"Did it?"
Ted's expression was troubled. "I don't know."
June felt a chill run down her spine. "So Raymond was about to get his money."
"Yes." Ted sighed heavily.
"Although he didn’t act like he was soon going to have money coming in to him.”
“No, you’re right. You’d think that he’d be on top of the world, finally getting close to getting his inheritance."
"Maybe he had been okay," June mused. "But when he came back to Meadowlark Creek, he fell back into old patterns."
Ted held her gaze. “You might be right. A homecoming for some people is pure happiness. For others, it’s a reminder of times they’d rather forget."
“And now Horace gets it all.”
Ted met her eyes. "But Horace isn't a murderer, Junie. I've known that man since he was born. You have, too, but I realize that my being the Melton attorney for years, I’d have a closer view of them all. Horace may be pompous, and he takes himself too seriously, but he's not violent. And he's not desperate for money. His judicial salary and investments are more than comfortable."
June made a mental note of that. Not desperate for money, but still inheriting a significant sum if Raymonddied. Enough to matter, even if not enough to drive murder.
"And yet Raymond came back for the festival."
"He did. And that's what makes me wonder…" Ted leaned forward, his voice dropping even though they were alone. "Raymond called George two weeks ago. Said he was coming to town for the festival and wanted to meet early, before their scheduled appointment to dissolve the trust."
“Do you know why?”
“George called me just to let me know he’d thought it over, and he’d see Raymond at the original scheduled time. He felt instinctively that Raymond wanted to rush the process, and George didn’t want to do that. He just wanted my opinion… to see if I thought he’d handled it properly. I agreed with what George had done. He was keeping with the legal language.”
“I take it Raymond must not have been happy.”
“No. George said that Raymond became belligerent and hung up.” Ted rubbed his face tiredly. "I've been thinking about that conversation. Wondering if I should have encouraged George to meet with him. If things might have turned out differently."
"Ted, you can't blame yourself."
"Maybe he wouldn't have been at the festival at all. Wouldn't have gotten drunk, wouldn't have picked fights, wouldn't have..." He trailed off.
"Wouldn't have been murdered," June finished quietly.
They sat in silence for a moment, the weight ofRaymond's death settling between them, Ted’s gaze narrowed on her face.
“Unless you know something definitively, he could have just died of alcohol poisoning.”
She nodded, not agreeing or disagreeing. Taking another sip, she pondered over all Ted had told her. "Tell me something," June said finally. "In all your years knowing the Meltons, in all your work as their attorney… did you ever see Horace truly lose his temper? Become violent?"
Ted thought about this for a long time before answering. "Once. About fifteen years ago. Raymond came to town drunk, showed up at a family dinner, and said some insulting comments about Petunia. Horace punched him. Broke Raymond's nose. It was the only time I've ever seen Horace physically violent."
"Protecting his wife."
"Yes. Petunia was mortified, of course. But the damage was done. Raymond threatened to press charges. Of course, he didn't, but he held it over Horace for years." Ted's expression hardened. "That's who Raymond was, Junie. He'd push and push until someone snapped, then play the victim."
June absorbed all of this, her sharp mind cataloging the information, looking for patterns. "Why would Raymond come to the festival and be so… abusive? He was going to get his inheritance soon."
"Honestly? I don't know. Part of me hoped that in his last weeks, he'd finally found some peace or purpose. But the man I saw at the festival was the same oldRaymond. Drunk, mean, and lashing out." Ted met her eyes.
"Who stood to lose if Raymond got that money?"
"Horace would be the obvious choice. But Junie—" Ted's voice was earnest, almost pleading. "He's not a killer. He's just not."
