The Appleton Case (A Markham Sisters Cozy Mystery Novella Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

sure
why he’d bother.   He lived in the
same town, after all,” Joan interjected.
    “He hardly
ever visited her, though.   Maybe he
sent her some threatening letters and he’s eager to get them back before the
police see them,” Stuart offered.
    “He’d have
visited more if he’d known she was going to die so suddenly,” Mary said.   “He’d have wanted to make sure of his
inheritance, if he’d known.”
    “What happened
to Mrs. Appleton?” Janet asked.
    Again the
couple exchanged looks and Janet was desperate to know what they were thinking
while they did so.
    “No one seems
to sure about that,” Stuart said eventually.   “You could ask young Robert, I suppose.”
    “Only she
wasn’t technically Mrs. Appleton anymore,” Mary added.   “She may never have actually been Mrs.
Appleton, for that matter.”
    “What do you
mean?” Janet asked.
    “She was
married a couple of times during the years she was here.   Her husbands were both much older men
who left her a good deal of money when they passed on.   I gather she had a different husband
before she moved here.   It was him
that left her the money for Doveby House,” Mary told
them.
    “So what was
her proper name?” Joan asked.
    Mary
shrugged.   “She had everyone call
her Mrs. Appleton, or Maggie.   She
said it was easier to have the same name as her son, and she never managed to
be married long enough to bother getting everything changed.”
    Now the sisters
exchanged looks.   Janet shook her
head.   Sometimes other people’s behaviour still surprised her.
    “Anyway, Gavin
was her only child.   No doubt he
expected to inherit everything,” Stuart said.
    “But she left
everything to the Doveby Trust instead, as I
understand it,” Joan replied.
    “Yes, well, I
gather she and Gavin had a disagreement about something a while back and she
was just angry enough to change her will.   She may well have changed it back again once they’d made up, but she
didn’t get the chance.”
    “How
unfortunate for young Gavin,” Janet murmured.
    “But fortunate
for you,” Mary pointed out.
    They chatted
about the neighbourhood and the location of the
closest grocery stores and other shops for a few minutes before Joan glanced at
her watch.  
    “My goodness,
we really have taken up far too much of your time,” she said to the
couple.   “And we have an appointment
with our solicitor to get to.   Thank
you so much for talking with us.”
    “It was our
pleasure,” Stuart said.   “We’re both
retired, so guests are always welcome.”
    “You must come
and visit with us once we’re settled in,” Janet said as she rose to follow her
sister from the room.
    “We’d like
that,” Mary said.  
    The pair
walked to the door behind the sisters.
    “Oh, yesterday
you said something about a ghost,” Janet said to Stuart.   “What ghost?”
    Mary
laughed.   “You mustn’t listen to
that nonsense,” she told Janet firmly.   “Stuart has some crazy ideas sometimes, that’s all.”
    Stuart opened
his mouth and then snapped it shut.  
    “We really
must go,” Joan reminded her sister.
    Janet followed
Joan out reluctantly.   She really wanted
to hear about that ghost.  

 
    Chapter
Four
    “I wanted to
hear about the ghost,” Janet complained as they drove back towards home.  
    “You know I
don’t believe in such things, really,” Joan told her.   “And clearly Mary didn’t want Stuart to
tell us anything.   We’ll have to get
Stuart alone and ask him.”
    Janet shook
her head.   It seemed strange to hear
Joan planning such things.   It was
usually Janet who went chasing after ghost stories and other oddities.   Clearly retirement was bringing out a
different side in her big sister.
    “What if Mrs.
Appleton is haunting the house?   Maybe Gavin murdered her and that’s why no one knows what happened to
her,” Janet suggested.
    “Maybe you
have an overactive imagination,” Joan replied.   It wasn’t the first