“He didn’t have to. If the police have any sense, they won’t look any farther than Constance’s siblings.”

I was hoping the conversation might turn in this direction. “Beatty mentioned they had a falling out. Something to do with their father’s will?”

“I’ll say it had something to do with their father’s will,” Roxie said, planting a fist on her hip. “The old goat left everything to Constance. Cut the other three right out. Didn’t give it a second thought. Granted, Constance did pay her dues, but still.”

I nodded. So that was the issue Beatty had been dancing around.

“We heard she took care of her father in the end,” Izzy said.

“She did. And gave up quite a bit to do it. Did you know we used to do community theatre together back in the day? Constance had the voice of an angel. She always got the lead in all the musicals. We talked about going to Vegas together, but I knew she’d never do it. All the family obligations,” Roxie said, waving a ringed hand in the air. “And she had a boyfriend at the time she didn’t want to leave. Not everyone has what it takes to really make it, you know?”

I couldn’t say if I knew or not. I was too busy trying to reconcile the Constance Graves who had stayed at Ivywood Hollow with the girl Roxie was describing. There was always more to people than met the eye.

“I had no idea,” Izzy said. “But then again, every time I wanted to go see one of the town’s productions, Nora would poo-poo the idea. She believes there’s an entire circle of hell devoted to those involved in the production of musical theatre.”

“Hmm, that does sound like Nora,” Roxie said dryly. “But Constance really was quite good. She knew how to put emotion into a song. I guess that’s a natural consequence of having led such a hard life.”

“You mean with the death of her mother?”

“She practically raised her siblings. Can you imagine trying to raise three young children when you’re still a child yourself? That father of theirs was useless. And what thanks did she get for it?” she asked as though the answer were plain. A second later her face dropped. “Well, I suppose she did get the entire estate. But still, her father should have known it would tear those four apart.”

“So why did he do it? Was it just because Constance took care of him?”

“Oh, people have been speculating for years, but no one knows for sure.”

Izzy shook her head. “That’s a terrible thing for a family to go through, but it was all so long ago. Surely her siblings have made some sort of peace with it all by now.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure,” Roxie said with a cat-that-caught-the-canary smile. “From what I’ve heard the siblings, Rip Jr. especially, have been at Constance all these years to share the estate. Rip always felt it was his birthright to live in the family home. Not that it’s much to look at these days. He lives over at McGivern’s apple orchard now. His in-laws’ place. Lovely spot, but he’s always coveted Graves House. He claims he wants to keep it in the family, but rumor has it, his kids don’t speak to him anymore. Now, the younger brother, John, he always wanted the hobby farm.”