Кара Хантер - No Way Out

Fawley, meanwhile, has been studying the numbers. `So if the cash ran out in October, how's he been paying the fees since?'

Fawley's sharp, no question. Even when he is distracted.

Baxter sits back and places his fingertips together. `Short answer? He hasn't. I spoke to the home's accountant and there's two months' bills outstanding. They asked Esmond to come in and see them in December and he said he was `њmaking arrangements`ќ but no actual dosh has yet been forthcoming.'

`I thought the family were supposed to be wealthy?' says Gislingham.

Baxter glances up at him. `You and me both. So I did a bit more digging. I couldn't get full financials on the family business because it was a private sale but judging by how little Esmond's father sold it for it must have been in big trouble. And he lived on the proceeds for the rest of his life `“ by the time he died the cash must have pretty much dried out.' He makes a face. `You know that saying `“ first generation makes it, second generation spends it and third generation blows it. Looks like Esmond's father blew it big time.'

`So why not sell the house?' says Gislingham. `I mean, I know it's the family silver and all that, but if his mum needed care `“'

`He can't.'

It's Quinn, at the door, still in his coat. He holds up a sheaf of papers.

`I found this at the house.'

He walks over and hands the papers to Fawley, who reads the top sheet slowly, then looks up at Quinn. `Good work,' he says. `Bloody good work.'

Last Will and Testament

This is the last will and testament of Horace Zachary Esmond, of Felix House, 23 Southey Road, Oxford.

1 I appoint as the Executors and Trustees of this my Will (`the Trustees') the partners in the firm of Rotherham Fleming Co of 67 Cornwallis Mews, Oxford.

2 In this Will, where the context admits:

i. Beneficiaries' shall mean my son Richard Zachary Esmond, his children, and their subsequent issue;

ii. `Property Beneficiary' shall mean my son Richard, and upon his death, his oldest surviving son (or if none, daughter), and so on for each succeeding generation;

iii. `Property' shall mean Felix House, 23 Southey Road, Oxford;

iv. `Residual Property' shall mean all of my property and assets, personal and commercial, with the exception of the Property.

3 The Trustees must hold the Property on trust for the Property Beneficiary for the term of his life, and allow him to occupy the Property rent-free so long as he (i) pays all outgoings on the Property; (ii) keeps the Property in good repair; and (iii) keeps the Property insured in the Trustees' name and to their satisfaction.

4 Subject to clause 5 below, the Trustees must not sell the Property.

5 In circumstances where (i) the Property Beneficiary dies without any surviving issue, or (ii) the Property is required to be demolished (whether due to fire, flood, subsidence, act of God, or a compulsory purchase order of a Local Authority or other public body in accordance with statute or otherwise), the Trustees shall sell the Property and distribute the proceeds to each of the Beneficiaries in equal parts.

6 The Trustees shall, after paying all debts, funeral and testamentary expenses and Inheritance Tax on all property that vests in them, distribute the Residual Property to my son Richard Zachary Esmond.

Testimonium and Attestation

Dated this 14th day of April, 1965.

Signed by the above named Horace Zachary Esmond as and for his last Will in our presence and by us in his.

В

В В Peter ClarenceNorman Dennis Partner, Rotherham Fleming CoPartner, Rotherham Fleming Co First Codicil

I, Horace Zachary Esmond, of Felix House, 23 Southey Road, Oxford, DECLARE this to be a first Codicil to my last Will, dated the 14th day of April 1965 (`my Will').

MY WILL shall be construed and take effect as if it contained the following clause: I give free of Inheritance tax to: Philip Zachary Esmond, my grandson, born 11th October 1975, the sum of One Hundred Thousand pounds (£100,000).

IN ALL other respects I confirm my Will dated 14th April 1965. IN WITNESS whereof I have hereunto set my hand on this 27th day of November 1975:

В

And for a first Codicil to his Will in our presence, and by us jointly attested and subscribed in his presence:

В В Norman DennisBenjamin Turner Partner, Rotherham Fleming CoPartner, Rotherham Fleming Co***

Long after most of the team have gone home I'm still at my desk, looking at the will and wondering about the man who drafted it. What sort of mind must you have to draw up something like this `“ to go to such lengths to ensure generations you'll never even see will conform to your own conception of the family, to your idea of its legacy and its position. And yes, clearly there was plenty of money in the sixties `“ a hundred grand would have been a fortune back then `“ and Horace Esmond probably couldn't even imagine a time when his descendants might actually need to sell that house, but that's no excuse. I sit back in my chair, feeling, for the first time, genuinely sorry for Michael Esmond. Then I reach forward and pick up the phone. Because suddenly I have an excuse to call. A reason to speak to my wife that's not about her or me or some impossible possible child, but about what she does. Because at times like this, in cases like this, I always talk to my wife. Not only for her lawyer's training, but because she has one of the most acute minds I've ever known. A quite staggering ability to home in on the key facts `“ both those we have, and those we don't. And if I'm hesitating to call her now, it's because I'm not sure I can face listening to her applying that relentless intellect to argue herself out of what remains of our marriage.

`Alex, it's me. Can you give me a call back? It's not about `“ it's about a case. I just need someone to tell me that a document means what I think it means. And yes, I know I could ask the legal people here, but I'd rather ask you. I'd always rather ask you.'

At the John Rad, the second autopsies are over. Zachary's was especially grim, but it was always going to be. Yet in the face of such horror, Ray Goodwin had an unexpectedly calming way with him. And for once it wasn't down to CDs of string quartets or amplified whale song. Just a quiet, measured manner that managed to be both gentle and professional at the same time. Nina had to admit, she was impressed.

Afterwards, as they're stripping off their scrubs, he asks how long she's been a forensics officer, and it turns out they have acquaintances in common, and somehow or other they end up having a drink in town. Nina doesn't notice, but Gislingham and Everett are on the far side of the same bar. He with a lager and she a glass of Chardonnay. But the drinks have been sitting there for over an hour. And unlike Nina, their day has not gone unexpectedly well.