Free Murder At The Bake Off (Celebrity Mysteries 3) by Zanna Mackenzie

sorry about your mother,” I say before Jack starts his questioning.
    She nods and sniffles some more into her tissue.
    “Were you close?” Jack asks her, taking a seat again.
    “Not really, she was away working a lot of the time. When she was around, we’d plan to meet up for a meal or a day out. At least we got along, not like Mum and Maggie.”
    “What about you and Maggie? Did the two of you get along?” I check.
    Frances shrugs. “We didn’t hate each other, if that’s what you’re getting at. We weren’t the closest of sisters either, though. We tended to argue quite a bit.”
    I can see Jack’s interest in her words flashing in his eyes. “What about?”
    “Maggie can be a cow, but she’s also a brilliant mother to Maxwell and she’s always been pretty good to me.” Frances tucks a strand of hair behind her ears, composing herself. “The problem is, she takes after her dad. We each have different fathers from Mum’s different marriages. Her dad, Victor, is very money-oriented and he’s got Maggie thinking along the same lines. They both treated Mum like she was some kind of bank. Whenever they wanted money for something, they’d ask her; tug on the old heartstrings a little, and hey presto, she arranges for the money to be transferred into their accounts. Mum would help out as much as she could, but it reached a point where Maggie was constantly wanting more and more. Yes, my mother was a wealthy woman but even her finances aren’t finite. She had to do something, and typical Maggie flew off the handle about it all. They argued, and that was that.”
    “But wouldn’t that split cause even more problems for your sister?” I ask softly.
    Frances nods. “I guess she thought Mum would back down and continue giving her the money just because she didn’t want the two of them to be estranged, especially as Maggie could stop Mum from seeing her only grandchild, and Mum so doted on Maxwell. He loved his granny, too.”
    “Have you been staying here with your mother?” Jack asks after checking some notes on his phone. “We thought you had your own flat in North London.”
    Frances nods and sniffs into her tissues. “No, I don’t live here. I have got my own place, though I’ll probably sell it now.”
    “Oh?” I prompt. “Do you want to get away from London? From all of the memories?”
    I know all about that, believe me.
    “No. It’s just that I’ll move in here. Mum left me this place.”
    “How do you know that already?” Xanthe asks, appearing by her side.
    “Mum told me,” she replies, sinking back into the chair’s cushions and curling her feet beneath her legs.
    “Oh.” Xanthe steps back, retreating to the kitchen area, saying nothing further.
    Hmm. That’s interesting. Does Xanthe, as executor of Cherry’s estate, think Frances shouldn’t be aware of the details of the will? Did Cherry want to keep its contents a secret for some reason?
    “Is there anything else?” Frances asks wearily. “I took some herbal sleeping tablets a while back, and I think they’re kicking in. I feel exhausted.”
    “Nothing else for now,” Jack says. “Yes, you get some rest if you can.”
    Xanthe reappears to escort us out.
     

CHAPTER SEVEN
    I hope Jack doesn’t notice the sigh of relief that escapes me once we’ve left London and are on our way to the Cotswold village of Hamberley On The Water. He’d suggested we take a quick detour so I could show him where I used to live and work, but the fact we’re already on a very tight timetable gave me a valid excuse to get out of that one.
    “You feeling all right?” he asks, changing gear and swiftly manoeuvring the four wheel drive past a coach.
    Sugar. I might have guessed he’d notice.
    “Glad to be out of the city?” he adds, briefly slipping a hand into mine and squeezing gently before returning both hands to the steering wheel. “You did great. I know the place makes you feel nervous after what happened back when you were