She nodded. “It’s hard on us. Especially on my sister April, because she pretends she has to laugh at everything. Art making faces at life. Have you had a talk with Miss Kara?”
“A short one. She stayed after the others left.”
“Did you make an agreement with her?”
“No. She offered to relinquish half of the estate, but I refused that.”
“Thank goodness.” Miss Hawthorne looked relieved. “Knowing your reputation, and having had a look at you, I was afraid you might have cornered her and got us committed. But you realize, of course, that the situation is entirely changed. In my opinion, it is now inadvisable to deal with her at all.”
“Indeed. Do the others agree with you?”
“I don’t know. I believe they will. The point is this, we wished to come to an arrangement with Miss Karn as soon as possible to avoid the fracas my sister-in-law was determined to start. Now it doesn’t matter. With the soot a murder investigation will deposit all over us, a will contest wouldn’t even make a smudge.”
Wolfe pursed his lips. “That’s one way of looking at it. I suppose Mr. Skinner and the others followed you people home?”
“Certainly they did. My sister-in-law had them admitted, but on Mr. Prescott’s advice we all — all but Daisy — refused to see them until my sister June had phoned her husband in Washington. He told her we should assist the authorities all we could by answering any relevant questions. Then they went after us — oh, I suppose they were considerate and courteous. The result seems to be that we are all suspected of murder.”
“All?”