FORGET ME NOT (Mark Kane Mysteries Book One)

by John Hemmings

  “Since we met for lunch at the club you helpfully provided the contact details of the witnesses to Gloria’s will. There doesn’t seem anything sinister about it, but it just struck me as unusual. Since Gloria appointed you as her attorney and made you one of the executors of her will wouldn’t it be more usual for her to bring the document for you or your staff to witness her signature?”

  “That would have been a more usual course, yes, but as you know Gloria was not really herself at that time. There’s nothing legally inappropriate in the way it was handled though.”

  “I’ve hit a brick wall at the moment investigating Susan Granger’s claim on behalf of Mr. Philips. I was wondering whether you might be able to help with that.”

  “Of course I will if I can. I’m happy to do anything I can to help Greg. His life over this past year or two has been a nightmare.”

  “Well specifically I want to trace Susan’s adoption records. You say that none of her private papers are lodged with you, but you might have better resources than I have to follow that up. I have the birth certificate showing the place and date of birth.”

  “I was only appointed as her attorney for the specific purpose of acting as an executor of her estate. It was a fee-paying arrangement. But I can see if I can find out who her previous attorney was.”

  “I thought perhaps you could contact Susan directly. I have her address and telephone number. She wasn’t at all helpful when I went to see her but you may have more success if she thinks it’s necessary as opposed to just desirable in order to deal with the probate. She claims not to know which adoption agency was involved, because she wasn’t told she was adopted for many years and then shortly afterwards her parents were killed. I must say I find her story rather dubious but I can’t disprove what she has told me; not yet anyway.”

  “All right I’ll talk to Greg about it and see what I can do.”

  “There’s also the issue of whether Gloria was mentally competent at the time she made her will. I intend to follow that up with her doctor. I understand he saw her frequently to monitor the progress of her condition. In the meantime I would be grateful if you could do a search to see if there is a former will made by Gloria.”

  “Again, I’ll do my best.”

  I noticed that he was jotting these matters down as I spoke, so I hoped he would do what he said.

  “When we had lunch together you said you were aware of Gloria’s daughter; that the father had been killed or went missing in Vietnam. Was it Gloria who told you that?”

  “No, it was something I learned from Greg after Gloria’s death; because of Miss Granger’s inclusion in the will.”

  “I wonder if you can give me a ball park figure for the approximate value of Gloria’s estate.”

  “I can do better than that.” He swiveled round in his chair and reached for a box file on the window ledge behind him. “I’ve made two synopses: one assumes that Miss Granger’s claim is legitimate, and the other sets out the position if not. There are approximate net figures for which each family member would receive. It’s only an approximation because there will be various fees and disbursements, but enough to give you a pretty good overview. These are copies so you can hang on to them if you like.”

  I looked at the two sheets of paper for a minute or two.

  “You’ll see that the valuation of the entire estate includes an estimate of the value of the family home. I don’t know if you are aware that the house belonged to Gloria?”

  “Yes, Greg told me.

  “You will see that Federal Inheritance Tax is a hefty lump. Susan Granger has been left half of the net estate. The rest is split equally between Greg and his two sons, so they would receive one sixth each. If Greg wishes to remain in situ in the family home he would need to purchase the house from the estate. Greg’s share of Gloria’s estate would be insufficient for that, and I am not in a position to comment on Greg’s personal finances, but he may be sufficiently well off to be able to cope. He certainly doesn’t want to move, I know. The way the will is worded it makes it clear that Miss Granger has no say in how the real property is dealt with. Her bequest is in pecuniary terms. No specific asset has been bequeathed to her. I must say I’m rather surprised that there’s no provision to permit Greg to have the house during his lifetime, but I can only give effect to the will as it stands.”

  I thanked Saunders for his time. It was nearly four o’clock so I thought I would try my luck at the agency again. The file was waiting for me. I was told that if I needed to interview any of their staff I would have to make arrangements through the agency, they weren’t permitted to give me their private addresses; so I had to let the cat out of the bag and let the receptionist know that I needed to speak with them in the course of a private investigation concerning the circumstances of Mrs. Philips’ death. It was purely routine I explained; there was no suggestion of any impropriety or lack of diligence on their part. Since I presumed that the agency’s only concern was to ensure that the ladies didn’t go moonlighting and deprive the agency of its commission I wasn’t surprised when the receptionist acquiesced without demurring. However, one of the nurses was no longer on the agency’s books and they had no idea if she was still in the area.

  Miss Prince, the receptionist, peered at me over the top of her half frame readers and briefly took the pencil she’d been chewing out of her mouth.

  “There were two shifts – eight to four and four to midnight. The nurse who usually took over the shifts when the regular nurses had their days off is no longer with us I’m afraid. Her name is Mrs. Halsey. I can make some enquiries for you but there’s nothing I can do today.”

  She stared at me vacantly and popped the pencil back in her mouth. I left before she started chomping it again.

  I drove home to sift through the documents provided for me so that I could decide which of the nurses I needed to contact. As I approached the car my cell phone rang. It was Paul Philips. He apologized for the delay in getting back for to me, and wondered if he could make an appointment to see me in my office tomorrow. I offered to drive over to his place at his convenience but he said that he was no longer at that address. It was rented accommodation and he’d moved out temporarily. He was between places at the moment and staying with a girlfriend, so my office would be more convenient. Lucy would be surprised. I’d never used the meeting room before.

  I phoned Jill and arranged to call in and see her at Complete Forensics before heading home.

  Jill came down to the reception area to greet me. She apologized for not being able to see me before. I said that was fine, and it had given me time to absorb the implications of what she’d told me over the phone.

  “The lack of DNA is disappointing. I was just congratulating myself on getting a cross-match sample,” I said.

  Jill suggested that we go up to her lab where she could discuss things in more detail and she led me through the familiar antiseptic corridors, not unlike a hospital. She ushered me into her private office adjoining one of the laboratories and I settled into a chair by the desk which was only slightly more comfortable than it looked. It was the kind of chair that encouraged visitors not to overstay their welcome.

  We discussed the saliva sample that I’d obtained from Susan. Jill said that she would look after it in case any other possible means of a comparison materialized. She was still preparing Susan’s DNA profile.

  “Perhaps you can tell me something about the subject now and a little more about the nature of your investigation. As you know, we don’t need to know about the subject before commencing the test, but now the hair tests are complete it would help to know more to see if there are any other avenues that ought to be explored.”

  “The subject is one Gloria Philips. She died last spring, the last day of spring I believe, although I’m not sure what that date would be.”

  “I’m afraid I don’t know either; somewhere around the middle of June I think. Anyway, that’s close enough for my purposes.”

 
; “Mrs. Philips was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease about two years before that. As I understand her deterioration after the first year was rather rapid and by the time of her death, aged sixty five, she had been in the final stages of the condition for some time.”

  “There’s a considerable variation in the way that dreadful condition progresses, and no-one is sure what causes it,” Jill said.

  “She had an accident just before the first symptoms were apparent; a broken leg that required surgery. Might that have any bearing on her subsequent dementia?”

  “Well I’m not a physician, as you know, so I’m really not in a position to comment on that. It doesn’t seem very likely that there would be a connection between the two though.”

  “Anyway, eventually she became virtually bed-ridden. But prior to that, after the onset of her condition but before it become pronounced she was reunited with a young lady, Susan, who claimed, and still claims, to be her natural daughter whom Gloria had given up for adoption about forty odd years before. After Gloria’s death it transpired that she had left a large part of her estate to Susan. I have been retained by her widower, Greg, who also happens to be one of the estate’s executors, to investigate whether Susan really is who she claims to be. Gloria’s remains were cremated, and Mr. and Mrs. Philips had no children of their own. There are no known blood relatives of Gloria either. However, Mr. Philips was able to provide me with the sample of Gloria’s hair which I brought to you, and I was hoping to compare it with the sample of Susan’s DNA, so it’s disappointing that there’s apparently nothing to compare it with.”

  “As you are aware, Kane, extracting DNA from hair throws up many obstacles. It can sometimes be done, but not as often as the media would have us believe. New techniques are being developed all the time though. DNA analysis is still in its relative infancy.”

  “Yes, I know, and I wasn’t particularly optimistic; but it would have saved a lot of time and effort if things had worked out.”

  “Let’s get on to the arsenic,” Jill said. “As you know, arsenic is an element and unlike DNA accumulates in hair, fingernails and toenails. I’m sure you know all this, so I’ll cut to the point. Although arsenic occurs naturally in nature, even in items as apparently innocuous as water and rice, it doesn’t occur in the concentrations found in Gloria’s hair, and I have no doubt that the deposits found in Gloria’s hair are from deliberate doses administered over a fairly protracted period; probably several weeks, but it could be months. It’s surprisingly rarely picked up as a cause of routine deaths unless there’s something obviously unusual about the death. I don’t think the doctor who described the cause of death could be criticized in the circumstances which you’ve described, but it’s my opinion that Gloria’s death was not a result of natural causes. Where that leaves your investigation I don’t know.”

  “Well there are several persons who had the opportunity to administer the toxin over the period you’ve described, although at present I only suspect two of them to have had motive. However, I will have to interview all those who had opportunity before I can rule any of them out. From a practical point of view it matters because if the murderer is also a beneficiary he or she can kiss good-bye to any part of Gloria’s estate. As in all cases though where a number of people all had opportunity it may be impossible to confirm which one is responsible. It’s also conceivably possible that more than one person was involved, so it’s not very encouraging at this stage. Still, it’s early days.”

  “Well, if there’s anything else that I can help you with let me know. I had better retain all the samples and results here in the laboratory. Even if you can’t identify the person responsible, the cause of death may have to be revised. I suppose you are very much in the hands of your client at the moment as to how he wants you to proceed.”

  “Yes, I’m going to try to see him over the weekend. It’s not a meeting I’m looking forward to very much. Poor old Greg has enough on his plate without this, but obviously it will have to be dealt with. I sometimes wonder why I chose a job where I so often have to be the harbinger of bad news.”

  “I’m sure you bring good news to some of your client’s too.”

  “I’d like to think so. Thanks Jill. Maybe you and Peter and I can get together over something less depressing sometime soon?”

  “You have our number. We always enjoy your company; and Lucy too. How is she by the way?”

  “Same old same old,” I said.

  I got home and poured myself a generous drink, then called Lucy to see if she’d arranged the computer technician. It was ‘in hand’ whatever that meant. I didn’t tell her about Greg’s invitation. I might’ve had to introduce her to him as my assistant. I told her that I had a meeting arranged in the office the following day so could she please make sure it looked like a tidy and professionally run office. She told me it was a tidy and professionally run office. There was no problem with her end of the business she said haughtily.

  I went out to the porch, and switched the overhead light on. I thought I’d just scan through the nursing agency documents. I assumed that the main nurses lived locally in or near Boylston so I would try to see them both at once on my next trip up there.

  The file had the personal particulars of each nurse. Most of the papers related to the principal two nurses. The day nurse was Sylvia Grafton. I was about to take a sip of my drink when something jumped out of the page at me. It was the name of the night nurse, Miss Griffiths.

  But it wasn’t her last name that startled me, it was her first name: it was Josette.

  Chapter Twenty One

  The Lovers

  “So you’ve cracked the case, then?”

  “That’s something of an exaggeration.”

  “Josette is hardly the most common name. It must be the same one, don’t you think?” Lucy said.

  “It may well be, but establishing that Susan and the night nurse are friends, perhaps more than just friends, may not be so easy to do. If I go in like a bull in a china shop they may simply deny any connection, put the name down to co-incidence. I could have them both tailed first, to see if there is any connection between them, but that might take some time. I couldn’t do it on my own, but I suppose Tony and June could help.”

  Tony and June Scipio were highly skilled surveillance operatives that I often used in connection with insurance work or cases of errant husbands or wives, or sometimes both. They were a husband and wife team themselves, and would be able to operate without any supervision or assistance from me.

  “Susan isn’t stupid,” I said. “If she is involved in some relationship with Josette I would expect them to be watching their backs and keeping a low profile; although I may be being over-cautious since neither are aware that I’m on to the arsenic poisoning. But if they really are an item they may have simply met by chance whilst Gloria was being looked after. In that case their relationship might be something quite innocent.”

  Lucy was on the edge of her seat, both figuratively and literally.

  “There’s another more sinister possibility though,” Lucy said. “It’s been puzzling me how Susan came into Gloria’s life after she became unwell. Until now I’d just put that down to chance − like you said about her just being nearby − but I’m beginning to wonder. Suppose Josette already knew Susan somehow before Gloria became unwell? If they both prefer the company of their own sex it’s quite possible. Then Josette discovers that Gloria is sick, losing her marbles. Somehow Josette knows about Gloria’s adopted child. They devise a scheme whereby Susan assumes the identity of Gloria’s long-lost daughter, and Gloria is duped by the deception. Susan manages to get Gloria to make her a bequest and then the pair of them devise a plan to finish her off, before the deception is discovered.”

  “Sounds like a good plot for a book,” I said.

  “You’re just poo-pooing the idea because you didn’t think of it first.”

  “I’m not rejecting the possibility out of hand; it’s just that there are a nu
mber of problems with your theory. For a start, how would Josette have known about Gloria’s illness before she contacted Susan? The nurses weren’t employed to look after Gloria until several months after Susan appeared on the scene. And how would Josette possibly have known about Gloria’s adopted daughter?”

  “I don’t know. Perhaps in the early stages of her dementia she sort of rambled on about it to someone or something.”

  A bit like Lucy was rambling on about it now, I thought, but I kept quiet about that.

  “As I understand it, the nurses hadn’t been employed at the time Susan first showed up, because Gloria’s condition didn’t require them at that point. I prefer the theory that Susan turning up was unconnected with Josette, but that they perhaps started a relationship afterwards and hatched the idea of speeding along Gloria’s death together; in which case it doesn’t throw any new light on whether Susan is genuinely Gloria’s daughter or not.”

  “Either way it’s just conjecture. My idea’s just as good as yours,” she said huffily.

  “I think the way to find out whether there may be some kind of sinister plot would be to see how transparent Susan is about her relationship with Josette − assuming the name isn’t merely coincidental. If Susan has nothing to hide then there would be no reason for her to be circumspect about the relationship. Similarly if my theory is right, and the connection relates to Gloria’s death rather than Susan’s bona fides, then the fact that neither Susan nor Josette are aware that I know what killed Gloria may result in them admitting the relationship in any event. It’s not as if there’s anything inherently improper about such a relationship after all.”

  “So you’re just going to ask her?”

  “Well, with a degree of subtlety, I hope. Whether to broach the subject with Josette first or with Susan is something I’ll have to decide.”

  “So Susan might be a fraud, or she might be a murderer or she might be both?”