Over My Dead Body (Detective William Warwick #4)(9)

‘Great-Aunt Flora?’ asked William, leaving her name floating in the air, in the hope it would induce the young man to even greater indiscretions.

‘After Grandfather left home to join the merchant navy, his sister Flora became the first person in our family to go to university. After graduating from Glasgow with an honours degree in math, she studied accountancy, where she came top of her year. Well, top equal. It seems they weren’t quite ready to admit that a woman might be brighter than any man from her intake. That all happened around the time Grandpa was discharged from the Royal Navy, having served King and country with distinction, as he never stops reminding us. He then somehow raised enough money to buy a clapped-out – his expression – ferry company that transported vehicles and passengers from the mainland to the island of Iona.’

‘I’ve sailed on one of those boats myself,’ said William.

‘Great-Aunt Flora told him he was bonkers, but as there weren’t many firms offering women serious jobs after the war, she reluctantly joined the company and took charge of the books. Her favourite expression remains: “While he raised the pounds, I took care of the pennies.” However, despite her natural caution and shrewd common sense, the company nearly went under on more than one occasion.’

‘What self-made millionaire hasn’t had to face that problem at some time in their career?’

‘On one occasion, Grandfather was within twenty-four hours of declaring bankruptcy, and would have done if the Dundee Bank of Trade and Commerce hadn’t come to his rescue. Even I haven’t worked out how he pulled that one off. All I know for certain is that when his first cruise ship was being built on the Clyde, at the end of one particular week he couldn’t afford to pay the dockers’ wages, and they threatened to go out on strike. He once told me he didn’t sleep for a week, and this is a man who slept soundly every night during the Battle of the Atlantic.’

‘I read all about the role he played in that encounter in the Ship’s Log.’

‘Not to be relied on,’ said James, tossing a ball in the air.

‘Why not?’ asked William, genuinely curious.

‘Grandfather wrote it himself. Or to be more accurate, should I be called to give evidence in court, he dictated every word of it to Kaye Patterson, his private secretary.’

‘Who, I suspect, was the lady seated next to you at breakfast.’

‘Not bad, Chief Inspector. But if I told you my grandfather has two secretaries, one who can spell and one who can’t, which is Kaye?’

‘The one who can.’

‘What makes you so sure of that?’

‘Your grandmother appeared to be having an animated conversation with her, which she was clearly enjoying,’ said William, as Franco reappeared by their side.

‘Anything more, gentlemen?’ he asked.

‘No thank you, Franco,’ said James.

‘Why does Franco want the passengers to think he’s from Italy?’ asked William once the waiter had left them.

‘He once told me you get better tips if the passengers think you’re Italian.’

‘I didn’t realize you were meant to tip the staff,’ said William, feeling slightly embarrassed.

‘Not until we dock in New York,’ James reassured him. ‘Small brown envelopes will be left in your cabin for your maid and your waiter. One hundred dollars each is the going rate, unless you feel they’ve done a particularly good job.’

‘You adore your grandfather, don’t you?’ said William, not letting him off the hook.

‘Unashamedly. He’s the reason I’m confident I’ll be offered a place at Harvard.’

‘Because of his money and connections?’

‘No, I don’t need those. Something far more important. I’ve inherited his energy and competitive spirit, although I lack his entrepreneurial genius.’

‘I suspect he still hopes you’ll become chairman of the company one day, by which time it will need a safe pair of hands to replace his entrepreneurial genius.’

‘That’s never going to happen. My father may well succeed him, but not me.’

‘How does your uncle Hamish feel about that?’

‘Still thinks he’s in with a chance of becoming chairman, otherwise he wouldn’t be hanging around, humiliating himself and his wife by joining us on this voyage.’

‘That bad?’

‘Worse. I think he’d do anything to stop my father becoming chairman. And if he wouldn’t, Aunt Sara certainly would.’

‘But by replacing him with your father as deputy chairman, your grandfather couldn’t have made his position any clearer.’

‘True, but don’t forget, Uncle Hamish is still on the main board, and nobody can be sure which way Great-Aunt Flora will jump when the time comes to appoint the next chairman; she may well have the casting vote. Not that the word retirement is one I’ve ever heard cross Grandfather’s lips.’

‘How do you know so much about what’s going on when you’re just a …’

‘School kid? That’s something else I’ve turned to my advantage. When I was growing up, my parents didn’t realize I was listening to every word they said at the breakfast table. But they’ve all become a lot more cautious recently, especially Uncle Hamish, so I’m going to have to be far more cunning in the future. That’s where you come in.’