by A L Fraine
“But all this naturally begs the question, who was it? Who killed Lizzy and why? What was their motive? Another way to ask the same thing, would be to say, which of you had a motive to kill her?”
All their faces were fixed on him now, he had their complete attention, and in several cases, he could see they weren’t very happy about it.
“Well,” Jon continued, “you all did. Maybe I’m being hyperbolic, but it’s certainly fair to say that many of you had a very strong motive to kill her, and to stop whatever secrets you have from coming out.”
“This is madness,” Veronica said springing to her feet. “Don’t you hear what he’s doing? He’s trying to tear us apart.”
“Actually, I want to hear what he has to say,” Howard said.
“So do I,” Ingrid added.
“Me too,” Portia said.
Veronica grunted and sat back down, rolling her eyes.
“So, let’s start with an obvious one, shall we?” Jon continued. “I think we all know that Spencer was in deep with some criminals. Well, we did some digging, and it’s true. But not just some minor petty criminals. Spencer was dealing with an organised criminal group linked to the Russian Mob, the Bratva. He was in deep. Really deep. They would never have let him go, and as it turns out, they were reaching the end of their patience with him.”
“They… They killed him?” Howard asked, looking genuinely shocked.
“It looks like it, yes. My guess, is that they knew she was looking into Spencer’s criminal connections for Harold, and she dug a little too deep, perhaps. Deep enough that the Bratva took notice. That’s how he knew what she was doing. The mob told him, and he then told all of you that she had dirt on each of you.”
“So, they killed him because of her?” Howard asked.
“Actually, I think they killed him because of us. We started digging into Spencer’s past, talking to contacts, and they didn’t like it. Killing him was their way to cut off that line of enquiry. He was a weak link.”
“Shit,” Howard said, as Veronica sat stony-faced beside him. “So, did they kill Lizzy, too?”
“Actually, no, I don’t believe so.”
“You’re saying that you got Spencer killed,” Veronica said suddenly, sitting up. “I knew it. You killed him because of your stupid investigation. It was your fault.”
“We were just doing our job,” Kate snapped. “Your granddaughter was murdered, Spencer was a suspect, so we did what we always do. Blaming us for his death is shutting the gate after the horse has bolted. Spencer was a criminal working for a dangerous OCG. He’d made his bed, he knew the risks, and he will have been well aware of their reputation as well as the price for messing up. It was a price he paid, and I’m sorry for that. We all are. We’d never wish what happened to Spencer on anyone.”
“Veronica, please, calm down,” Howard said. “This isn’t helping.”
With a face like thunder, Veronica sat back in her seat and crossed her arms. She was clearly furious.
“So, as I was saying, Spencer had a motive. But then, so did Vivian.”
“Excuse me?” Vivian asked.
“You falsely accused Carter Burton of rape. You did it on purpose to swindle money out of him and also out of revenge, for the film roles he got for you.”
“I’d like to see you prove that.”
“I don’t need to. But Lizzy knew, she knew about it all too well, and even had a recording of you admitting to it.”
“Pfft, yeah, whatever,” Vivian scoffed at him, crossing her arms in denial.
“See, you don’t listen, do you?” Portia blurted out. “It’s all you, you, you, isn’t it? You never once think about me or anyone else, do you? Never. I know you lied. I know it. You’ve told me on several occasions. You treat it like a tool to get what you want, and it’s disgusting. Well, let me tell you something, Mother, I was raped. I know what that’s like, and I know it’s nothing to lie about. You disgust me.”
“But, Portia… I didn’t… You never said…”
“I know. I’m lucky I had Lizzy to talk to, until now.”
“She knew?” Vivian asked.
“Yes, she knew. She knew because she’d been through something similar. She understood. She sympathised.”
“You could have come to me.”
“No, I couldn’t. How could I, after what you’d done?”
“Portia,” Ingrid said, looking at her imploringly, “are you saying that Lizzy had been… abused?”
Portia nodded. “Several years ago. Now’s not the time, but I can talk to you later if you like.”
“I’d like that,” Ingrid replied.
Portia smiled.
Jon watched as Vivian sat back, almost withdrawing into herself. She was probably thinking through her actions, what the repercussions of them had been, and how they’d affected her daughter. He wondered how that might play out in the long run, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on it.
“To continue,” Jon said, taking a breath. “Lizzy also knew about the money you were giving to your family, Ingrid.”
She looked up at him and then nodded, her face sad.
“What?” Piers said.
“And let’s not forget the affairs you were indulging in, Piers.”
“Huh? What are you talking about?” he replied. “I… I wouldn’t…”
“Piers,” Ingrid said, taking his hand. “It’s okay, I know about them. I’ve known for years. It’s fine. I don’t mind, honestly.”
“What?”
“We’ll talk about this later, okay?”
“Aaah, yeah, okay. Sure,” he replied, looking utterly bewildered while the rest of the family looked on. But no one said anything as they returned their attention to Jon, no doubt wondering who he had in his sights next.
“And finally, Cece. She knew about you too and your plan to take Maxwell’s fortune when he dies.”
“I’m quite sure she didn’t know anything,” Cece snapped back. “I wouldn’t do such a thing.”
“She knew it all, Cece,” Jon continued, ignoring her comment. “She knew your plans, which were ably put in place with the help of Veronica here, all to help the family, because the most important thing to you is family, isn’t Veronica?”
“What is this nonsense?” Veronica scoffed.
“I’m right, aren’t I? Family comes before everything. The prosperity of the family. The image of the family. It’s all of paramount importance to you, and any threat to that needed to be eliminated. And that’s what Lizzy was, wasn’t she? She was a threat. A threat to you and to the Lockwoods as a whole. A threat that needed to be dealt with.”
“Absolutely not,” Veronica protested. “I agree that family is important to me. It always has been. But to suggest that I saw Lizzy as a threat? Are you insane? I loved her, just like I love all my family, no matter what.”
“Well, let’s find out, shall we? Because Lizzy was used to dealing with dangerous situations. She’d worked as a private investigator for years, poking into other people’s business, following the trails, looking for the lies. You could say she had a nose for it, a kind of sixth sense. And after that evening's events, she started to suspect she might be in trouble, that her life might be in danger, so she took precautions.”
“What are you even talking about?” Veronica scoffed.
“Lizzy left us a clue. She hid the evidence she’d collected, here in this house, and carried on herself a clue that would lead anyone in the know, right to it.”
“Ha, I’d like to see this evidence.”
“Absolutely, my pleasure. Let’s dive into it, shall we?” Jon replied with a smile, noting Veronica’s suspicious look. “We know that you confronted Lizzy after she left Harold—”
“We talked,” Veronica interrupted, correcting him.
“You argued,” Jon replied. “You spoke in hushed tones outside Maxwell’s room, where Roza heard you. You accused Lizzy of not thinking of the family, saying her actions could hurt Harold in his fra
il state. But you were unaware that Harold already suspected who his children and grandchildren were, and he was worried about passing his fortune down to them, which was why he’d hired Lizzy. But you thought this was something Lizzy did off her own back, didn’t you? You all did. Anyway, after that little argument in the corridor, you stormed off, but Lizzy followed you to your room, didn’t she? And we know this because of two things. Firstly, because Howard saw her in your room when he came upstairs after having a nightcap. He walked in as Lizzy was walking out, isn’t that right, Howard?”
“That’s right,” Howard replied, the beginnings of a frown playing across his face.
“Do you remember what you said to me about that moment, the thing you saw? Lizzy’s expression?”
“She was smiling,” Howard answered.
“Exactly. Lizzy was smiling, but why would she smile following an argument?”
“I… I don’t know.”
Jon reached into his pocket and pulled out the device that was in there. “Because of this. Because Lizzy had recorded it.”
Veronica stared at him. Her eyes were fierce as her lip quivered. She looked like she wanted to say something, to protest, to shout at him, but didn’t quite know what to say.
“Shall we listen to it?”
Jon didn’t wait for an answer. He just clicked play and made sure the volume was up high.
“Hey,” Lizzy shouted from the recording device, her voice sounding loud and clear from beyond the grave.
“What?” Veronica replied.
“How dare you accuse me of hating this family. I love this family. I could never do anything to hurt any of you, unlike you.”
“Oh, do shut up, Lizzy. You know nothing of this family. Go back to London and lead your pitiful little life, I want nothing to do with you. This family has morals, it has standards. But you wouldn’t understand that, you little bitch. You go around, fucking these women, like the disgusting lesbian that you are, parading them in front of us like some grotesque Pride parade. Well, I can tell you right now, I won’t stand for it. I don’t want to see that shit ever again, or you.”
“I know what you did, Veronica.”
“Are you still here?”
“Thirty-five years ago, I know what you did to Kathlyn. I’ve got proof too.”
“Proof? You don’t have proof of anything. You don’t know what you’re talking about. That’s ancient history. But let me warn you,” Veronica said, her voice coming closer and dropping lower. “If you do say anything about Kathlyn to anyone, then you’ll end up just like her. I won’t have anyone threatening my family or me, ever. And if you do, or if you ever come back here again, I’ll kill you myself and make it look like you topped yourself. No one would question it. No one would think you wouldn’t. Not a tortured little lesbian like you, who’s never been accepted into her family. ‘It makes sense,’ they’ll say. ‘It’s sad, but of course, she’d kill herself. Why wouldn’t she?’ So go on, try it. See what happens.”
“I just might,” Lizzy replied, her voice quiet but confident and sure of itself. “And I’ll take your children down with me.”
“What?”
“Ladies,” Howard’s voice sounded on the recording, further away than their voices. “Sorry I took a moment. Just having a quick nightcap, you know? Everything okay? Were you having a quick girly chat?”
“Something like that,” Lizzy said, the sound of movement clear on the recording. “I’ll see you later.”
The recording clicked off, and Jon hit stop and looked at Veronica.
“You can see why she was smiling, right? She’d caught you. You didn’t deny anything, and you threatened her. She had you dead to rights.”
“Wait, what was Lizzy suggesting?” Portia asked.
“You don’t mean…?” Howard gasped.
“We ran tests on the DNA swabs and samples we took the other day,” Jon continued, “and in one case, that gave us some interesting results. You see, drugs can last for days in the system, even after their effects have worn off. You told me, Howard, that you haven’t had a sleeping pill for a while, right? That the nightcap worked well and helped you get to sleep.”
“That’s right,” Howard said, his voice guarded.
“I don’t need to listen to these lies,” Veronica hissed.
“Your toxicology report indicated that you had taken a strong dose of sleeping pills that night.”
“But, how?”
“Let me make a suggestion,” Jon replied. “You brought the nightcap upstairs with you, right? Maybe you put it beside your bed, and then maybe took a trip to the bathroom, got changed, whatever, before you came back and drank it. What do you think? Is that somewhere close?”
Howard stared at him and blinked. “Um, yeah,” he replied.
“You were drugged,” Jon replied.
“But, I don’t understand, that means…” Jon watched his eyes flick left, towards his wife, before he looked away.
“But I only heard one car leave the house that night,” Portia said, speaking up.
“Yes, you did,” Jon replied. “But the Tesla is nearly silent.”
“That’s my car,” Howard replied, his look of shock deepening.
“This is all utterly ridiculous. I wouldn’t hurt anyone. I couldn’t. I wouldn’t kill Lizzy. Why would I do that?”
“Lizzy was diligent in her research,” Jon continued. “One of the things she looked into was the suicide of Kathlyn, Harold’s second wife. I’m not sure how much you all know about that, but she was a much younger woman, only a couple of years older than Veronica, and heir to the Gainsborough fortune and estate. This estate, in fact, was later renamed the Lockwood estate.
“In the years leading up to Kathlyn’s death, after her parents died, her relationship with Harold soured, and in the final months, there was talk of divorce. She was unhappy and wanted out. But if that had happened, she would have taken a significant portion of his wealth, and the Gainsborough fortune with her. There was a lot of controversy at the time about her apparent suicide, so Lizzy looked into it and ended up interviewing one of the former detectives that had worked the case. That detective had harboured misgivings about what had happened. Much of it didn’t add up. I won’t go into all the details here, that would take far too long. But the detective proved the shotgun she’d used to shoot herself was too long. She couldn’t have pointed it at herself and pulled the trigger. The reported sequence of events on the day didn’t work either, and then there was how friendly Veronica had been with the senior investigating officer in charge of the case. It was ‘unseemly, improper, and inappropriate’ to use his words and led the SIO to ignore certain findings and pressing ahead with the conclusion of suicide. In summary, the detective was convinced that Kathlyn had been murdered by Veronica, thus insuring the Gainsborough fortune came to the Lockwoods.”
“Mother?” Cece asked, shocked. “Is this true?”
“No,” Veronica replied, looking scandalised but also terrified.
“You did it, didn’t you?” Piers called out.
“Jesus fucking Christ!” Vivian exclaimed.
“This is all bullshit, utter bullshit. You have nothing. I’ll fight this with everything we have. You’ll see. I’ll hire the best lawyers in the business, and I’ll see you get fired for this.”
“I’d like to point out,” Jon continued, “that we also looked into the financial records of the family, and I think you might have trouble with that, Veronica.”
“What?” she replied.
Howard flushed.
“Your husband is not quite as well off as you might think,” Jon replied. “He’s had a few bad investments, but he also, to his credit, tried to help Spencer out of his troubles. You’ve handed over thousands to him, haven’t you, Mr Lockwood? That was until you had to stop before you went bankrupt. I guess that’s why Spencer tried to blackmail Piers into giving him money by revealing his dalliances.”
“We’re broke?” Veronica screamed at her hus
band. It was an almost animalistic scream, filled with terror.
“Well, we’re okay for now. We have a roof over our heads,” he replied, gesturing to the house. “I was going to tell you, but… I couldn’t find the right moment.”
“You bastard! You stupid fucking bastard. How could you do this? How am I…? Aarrgh!” she cried and launched herself at him. She grabbed and clawed at him with her fingernails as she bore him to the floor. “You stupid fucking idiot.”
Jon darted over with Kate beside him. Kate grabbed Veronica around the waist and pulled, while Jon grabbed her hands, prying them off Howard.
He was bleeding from a couple of scratches.
“You crazy bitch!” Howard yelled. “You did it, didn’t you? You killed them both.”
“So what if I did? I did it for this family. I did it for us.”
“You did do it?” Cece gasped.
“Oh my god,” Portia said.
“Fuckin hell,” Vivian said.
“For us?” Howard replied. “Are you insane? Are you fuckin’ insane?”
A loud thud sounded behind Jon. Looking over, he saw Harold stood in the doorway, leaning on a walking stick and staring in at the chaotic scene with a grim look on his face.
“So it was you,” he said into the quiet of the room as everyone turned and looked at him.
Veronica stared at him but said nothing.
“It was you!” he barked, banging his walking stick on the floor again.
“Yes, it was me,” Veronica finally replied. “So what? I did it for this family. If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have this estate, you wouldn’t have the money or the life you’ve enjoyed. Don’t pretend you’ve not enjoyed it. I know you have, and that’s because of me. Lizzy would have ruined it all. We all would have lost everything, and only I had the guts to stop her. You’re all weak, pathetic children, squabbling over scraps. You make me sick.”