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“So with all those physical limitations, you think he could have hanged himself?”
“A sudden pop of adrenaline can allow you to accomplish many things that you ordinarily would not be able to do. If Earl really wanted to kill himself, he could do it. Anyone could, really. And while he had limitations, Earl was still a big, strong man whose lifelong work had built his upper body to a remarkable degree.”
Devine nodded but remained unconvinced. He didn’t thinkadrenalinewas the answer to this. “By the way, I saw you last night.”
She looked up at him, confused. “I know, at Earl’s.”
“No, I meant later. You were driving home and I was behind you. Wow, that is some place you have.”
“It’s not really mine,” she said quickly, looking down at her stitch work again.
“Oh, really?”
“My father built it about ten years ago.”
“Didn’t know there was that much money in funerals,” Devine said.
“Oh, there’s not, believe me. But have you heard of Warren Buffett?”
“Of course.”
“Way back when, my grandfather subscribed to his investment newsletter. Whatever Buffett invested in, so did my grandfather, every spare penny he had, and he was notoriously frugal in his personal spending. Over the decades the returns have been quite large—well, enormous, really, far more than any of us knew. When my grandfather died, my father and uncle inherited everything. My uncle retired and went off to Florida, but by father stayed here for a time and built that place. My mother was still alive back then and she was really the force behind it. You have to understand she spent most of her married life in a cramped two-bedroom rancher. When my brother and I came along, things got really tight but my father refused to buy a new house.”
“Two bedrooms? What did you and your brother do as you got older?”
“He slept in the den. I kept the bedroom. I was the oldest.” She smiled. “Anyway, that house was my mother’s revenge, as it were. She lived in it for exactly two years before she got cancer and died.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s fine. She really enjoyed those two years, let me tell you. After that my father moved to Florida to be near my uncle. My brother and I got to live in the house. And we both have trust funds set up.”
“So you really don’t have to work anymore, then?”
She sighed. “Well, that’s the catch.”
“What?”
“My grandfather set up trusts for his sons, and my father did the same thing with the house and his inheritance for me and my brother.”
“Did the same thing? I’m not following.”
“In order to inherit all that wealth my father and uncle had to work at the funeral home until age sixty-five. My father made a similar arrangement for my brother and me, although weonlyhave to work there until age sixty. Until then we get a little money from the trust and we get to live in the house, but we have to work at the business to earn money, and I have my medical practice, of course, which, quite frankly, doesn’t generate a lot of income. And it’s not like there’s a lot of money left over. That house is expensive to keep up.”
“What happens if you leave before then?”
“The child who stays with the business until they turn sixty inherits it all. If we both leave before that then we lose the trust funds, and we can’t live in the house or get the proceeds from selling it. It would all go to charity. If we both stay, we split it.”
“You going for the duration so you can cash in?”
She looked pensive, and conflicted. “I’m not sure I can hang in there. I never had kids. And I’ve actually been thinking about relocating. To Charlotte, North Carolina. I’m tired of the cold. And that house is far too big for two people. And I don’t like the idea of my life decisions being dictated by the sole thought of gaining wealth that I had no hand in creating.”
“And your brother?”
“I think Fred actually likes running the business. So it’s not so much of a hardship for him. And in his leisure time he’s quite the outdoorsman. He likes to hike and rock-climb. And New England has a lot of places to do that. He kayaks and bikes, too.”
“He never married?”
“I think he saw my experience and swore it off.”
