"Albert, Susan Wittig - An Unthymley Death" - читать интересную книгу автора (Albert Susan Wittig)

"About the house, that's what," Mildred said fiercely. "They'd been fighting about it ever since Hannah made that will. The house belonged to their grandmother, you see. He said it would be a sin if it didn't stay in the family." She stood up and went to a corner cupboard. "Hannah asked me to keep something for her until you got here." She turned, holding a large manilla envelope. "I don't feel real comfortable handing this over to Luella, or hanging onto it, either. I want you to take it."

"What's in it?" Ruby asked curiously, as I took the envelope.

"Papers," Mildred said. "That's all Hannah told me -- just some old papers."

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Notes for Episode Six:

Germander (Teucrium sp.) is a fine border plant for a small garden. There are several varieties, each with its own special growing habit. Teucrium lucidum has small, stiff, glossy dark leaves that are often clipped into a low hedge. It was often used in apothecary gardens of the medieval period, and a decoction of the plant has been used as a diuretic and a remedy for gout.

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EPISODE SEVEN

It was early afternoon by the time we got back to Barbara and Ramona's house. Barbara was still at her office, but we found Ramona at the picnic table in the garden, painting terra-cotta flowerpots with a moss milkshake to prematurely age them. This is something I enjoy doing myself, because it makes new pots look right at home.

"Hi," she said, looking up from her project. "Did you learn anything new?"

Ruby shrugged. "We learned plenty -- we just haven't figured out what it means."

I put the envelope on the picnic table. "Hannah left this with her neighbor for safekeeping." I frowned, wondering why she had felt it necessary. Was she afraid that someone might steal it?

"What's in the envelope?" Ramona asked curiously, pouring us glasses of Green Tea Punch from the pitcher on the table. She pushed a plate of elegant-looking cream-cheese sandwiches -- made with nasturtium petals and brown bread -- in our direction.

"Let's take a look." I opened the envelope and slid the contents onto the table. If we were hoping to see something dramatic -- a threatening note, or a map to a long-lost treasure, or old love letters tied with a faded pink ribbon -- we were disappointed.

Ruby let out her breath. "It's just checks," she said. "Cancelled checks." She took out one of the two bundles, held together with a rubber band, and flipped through them. "They're all made out to the Fidelity Investment Company." she said, "and they go back about three years." She pointed to the signature. "It looks like they've all been signed by Hannah."

I looked through the other bundle. "These are made out to the same investment company." I looked closer. "There's an account number typed on the check." I read it aloud.

Ruby picked up a sandwich. "But these checks have a different account number!" she pointed out.

"I wonder why Hannah wrote the checks, but typed the account numbers," Ramona said, puzzled. "That doesn't make any sense."

"Maybe somebody else typed the numbers," Ruby suggested.

"And opened another account?" Ramona asked.

"It's possible that Hannah didn't know there were two accounts," I said slowly. "When she signed the checks, she thought she was depositing the money in her account. After the check was signed, somebody else typed in the account numbers."

Ruby snapped her fingers. "And then maybe she found the checks and figured out what was going on! Which was why she called you, China -- to help her put a stop to the thefts."

Ramona stood up. "I'll call Barbara and tell her what you've found. As Hannah's lawyer, she can phone the investment company and get the names on those accounts."

It took Barbara only a few minutes to make the call and phone us back -- long enough, though, for us to finish off the sandwiches. Ramona put the call on the speaker phone.

"You were right, China," Barbara said. "There were two investment accounts. One is in Hannah's name, and has $30,000 in it. When the other account was closed last Saturday, the balance was nearly $70,000."