His gaze held a devilish glint, and Kim couldn’t help wondering why he was still around. He owned the company which had seven other nameplates on the wall. She couldn’t imagine he needed to work.
From what she understood, he’d been sitting right here for over forty years, and the office reflected it. What might have once been bespoke, quality oak furniture was now dark, heavy and unloved.
‘I don’t like change, Inspector,’ he said, peering over half-rimmed glasses.
‘We understand that you took care of the family’s financial matters for many years.’
‘Thirty-eight and a half to be exact. From the moment William needed to file tax returns for his new business. If I remember correctly, he had a turnover of a hundred thousand pounds, which was pretty healthy in 1981 when you could buy a house for ten thousand, and the average house price was around nineteen thousand, as opposed to the almost quarter million it is today. His gross profit was nine thousand pounds. Again, not bad, but he made a net loss of almost two thousand pounds. Not so good.’
Kim burst out laughing.
‘And that’s why they keep me around,’ he said affably. ‘That and the fact that with some good advice, William never made a loss again.’
‘May we talk to you about the couple’s wills?’
‘Of course. There was nothing strange or obscure. Both left everything to each other with ourselves as co-executors for the finances and the same for health.’
‘Health?’ Kim asked.
‘A provision normally included if one party should become unable to make financial decisions.’
‘Like Alzheimer’s?’
‘Amongst many others.’
‘And you were co-executors?’
‘Absolutely. Such arrangements preclude either party from making arbitrary decisions about the other’s health and well-being.’
‘Not a member of the family?’
Herbert shook his head. ‘Let’s say the executors for Helen’s health had been William and Rachel. Let’s say William tired of Helen and decided he wanted her out of the way, in a home perhaps. A family member may be easily swayed into going along with such a dastardly plan. An objective co-executor would ensure that any arrangement was in the best interest of the subject. We’re talking doctors reports, expert testimonials, specialist advice.’
‘And both William and Helen agreed to this?’
‘Insisted upon it. They didn’t want any of their children to have the responsibility of such decisions.’
‘And if they died together?’
‘We remain executors of the estate, and everything was to be divided equally between surviving children.’
Penn was wrong. There was nothing here. The wills were straightforward, and given recent tragic events, everything now went to Zach.
‘Were the Dayneses making any alterations to the will?’ Kim asked, thinking about the burned piece of paper.
‘A very small change to the wording. Nothing major but something Helen was keen to do. It was just the removal of one word.’
‘What word?’ Kim asked.
‘The word natural. The will stated that the estate be divided amongst all surviving natural children. Helen wanted that word removed.’
‘Did you know that the couple were about to foster a seven-year-old boy?’
He frowned. ‘No.’
‘Could the foster child have had any claim to the estate?’
‘You’d have to speak to a lawyer about that one.’