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“Who?”
“He was a handyman who worked for them.”
“I can tell you definitively that that name appears nowhere in the estate documents of Mr. and Mrs. Randolph. Wait, isn’t he the man accused of killing them?”
“Yes,” replied Jack.
“And you’re his lawyers? Both of you?”
“Both of us,” confirmed Jack. “And we need to know who gets what.”
“Surely you are not suggesting that the beneficiaries had anything to do with their deaths? Wasn’t that colored man found with the bodies?”
“We need to track down every possibility. His life is on the line.”
“As well it should be, considering he ended two other lives,” said Gates huffily.
“Allegedly did so,” corrected DuBose.
Gates glared at DuBose as she sipped her water. “This is all highly irregular.”
“Well, I would imagine so is two of your clients being murdered,” pointed out DuBose. “We are duty bound to do our job, Mr. Gates. I hope you, also being a lawyer, can understand that.”
Looking put out, Gates shuffled some papers, and said, “Christine and Sam split the money left by their parents equally.”
“How much money are we talking?” said Jack.
“I will not give you a number until the will is officially read.”
“And the house the Randolphs were living in? And the land?”
Gates hesitated. “That is dealt with separately.”
“That’s unusual, isn’t it?” said DuBose.
“Who are you again?” Gates said abrasively.
“Co-counsel for the defense,” replied DuBose. “Can you please tell us the testamentary provisions of the real estate?”
Gates cleared his throat and said, “The house and surrounding property goes to the surviving child, without exception.”
“But there are currently two surviving children,” pointed out Jack.
“I’m aware of that,” growled Gates. “The property is to be held in trust until there is only one surviving child. The French had a term for something like it. They called it a tontine. When one beneficiary dies, the payouts to the survivors increase correspondingly. It’s a bit controversial because of the incentive to, well, you know.”
“To murder the other beneficiaries?” suggested DuBose.
Gates cleared his throat noisily. “To put it bluntly, and crudely, yes. And while this situation is not, strictly speaking, a tontine, in a testamentary disposition of property owned outright by the testators, one can leave one’s property to anyone they want and under pretty much any stipulations. And this is what the Randolphs wanted: that only one child should inherit the property.”
“So you’re saying they didn’t care which of the two inherited?” said Jack. “Christine or Sam?”
“I don’t remember saying anything of the kind.”
“Well then?” persisted Jack.
Gates said primly, “Well then, nothing. I assume you’ve heard of attorney-client privilege?”
“Okay, and when was all this done?” asked Jack.
