After the Funeral Read Online Free

was the holder of a vast fortune with wide business interests which he himself still controlled to a certain extent. Who was to succeed to that fortune and to the control of those interests?
    That this had worried Richard deeply, Entwhistle knew. His only surviving brother was very much of an invalid. There remained the younger generation. It had been in Richard's mind, the lawyer thought, though his friend had not actually said so, to choose one definite successor, though minor legacies would probably have been made. Anyway, as Entwhistle knew, within the last six months Richard Abernethie had invited to stay with him, in succession, his nephew George, his niece Susan and her husband, his niece Rosamund and her husband, and his sister-in-law, Mrs Leo Abernethie.
    It was amongst the first three, so the lawyer thought, that Abernethie had looked for his successor. Helen Abernethie, he thought, had been asked out of personal affection and even possibly as someone to consult, for Richard had always held a high opinion of her good sense and practical judgment.
    Mr Entwhistle also remembered that sometime during that six months period Richard had paid a short visit to his brother Timothy.
    The net result had been the will which the lawyer now carried in his brief-case. An equable distribution of property. The only conclusion that could be drawn, therefore, was that he had been disappointed both in his nephew, and in his nieces - or perhaps in his nieces' husbands.
    As far as Mr Entwhistle knew, he had not invited his sister, Cora Lansquenet, to visit him - and that brought the lawyer back to that first disturbing phrase that Cora had let slip so incoherently - “but I did think from what he said -”
    What had Richard Abernethie said? And when had he said it? If Cora had not been to Enderby, then Richard Abernethie must have visited her at the artistic village in Berkshire where she had a cottage. Or was it something that Richard had said in a letter?
    Mr Entwhistle frowned. Cora, of course, was a very stupid woman. She could easily have misinterpreted a phrase, and twisted its meaning. But he did wonder what the phrase could have been...
    There was enough uneasiness in him to make him consider the possibility of approaching Mrs Lansquenet on the subject. Not too soon. Better not make it seem of importance. But he would like to know just what it was that Richard Abernethie had said to her which had led her to pipe up so briskly with that outrageous question:
    “But he was murdered, wasn't he?”

After the Funeral
    II
    In a third-class carriage, farther along the train, Gregory Banks said to his wife:
    “That aunt of yours must be completely bats!”
    “Aunt Cora?” Susan was vague. “Oh, yes, I believe she was always a bit simple or something.”
    George Crossfield, sitting opposite, said sharply:
    “She really ought to be stopped from going about saying things like that. It might put ideas into people's heads.”
    Rosamund Shane, intent on outlining the cupid's bow of her mouth with lipstick, murmured vaguely:
    “I don't suppose anyone would pay any attention to what a frump like that says. The most peculiar clothes and lashings and lashings of jet -”
    “Well, I think it ought to be stopped,” said George.
    “All right, darling,” laughed Rosamund, putting away her lipstick and contemplating her image with satisfaction in the mirror. “You stop it.”
    Her husband said unexpectedly:
    “I think George is right. It's so easy to set people talking.”
    “Well, would it matter?” Rosamund contemplated the question. The cupid's bow lifted at the corners in a smile. “It might really be rather fun.”
    “Fun?” Four voices spoke.
    “Having a murder in the family,” said Rosamund. “Thrilling, you know!”
    It occurred to that nervous and unhappy young man Gregory Banks that Susan's cousin, setting aside her attractive exterior, might have some faint points of resemblance to her Aunt Cora. Her next words rather