FAMILY TIES (PART THREE)

Posted on | Sunday, December 25, 2011 | No Comments

Part Three

Seth arrived at his uncle's just after eight. Ruben's car was parked on the front porch, but the gate was open. As he got out of his car he could hear loud voices coming from inside the house. It sounded like a heated argument going on between Ruben and his mother.

The front door was open wide, but he was too far away to hear what they were saying. As he reached the door, Ruben came rushing out and they nearly collided. He glared at Seth and brushed roughly past him to his car.

Inside, Seth's aunt was seated on the sofa, her face in her hands. She looked up when Seth walked in. her face was drawn and tired, but her eyes were dry. In fact, she looked surprisingly calm for someone who had just had a shouting match with her son.

“He'll come back after he's cooled off. He's just angry over money,” she said.

“What happened, aunty?” Seth asked gently, sitting down next to her on the sofa.

“Oh Seth, Ruben gambled away all his savings and wanted me to give him money to pay his loans, but I refused. I wish your uncle were here, he would know what to do,” she said, her eyes filling with tears.

“Don't worry, Aunty. Everything will be all right,” Seth said, patting her hand comfortingly. He felt a little prick of guilt at visiting her under false pretenses. “I'll make you some tea,” he said quickly, before he lost his nerve.

“Thank you dear,” she said, smiling kindly at him.

The coffee jar was half full when he opened it. It wasn't surprising as his uncle had been the only one in the house who drank coffee. Ruben and his mother hated the stuff. Seth spooned some of the powder into the plastic bottle. He replaced the lid and tucked the bottle back in his jacket pocket. He then put the kettle to boil on the stove and grabbed a mug from the cabinet.



“Sorry I took so long, Aunty,” he said easily as he handed his aunt the mug of steaming hot tea.

“Thank you dear,” she said, giving him a tired smile. After a few sips of the hot tea, she leaned back against the sofa and closed her eyes.

He let her relax for a few more moments before speaking. “Aunty, there is something I need to ask you,” he said, looking intently at her.

“What is it, my dear?”

“It’s about Nathan, your gardener. Mrs. Veloo said he visits you often when you are alone in the house. She seems to think…” he hesitated.

“…that I am having an affair with him?” She looked at him with some amusement.

Seth raised his eyebrows, but said nothing.

“My dear, that lady may be my oldest friend, but I am used to her tricks. If you really want to know, the boy is studying at the university. He is only doing gardening to finance his studies. I help him with his English on his off days. I didn’t tell Ruben or your uncle because I knew they wouldn’t approve,” she explained.

Seth felt slightly abashed, but he wasn’t convinced of gardener’s innocence just yet. He tried a different tack.

“Aunty, of course I believe you. But that’s not all Mrs. Veloo said. She saw Uncle arguing with Nathan the evening before his death. She said that he gave Uncle an envelope before leaving. Did Uncle mention anything about it?”

His aunt shook her head, looking bewildered. “Did she hear what they were arguing about?” she asked.

“No, they were too far away but she said that Uncle looked furious after reading something from the envelope. Aunty, I noticed an empty envelope fitting her description on Uncle’s desk. I’m not sure that he died from a heart attack,” Seth said.

“What do you mean? You don’t think that Nathan killed him?” His aunt looked shocked.

“I don’t know that for sure, Aunty. But I did find mud on the window sill of the study and footprints outside just under the window. They were made by men’s worker boots and I noticed your gardener wears similar size boots.”

“You’ve met Nathan?” His aunt looked at him in surprise.

“Not exactly. I stopped by to visit you and saw him coming out of the garden shed wearing worker boots,” he explained. “It doesn’t look good for him right now,” he added.

She shook her head incredulously. “I still cannot believe he had anything to do with your uncle’s death. Why they barely even spoke to each other! Ruben was in charge of the help as your uncle was too busy running the business. What could Nathan and your uncle possibly have to argue about?”

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