree that it was a good idea to sell, so the plan was shelved.’

  ‘That’s right,’ Richard said. ‘Tom was originally the only one of you who didn’t want to sell.’

  ‘So?’ Tom said.

  ‘So, Zoe told us that when Tom refused to sign the document of dissolution, things got heated. In fact, she went so far as to say that Tom had accused Hugh and Sylvie of gross financial mismanagement of the plantation. Is that true, Tom?’

  Tom didn’t answer, but Richard could see that he wanted to.

  ‘Look, people say things in the heat of the moment,’ Matthew said, trying to act as peacemaker. ‘And it doesn’t much matter who said what or when, because Tom wasn’t the only person who was opposed to the sale. Later on, Lucy also decided that she didn’t want to sell. When she found out that Freddie would have to sign as well. So that made things more equitable. Tom and Lucy didn’t want to sell. Father and I did.’

  ‘So you always wanted to sell?’ Camille asked Matthew.

  Matthew was surprised by the question, and then he looked a little shifty.

  ‘I did. But only if we all agreed. It had to be unanimous.’

  ‘And what were your reasons?’

  ‘For wanting to sell?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Well… I know it’s a bit craven, but my interests have always been somewhat short term. I’d just like my share of five million dollars. Considering my prospects at the moment. After all, a bird in the hand and all that.’

  As Matthew was speaking, Richard could see him looking at his family. It was as if he was trying to communicate something without the Police noticing, Richard realised. But what was that message?

  ‘So you see,’ Sylvie said, trying to draw the whole sordid conversation to a close, ‘it’s quite understandable why we didn’t tell you about any of this. As Matthew’s saying, only he and Hugh wanted to sell. So it was never going to happen.’

  ‘I see. So you’d all stopped trying to get the required number of signatures on the document of dissolution, is that what you’re telling me?’
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  ‘How do you mean?’

  ‘It’s a simple enough question,’ Richard said, seeing that Sylvie’s confidence was already beginning to waver – and when he looked back at Matthew, he could see that he still seemed to be trying to pass a message on to the others with imploring eyes.

  ‘So tell me,’ Richard continued. ‘Have any of you managed to add a signature to the document recently?’

  ‘Why can’t we just tell them the truth for once?’ Matthew said to the room angrily. ‘Why do we have to lie about everything?’

  Matthew stared at his family, and Richard could see how indignant he was. Even more interestingly, Richard could see that none of the rest of the family were daring to meet his gaze.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Matthew said a lot more calmly to Richard, ‘but we were talking about what we should tell you before you arrived, and I don’t agree with the others. I believe we should tell you the truth.’

  ‘We wish someone would,’ Camille said.

  ‘Don’t worry, it’s not that hard to explain. But you’re right. We’d decided that the document of dissolution was a dead end. Or rather, that’s what we thought until yesterday.’

  ‘Why? What happened yesterday?’

  ‘Well, Lucy went off somewhere. We didn’t know where. But when she got back, she was acting really weird, and wouldn’t tell us why. She just went to her room upstairs. But when she came down to dinner, she let rip. She told us how she’d been to the solicitors that morning and learned that Father had brought Freddie over to Saint-Marie to sign the document of dissolution behind her back – and she could never forgive him.

  ‘And the thing is, we’re all used to Lucy’s rages, but this was something else. She was spitting mad. Frothing almost. And then she dropped the bombshell. She said that because Father had betrayed her like this, she was going to betray him. Now that Freddie was dead and she’d inherited the plantation, she was going to sell it for five million dollars and divide the money equally between her, Tom and me. She said she’d make sure Mother and Father never saw a cent. They had to be punished. Those were her words. They had to be punished. Not that she’d have seen it through, of course,’ Matthew added, trying to stick up for his older sister. ‘But it’s what she said, so we should be telling you.’

  ‘And that’s everything?’ Richard asked.

  ‘That’s everything.’

  ‘Lucy said that she was going to sell the plantation and make sure that Hugh didn’t make any money from the sale?’

  ‘That’s what she said, but that was just her speaking in the heat of the moment. She didn’t mean it.’

  ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘Of course. I mean, don’t get me wrong, Lucy’s always been volatile. But she’s a bit like Mount Esmée. She blows her top from time to time, but she calms down again afterwards. She’d have changed her mind in time. I’m sure of it. She’d have forgiven Father. After all, it would have been so incredibly wrong to cut him out from the proceeds of any sale.’

  ‘It would, wouldn’t it?’ Richard agreed, before turning to face Hugh. ‘So this is where you start talking, Hugh. Is Matthew telling the truth?’

  Hugh looked at Richard a long moment before daring to reply.

  ‘He is,’ he eventually whispered.

  ‘So you’re now admitting that you’ve seen Freddie since he came to the island?’

  ‘I am.’

  ‘In fact, you not only saw him, it was you who took Freddie to your solicitor’s office to sign the document of dissolution?’

  ‘It was.’

  ‘But why didn’t you say?’ Camille asked. ‘I don’t understand. Why didn’t you just tell us the truth?’

  ‘All I’ve tried to do my whole life is protect my family. And that’s what I was doing when I didn’t tell you that I’d gone to see the solicitor with Freddie. Protecting my family.’

  ‘But how was that protecting them?’

  ‘Because I knew that if Lucy found out, she’d go crazy.’

  ‘As yesterday evening proved,’ Sylvie said, wanting to make her position clear to the Police. ‘I’ve never seen her so out of control.’

  ‘And don’t get me wrong,’ Hugh said, ‘I don’t want to sell the plantation any more than Tom does, but I don’t think we’ve got any choice. We either sell now and take the money or we risk running the business even further into the ground. And I’d do anything to get this place sold. I want to get on with the rest of my life. I just want to get on,’ Hugh said with a sudden catch to his voice, and Richard saw how very desperate Hugh was. This wasn’t the patrician ‘man in charge’ that Richard had first met in the shower room. This was a man who was fraught, highly strung, and very close to the edge.

  ‘But I don’t understand,’ Camille said. ‘You’d have had to tell Lucy that you got Freddie to sign the document eventually, wouldn’t you?’

  ‘I know, but only when it was all done and dusted. When Freddie had left the island. And I was going to pick my moment. I was going to wait until I felt that Lucy was in a receptive mood, and then I was going to try to get her to agree in principle that she was happy for Freddie to get his share of the cash before I dared tell her that I’d already got his signature on the document.’

  ‘But why did you even need Freddie’s signature?’ Richard asked.

  ‘Because we all needed to sign before we could dissolve the trust.’

  ‘I know, but surely there was a part of you that thought there was a fair chance that Freddie would be dead soon anyway. At which point, the trust would be dissolved and you wouldn’t need his signature.’

  ‘Ha!’ Sylvie said dismissively. ‘But that presupposes that we believed that he really did have cancer.’

  ‘What’s that?’ Richard asked sharply.

  ‘What’s what?’ Sylvie said, unsure why Richard was so interested.

  ‘How do you know that Freddie had cancer?’

  ‘Well, Hugh told me that Freddie had written to Matthew saying that he had cancer.’

  ‘Oh, Hugh told you about Freddie’s letter, did he?’

  ‘Hugh tells me everything.’

  ‘Which is more than he does to us. Isn’t that right, Hugh? Because you very specifically told us that you didn’t tell Sylvie about Freddie’s letter to Matthew.’

  ‘Yes, well it hardly matters, does it?’ Sylvie said. ‘Because it was obvious that Freddie was lying in the letter. He always lied. Therefore, if he said that he had cancer, then you could guarantee that that was the one thing he didn’t have. And so it was very much our view that we would still have to get the document of dissolution signed if we were ever going to sell the plantation.’

  ‘So was it your idea to secretly contact Freddie?’ Richard asked, finally guessing that maybe Sylvie wasn’t just the power behind the throne, she was the throne.

  ‘Of course. Hugh can’t decide anything. It takes a woman to be decisive.’

  ‘So what was your plan?’

  ‘Well, as far as I could see, as long as Freddie came to the island and signed the document without Lucy finding out, then I was sure she’d eventually thank us for our intervention. It’s like Hugh just said. But we hadn’t counted on how much of a bitch she is.’

  Seeing the outrage on the rest of the family’s face, Sylvie laughed.

  ‘Oh right, so Lucy gets to call me all those names yesterday afternoon, but I call her a bitch once and that’s considered unacceptable? After all the years I’ve wasted raising her when her own drunkard father wouldn’t.’

  Hugh looked ashen.

  ‘Sylvie, you don’t mean that.’

  ‘Oh I bloody do,’ Sylvie said, now on a roll. ‘Because I know the kids look all nice and grown up now, but Lucy and Tom were wild when we first got them. They swore, they stole, they smashed things. They were a nightmare. For years. And although Tom soon buckled down, Lucy never did. She was selfish. She was angry. Matthew was right. She’s like Mount Esmée. She can blow her top at any time. And she never makes an effort in the
home. She doesn’t clear from the table after meals, she doesn’t say thank you, she doesn’t tidy her room, or do anything. And in all the years Hugh and I have put ourselves second, not once has she ever said thank you. That’s what I can’t forgive. I mean, Tom and Matthew show their gratitude all the time, but not Lucy. Never Lucy. She’s too precious. Too damaged. So yes, I’m happy to admit I don’t like her. I’ve never liked her. And I definitely don’t like her on the day after she told me that she’d make sure I didn’t get my share of cash from the sale of this plantation.’

  In the silence that followed, Richard tried to work out what the family were thinking. It was easy to see that Matthew and Hugh were horrified by Sylvie’s outburst, but Richard thought he saw a look of satisfaction in Tom. It was as if he’d just realised that all of his suspicions about Sylvie had just been proven true.

  Before Richard could ask any further questions, there was a banging noise from upstairs, and everyone looked up at the ceiling. The noise was then followed by a loud clatter, and then the sound of something smashing.

  ‘What’s that?’ Hugh said.

  There were footsteps from outside the room and the door flung open to reveal a panicked Rosie.

  ‘Did you hear that?’ she asked.

  As she said this, there was a very definite thud, again from the room directly above their heads.

  Hugh said one word – ‘Lucy’ – and everyone dashed out of the room and into the hallway at speed. But as the Police, the Beaumonts and Rosie reached the bottom of the staircase, they were met with a chilling sight.

  Lucy was standing at the top of the polished staircase, bent double in pain as she clawed at her stomach, and Richard could see that there was blood at the corners of her mouth as she desperately tried to gather her breath to speak.

  She raised a trembling arm and pointed an accusatory finger at the people gathered at the bottom of the stairs – at Richard, Camille, Hugh, Sylvie, Rosie, Matthew and Tom – although it wasn’t quite possible to work out exactly who she was pointing at.