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Maureen had been overwhelmed by phone calls and messages of support from Ron’s friends and acquaintances. There had been a constant stream of deliveries of flowers and plants and now the house was filled with a beautiful aroma like a florist’s shop.
Ron’ s brother Albert was the one relative he had remained in touch with and though shocked at the news, he didn’t seem very upset. He said he would try to attend the funeral and although Maureen offered for him to stay at Brensford Manor he told her he could afford to stay in a hotel. Maureen’s own family in the shape of her sister had offered her support and assistance with the arrangements but she declined, saying she could manage.
The Shiptons had also offered their support and had even suggested she should stay with them for a few days but she assured them she needed to be at home to manage Ron’s affairs. Deep down, Maureen knew it would be such a strain to keep up the pretence of the grieving widow. It was fortunate that in recent months Ron had simplified his business empire and The Cedars Hotel was the only non-scientific enterprise left in the Radford empire. That was run efficiently with little input from Ron, so Maureen had spoken to the manager and asked him just to continue in the same vein. There was no immediate need to decide its fate.
Her mobile rang.
‘Hello, Maureen Radford.’
‘Mrs Radford, this Allegra Smyth-Anderson, from Wheatley and Featherstone.’
‘Oh, yes, thank you for returning my call.’
‘It appears that your late husband did not get around to making a new will. The one we have here is now invalid since your recent marriage. Are you sure he hasn’t drawn up one without using our company and lodged it in your safe perhaps?’
‘No, there’s nothing here,’ said Maureen. ‘We were so busy with the wedding and immediately afterwards, I assume it just slipped his mind.’
‘I’m so sorry that his death occurred when you had only been married such a short time. It is truly tragic.’
‘These things happen,’ replied Maureen, swallowing hard to give the appearance of being upset.
‘Well, assuming no will turns up and it still might I guess, as you go through everything, it means that your husband died intestate. As there are no surviving children or grandchildren then you will inherit all your husband’s property and possessions and all of the estate including interest from the date of death.’
‘I see.’
‘You may, of course, make your own bequests to anyone you think might have been included. In the will we have here, there was a small bequest to an Albert Radford and large charitable donations. He also left a generous bequest to Sidney Failsworth, his accountant.’
‘That’ very helpful. Yes, I would like to make some additional bequests. Would you be able to go ahead and begin preparing the accounts for the probate application?’
‘Certainly. Do you want us to be the personal representative?’
‘Yes, I think I’ve too much to cope with as it is.’
‘Of course. All I need is a copy of the death certificate or several if you have them, it will help speed up the process.’
‘Yes, I’ll drop them into you later today or tomorrow.’
‘Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any queries.’
‘I will, thank you. Goodbye.’
Maureen sat back and closed her eyes. All this would be hers. She could hardly believe it. Ron had implied he had taken pity on her and indulged her with a lifestyle for which she should be eternally grateful. In fact, Maureen had found some notes and a draft will which he was presumably intending to have drawn up but his all-consuming obsession with PersCure and his onset of ill health meant he’d never actually got around to completing the task. It was quite apparent from the notes that Maureen would have received only Brensford Manor, assuming he had got around to including her on the deeds. He had left the remainder of his fortune to charity. Ron thought he was indestructible and that had been his downfall. Pride comes before a fall she cruelly thought. Her musings were interrupted by yet another call, this time from Sidney.
**
It was late afternoon and Maureen was at Welch properties signing some paperwork which Laura had put aside for her. The door opened and Laura greeted the visitor.
‘Good afternoon, sir, can I help you?’
Maureen looked up, ‘It’s OK, Laura, Mr Sobol has a meeting with me. Please come into the office, sir.’
Tomek followed Maureen and she closed the door.
‘I won’t keep you long as you’ve probably had a tiring day at work.’
Tomek smiled, ‘I am glad to be busy and have lots of work.’
‘Well, that’s good. I want to make amends to you for the distress you and your partner suffered following shall we say, a lack of clarity on behalf of ClinTry recently.’
‘Have you spoken to the manager there?’
‘I have indeed,’ lied Maureen, ‘but we are here to discuss your complaint, not the manager.’
‘Yes, well, I was just saying..’
‘If I may carry on. I can’t change what happened to your partner which was very sad but I can make a gesture which would perhaps make life easier for you.’
‘Money?’
‘Yes, money. I think you would be very unwise to try to bring a case against ClinTry as the paperwork was all in order. We would, of course, have legal representation and if you lost the case then you could end up with a large legal bill. That could be considerable.’
‘How much?’
‘You mean how much would the legal bill be?’
‘No, how much you offer me?’
‘I am willing to give you three thousand pounds as a goodwill gesture. Providing you sign a disclaimer that this is the end of the matter and you are entirely satisfied.’
Tomek sat in silence considering the proposition.
‘Five thousand.’
Maureen smiled, then remained silent. She was going to make Tomek sweat a bit. She shuffled some papers on her desk then looked up at him. ‘You drive a hard bargain, Mr Sobol. OK, I will agree to your demands but no more. Are we agreed?’
‘Where do I sign?’
‘I have the paperwork here.’
Maureen gave him a pen.
‘I will go and get your money. It is a cash payment. I assume that is acceptable?’
‘Of course.’
Maureen went into another room to count out the money. It was the money from the safe at Brensford Manor. It was one way of laundering it and getting it off her hands. She placed it in a brown envelope and handed it over to Tomek.
‘Thank you, Mrs Radford. My card, should you need any work doing,’ and he handed over the details of his building firm.
‘I’ll bear you in mind. Goodbye.’
Maureen breathed a sigh of relief after he left. Three months ago she wouldn’t have believed that she would have resorted to the same kind of tactics as Ron. She had effectively bought someone’s silence. She had no idea of knowing who had been in the wrong but it was a damage limitation exercise. Once she would have looked down on this sort of behaviour but perhaps it was a necessary part of business. Often there were grey areas and it was a case of finding a mutually satisfactory solution.
‘I’ll be off now, Laura, if there’s nothing else you need from me?’
‘No, it’s nearly closing time, I’ll lock up soon,’ replied Laura.
‘Are you OK to handle the viewings of the set of properties we are planning to sell?’
‘Yes, all arranged for Thursday.’
‘Excellent. Just shut the office when you need to.’
‘Of course. Good night, Mrs Radford.’
‘Goodnight, Laura.’
**
‘Hi, dinner will be ready soon, chicken tonight,’ called Petra as she heard Tomek come through the door.
He went over to her and kissed her.
‘Hi, good day?’ she said.
‘Yes, come and sit down.’
‘OK, what happen? Is something wrong?’
‘Nothing’s wrong, come and sit down.’
Petra still looked worried as she sat next to Tomek on the sofa. She waited for him to speak.
‘I went to see Mrs Radford. She has given us some money, for the problems you had.’
‘Oh, no, I told you not to cause trouble!’
‘I’ve not caused trouble. It is all finished. I sign a paper saying we won’t ask for more. She was nice. Understanding. Not like that bastard Radford himself.’
‘I see. He is gone now, I won’t miss him.’
‘Exactly. Mrs Radford is a nice lady. She gave me two thousand pounds. To say sorry.’
‘Really? That much!’
‘Yes, we can save for a deposit. It’s cash so we will need to put it in bank in several amounts, not whole lot at once.’
‘OK, thank you.’
Petra hugged Tomek. He would find a hiding place for the rest of the money tonight. Petra was more than happy with the amount he’d told her. It was a good outcome for everyone.
