Chapter 6
"Chief Superintendent Lawson, Doctor Blake, to what do I owe this visit?" William Hayworth asked as he shook their hands before offering them seats in the chairs in front of his desk. He was the lawyer that Arnold had hired to work on the missing legal documents.
"We have some bad news. Arnold Beaucaire was murdered and now his copy of his will is missing," Matthew got right to it.
"That is awful. How did it happen? His will is missing?" William looked confused and hurt all at once.
"We're still working on the how but, according to Mary, she cannot find the paperwork. You have to understand, once we release the farm as the crime scene, the state will have an interest without the will," Matthew explained.
"Yes, and that is why Arnold had me file it immediately. I'm guessing you found out he was sick," the lawyer said.
"Do you know how long he'd been ill? A colleague of mine has been trying to find his medical records and for some reason they are missing," Lucien gave him a look. William was taken aback.
"He told me that he didn't have a doctor, such as yourself, and had been going to the hospital for his treatments. The cough he had was quite nasty and you could hear him coming. He used to joke that he couldn't go hunting anymore because the rabbits would hear him coming," the lawyer explained. Lucien nodded. Someone, somewhere at the hospital, had to remember that.
"So, you filed the paperwork and it's on record at the court," Matthew asked.
"Yes. I even have a copy of it. The farm is secure," William promised and went to his filing cabinet. He pulled out a stamped copy of the will, indicating that it had been filed by the court.
"Can we have a copy of that for our files?" Matthew wanted to know.
"One for Reginald Bridge too please," Lucien smiled at him.
"Of course. I know it might sound silly but I always make six copies – half of them will be stamped by the court. So, in the end, we have two for the court, two for the client, and two for me. You'd be surprised how many times I get calls about missing copies or misfiled paperwork. It's a lot of typing for my secretary but we don't have money for those fancy Xerox machines they have in Melbourne," William explained.
"I have seen those. Quite a fancy thing. I imagine that being able to make as many copies of paperwork as you want will become a big thing in your business," Lucien said.
"I'm sure my secretary would appreciate it. Now those are the only stamped copies I have left," the lawyer smiled and handed them two copies of the will, stamped that the court had received it.
"We think that someone killed poor Arnold over the farm. Did he mention anything to you?" Lucien wondered.
"Have you been out to the farm?" William asked.
"Yes, extensively," Matthew told him.
"Well then you noticed that everyone who works on the farm, lives on the farm. If the property falls to the state, they'd be kicked out while the government makes up its mind about what should be done about it. Arnold surrounded himself with people he trusted but also people he wanted to help. You see, Reginald's father, David, joined the service to fight against the Japanese. He ended up in Arnold's unit and the two became friends. They both survived the war but unfortunately not long after David got sick. Wanting his friend to not worry about his family, Arnold had them move to his farm, promising his son a job, and a safe place with access to doctors. David died almost fifteen years ago and Arnold kind of became a second father to Reginald. I don't know about the rest of the folks but if Arnold thought he could help, he would. I know he views… viewed the country's policies with disdain," William told them.
"His neighbors not so much," Lucien said.
"So, I've heard. What I also heard is that the neighbors want the land. You see Arnold owns the corner that is bounded by the road and is basically surrounded by the Wagners. The Wagners' property is basically like a large rectangle with a corner missing – that forty-acre corner being Arnold's. Had a will not been filed with the court, the land, most likely, would have gone up for bid. That would allow the Wagners to purchase it and kick all of those living on it off. The land has been well tended and would be easy to plant crops on it. More crops, more money," William explained.
"There's no way that Arnold would let the Wagners onto his land, right?" Matthew asked.
"No. They were like oil and water," William shook his head. That's when they were interrupted by his secretary, Betty.
"Phone call for the Chief Superintendent," she announced. William allowed Matthew to use his phone. He wasn't on the line long before promising whoever it was, they'd be right there.
"Reginald has been shot. They're bringing him to the hospital," Matthew said.
"Bloody hell. Let's go," Lucien told him.
To Be Continued…