Bertha’s mouth was hard. “No, we couldn’t, and for that reason, I’m not going to swear any papers were burning in any grate, I’m not going up to any lawyer, and I’m not going to be any witness.”
“Oh, Mrs. Cool! But I thought you said you could help us.”
Bertha said, “I said I could help you establish what you wanted to prove. I was referring to my ability as a detective.”
“Oh, but we don’t need a detective. That’s all cut and dried. Our lawyer says that once the testimony of the handwriting expert establishes that it was the will that was burnt, there’s nothing to it.”
“And therefore the lawyer’s willing to work for a nominal fee, I suppose,” Bertha Cool said dryly.
“Well, he gets a percentage.”
“And then in addition to that, if you get all the estate, he acts as your attorney in probating the will and gets another chunk out of it, doesn’t he?”
“Why — why, I hadn’t thought of that. He said that part of it would be handled in the usual manner.”
“I see,” Bertha said with frigid politeness. “Well, I’m very sorry that I can’t help you — unless you feel that you need someone to gather the facts.”
“But, Mrs. Cool, we have all the facts. All we need is a witness to swear to them.”