I understood. I had done the same thing my entire life. There’s something else, Lucille continued, her voice dropping, something I’ve never told anyone. The something else was about my uncle Theodore. I had grown up hearing the story of his death. a tragic hunting accident when I was a toddler, a misfired rifle, a life cut short at 29.
Theodore had been my grandmother’s only son, heir to the family business and fortune. After his death, the inheritance had passed to his children, except Theodore had no children. He had been engaged to a woman named Patricia, but they hadn’t married yet. So, the estate remained with my grandmother to be distributed according to her will.
Theodore was supposed to marry Patricia 3 weeks after that hunting trip. Lucille said, “If he had lived, if they’d had children, those children would have inherited everything. Your grandmothers will would have gone to Theodore’s family, not to her grandchildren through the female line.” I processed this slowly.
“You’re saying his death benefited my mother? His death benefited whoever stood to inherit if he was removed from the picture.” “At the time, that was your mother and me. We were the only other potential heirs.” Lucille paused. “I never wanted the money. I told your grandmother to leave my share to charity.
But Priscilla, she married your father 6 months after Theodore died. She was pregnant with Celeste within a year. It was like she was racing to produce heirs to secure her position in the family. Was she at the hunting trip? She claimed she wasn’t. But I’ve always wondered. There were so many people there, so much chaos after the shot.
Anyone could have slipped away unnoticed. I brought this information to Detective Hang, who listened with a professionally neutral expression I had come to recognize. She made notes, asked clarifying questions, and told me that while my uncle’s death had been ruled accidental decades ago, she would request the original case file.
