“Wait a minute, she asked me to send a notary over there to witness a document. Can you hang on for a minute?”
“Sure.” Stone sat and waited. Two minutes passed.
Adams came back on the line. “Stone?”
“I’m here.”
“I’ve spoken with the notary who witnessed the signatures, Mildred’s and Crow’s, on two documents: a bill of sale and a letter, both handwritten by Mildred.”
“The amount of the sale?”
“Half a million dollars. That explains the balance in her bank account.”
“What did Mildred sell Crow?”
“The notary was unable to see that; half the document was covered by Crow.”
“Creighton, have you made a public announcement of Mildred’s death?”
“No, but of course word is already all over Newport, because of the people at the dinner party.”
“I would advise you to withhold the public announcement until you’re sure Mr. Crow’s check has cleared.”
“You think he might try to stop payment?”
“I do. Did your notary say that Crow took anything with him when he left?”
“He didn’t.”
“So Mildred may not have delivered the item she sold him.”
“Not unless it was something he could put in his briefcase.”
“Just be sure the check has cleared before you make an announcement. There’s no rush, is there?”
“No, I guess not.”
“I think Charlie Crow, all by himself, is a good reason for having the property guarded.”
“I’ll take care of that right now, and I’ll call our insurance agent, too. Chubb will handle this very quickly, I’m sure; they hold the policy on the house.”
“Good-bye, then.” Stone hung up and called Barton.
“Hello?”
“I’ve spoken with Creighton, and he’s agreed to put guards on the house immediately and to have Mildred’s things insured.”
“That’s good.”
“I told him he should insure for forty million, and I think you should do that, too.”
“More than that,” Barton said.
“I also asked him about Mildred’s transaction with Charlie Crow. He said he sent a notary over there who witnessed two documents: a bill of sale for half a million dollars and a letter, both in Mildred’s handwriting. The notary couldn’t tell what was sold, but Charlie didn’t take anything with him, and we were there for the next two days, and he didn’t pick up anything then.”
“I don’t understand. What could she have sold him?”
“Maybe something that would fit in a briefcase. Jewelry, perhaps? Did she have any valuable jewelry?”