did Norma name as benefactor before she changed it to Karen?’
It wasn’t Sunny on the stairs. It was Ned and he was standing right behind me.
Vex’s voice sounded tinny and far away.
‘Her stepson. His name’s Ned something, I think.’
Chapter 24
THURSDAY 29 NOVEMBER 2012
I’d agreed to hear Ned out without interruption. My back pressed against the wall, arms crossed over my chest, I sat on the floor and did just that.
‘When Dad died two years ago he left everything to Norma,’ he began. ‘I admit I wasn’t happy about it at the time. A good share of the inheritance had come down from my ma’s side of the family. It’s true Dad and Norma had been together a while, but still, Norma knew the money should rightfully have gone to me.’
The thing about listening to someone but not engaging in the conversation is that you get to study the speaker’s body language in more detail. The casual lean of Ned’s shoulder against the wall, his louche and seemingly relaxed pose — I wasn’t convinced by any of it. I told myself I should shut up more often.
‘We had a bit of a chat about it, Norma and I, and she admitted she wasn’t comfortable with Arthur leaving everything to her.’ He pushed himself off the wall. ‘Norma offered, as a sort of compromise, I suppose, that she’d name me sole benefactor of her will. Karen was her only child and after what she did to the children, Norma wanted nothing to do with her at all. Nor Sunny, like I told you. Well, it wasn’t ideal but I accepted it. It meant that eventually I’d get the money that was rightfully mine, even if it wasn’t until after she died. Norma wasn’t a big spender. She’d invested the capital carefully. Like I told you, Norma and I got on just fine and I didn’t begrudge her use of the money while she was alive. And to be perfectly frank, I didn’t think I’d have too long to wait. Her health hadn’t been grand for some years. Norma was a fun person to be around but she wasn’t exactly a walking advertisement for longevity.’ He grinned at me. ‘Often those two things go together, don’t you think?’
He waited to see if I was going to respond and when I remained silent, he dropped the smile and began to pace up and down like a court lawyer preparing to deliver final arguments to the jury. He may have been rehearsing for the real thing to come.
‘So, Norma died. God rest her,’ he added by rote. ‘It must be nearly three months ago now. And then, lo and behold, the time comes for her will to be read and I learn that some time back she’d gone and changed it and left the whole caboodle to Karen — a convicted junkie who, just by the way, had murdered her five-year-old son and done her best to murder her little girl!’ His head swung back and forth in disbelief. ‘Oh sure, there were a couple of little personal things belonging to my da she’d left to me,’ he waved a dismissive hand in my direction, ‘but not the inheritance. Well, as you can imagine, I was not beamingly happy about it.’
He paused, looking to me again for the usual conversational prods, like a smile or a nod. I gave him nothing and eventually he looked away from me. My silence seemed to unnerve him.
‘Anyway, I went to the prison to see Karen. I thought I’d have a bit of a fight on my hands, to tell you the truth, but she proved me wrong. Karen says to me she was as surprised by what Norma did as I was. She and her mother had made peace with each other and that was all that mattered to her. She tells me she doesn’t want the inheritance; she’s going to some commune where they’re not allowed money anyway. She asked if I’d agree to her putting aside a sum in a trust for the little girl, for Sunny, that is, but that I could have the rest of it.’
My disbelief forced a barked response. ‘Oh, come on! Are you seriously trying to tell me Karen was going to just hand the bulk of her inheritance over to you?’ Too late, I clamped my mouth shut again, regretting my outburst.
‘It was my inheritance and she knew it.’ His indignation was real enough. ‘Norma had next to nothing when