The Will and Testament of Henry Nelson

1.
A kind of dense fog settled down over the moors, the kind that caused the light shining from your headlights to reflect back brightly in your eyes. It was a full moon but you wouldn’t have known it because the whole countryside was under the shadow of a heavy cloud cover.

The reflected light dazzled Jonathan Nelson as he sped through the English countryside. He switched to low beams when he realized that he could barely see the road at some points. It was already bad enough that he had been roused from slumber at two in the morning and had to drive through this horrible fog. The reason was simple but enough to validate this early morning madness, his millionaire uncle was on his death bed and he requested that all his family be present. It was agreed that the hour he was dead the family lawyer would read his will to them. Nobody knew what it contained; some thought it was in favor of his daughter Julie as she was by far the closest to the old, eccentric man. Others, like his sister and two brothers thought that the estate would be divided equally between them. Jonathan cared enough to drive out to the distant country estate in the hope that somehow some money would be allocated him. Actually he cared a lot, being about ten thousand pounds in debt. A break like this would mean he could finish his master’s degree and move on in life.

Shelly Hathwait ambled slowly out to her car after receiving the call in the middle of the night asking her to be present for the reading of her brother’s will. She resented it, I mean if you’re going to die, do it when it’s convenient. She had absolutely no qualms about her brother’s death, the only thing that got her up was her belief that she would be included in the will. She also believed she would receive at least get a third of the deceased’s wealth. Any less and she was fully prepared to take matters into her own hands. If she couldn’t win a court battle, she could always blackmail her gangster brother into giving her a substantial amount of his share. She didn’t quite have all the loose ends together to threaten her brother but with some time, questions and a little effort she could have him dishing out money on demand. It’s not the best idea to try to blackmail a mobster, but she was down on her luck. She was living in a squalid apartment in a notoriously poor suburb in a large city living from paycheck to paycheck, when she got them that is. Because of their parents she had grown up in the middle class, but she had refused college and spent her best years partying around and getting involved in any new sensation that swept the country. Following a fight between her and her siblings, she cut off any connection with them. She was now reaping all the misery and loneliness from the decisions she had made. She didn’t like the idea of returning to her family like a disobedient dog with it’s tail between it’s legs to it’s owner. She had bigger plans, with a substantial amount of money she could leave that world behind forever.

Gerald Nelson was actually staying at Henry’s house when he had fallen ill and decided the most profitable course of action was to watch after the house, estate, and daughter of his sick brother till he got better, or till he ceased breathing. Either way would benefit him. He had been running the household for three months though and it was starting to wear on him. He had the unfortunate habit of micro managing people's lives and immediately everyone in the house felt his meddling. Julie didn’t like this at all and made herself know as often as he tried to tell her what to do. His wife was getting impatient and would constantly ask him when they could leave; she didn't have the persistency he had. He knew he had a lot to gain from his brother’s death but he didn’t like to dwell on it a lot. He also knew that even if he didn’t die, he’d be monetarily grateful to the man who took care of his household while he couldn’t. Even with his views on his brother’s death, he still felt that he would do some desperate things to make sure the money fell into his hands. The thought even crossed his mind of getting rid of Henry sooner, but he had no assurance that he was included in the will so he’d play his cards safe and bide his time.

Luigi Nelson contemplated the droplets the dense fog was leaving on the window. He had nothing better to do, just sit back and think, and perhaps pour himself some brandy from the bar. His limousine crunched over the gravel like a large panther, the purr of the engine soothing him to sleep. His driver used to be a chauffeur who had gotten caught up in the mob simply by being in the wrong place at the wrong time, like many people who have called themselves Mafia. He might have witnessed a murder or some other homely crime of that nature and was threatened into keeping silent while the mob slowly pulled the heavy net of blackmail around him till he was crawling on his knees to do the bidding of the boss. Very few people escape, and very few people make it big, but driving the boss’s car, that wasn’t too bad. Whatever the case, the limousine inched forward, forced to take the turns slowly, on its way to the countryside mansion of a dying millionaire. Luigi had no need for money, he could always get some dirt on a rich city official, but this was different, this was easy money. He had fond memories of Henry, his favorite brother, but he wasn’t on such great terms with his other siblings. He knew they would rat him out for a couple grand, not like Henry, he didn’t care; he had no need of money. The rest of them however were liabilities.

The bell was ringing, Julie ran to answer it. It was probably one of those relatives that kept showing up. It seemed that, as soon as her father had fallen ill all these strange people started to appear, people who claimed to be relatives, people she hadn’t seen in her whole twenty five years of life. Julie was singular in her disposition; to those she liked she was the epitome of charity and charm, to those she didn’t like though she could be as ferocious as a treed mountain lion. She had switched back and forth between her divorced parents till her mother died of a heart attack when she was twelve. At eighteen she left the house to move to the big city, there she met a young fellow and as the course of life went on they became engaged. They had been engaged for six months till she decided that she needed more time, not quite breaking the connection but foregoing it. She returned to her aging father’s house and tried to settle in, but the slow ways of the country folk bored her and she took to drinking. She would sit around all day brooding while her old father watched with detached boredom. He had some of the neighbors over once a week to play bridge, but that was the extent of his social activities.

The arrival of her uncle, Gerald, caused Julie untold discomfort. She couldn’t stand the sight of this charlatan who pretended to care about her father. When he got ill, things got a lot worse. Relatives were coming out of the woodworks, making calls and bringing cards, all pretending to care about his health. The worst part was after they visited her father they’d stay for several hours sticking their noses throughout the house and she’d be forced to play the cordial hostess and entertain them. Tonight was the worst though; the doctor had told the lawyer that Henry probably wouldn’t last two days in a row and the lawyer of course promptly phoned all of his siblings and their children and suggested that they all be present. Some had already arrived but most were still on their way. When they got there most of them hung around the door to the bedroom Henry lay in like vultures waiting for a pathetic creature to die. Julie was sickened by behavior like that; she was certain she was going to get the money, ALL the money, in the meantime she headed towards the bar.

Richard Nelson had never actually seen his uncle. He had heard about him and his immense wealth from his father, Gerald Nelson. Now that he neared the massive house, all his expectations were blown away. It would take you five minutes to run around the house and the adjoining guest houses. Henry’s lawyer had informed them over the phone that they could stay at the house till after their uncle passed away, just to make sure they were there when he died. That was completely fine with Richard. A couple nights stay in a large mansion sounded enticing.

His cousin, Hailey Hathwait, arrived the same time he did, both driving up the long driveway slowly to enable them to take it all in. Or at least what they could see through the fog. She had, unlike Richard, met Henry before. Of course it was only after she left her mother that she got to know her relatives, or at least Henry and his daughter. Her mother had tried to keep her family a secret from her. She couldn’t, however, stop her daughter from investigating. So as soon as Hailey moved away to college, she started searching for her family. The only ones she came in contact with were Julie and Henry Nelson. She got to know Julie when she met her in the city and they became friends. It was hard, on her part, to get through Julie’s hard shell but she finally did. After around a year of friendship she was invited out to meet her uncle, Henry, and spent an afternoon talking with him and Julie. That was the last time she’d seen him. He had seemed so alive and immortal at the time. Now she returned, not to be greeted by an energetic old man, but she came to say farewell to a dying one.

Samuel Nelson, brother to Richard Nelson, was in the same boat as his brother. He hadn’t seen many of his relatives either. There were so many new faces, it really was like walking through a crowd of strangers. He was still seventeen and not out on his own like his brother. He had to hitch a ride with Richard when they received the phone call. The whole way there he wondered who was going to be there. He knew it was going to be full of people he’d never seen before. When they had parked their car they stepped out into the driveway and started walking towards the front door. On the way their cousin, Hailey, met them. They’d never met each other before. After introductions were made they arrived in one group at the door.

The house staff that night was extremely busy. The butler, Andrew, and Jodie, the maid, were rushing around trying to get things in order for all the guests. Rooms had to be prepared, snacks served, and people needed to be shown where they were staying. They had worked for Henry for twenty years now and the house had always been orderly and quiet while they were there. All these guests were putting a strain on them though as they were used to the solitude of an old widower. Jodie had to go clean up a spill in the lounge Alice, Luigi’s only child, had caused. She was small for twenty-two and had a pale complexion. She had arrived separately from her father as she was visiting friends in another part of the country at the time. She and Mario, Julie’s fiancé, were striking up a conversation. She had met most of her cousins and to a certain degree was Julie’s friend.

Mario knew absolutely nobody in the whole family besides Henry and Julie. He was there, like the rest, to pay tribute to a dying man. Unlike the rest, he had no interest in the money at stake. He was pretty well off himself, one of the things that initially attracted Julie to him. He had finished college and made a handsome living working for a corporation. He was really excited when he met Julie. She was intelligent, not like the women he’d dated before. So after a while he decided to ask her to marry him. She gave a happy yes and everything seemed fine. Then one day she told him that she needed more time and left for her father’s mansion. He didn’t know why Julie was putting off the engagement, he couldn’t understand her. But like many men, he stopped trying.

2.
Frank Loyd, Henry’s family lawyer, called the attention of the assembled group. They were all relatives, except for Mario, the butler, and the maid. There were nephews, nieces, uncles, and one aunt present. Frank stared at the back curtains of the living room in a look of desperation. The doctor had just informed the assembly that their dear uncle/brother Henry was dead and the sniffles and crying made the room loud. It appalled him, all the fake sobs, all the wringing out of handkerchiefs; it was all a large act. This was the part of his job he hated most, when people put on a show of grief but inside they were just itching for him to read the will.

Finally, after the sobs ceased and there were only a couple sniffles here and there, he began. He laid out the amount that the late Mr. Nelson owned, mainly to watch the excitement build in the hypocrite’s faces. He told them that many of them would be disappointed and that everyone should act in a manner deserving of honor once the will was read. With that, to the utter indignation of almost everyone there, the names Andrew Lackey and Jodie Kimberly were named the owners of the estate of the now deceased Henry L. Nelson.

Andrew and Jodie seemed apologetic to the family of their benefactor, but that did not calm the rage. Luigi went outside onto the patio over looking the garden for a smoke, Gerald downed three shots of scotch before sitting down on the couch. Julie was talking to Frank, demanding to be shown the will herself, while Shelley, a bright scarlet, raved incessantly. All of the nephews and nieces, except for Julie of course, gathered together near the bar. They all agreed on one point, their parents should’ve gotten the money. Mario was the only person who took it easily. He watched the whole escapade with disgust and interest. Of course it wasn’t his family and it wasn’t HIS uncle’s money that was being given away.

Frank Loyd, after proving to Julie that she was left with nothing, walked out the front door. He decided it was the best time to leave and he wasn’t the only one. The doctor walked out right behind him using the general disorder to conceal his hasty exit. Andrew barely escaped the uproar unharmed. He made a straight line towards his cabin, located in the garden. Jodie managed to slip away to the kitchen where she could wait out the storm by cleaning up all the dirty glasses the houseguests had used.

Most of the family, after about half an hour, retired to their rooms. Some didn’t, preferring to stay in the common area. Gerald still sat on the couch looking stupefied, Julie sat in an arm chair sipping a margarita and talking to Mario and Alice. Luigi still hadn’t come inside yet, but the faint smell of a high quality Cuban cigar wafted through the patio curtains. All of a sudden a gurgled yell rent the silence. It was the type of yell that sounded as if the person was drowning. It came from the garden. Julie, Gerald, Mario and Alice rushed outside, down the patio steps and past a couple hedges to find Luigi. He was holding Andrew’s wrist, checking it for a pulse. There was no pulse, but there was a knife stuck under his ribs. Attached to this simple pocket knife was a cloth napkin with the words, “Jodie is next”, written on it in black ink. On the bottom left corner of the napkin there was a faint, round burn mark as if somebody put out their cigar on it.