“She did not indicate what those plans were?”
“Only in the vaguest way. I remember her saying that her brother was a wealthy man: the one wealthy member of the family, was the way she put it. Her principal preoccupation was her suspicion of the man-servant, based on seeing him listening at the door. She was very voluble and excited—so much so that I did not attach much importance to what she said, and did not ask her many questions.”
“It is of the utmost importance that we should find out all we can about this family council yesterday. It is possible that it may throw some light on Robert Turold’s death. I am not prepared at present to say whether it is suicide or not, but apart from any suspicious circumstances, I feel that there is some justification for Mrs. Pendleton’s belief that a wealthy and successful man like her brother was not likely to take his own life, unless there was some hidden reason for him to do so. If we knew more of what happened downstairs yesterday we might be in a better position to judge of that. The case strikes me as a very peculiar one—indeed, it has some remarkable features. My first task will be to interview all the persons who were present at yesterday’s gathering. Can you tell me if the brothers were on good terms?”
“I believe so.”
“Is Austin Turold a poor man?”
“I know nothing about him. But what has that got to do with it?”
“It may have much to do with it. He may have stood to inherit a fortune from Robert.”
“You surely do not suspect the brother?”
“I suspect no one, at present,” returned Barrant. “I am merely glancing at the scanty facts within our knowledge and seeing what can be gathered from them. Robert Turold is found dead in his study, with his hands on an old clock, where he kept important papers, including his will. We are indebted to Austin Turold for that knowledge. But how did Austin Turold come to know that his brother kept his will in the clock-case? Did Robert tell him, or did he find it out? Was Austin aware of the contents of the will? Why did Robert go to the clock? Was his idea to destroy the will? And was that after or before he was shot, or shot himself?
“These are questions we cannot answer without further knowledge, but they seem to point to the existence of some family secret of which we know nothing. We must find out what it is. I shall first interview Austin Turold, and then call on Dr. Ravenshaw, if time permits. You’d better drop me at the churchtown on your way back to Penzance. There’s really nothing to detain you any longer.”