W Is for Wasted

will is dated July 8, 1988. He and Ethan quarreled in September, ten months before. That’s hardly acting in haste. He had time to think about what he was doing both before and afterward.”
    Evelyn went on as though I hadn’t said a word. “You have no idea how much that money would mean to them. This could be a life-changing event,” she said. There was a small tremor in her voice that I thought was entirely manufactured.
    “I’m not here to negotiate. I made that clear to Mamie on the phone.”
    “Hear me out . . . as a courtesy if nothing else.” She kept her eyes on me as though waiting for my permission to continue.
    I gestured her on.
    “As executor of the estate, you’re in a position to tip the balance, don’t you think?”
    “No.”
    “Then how do you see your role?”
    “It’s not a
role
. As executor, it’s my job.”
    “Your job, then.”
    “I’m responsible for seeing that his assets are distributed according to the provisions in the will. I can’t just make these things up. I have to answer to the court.”
    “But once this is settled, you do have a say in what happens from that point on.”
    “If the judge decides the will’s in order, I’ll see that Terrence’s wishes are carried out. That’s the only power I have.”
    “But isn’t this a conflict of interest? You admit you had no relationship with Terrence and yet you’ve managed to insert yourself between the man and his own offspring. Why can’t you give them a chance to accomplish something in life?”
    “Let’s not go on with this. Please believe me when I tell you it’s not up to me.”
    “That’s not true,” Evelyn said. “All that money’s going to end up in your pocket, isn’t it?”
    “In theory, I suppose.”
    “What I’m suggesting is that once the money’s yours, you can do anything you want with it. Isn’t that correct?”
    I raised a hand. “I want to talk about something else.”
    Evelyn said, “I haven’t finished making my point. I’m not saying you shouldn’t have a share, but think about this. If you divided it four ways, you’d each come out with about a hundred and fifty thousand apiece, which seems equitable.”
    I was shaking my head, irritated that she was pressing the point.
    Mamie interceded. “Would you let Kinsey have a turn? You’ve talked long enough.” She turned to me. “What were you going to say?”
    I loved how cranky she was. I said, “I’d like to back up a bit if you don’t mind. Here’s what I don’t get. All this posturing aside, why weren’t Ethan and Anna more charitable when Terrence was exonerated? I know Ellen was out of town when he arrived, but Ethan and Anna both still believe he killed Karen Coffey. Even with all the evidence that came to light. Why weren’t they happy? Why didn’t they rejoice? That’s the crux of the problem, isn’t it? Not that they believed he was guilty, but that they refused to believe he was innocent.”
    “You’d have to ask them. I wouldn’t presume to speak for them. After all, they’re adults—as you so aptly pointed out.”
    I said, “Can we stick to the point? Terrence cut them out of the will because they mistreated him, yes?”
    “I grant you their behavior was unfortunate, but let’s not make matters worse,” she said.
    “That’s not where I’m going with this. Do you know why they quarreled?”
    “Because Terrence was drunk,” she said.
    “No. They quarreled because you insinuated he’d actually had a hand in that girl’s death.”
    Mamie waved that aside. “That’s ridiculous. Evelyn did no such thing.”
    “Yes, she did.” I looked at Evelyn. “If you hadn’t poisoned the well, your ‘children’ might have been receptive to their father’s overtures. They might have accepted the fact that he was cleared of wrongdoing. If the visit had been a good one, he’d have left them everything, so this is really more about you than it is about me.”
    Evelyn lowered her gaze. Color was creeping up her neck, which I considered a thrilling sight. She said, “I don’t think you understand the relationship they had. They worshiped him. He was a hero to them. When this hideous crime came to light, they were devastated. I wanted them to realize that he wasn’t quite the innocent victim he portrayed himself.”
    “You think he killed her?”
    “I think he had the means, the motive, and the opportunity.”
    “What are you talking about? This isn’t a television drama.”
    “Karen was