Rupert Cochraneⁱ

F& R Solicitors

PO Box 101ⁱⁱ

London

SWxxxx

Harriet Mooreⁱⁱⁱ

Care of Albert Sumac

PO Box 666^iv

London

SWxxxxx

31 October 2004

Dear Ms Harriet Moore^v

It is my duty to inform you that, as requested in the will of Rose Shaw, we are bound to enquire about the status of your relationship with Albert Sumac as of November 2004. At the reading of the will in December 2003, Mr Sumac requested you not be made aware of the terms of the document in case they influenced any decisions you might make, but now it is imperative I bring certain details to your attention.

As laid out in the will of Rose Shaw, written and signed 8^th September 2003, Harriet Moore and Albert Sumac were bequeathed (and I quote):

• a rental legacy of £53,000, specifically to be used for a house or flat in Durham.^*
• a theatre and foreign travel legacy of £12,195.^vi*

^*These sums are to be paid one year after the testator (Rose Shaw)’s death^vii on the sole condition that the beneficiaries are in a committed relationship. Should this not be the case, all funds should be donated to the Cats Protection Agency.^viii

Thus, it is my duty to confirm whether or not you are currently in a “committed relationship”^ix with Albert Sumac. I have already contacted Mr Sumac and he has responded in the negative [13], but I need written confirmation from both parties^x before I may proceed with executing Ms Shaw’s last wishes.

As such, I would appreciate it if you could respond to my query as soon as possible using the above address.

Yours

Rupert Cochrane

F&R Solicitors

 

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ⁱ R. Cochrane could be a reference to Ray Cochrane, who’s a retired jockey. I think he’s the one that saved Frankie Dettori in that plane crash.

Jockeys? What? That seems fairly random (how do you know that?!?)

Hey, my dad buys the Racing Post – I can’t help it, I soak up information!

So could F & R be Frankie + Ray?

 

ⁱⁱ So that’s where solicitors come from!

If this is Natalie’s torture chamber in the Ministry of Love, are these guys her saviours or her rats.

 

ⁱⁱⁱ no separate contact details? (If solicitor needs H’s personal verification, would they be suspicious of going directly through A?)

 

^iv should she be tempted by the devil?!

 

^v She doesn’t exist, does she?

neither does he!

SUMAC = CAMUS – Backwards existentialist

Also, Rose knew Matthew’s real name, so why would she leave an inheritance to his fake name? Wouldn’t they need to show ID at some point?

 

^vi oddly precise – beginnings of a numerical code?!

Dickensian legal battle or Dan Brown conspiracy?!

 

^vii why the hiatus?

 

^viii a little clichéd?

why is it always cats?

MEOW!

 

^ix Seems fairly subjective for the legalese that follows

 

^x WHY? Surely if one isn’t the other can’t be!