Free The Young Widow by Cassandra Chan

I’m not sure what else to say. He’ll be sorely missed.”
    â€œWe’ve been told that he was deeply religious,” said Carmichael.
    â€œOh, yes.” Oakley nodded agreement. “Faith had taken a strong hold of him in his youth—he apparently considered becoming a minister, or so he once told me, but of course his father expected him to take over the family business.”
    â€œWould he have made a good minister in your opinion?”
    Oakley hesitated, his eyes narrowed in thought. “No,” he answered at last. “As I said, he was not a sensitive man and I believe a certain amount of sensitivity is necessary in my job. He had very strong views on right and wrong and was not apt to be very sympathetic
to transgressors. He could be rather intolerant. But I feel I am giving you a wrong impression of him. He was, I think, a happy man for the most part, and he was certainly successful. People in his position don’t often become introspective and there’s no reason why they should.”
    â€œWe’ve also been told he had a temper,” prompted Carmichael.
    â€œA temper?” Oakley smiled. “More a bit of bluster when anything upset him, I should say. He always calmed down quickly, though he wasn’t good at admitting he was in the wrong even when that was true. But then, I don’t know many people who are.”
    â€œNo,” agreed Carmichael. “Chagrin and atonement don’t usually go hand in hand. Had he been worried lately, do you know?”
    â€œNothing that he mentioned to me,” answered Oakley. He paused and then added, “He did say sometime back that he was concerned over Paul’s handling of the company, but that was several months ago. He was planning a lengthy vacation with Mrs. Berowne at the time, and was worried how Paul would do without him.”
    â€œBut he took the vacation anyway?”
    â€œYes. I certainly recommended that he do so, and I believe Mrs. Berowne was quite eager for the trip. He liked to please her.”
    â€œYou seem a shrewd judge of character, Reverend,” said Carmichael. “What do you think of Mrs. Berowne?”
    Oakley smiled. “I’ve heard the rumours, of course,” he replied. “My own wife thinks Annette killed Geoffrey. But I can’t say I agree. I thought Annette was very fond of her husband and she certainly seemed grief-stricken after his death. Annette has always struck me as being just a little unsure of herself and I think being Geoffrey’s wife compensated for that.”
    â€œUnsure?” Carmichael raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think I would have described her that way, Reverend.”
    â€œOh, not outwardly,” replied Oakley. “All I’m saying is that I think her outward self-confidence stemmed from being Mrs. Geoffrey Berowne.”

    â€œBut she’s still Mrs. Geoffrey Berowne,” said Carmichael.
    â€œWell, yes. But it’s not the same.”
    â€œNo,” agreed Carmichael. “Not the same at all.”
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    Fatima Sathay had gotten a job as a receptionist in a local hair salon. She was a doe-eyed Indian girl with a shy smile, very earnest, but nonetheless rather enjoying her role as chief witness. Carmichael was relieved to be interviewing her at work and not in the presence of her parents, whom Commander Andrews had described as “guardian dragons.”
    â€œI got to the house at nine that morning,” she said, “and went up and made the beds just like always. Then I helped Kitty clear away the breakfast things since Mrs. Simmons was over at Little House. She’d asked me to do the silver, so I brought it all down to the kitchen and got started, thinking I’d do the dusting later.”
    â€œAnd you were still there when Miss Whitcomb took up the coffee tray?” asked Carmichael.
    â€œYes, sir.”
    â€œDid you see her make it up?”
    Fatima shook her