Seven Steps to Murder
Page 19
I take a deep breath, and inexplicably there are tears in my eyes. I don’t know what will happen. Will I see my son grow to manhood, or will oblivion find me?
I take another deep breath, and close my eyes.
I lean forward, and I feel the cold air whistling past my cheeks as I fall towards those rocks and crashing waves..
And then oblivion.
POSTSCRIPT
PATHÉ NEWSREEL
TRAGEDY AT EASTBOURNE
“The body of a young man washed ashore at Eastbourne on Sunday afternoon has been identified as Wilberforce Cunningham. It has been revealed he is the son of the millionaire Albert Waterfield who died during the war. His mother Annie, who later married Albert’s brother Cuthbert, died five years ago. It is believed there was an estrangement between mother and son.
“Wilberforce leaves behind his widow, Anne, and their son, Albert.
“Anne’s mother, Mrs Julia Hardcastle, was also found dead near the scene. It remains unclear whether the two deaths are connected. Police suspect a double suicide, leading to speculation of a love tryst between young Wilberforce and his mother-in-law.
“This is something the grieving Anne strenuously denies.
“In a strange twist of fate, the last surviving brothers of Albert Waterfield – Cuthbert and Herbert – were found dead at Cuthbert’s retreat at Hinchcliffe-on-Sea, a few miles west of Eastbourne, along with a number of other house-guests who have yet to be named. Foul play is suspected, but there is currently nothing to connect the two tragedies.
“The deaths of the Waterfield brothers, and also Wilberforce himself, means that young Albert Cunningham will come into a vast fortune on his twenty-first birthday. Until then it is believed Mr Cunningham’s widow will take control of the many Waterfield Companies as a trustee for her son.
“In the meantime, family and friends rally around the tragic young widow as she comes to terms with the deaths of both her mother and her husband.”