The Lost Gardens(95)
‘Wait,’ said Jamie. ‘What about my car? Mainwaring sabotaged it, right?’
‘Another thing he hasn’t admitted. That’ll probably be an attempted murder charge. But, yes, Jamie, there’s no question that he did it—in all probability, as Lawrence said, to get you both off the estate. I would imagine that by then he was sure something was going on with the chapel. Don’t you worry, though, we’ll find out.’
Jamie shook her head and let out a sigh. ‘What a nasty piece of work.’
Chadwick simply nodded.
‘Sure I can’t talk you into some tea and cookies?’ Jamie asked.
Chadwick flashed a look at Eldridge then back to Jamie. ‘No thanks, Jamie, we’d better be getting along. I’m sure you and Lawrence have plenty to do without having to put up with us for another hour.’
Chadwick shook hands with Jamie, then Kingston, and started for the door, followed by Sergeant Eldridge. At the threshold, he stopped, turned and reached into his inside jacket pocket. ‘I almost forgot,’ he said, with an enigmatic smile. ‘I think this will be of interest to you.’ He handed Jamie a plain envelope. ‘I checked with your lawyer, by the way. He said you should have it.’
Chapter Twenty-eight
Jamie and Kingston stood in the arch of the doorway and watched as the police car rounded the curve in the driveway.
Back in the living room, Kingston watched with more than a casual eye as Jamie slit open the envelope. She read a few lines then looked at him. ‘It’s not long, why don’t I read it to you?’
‘Fine.’ Kingston leaned back in his chair.
‘My dear Mainwaring,’ began Jamie.
‘First, let me state that I am deeply appreciative of the unflagging service and attentive care you have provided over these many years, particularly knowing that for the best part it has meant considerable sacrifice and forbearance on your part, depriving you of leading what might be termed a normal and social life. For this I am truly grateful.
‘This letter concerns the decision that I have made with regard to the distribution of my estate and assets. My solicitor, Ernest Woodhouse, will of course (and may have done so by now) present you with specific terms of my will, informing you of your inheritance. But I feel that I owe you an explanation as to why I have made this doubtlessly unexpected, and what might be construed as perverse, decision.
‘In the course of my lifetime I have committed acts which I deeply regret. For these transgressions I make no excuses and ask no forgiveness. Certain of these acts, despite my well-intentioned convictions at the time, have resulted in the unnecessary deaths of a number of men and a lifetime of grief and deprivation for their families. Most of these actions occurred during the war but by no means does that excuse my decisions and what I now see clearly as reprehensible behaviour.
‘The two men who have suffered the most through my dereliction and criminality are no longer alive as a result, and because of their actions, I am. They are Kit Archer and Jeremy Kershaw, a private and a sergeant, both under my command during enemy action in France and Holland.’
Jamie stopped reading and looked again at Kingston. Her face registered confusion and shock. She closed her eyes and pressed a hand up against her lips.
‘Lawrence—that’s my mother’s maiden name! Archer.’
‘Really? Is there more?’
She continued to read.
‘For more than half my lifetime I have carried the burden of their deaths like an omnipresent albatross, their ghosts appearing before me in my nightmares and my every waking hour. Their faces do not betray hatred or revenge, however. And that has made the torment even more unbearable. Their expressions are always serene and benevolent; as if they have forgiven me for the tragedy I have brought to their lives.
‘Private investigations conducted on my behalf revealed that Sergeant Kershaw left no heirs. The sole surviving Archer family member is a young woman named Jamie Allison Gibson, granddaughter of Private Kit Archer. The contents of my last will and testament will reveal that I am leaving her my entire estate and the bulk of my other assets.
‘I trust that the sum I am bequeathing you will be more than sufficient to see you through your remaining years in comfort and with self-sufficiency. It is also my hope that you will understand and accept the reasons for my decision.
‘I cannot go to my grave knowing that I haven’t done everything in my power, albeit far too puny and too late, to make moral and tangible restitution for my miserable failures.
‘James Grenville Ryder.
‘PS I would prefer that you not divulge the contents, or any part of this letter, to any other persons.’