Anything Goes

points. I just never observed them. I think your uncle was flattered by his attentions. Mr. Cooke would come for weekends and ask your uncle’s advice on stocks. Horatio liked being the font of knowledge for an aggressive young relative he imagined could follow in his footsteps. At least, that was my impression. I could have been quite wrong. But Horatio gave him good advice, which Mr. Cooke faithfully followed. Until just before the Crash. I told you that Horatio had advised me to get out of the stock market, which I did. He must have similarly advised Mr. Cooke.“
    “And Claude didn’t agree?”
    Prinney shook his head. “Mr. Cooke seemed to have forgotten that Horatio had always been right before. They had a falling-out. I wouldn’t have known except that Horatio was so angry that he made several offhand remarks that were suddenly quite critical of Mr. Cooke.“
    “Did Claude lose his money?“
    “Most of it, your uncle told me.“
    “So Claude became one of the needy relatives.“
    “He did. He continued to visit, acting very penitent. But once Horatio had turned his face away from someone, he never looked back.“
    “Just like with his Aunt Flora,“ Lily said.
    “Precisely. He remained fairly cordial to Mr. Cooke, but informed me that he wanted to expunge him from his will. That’s when he started investigating you and your brother.“
    “Does Claude know this?“
    “I very much doubt it. In fact, after Horatio’s funeral, Mr. Cooke came to see me a mere hour later to inquire about the will. I had to tell him he was not named in the will as a primary beneficiary and that I couldn’t reveal the contents until I found the heirs.”
    Lily laughed. “You must have enjoyed that.”
    Mr. Prinney smiled, somewhat shamefaced. “Of course, the will was public record, so I’m sure he found out the truth soon enough.”
    Lily suddenly thought back to the dinner at the Winslows’. Mrs. Winslow had said that Sissy was engaged to Claude and Sissy pooh-poohed the idea. Claude was obviously the one pushing along the idea in the hopes of marrying into the Winslow money.
    “So Claude is a good possibility as First Murderer,“ Lily said. “In spite of everything we both know about him, I find that a little hard to believe.“
    “So do I,“ Mr. Prinney admitted. “He’s not a man of courage and it takes a certain sort of rash courage for a law-abiding person to decide to kill for what he wants.“
    “Who, then, does that leave us with?“
    “Mr. Kessler,“ Prinney said. “And me, of course.“
     

Chapter 22
     
    “Mr. Kessler,“ Lily said. “I’d forgotten him. He publishes the local newspaper. Why would he have been invited along?“
    “He’s the editor. Not the publisher.”
    Lily looked at him questioningly. “What’s the difference?“
    “The editor is an employee. The publisher is the owner,“ Mr. Prinney said. “The publisher puts up the money, pays the bills and takes the profit or loss.“
    “And who is the publisher?”
    Mr. Prinney folded his hands on his desk and said, mournfully, “Me, in a sense. On behalf of Horatio’s estate. And someday you and your brother. That’s if the paper survives, which is unlikely.”
    “why?“
    “Oh, a number of reasons. Kessler just hasn’t got a feel for what people want to read about. He’s too conservative. Not politically, just personally. Afraid of offending anybody.“
    “How did he get the job?“
    “Your uncle bought the paper from a man who was both editor and publisher and had gotten a much better job in New York City. Deservedly so. ‘He was good. People used to actually line up outside the office on the two mornings the paper was published to get an early copy. Horatio enjoyed the paper as well as anyone. It made him feel, he said, as if he knew the neighbors. So he found himself with a thriving newspaper, but no editor. I’m not privy to how he found Kessler or Kessler found him, but Kessler presented a fine proposal. He’d been a college professor of journalism, had lots of fresh ideas, excellent recommendations.“
    “What happened then? I’ve only seen articles from one issue. Is it not any good under his guidance?“
    “It seems Kessler was a firebrand in theory, but a marshmallow in reality. The responsibility of actually deciding what went in the paper seemed to scare the stuffing out of him. The paper’s just gotten duller and duller. People can hardly afford to subscribe to any local paper anyway, and