Page 74 of Murder in the Family

Cut to library FOOTAGE of documents headed ‘Last Will and Testament’, etc.

—and Caroline did pretty well out of it. Not just the life interest in the house but a rather handsome portfolio of cash and financial investments, which are hers to use during her lifetime.

Whatever remains at the time of her death is to be divided equally among the four children: Rupert, and Caroline’s own three, Maura, Amelie and Guy. The house, as we know, passes to Rupert on her death, as Andrew Howard’s eldest son.

BILL SERAFINI

So Caroline’s kids are relying on her not burning through that entire stack of cash, because if she does they’ll get nothing?

LAILA FURNESS

That was my reading of it too. Though of course, I’m not a lawyer—

HUGO FRASER

Well, I am, and I agree. The obvious next question being what was the legal position at the point of Luke’s murder?

LAILA FURNESS

Ah, that’s where it gets interesting – as far as I could make out Caroline definitelywasburning through the cash, and at a rate of knots. It looks like the value of the portfolio dropped by about thirty per cent between Andrew’s death in December 1999, and Luke’s death in October 2003.Some of that was down to market fluctuations, but even so she was clearly draining funds at quite a lick.

ALAN CANNING

And you think that level of expenditure was down to Luke?

LAILA FURNESS

Not directly – he had no access to the money, as it was all in her name. But it seems she was spending money bothonhim andwithhim. She bought him a Harley, for a start, and they went on several expensive holidays.

ALAN CANNING

So your theory is that Rupert might have had Luke killed to slow down her spending? Seems pretty tenuous to me.

MITCHELL CLARKE

(nodding)

If he was going to go to all that trouble – and take that big a risk – it would have been far more efficient to get rid ofher.

That way he’d cash out straightaway.Andget the house.

LAILA FURNESS

Which is precisely why I think this one’s basically a non-starter. The phone call at Cambridge is odd, and Rupert is way too defensive, but that could be down to something completely unconnected.

And in any case, as Bill’s already said, it makes no sense. Killing Luke wasn’t going to solve Rupert’s problems. In fact, it could even have made them worse: Caroline could have simply got married yet again – to someone even more unsuitable.

BILL SERAFINI

Which brings us to the mystery man she may or may not have been having an affair with.

Hugo, Alan – where did you get on that?

ALAN CANNING

Well, I called in a few favours and got access to the DVLA database.

(pulling a sheet of paper from his file)

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