“No, a part of it goes to Mrs. George, and the remainder in both cases to the next of kin.”
“I see. And who is the next of kin.”
“Joan’s step-father, Mr. Walter Brooklyn.”
“Ah! I think you mentioned that Mr. Walter Brooklyn was on bad terms with Mr. Prinsep.”
“Walter Brooklyn was on bad terms with most people who knew him. His step-daughter left him after her mother’s death, and came to live with Sir Vernon. I am afraid Walter Brooklyn is not a very likeable person.”
“On what terms was he with Sir Vernon?”
“He was always trying to get money from him. He had ran through one big fortune, his wife’s—including all the money left in trust for Miss Cowper. He leads a fairly expensive life in town, supported, I understand, partly by his bridge earnings and partly on what he can raise from his friends.”
“Did Sir Vernon give him money?”
“Yes, far more than I thought desirable. But Sir Vernon had a very strong sense of family solidarity. Latterly, however, Walter Brooklyn’s demands had become so exorbitant that Sir Vernon had been refusing to see him, and had handed the matter over to Prinsep, whom Walter was finding a much more difficult man to deal with.”
“Do you know whether Prinsep had been seeing Mr. Walter Brooklyn lately?”