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“Do you get to inherit it?”
“I should hope so, but only so I can sell it. I think I am going to go back to Bath to live with my sister,” Mrs Richmond informed them. “Now, I think the solicitor gave my husband a copy of the papers when the farm was transferred to my husband. He will have put them in the safe.”
She pulled a large portrait away from the wall and revealed a safe. A quick turn of the large dial opened the door. Minutes later, Mrs Richmond was poring through piles of papers.
“Are these what you are looking for?” She shoved a sheaf of papers marked ‘Glover Farm’ across the desk at Isaac, who thumbed through them.
“He paid the full value,” Isaac murmured. It was all he needed to see.
“Well, of course he did. Angus was nothing if not fair. Yes, he wanted to be able to have an estate, but he was prepared to pay a fair price for the land.”
“He approached Miss Smethurst about the sale of Hilltop Farm but didn’t offer her the full asking price,” Mark interrupted. “Why is that?”
Mrs Richmond’s face closed. She flicked a dark look at Isaac. “I have no idea what you mean.”
“I think you do, Mrs Richmond. While it is good to note that he did pay the full price for the Glover farm, he didn’t offer the full price for Hilltop Farm. Why? He must have told you.” Mark thumbed through the papers and found a sheaf marked, ‘Hilltop Farm’, but there weren’t any documents inside the file because no sale had taken place.
“Well, you know how run down that place is. He knew she couldn’t really keep it. The entire village is talking about it,” Mrs Richmond snorted.
“Tuppence Smethurst has been born and raised on that farm. She is far better equipped to run it than Mr Glover was,” Isaac replied. His tone was defensive, but he made no apology for it because he knew that despite Tuppence’s rather impoverished lifestyle, she could run the farm.
Mrs Richmond looked solemnly at the desk for a moment. “I don’t know why he was adamant that the farm was too run down for him to pay the full price.” She looked tearfully at Mark. “It is too late for you to ask him now.”
Mark sighed. “Did he mention disliking Miss Smethurst, or Mr Lewis?”
“God, no. I know that Mr Lewis initially refused to sell his farm, but he eventually agreed. Angus offered him more than it was worth, I think.”
Mark once again pored through the papers and found a file marked, ‘Lewis Farm’.
Isaac read the paperwork. A brisk nod confirmed that Mrs Richmond was right.
“Your husband called at Hilltop Farm the night before Mr Lewis was found dead. Further, he offered to purchase Hilltop Farm at considerably less than the asking price, but then issued a threat to Miss Smethurst before he left the farm, and odd things started to happen. Would you know anything about that?” Mark lifted his brows and stared at Mrs Richmond as she stumbled backward and slumped into a large, high backed chair. The heavy thump of her bottom hitting the seat was the only sound in the room for several long moments. “Mrs Richmond, your husband cannot hurt you now, nor can he defend himself. We need to know what happened because there is a killer roaming the area. He is likely to pick a new victim any day now. We need to stop him.”
“It wasn’t her, was it?” Mrs Richmond whispered.
Both Isaac and Mark shook their heads.
“The only thing that I can tell you is that Mr Glover came by here about a week after the farm sale went through. I don’t know exactly what was said. I just know that Angus was furious because Mr Glover wanted more money. He – Mr Glover - said that they had made a mistake and that the farm was worth far more than it had been sold for. There was also an issue with some of the farm equipment Angus thought was involved in the sale but when he went to view the property, the equipment had been removed and sold by Mr Glover. He sold it all to some of the locals, I think.”
“Like Mr Lewis?”
“I don’t know. You would have to ask Miss Smethurst, or other farmers, or the locals,” Mrs Richmond gasped. “I don’t know.”
“If Mr Glover calls at the house again, do not let him in. The same goes for Mrs Glover, I am afraid.”
“Am I safe here?” Mrs Richmond asked, looking from Isaac to Mark and back again.
“If you can pack a few things and leave then do. For now, if you stay here make sure that you keep your doors and windows locked at all times. If you can, put something in front of the doors just in case someone does try to get into the house. I am not saying that they will try to attack you, but the villagers know about your husband’s death now, and the killer is one of the villagers. I am afraid that the killer targeted Miss Smethurst because she lives alone. There is nothing to say that he won’t target you now that he knows your husband is dead and you are alone here too.”
Mrs Richmond launched out of her chair and almost ran toward the hallway only to slam to a stop when she saw a worried looking Ruth standing just inside the doorway. “Go and do it,” she ordered grimly, not caring that Mark was gathering her husband’s paperwork into a pile. “Go and pack. Now, Ruth.”
“Can I take these?” Mark asked, waving the papers aloft.
“Yes, yes. I will need them back at some point, but those are copies. The solicitor has the originals, I think. I am not sure.”
It was evident to Isaac and Mark that she didn’t care either. Mrs Richmond stood impatiently in the doorway and looked back at them almost sadly. “I am sorry for what happened. I hope Miss Smethurst will be all right.”
“Did he dislike her?” Isaac whispered. He had no idea why he was compelled to keep pushing when the woman clearly had no idea what her husband had been up to, but he had to ask.
