“What do you mean, father?”
“The estate is a considerable one, I understand, Nancy, and the Tophams don’t intend that anyone shall get a cent of it. It’s my private opinion that they will take care that a second will is never found.”
“Do you mean that if they discovered the will they would destroy it?”
“Well, I’m not making any accusations, Nancy. But I do know that Richard Topham is shrewd, and he isn’t noted for his honesty.”
“Can’t the present will be broken?”
“I doubt it. While I haven’t gone into the case, I am of the opinion that the Tophams have a legal right to the fortune. It would cost considerable to contest the will, and so far as I know the other relatives are in poverty. They have filed a claim, declaring that a later will was made in their favor, but I doubt that the matter will ever go further.”
“But the Tophams don’t deserve the fortune, father. It doesn’t seem fair.”
“No, it isn’t fair. But it is legal, and I’m afraid nothing can be done about it. There were two girls who live somewhere on the River Road that were great pets of Crowley’s when they were children. It seems to me that they should have had something. And there are a number of relatives who really deserve a portion of the fortune.”
Nancy nodded thoughtfully and relapsed into silence while she digested the facts of the case. From her father she had acquired the habit of thinking things through to their logical conclusion. Frequently, Carson Drew had assured her that she went at a thing “like a detective.” Certainly she had a naturally clever mind and took more than an ordinary interest in strange or baffling cases.