The terms of Dwight Goodnight’s testamentary trust are unchanged. The carriage house is to be deeded to him. The trustee will pay taxes, insurance, and upkeep from Mr. Goodnight’s trust.
Staff members on list A will receive a one-time gift of $50,000.
Staff members on list B will receive a one-time gift of $25,000.
The list of assets to be transferred to the Bounetheau Foundation for charitable distribution remains unchanged.
All trusts were previously revocable, but have now been made irrevocable.
I remain as trustee for all trusts. In the event of my death, retirement, or incapacitation, my replacement at Rutledge & Radcliffe will assume trustee responsibilities.
Per your instructions, these changes remain confidential with the exception of the conditional aspect of the trusts (items a-d above). That information was sent via certified mail to Mrs. Bounetheau and the four children you share. I will await your further instructions to contact Tallulah Hartley.
Sincerely,
Sam Witherspoon
“Well now,” said Nate. “This brings the picture into sharper focus, doesn’t it?”
“I wonder what all else Virginia failed to mention. I mean, I didn’t ask specifically if she was aware of recent changes to her daddy’s will, but it was certainly covered in the spirit of the inquiry. She told me all about the Abigail Clause. She neglected to divulge it had recently been extended to all of them.”
“It must be a miserable thing to feel the need to protect yourself from family that way,” said Nate.
“It’s hard for me to imagine,” I said. “Flip the page. We need copies of lists A and B.”
Nate complied.
I scanned down the list. The only names I recognized were William Palmer on list A and Griffin Ellsworth on list B. There was a Maxwell Haynes on list A who likely was the chauffeur. I snapped a picture of the list.
“We need to digest all of this,” I said.
“To be sure,” said Nate.
“I think we have what we came for.”
NINETEEN
We spent the next morning anxiously awaiting the ballistics report and poring over the case board. This time I manned the dry erase markers.
“I would’ve sworn Holly Aiken was telling me the truth,” I said. “She was so convincing in her confession. Although, given that she didn’t also confess to dumping C. C.’s personal effects into the water, I think we have to assume she made all that up just like the others, probably because she thinks Drum killed C. C. And I can’t see adding Maitland or Dahlia Jane Hartley to this board, their confessions notwithstanding,” I said.
“Agreed,” said Nate. “I think it’s unlikely any of the four of them are actually guilty.”
“I say we add Oliver Flynn,” I said.
“His motive being…”
“I don’t know yet. But he strikes me as territorial, as far as Tallulah is concerned. My suspicious nature is aroused by him leaving the park, leaving her with Kenny, who is clearly still in love with his wife, just at the right time to have killed C. C. Also, it’s fishy, him knowing Sam Witherspoon and being the conduit for C. C. finding out who Tallulah was.”
“Okay.” Nate nodded. “Maybe Oliver knew about Tallulah’s trust. Knew she would inherit all that money…but wait, if her trust was identical to the other family members’ trusts, she’d start receiving the benefits immediately. C. C.’s death wasn’t necessary for her to be a very wealthy young woman. She just doesn’t know it yet. I suppose it’s still possible Oliver had some sort of altercation with C. C. that went sideways.”
“We know we can eliminate robbery,” I said. “And we can be reasonably certain it wasn’t a member of his immediate family. They all had powerful disincentives and they all knew it.” I took the dry eraser and adjusted the board.
“It’s a safe bet none of them killed him with a financial motive,” said Nate. “Any other motive would have to be mighty compelling to override the risk of that kind of financial loss. Nonetheless, I say we leave Abigail on the board. I’m not ready to completely rule out the possibility she had some motive to kill her husband. She’s gotten away with murder several times. She’d likely assume she could do so again.”
I said, “They all knew about the trusts being conditional, but they did not know about Tallulah—at least Sam Witherspoon didn’t tell them.”
“That’s what he told his client anyway.”
“I think we need to look into Sam Witherspoon a bit. Find out his connection to Oliver Flynn,” I said.
“Given Peter and Peyton’s situation, they could’ve done it out of spite,” said Nate. “They had to know those conditions effectively disinherited them. But that makes the whole Tallulah angle moot to them.”
“Yeah, and I think it’s a real long shot this had to do with C. C. being any kind of a witness to Peter and Peyton’s criminal empire. I’ll leave it on the board for now. And I’m moving charitable organizations down the list—that’s such a long shot too. We’ll look into it if we eliminate all these other folks.”
“Dwight Goodnight’s trust is the only one that’s testamentary,” said Nate. “That means, unlike the family members, Dwight only receives money from the trust upon C. C.’s death. That’s a powerful motive.”
“If he knew about it. The way he was talking about Abigail running him off, having to leave town, he for sure didn’t know the carriage house was coming to him. He may not have known about any of it. Also, C. C. paid him quite well, at least according to what Dwight told me.”
When I’d finished making adjustments, I sat on the sofa with Nate and we stared at the remaining possibilities.
SuspectMotive
AbigailUnknown
Peter/Peyton BounetheauRevenge/will change
Oliver FlynnUnknown
Dwight GoodnightMoney
Griffin EllsworthMoney
William PalmerMoney
Maxwell HaynesMoney
Other staff membersMoney
Holly Spencer AikenLove/protect Tallulah
Drum AikenLove/protect Tallulah
Tess HathawayUnknown
UnknownUnknown
Peter/Peyton AssociateProtect identity/secret
Charitable organizationsMoney
“I need to spend some more time with Dwight Goodnight,” I said. “He knew C. C. Bounetheau for more than forty years. He probably knows things he doesn’t realize he knows.”
“You know,” said Nate, “he still had the best opportunity to kill C. C. He was right there. He could’ve loosened the knot that tethered the wooden boat. What we need to know is if Dwight knew C. C. remembered him so generously in his will.”
I made a face, shook my head. “He seems to’ve been devoted to C. C., and with very good reason. He was already well provided for. I just can’t see it. When we get ballistics back on the four guns the Edisto gang turned in, his should be there too.”
“You and I both know he could have other guns,” said Nate.
“I’ll ask him about that when I see him.”
TWENTY
That afternoon, Nate went into Charleston to dig into Sam Witherspoon and nose around about Oliver Flynn. Oliver had only been in Stella Maris a short time. He was raised in a West Ashley neighborhood. His history wouldn’t be found in Stella Maris. I went back to the bed and breakfast to talk to Dwight.
When I walked through the front door to the B&B, Grace and Dwight stood in the doorway to the front parlor, directly under the mistletoe.
“White berries are mistletoe,” Grace said. “Red are holly. Hey, Liz.” She took a half step away from Dwight and smiled brightly.
Dwight grinned. “I’ll bear that in mind.”
Grace brought us pot of tea and a plate of cookies to the front parlor, then left us alone to chat. I perceive
d the way she looked at him.
“That’s my godmother, you know,” I said to him when she’d left the room.
His eyes widened, a small grin on his face. “I just can’t figure out for the life of me how she’s single.”
“You hurt her, I’m coming for you.”
“Oh, I don’t doubt that for a minute.”
“Back to the matter at hand. What do you know about the rest of the Bounetheau staff? Anyone you know of hurting for money?” I asked.
He scrutinized me for a minute. “C. C. told me he’d left a little something for everyone who’d been with them more’n a couple years.”
“Yeah well, ‘a little something’ to C. C. Bounetheau could’ve been the difference between losing a house or not to someone else.”
Dwight sighed. “They vet their staff pretty well. All except me, I guess. The only one I know of who has money trouble is Griffin. He didn’t tell me that, of course. Griffin has about as much love for me as Abigail does. We’re not drinking buddies. But some folks came looking for him a week or so ago. I overheard them talking to him in the courtyard. Seems like Griffin maybe has a gambling problem.”
“Do tell?”
“Uh-huh.” He nodded solemnly. “And, I think his car’s about to be repossessed.”
“Why do you think that?” I asked.
“He’s taken to hiding it in the garage. And folks with a tow truck swing by pretty regular.”
“Well, well. That is interesting.” Griffin had offered up an alibi for Abigail. He was maybe smart enough to realize that served the purpose of establishing his whereabouts as well. Sweet reason. I needed to talk to Abigail again.
“All right. Think hard. Anyone else on the staff with money problems?”
“Not that I know of.”
“So, let’s talk about your guns,” I said.
“I gave you my gun.” His tone was indignant.
“And that’s the only one you own?”
“I have a shotgun. You want to take a look at it, or anything else for that matter, I’ll give you the key to the house.” He reached into his pocket.
“That won’t be necessary.” If I’d wanted to search his house, I wouldn’t’ve needed his key.
“Do you have any idea why Griffin might be snooping around the carriage house?” I asked.
Dwight snorted. “Abigail sent him. Wondered how long that would take. She probably wants to see if I got a letter from the attorney.”
“What do you mean?” I played dumb.
“A month or so ago, C. C. had his attorney send letters to all the kids—well, you know—Charlotte, Virginia, and the twins. Abigail too. Advising them he’d changed the terms of all the trusts. I think C. C. knew time was short. He must’ve. He just wanted his kids to contribute something to the world, not just lie about eating bonbons and collecting checks from their trusts. So he put some language in there about them working, going to school. Grandkids, same thing, but he didn’t send them letters.
“Abigail likes knowing everything she can about the money. She’d want to know if the terms of my trust changed in any way, or the attorney gave me any information she didn’t get.”
I stared at him. “I know you and C. C. were close. I know he sent you to school, and you and he were buddies, as well as him being your only employer, ever. But at what point did C. C. Bounetheau create a trust for you?”
Dwight pressed his lips together, nodded. “I told you Abigail has no use for me, right?”
“You mentioned it a time or two.” I sipped my tea.
“She never liked me, even from the first. I was brash, crude, uneducated—all that stuff she hates. She did try to use me once. This was before C. C. had set up all the trusts and whatnot. Back when Abigail could’ve gotten rid of C. C. and walked away with all of it.”
I bit off the head of a Santa cookie, watched Dwight with rapt attention.
“Abigail seduced me.”
I almost choked on my cookie. “Say what?”
“Oh yeah. I might not’ve been polished, but I was young and able-bodied. She was…well, Abigail is a beautiful woman, but when she was young, she was spectacular.”
“Go on.”
“C. C. was out of town. That was before I started traveling with him all the time. It only happened once, mind you. I was a kid. Stupid. Raging hormones. Abigail was sly. But she made a huge mistake. She thought once she’d bedded me, she’d own me.
“That was when she suggested I kill my friend so she and I could live high off his money. I knew then exactly how debauched that beautiful woman was. I pretended to go along. Then I told C. C. everything. He went to the attorney, set up the Abigail Clause, established all the trusts. I didn’t expect I’d get one too. I never dreamed he’d do that. Especially after I’d betrayed him. He saved my life, I saved his. I figured we were even. He said he learned a valuable lesson because I was honest with him.
“Now, my trust is the kind where I get money after C. C.’s death. Maybe you think that gives me a motive, but I’ve already told you. He was my best friend. Besides that, like I also told you, while C. C. was alive, he paid me well and gave me a place to live most people only dream about. Anyway, Abigail’s hated me with a white-hot fire ever since then.”
“Did you get a recent letter from the attorney?” I knew the terms of his trust hadn’t changed, but did he know the carriage house was coming to him?
“No, I didn’t. And any important paperwork I have, I wouldn’t be stupid enough to leave it around the house. I know Abigail far too well for that.”
I nodded. “You have a safety deposit box?”
“You bet I do.”
“Smart.” I chewed on my cookie a bit more, then circled back to see if Dwight had a different take on Peter and Peyton than Virginia had.
“How old were C. C.’s kids when y’all first met?” I asked.
“Let’s see…Charlotte was about twelve. Virginia was ten, and the twins were seven years old.”
“And you were how old again?”
“Seventeen.”
“And the incident with Abigail…”
“I was nineteen at the time.”
“What sort of mother was Abigail? Did nannies raise the kids?” I asked.
“They did have nannies,” said Dwight. “And chauffeurs to do the running. Abigail was a decent mother, I guess. She was harder on the girls. Demanding.”
“Tell me about the twins.”
Both of Dwight’s eyebrows raised. “It’s interesting. They favor C. C. more than the girls do—blonde, blue eyed. They were sweet kids. It’s a shame, really.”
“What is?”
“Abigail ruined those boys. Spoiled ’em rotten. That’s the thing she and C. C. fought most about, for a lot of years. He wanted to raise good young men. She doted on them like little princes. If she’d just let him discipline them…but no. He’d ground them, take away their cell phones, TV privileges, whatever…and she’d go around him and let them do whatever they wanted.”
“Did they have a lot of friends?” I asked.
He shrugged. “There were always a lot of kids around. Kids from old Charleston families. Peter and Peyton, them being twins and all…they were happy enough to play with each other. But Abigail made sure they weren’t left out of anything. She was the original helicopter parent.”
“What about when they were teenagers?” I asked.
Dwight raised his chin, lowered it in a single nod. “Strangest damn thing. I’d a thought, them being twins…well, it surprised everyone, I think. Peter liked girls, but he was real shy with them. Peyton, I think he always knew he was gay. The whole family thought they both were for a long time.”
“I thought at first that one of the twins might be Tallulah’s father,” I said.
Dwight straightened. “Now that was a mess.
Tore the whole family apart.”
I felt my face scrunch. “Everyone knew about C. C.’s affair with Holly Spencer?”
“Nah,” he said. “That’s not what I meant. C. C. had many affairs over the years. So did Abigail. They were both careful to be discreet, not embarrass the other. C. C. played with fire with Holly, but Abigail never knew it.”
I waited for him to continue.
“Peter had a crush on Holly. She was a pretty girl, that’s for sure. And sweet. She was real sweet to both the boys. Charlotte and Virginia were both married and out of the house at the time. But C. C. had his eye on Holly. It like to broke Peter’s heart. He was all moon-eyed, like Holly was his one true love or something. He caught his daddy being handsy with her. C. C. made light of it, like Peter was overreacting. But Peter knew. Neither of those boys are stupid.
“The twins left town. Went to London and didn’t come home for nearly a year. Whatever upset Peter upset Peyton. They both stayed mad at their daddy for a long time over that, long after Holly had left town.”
“So Abigail did know C. C. was having an affair with Holly Spencer?” This was making my head hurt.
“No, no,” said Dwight. “Peter tried to tell her. C. C. denied it. Abigail believed C. C., because their arrangement was that either of them could pretty much do what they pleased, but there were limits. She figured, I guess, that he wouldn’t have the nerve to have an affair under her nose. It violated their treaty, so to speak. She couldn’t convince Peter of that. Peter was mad at Abigail for, as he saw it, taking C. C.’s side, something she’d never done before. Abigail thought Peter was being overly emotional, overwrought, which was an issue that came up often.
“C. C. didn’t want to cost Holly her job, was the thing. Abigail didn’t care who C. C. slept with as long as he was discreet. Sleeping with Holly, who was working for Abigail, that wasn’t discreet by a long shot. He never did anything like that again.”
“And after Holly left town it eventually blew over?” I asked.
“I don’t know about that,” said Dwight. “They made a show of reconciling at Christmas that year. Virginia was expecting. But it seems to me that was a turning point for the twins. After that is when they started dabbling in things they shouldn’t’ve. And things were never right again between C. C. and the boys.”
LOWCOUNTRY BOUGHS OF HOLLY Page 19