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Mrs Wainwright had become a little hysterical denying that she had anything to do with the poisoning and consequent murder of Gerald Reardon. David gets up from his seat and goes over to comfort Mrs Wainwright: “It’s okay Mrs Wainwright we believe you.”
Beatrice grunts: “Speak for yourself!”
Arthur sips his whisky watching the conversation and confrontations.
Thomas tries to calm the situation: “Wait a minute Bea, we don’t have any concrete evidence that Mrs Wainwright did it. It could be anyone of us.”
Davina quickly gets up from the table and rushes out of the room: “I’m going to be sick!”
Everyone watches her go and Thomas comments: “What’s wrong with her?”
Arthur, who has just poured himself another whisky comments: “She’s been sick a number of times recently.”
Beatrice snaps at Thomas: “Well as you’re into blaming everyone else, maybe Davina is the culprit!”
Thomas shakes his head: “I wasn’t blaming anyone Bea, quite the opposite really. I was just pointing out the most obvious person may not be the killer!
Elizabeth has been watching the family’s reactions and puzzling the facts around in her head: “Besides it makes no sense that someone who thought up a plan to kill someone, would do it in such a way as to make themselves the main suspect. Other people live at the house and could slip the poison into the food.”
Beatrice glares at Elizabeth: "So are you accusing me now?”
Elizabeth tries to explain: “I’m not accusing anyone, I just don’t think we should be jumping to conclusions. You and Stacey both live in the house and would have access to Gerald’s food. So it’s not just Mrs Wainwright.”
Mrs Wainwright nods politely in Elizabeth’s direction to acknowledge the support and Elizabeth smiles back at her.
David then adds: “Besides we’re guessing it might have been in the food but we all know grandfather liked a glass of whisky every day so maybe the killer put the poison in the whisky, that way they wouldn’t need to be in the house every day!”
Arthur suddenly spits out the whisky he has just taken a sip of: “Couldn’t you have mentioned that earlier?”
David shrugs: “Sorry Art, I only just thought of it when I saw you take a sip.”
Davina returns to the room looking quite pale. Elizabeth asks if she’s okay and Davina nods: "I guess it's just the shock!"
Arthur asks: “Well whether it’s in the food or whisky shouldn’t the police be involved?”
Thomas takes a deep breath: "They are already on their way!”
Mrs Wainwright panics: “Are they coming for me? Do they think I did it too?”
Thomas shrugs: "I guess they will want to speak to all of us, but yes I guess the three of you that live here would be interviewed first.”
Beatrice interrupts: “This is ridiculous, why would I want to kill my own Father?”
Stacey who has been shocked by the announcement and trying to digest what people were saying had been quiet until now: “Well you do have all those gambling debts, maybe you need the money!”
Everyone’s gaze turns towards Beatrice who is outraged by the accusations: “How dare you insinuate such rubbish, when you have no evidence!”
Stacey sighs: “Don’t have a go at me. Someone gave Gerald the information on your financial circumstances and how much money you’d had from him over the years and I just happened to read it. So I’m just saying what I saw and that Gerald wasn’t happy!”
Beatrice is embarrassed and becomes more agitated: “Trust you to go snooping into things that are none of your business. But who on earth would want to give Father that information and why?”
Stacey questions: “What do you mean trust me to go snooping? It’s not snooping if someone leaves paperwork lying around for others to see it. Besides I wasn’t doing anything that any of you wouldn’t have done!”
Beatrice laughs: “Oh really, what about the string of men that you have slept with since you married my father? I know he wasn’t happy about that!”
Arthur’s face reddens with embarrassment and he avoids eye contact with anyone else.
Stacey becomes suspicious and turns accusingly to Beatrice: “So I bet it was you that told Gerald about me and .... “
Arthur keeps his head down as Stacey realises what she’s about to say and stops herself: “I mean told Gerald about me and other men?”
Arthur breathes a silent sigh of relief and doesn’t notice Davina is looking at him.
Beatrice shakes her head: “No wrong again. I’m not into causing trouble for people, unlike you!”
Davina interrupts: “Stacey, you don’t need to be coy on my account. I know all about you and Arthur!”
Arthur looks at her surprised: “What, how did you know?”
Davina shakes her head: “Oh Arthur why do you always underestimate me? I know about your affair and your business and money problems. You don’t have any secrets from me. I know that Grandfather was so angry when he found out about you and Stacey he withdrew his business contacts.”
Thomas interrupts: “I knew that business proposition was too good to be true and that you had an ulterior motive for wanting money from me!”
Arthur snaps: “Thomas, my wife has just revealed she knew about my affair and you’re talking business!”
Arthur then turns back to Davina: “I thought you’d been acting strangely recently. I suppose it was you who revealed the affair to your grandfather?”
Davina reacts when Arthur mentions her acting strangely and is grateful that Arthur didn't dwell upon it: “No I didn’t tell my Grandfather about your affair!”
Elizabeth notices Davina’s reaction and becomes puzzled, then Davina rushes out of the room again feeling nauseas.
Arthur watches his wife leave and then turns his attention back to the rest of the group snaps indignantly: “Well somebody did!”
Thomas interrupts: “Well you two were hardly discreet were you? I wouldn’t be surprised if half the State weren’t aware that it was going on. Any one of them could have told Father.”
Beatrice is curious: “Yes but someone has deliberately been going around telling Father things to cause problems with family members. Could that have anything to do with his murder? Maybe the killer is the one that has been revealing peoples secrets?”
Thomas sighs: “Well we don’t know that Bea, do we?”
Beatrice becomes indignant: “We don’t know anything but that hasn’t stopped people making accusations.”
Thomas shakes his head in despair: “No one has made any accusations. There’s just been a lot of conjecture!”
Beatrice snaps: “Well I feel I’ve been accused and had my dirty laundry aired in public. What about you David? We all know you’re not as innocent as you make out?”
Elizabeth looks at David with surprise. David looks shocked: “What are you referring to Aunt Bea?”
Beatrice raises her eyebrow surprised by the question: “Why David have you forgotten that poor young girl?”
Thomas interrupts: “Bea that’s not fair. We all know that matter was dropped!”
Beatrice again raises her eyebrow and she smiles snidely: “Yes we do and we all know that it only got dropped because Father paid off that girl’s family!”
Elizabeth is intrigued and concerned about the comments and looks questioningly at David, who is feeling awkward and embarrassed.
David snipes sarcastically: “It’s nice to know that I had the support of my family!”
Beatrice laughs: “I’m just trying to highlight how unpleasant it is to be accused and highlight how circumstantial evidence doesn’t necessarily mean someone is guilty.”
Mrs Wainwright angrily interrupts: “Well you didn’t seem to worry about circumstantial evidence when I was the one being accused!”
Davina returns to the room and apologises.
Beatrice can’t resist making a flippant digs: “Maybe it was something you ate dear. Maybe we’re all being slowly poisoned!”
Mrs Wainwright is outraged: “How dare you there is nothing wrong with my cooking!”
Davina joins in: “Well somebody should tell that to my grandfather!”
Silence falls on to the group and people look around the table wandering if any of them killed Gerald Reardon.
Beatrice breaks the silence: “Well I know, I didn’t kill father and I have a letter to prove it!”
Elizabeth is curious about the letter and is just about to question Beatrice when they are all interrupted by the door bell ringing.
Thomas gets up to answer it: “I suspect that will be the police!”
Mrs Wainwright becomes nervous and David places his hand on hers for support. As the rest of the group sit in silence waiting to see what happens next.
The Police spend an hour or so interviewing each of the members of the group at the table. Elizabeth’s interview was over very quickly as she didn’t even know the deceased and hadn’t met anyone else in the family until this weekend. As she steps out of the study after her interview she over hears Davina on the phone.
Davina: “I really need to see you. I’ve got some fantastic news, ....I’m pregnant.”
There is a pause while the person on the other end of the phone replies before Davina continues: “Yes I know. I never thought I’d have children either. I guess meeting the right person has made everything fall into place. Arthur is now aware that I know about his affair , so I’ll be looking to get a divorce so that we can be together.”
Again there is a pause while Davina listens to what the other person is saying and then she continues talking: “I know I can’t wait for that either. Anyway I’d better go, I’ve got to be interviewed by the police. Things have gone crazy here with revelations of Grandfather’s murder.”
Elizabeth quickly hides in the shadows as Davina says goodbye and hangs up the phone and then makes her way into the study. Elizabeth realises that there’s more to Davina and Arthurs story than meets the eye. She is also curious about what the mystery is regarding David and what letter Beatrice was referring to. As the rest of the family are still being interviewed an idea comes to Elizabeth’s mind. Looking around to see if the coast is clear she quickly climbs the staircase and makes her way along the corridor to Beatrice’s room. She knocks on the door and when there is no answer she opens the door and quickly enters the room. She looks around for any visible signs of a letter. When there aren’t any she wonders where Beatrice may have put it. Elizabeth goes over to the dressing table and opens draws to search them.
After about ten minutes Elizabeth opens a draw that contains some paperwork. She pulls it out and sees bank statements showing Beatrice is overdrawn and owes a lot of money. All this confirms that what Stacey had said was true. Elizabeth then notices a letter and realises it’s on the same headed paper that she found in the passageway. Elizabeth reads the letter:
“My dearest Beatrice, I am writing this to you with a heavy heart. For I fear you are the only one of the family that I can now trust. There are so many whispers, so many secrets and so many lies surrounding me. I think they are after my money and I think they want me dead Beatrice! So I beg you, my dear daughter, I beg you, come quickly. Please don’t mention this to any of the other family members as I don’t want you to be put in any danger. Love and regards Gerald Reardon.”
Elizabeth finishes reading the letter and rubs her forehead realising that the letter is virtually identical to the letter David received.
She is puzzled as to why Gerald would send letters to two members of the family saying they were the only ones he trusted.
Elizabeth shakes her head frustrated and mutters to herself: “Dammit! It doesn’t make any sense!”
Elizabeth is also puzzled as to why someone would write the letters and then hide the stationery that they wrote on in a secret passageway.
Elizabeth again mumbles to herself: “There has to be something I’m missing!”
At that moment Elizabeth is startled by a noise as the handle of the room door is turned.
To be Continued....
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