“Don’t be coarse, and be quiet!”
“Well, she certainly sounds a grand subject for blackmail,” I put in.
Paula nodded.
“You know about Crosby’s death. He was cleaning a gun in his study, and it went off and killed him. He left three-quarters of his fortune to Janet with no strings tied to it, and a quarter to Maureen in trust. When Janet died, Maureen came into the whole vast estate, and seems to be a reformed character. Since she lost her sister she hasn’t once been mentioned in the press.”
“When did Crosby die?” I asked.
“March 1948. Two months before Janet died.”
“Convenient for Maureen.”
Paula raised her eyebrows.
“Yes. Janet was very upset by her father’s death. She was never very strong, and the press say the shock finished her.”
“All the same it’s very convenient for Maureen. I don’t like it, Paula. Maybe I have a suspicious mind. Janet writes to me that someone is blackmailing her sister. She then promptly dies of heart failure and her sister comes into her money. It’s too damned convenient.”