Bum Steer (1989)

Interesting premise gets more complicated as the story progresses as a charitable foundation director travels cross country several time investigating family histories and mysterious deaths to help her determine the authenticity of the bequest of a large cattle ranch by a perfect stranger. ( )

This Jenny Cain episode is a bit too farfetched foe my liking. Nancy must have been struggling for a story & decided on something fantastic instead of something grounded in probability. Jenny is in a highly fanciful mood throughout - it's a bit like a dream sequence. I see no reason why the letter shouldn't be destroyed before anyone else sees it.

cover:
Hours after the Port Frederick, Massachusetts, Civic Foundation got wind of an imminent, highly unusual bequest - a $4 million Kansas cattle ranch - director Jenny Cain hopped on a flight heading west. She arrived at the hospital room of the Foundation's mysterious, gravely ill benefactor, Charles W. "Cat" Benet IV, to find he was already dead. Murdered. Yet out on the Crossbones Ranch, Jenny was unexpectedly content. Maybe it was the wide open spaces. Or maybe it was ranch hand Quentin Harlan, with his deep blue eyes and old-fashioned charm... Suddenly, Jenny had to concentrate hard on missing her dear husband Geof and Cape Cod Bay. And she had to remember that Quentin Harlan just might be Cat Benet's killer - although Cat's estranged daughters, unhappy ex-wives, and their jealous second husbands left plenty of room for suspicion. ( )

This was a very interesting story. I wasn't able to figure out "who dunnit" til the end. It was a little confusing with all the different characters, but they were all definitely important to the story. ( )