Alex Harris 00 - Poisoned

sent Alex home too as I didn’t want to bother her with their drivel. I had Bradley here and Mrs. Platz for support if I needed them. And of course, Ralph is always in his room in the evenings. I can handle my sisters quite well, mind you, but with all of them together it can be a bit trying at times, especially at my age.”
    She paused to take a sip of tea and gather her thoughts. “So by five-thirty they were all here. The vultures, I like to call them.”
    “Who exactly was here?” John asked, consulting his notes from the previous day.
    “Well, first came May and June, my sisters, and they brought along that despicable man, Mr. Smit.”
    “That would be the developer?”
    “Yes, that’s correct. Though crook is more like it. Anyway, after they arrived Steven showed up, that’s May’s son, and his daughter Trish. May’s other son, Larry and his wife, and Marsha, June’s daughter.”
    By my count, there had to be eight additional people in the house Monday night. John sure had his work cut out for him. And so did I.
    Mrs. Brissart continued. “They all got into it right away. Telling me I must sell the land, that it was the best thing all around, that no one used the land or the house anymore. All the same rubbish I’ve heard ever since that Mr. Smit came into their lives.”
    “And how exactly did that come about?” John asked.
    “June met him at some thing or another. One of her social events, no doubt. Pretends all is business between them, but I know better—they’re sleeping together. Though don’t bother to ask her. She’ll deny it till the day she dies. My sister likes to think she’s above scandal and indiscreet behavior. Actually, both of them are like that. I tell you, they invented it. Why, carrying on with a man that must be no more than forty-five and at her age.”
    “What makes you think they’re sleeping together, Mrs. Brissart?”
    “This past July, June stayed here for about a week. She hired some people to do some work on her house and they had everything all torn up. She could have gone to a hotel or over to May’s, but I think she wanted to be here so she could try to wear me down on this whole land thing.
    “I came in to get my shawl. I’d been out in the garden working off some tension after one of their little get-togethers with the whole family again. An afternoon breeze came up so I went up to my room to get my shawl and a good book. Thought I’d relax out on the back porch. I heard voices upstairs. I knew everyone had left except for June, of course. She told me she needed a nap after her trying afternoon. Well, she was lying down all right, though I don’t know how much rest she got. Flat on her back with that weasel on top of her, naked as the day he was born! Arms and legs wrapped this way and that. And the moaning!”
    I blushed at the bluntness of Mrs. Brissart’s description.
    “Disgusting. And in my house. I’m no prude, Detective. But the sight of that wrinkled, bleached-hair sister of mine with that beady-eyed cad…” Mrs. Brissart shook her head in disgust.
    “Did they see you?” John asked with just a hint of an amused look on his face. I had to turn away before I broke out into a smile as well.
    “No. Too busy to notice. I went downstairs and the next day June went back to her house. Never again, I can tell you that much. Once it was over, I have to admit I got quite a laugh out of it. So did Virginia and Bradley.”
    John coughed. “Getting back to the events of Monday night.”
    “Oh, yes. Excuse me. Got a bit off track. Well, nothing much different happened than with all the other meetings they’ve held trying to get me to sell. May’s two sons tried to be more demanding than usual and one of them called me a greedy old witch. At least I thought he used that word,” Mrs. Brissart said slyly.
    “Mrs. Brissart, excuse me for asking, but is the rest of the family so cash poor that they really need the money from the sale of the land, and would it really be all that much? I mean, it would have to be split three ways, wouldn’t it?” I asked.
    “Yes, it would. And yes, it would be a sizable enough amount. There’s a lot of land and the house. To answer your question about are they poor—no, I wouldn’t think poor exactly, though I believe June is having some problems. Not that she talks about them.” Mrs. Brissart shook her head.
    “I know what we all got from our father, which was a lot to begin with, and their husbands left