Page 86 of One Cornish Summer With You
After carefully looking at the photo and expanding parts of it, Polly returned Ruan’s phone to him. ‘Oh dear. What a terribly sad story. I almost feel sorry for the old devil.’
‘Does any of it make any sense to you?’ Ruan said.
‘It’s obvious poor Walter blew his chances with Kathleen, though we already knew that from the way she took off. However, it doesn’t shed light on why he left the house to you.’
‘No. I asked my parents if they have any more clues, but they don’t really.’
‘Hmm.’ Polly heaved a deep sigh. ‘I wish I could help more but, as I say, he wasn’t even an acquaintance and my dear mum, who knew Kathleen, left us fifteen years ago.’ She narrowed her eyes, obviously thinking hard for a moment before clapping her hands together. ‘I tell you what though. There is someone who might possibly be able to help …’
‘Really?’ Ruan said.
‘My cousin, Deidre, also knew Kathleen. She’s a lot older than me though she’s still going strong. I could call her and ask if she remembers anything.’
‘I don’t want to put you to any more trouble,’ Ruan said, conscious that Polly was an important client and he’d already crossed several boundaries in asking her to help him with his personal life.
‘Oh, don’t worry about that! As I said, I love a mystery and I haven’t spoken to Deidre in ages. She has a memory like an elephant and I’m sure she’ll be able to shed some light on the situation.’
The yard manager hovered in the open doorway of the office.
‘Yes? What is it?’ Polly barked.
‘The rep from the Equine Centre is here, Polly. Shall I ask him to wait?’
‘Hmm. Thanks. Tell them I’ll be with them as soon as I can.’
‘The rep wants me to offer Lucifer up for stud,’ Polly said after her manager had gone to deal with the rep. ‘Mind you,it’s all done with syringes and what have you these days so Lucifer will miss out on the fun part.’
Feeling this was a topic he’d rather remain ignorant of, Ruan gathered up his laptop bag. ‘I’ll let you get on.’
‘I’m sorry I have to deal with this business. Would it be all right if I had a copy of this letter? I promise it will go no further than my phone. I’ll read it to Deidre.’
Though reluctant, Ruan had no choice but to forward the photo to Polly. ‘Thanks for your discretion. I’d hate it to get any further when it might impact anyone local.’
‘Deidre won’t blab. Anyway, she lives in Basingstoke now.’
That’s all right then,thought Ruan, imagining the phone cables between Basingstoke and Cornwall glowing red hot as Deidre phoned all her old Cornish pals. However, he had to trust Polly if he wanted to find out the answers.
Later, Polly flashed up on a WhatsApp video. She was wearing a riding helmet and the wind was buffeting against the microphone, making it hard to hear.
‘Ruan. Can’t hang about but I thought you’d want to hear this as soon as possible. Deidre got back to me. She did keep in touch with Kathleen and get this: she’s still alive.’
‘She is?’
‘Oh, yes. Deidre says Kathleen is very well, apart from having mobility issues. She lives in Scotland in one of these retirement communities where everyone’s planning to bump each other off.’
Ruan chuckled. He needed a laugh. ‘Will she speak tome? I’m a stranger and this might be a delicate subject – to say the least.’
‘Deidre told her about you and she was very interested. She didn’t know about Walter and she was very upset, as you can imagine, but pleased he’d left the house to a nice young man. Those were Kathleen’s words, not mine, before you complain.’
‘How did she know I’d inherited it?’
‘We told her, or she would have wondered why you’d got hold of her letter,’ Polly explained patiently.
Ruan had to smile to himself. ‘Of course. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking clearly.’
‘No matter. The upshot is that Kathleen only knows that Walter has passed away and that you’d been to the nursing home and found a letter from her to him. Deidre felt she owed it to Kathleen to tell her that much.’
The knowledge that Kathleen was still here made Ruan feel very uncomfortable about having read her private thoughts, especially those from an intimate moment in her life which must have been very painful.
