War and Peas

kindest, most courteous old gentleman I ever met and his wife was a sweet little dumpling of a woman. And Daisy’s parents were lovely people, too, but they died very young. Her brother, who was the father of Caspar and Georgia, was only a teenager when Auguste died, and Daisy was about twenty. Auguste left his fortune to Daisy, supposedly because his grandson was so young. But I think old Auguste had already seen the writing on the wall and knew the boy was going to turn out badly.“
    “You knew Auguste Snellen? I thought he was born way back in the 1850s.“
    “Yes, he was. But he lived to be eighty years old. He died in 1935, I think. I was only fifteen then, but I thought he was a dear old man. Sharlene feels the same about him, and all she’s ever known is his picture. Daisy always said that as a grandfather, employer, and friend, he was lovely, but as a businessman, he was tough, independent, and rather secretive. He did all his own bookkeeping because he didn’t want an accountant to know his business.“ She paused, then asked, “What did you mean about seeing Caspar this morning?”
    Shelley slipped quietly into the room and smiled at Babs as she laid a fresh set of forms on the stack Jane was working from.
    “I was taking a little tour of the museum before Shelley arrived. I saw him standing in the doorway of that big room just to the left of the entry.“
    “What was he doing?“
    “Looking around for someone or something. He ignored me,“ Jane said.
    “Best way to handle him. I never liked the way he’s always hanging around here like it’s a boarding house. And I like it less now.“
    “Why now?”
    Babs cocked an expressive white eyebrow. “Why do you suppose, dear? Because in all likelihood, he killed Regina.”
    There was none of Lisa’s lost-in-grief-and don’t-know-what-I’m-saying tone to this remark. Babs was simply saying what she thought, as she was apparently used to doing.
    “Oh, my dears! Don’t look so horrified,“ Babs said. “I don’t mean he necessarily murdered her—not on purpose. Caspar is a bully and a threatener. I can well imagine him stealing that gun and thinking what power it might give him, however temporary, to wave it around at Regina, or maybe even shoot it at her, meaning to frighten the daylights out of her, but miss. And then, when he stupidly hit her by mistake—“
    “Have you told the police this?“ Jane asked.
    “Of course I have. Can’t let the fool get away with it. He’s done enough damage in his life without being allowed free rein to do more. When I think of how he broke poor Daisy’s heart—“
    “What did he do to her?“ Shelley asked.
    “Oh, a hundred vicious, petty things, but two years before her death, he did the worst. He and Georgia got themselves into some kind of crooked investment scheme that blew up in their faces. They had to pay up or face going to jail. And, of course, they couldn’t pay off without going to Daisy for the money. She was thoroughly disgusted with both of them by then. Naturally she wouldn’t let Snellens go to jail and besmirch the family name, but she really put them through hoops before she wrote out the checks. Shortly after that, in retaliation, Caspar managed to insinuate one of his disreputable friends into her house—a young woman who acted as secretary and nurse, but was really spying on Daisy. After a few months of accumulating information and making up stories, Caspar tried to have Daisy declared incompetent.“
    “But he didn’t succeed.“ Jane had never even met Daisy Snellen, but was appalled nevertheless.
    “Of course not. Jumper, who was already working for Daisy, really did a number on him. Let him get clear into a court hearing and showed Caspar up as a greedy fool. Not that it was hard. Caspar’s so stupid, really. I’m trying to remember some of the things...”
    She frowned into the now scummy, cold coffee cup and suddenly grinned. “Oh, yes. My favorite! Caspar’s stooge took a photo of Daisy with her hair tied up in rags. Now, I’ll admit a woman who curls her hair that old-fashioned way looks pretty crazy—like those medieval monarchs who went mad and stuck straws in their hair. Wild bits sticking out every which way, you know. But when Caspar’s sleazy attorney produced this picture with a flourish, Jumper calmly supplied a copy of a ladies’ magazine from the 1920s that Regina had found that illustrated how to tie up your hair in rags. And, by sheer good