A Genuine Mistake by Ted Tayler (miss read books txt) 📗

they reached twenty-five. He also made financial provision for his sister, but Belinda would no longer need to look after his boys. All things being equal, they would be grown men with families of their own by the time any will came into effect.”

“True, Neil,” said Alex. “Nobody could foresee the events of May the sixth. The murder file states that Gerry discussed the new will with Rachel in detail. They both agreed it was the right thing to do. At thirty, Rachel hadn’t got around to making a will herself, and she admitted to Kirkpatrick and Bennison that although she and Gerry had lived together for four years, they were in no rush to get married. Rachel hoped it would happen in the future, but it wouldn’t have damaged their relationship if it didn't. She loved him every bit as much as she had within weeks of their meeting.”

“Sean and Byron confirmed that their father’s feelings for Rachel hadn’t altered in the months before the murder,” added Lydia. “Byron told DI Kirkpatrick, ‘They were loved-up. We called her Rachel, not Mum. She never tried to take Mum’s place, but she made Dad happy, and we all got on together. There were never any arguments.’ Sean added that when they had the odd teenage tantrum, their Dad dealt with them. Rachel never interfered, but when he was suffering after getting dumped by a girl he’d liked, Rachel had listened to him and offered him advice.”

“The family situation appears idyllic,” said Blessing. “The sister’s claims don’t seem to hold water, guv.”

“Belinda Hogan might have been jealous of Rachel Cummins,” said Neil. “After Gerry lost his wife, his sister was the first person he’d asked to look after the boys. She was single, with no children of her own, and for around five years, she assumed a mother's role. Gerry amended his will to accommodate that situation. If he’d dropped dead of a heart attack in 2007, she would have got the lot. A year later, Gerry had a new girlfriend. The boys didn’t need Auntie Belinda to look after them any longer. Belinda did not know that Gerry had amended his will yet again.”

“But you can understand why he did what he did,” said Alex. “It seems quite sensible. Gerry set money aside for the boys and stipulated that they shouldn’t get their hands on it and squander it in their teens. By the time they reached twenty-five, they would be better prepared to cope with a sudden financial windfall. Belinda was also going to inherit a sum of money. Based on the sort of bloke that Gerry Hogan appeared to be, then that would be a sum that reflected her input to the family after Evelyn’s tragic death.”

“Two hundred thousand pounds, Alex,” said Gus.

“His financial services business was doing well,” said Luke.

“In the vital first forty-eight to seventy-two hours of a murder case, the detective team did everything one might expect,” said Gus. “The only neighbour that hinted at what might have happened lived half a mile away. He heard what he thought was an engine backfiring, followed by a motorcycle speeding past his house. Now, it’s possible the murderer arrived on a motorcycle, argued with Gerry Hogan, shot him, and then escaped on the bike.”

“Why only possible, guv?” asked Blessing. “It sounds plausible to me.”

“I’m not saying it didn’t happen that way, Blessing,” said Gus. “When the ACC ran through the report this morning, I found the timing interesting. Rachel answered the door when it rang at six-thirty; she called Gerry, who went to see what the man wanted. Sean didn’t leave the games room until six forty-five. The neighbour couldn’t confirm the time that he heard the motorcycle. There was too much of a gap between Gerry reaching the front door and Rachel discovering the body at a little after six forty-five. It’s unlikely, I admit, but someone else could have visited the house after the first man left. The motorcycle needn’t be involved in any way, shape, or form. The neighbour’s recollection of a sound he heard on Sunday evening could have been anywhere between six o’clock and nine.”

“When did Belinda learn about the new will?” asked Lydia.

“She contacted the family solicitors first thing on Tuesday morning,” said Gus. “In the will that Belinda believed was relevant, she was the sole executor. Belinda soon learned that another will existed where Rachel Cummins was now in charge of proceedings. That was when the proverbial hit the fan. John Kirkpatrick had Belinda in his ear every day, wanting to know why they weren’t treating Rachel as a suspect. He told her they had considered whether the murder was carried out by a professional rather than just a local with a grudge. They hadn’t dismissed it out of hand, but several things didn’t add up, and so they shelved it until new evidence surfaced.”

“The timing you mentioned didn’t add up, guv,” said Alex. “A hitman would have shot Gerry the second he was on the doorstep, not stand around arguing the toss for almost a quarter of an hour.”

“Whoever it was,” said Neil, “they carried a gun to the house. They were prepared to kill, but the extended conversation could suggest they went to negotiate, not assassinate.”

“Negotiate what though, Neil?” asked Blessing. “Gerry Hogan ran a successful business giving financial advice to fellow-professionals. The vague description of the man on the doorstep didn’t sound like the sort of person Gerry Hogan would represent, even allowing that it was a Sunday evening. As my father says, there’s casual, and then there’s casual.”

“What type of gun was it, guv?” asked Luke.

“A semi-automatic pocket pistol,” said Gus. “A Beretta Tomcat.”

“How do we know that?” asked Luke.

“It turned up in the autumn of 2012,” said Gus. “Matthew Knight, a local councillor, got fed up with local people moaning about drains getting blocked by falling leaves