The Moonlit Murders: A historical mystery page-turner (A Fen Churche Mystery Book 3) Fliss Chester (most read book in the world txt) 📖

what’s more, it was all of her own making. We may have looked alike, but I tell you what, Fen, our lives are so very different and I would have swapped my lot in life for hers in a shot.’

‘She probably thought the same about you,’ Fen countered, and watched the expression on Eloise’s face change to a thoughtful frown. Those born into money often took it for granted, Fen knew that, but then perhaps money did bring with it life in a golden cage.

‘She’d have been a fool to want to be in my position.’ Eloise seemed to read Fen’s thoughts and looked thoughtful again before continuing. ‘Do we know who did it? Or why?’

‘Spencer’s gone missing—’ Fen started but was interrupted by Eloise.

‘Surely not him! They were in love!’ She looked genuinely upset by the suggestion that Genie could have been murdered by the man she had agreed to marry. ‘She chose him herself… I mean, he wouldn’t, would he?’

‘I don’t know.’ Fen shrugged her shoulders. ‘But I’d like the chance to talk to him.’

‘Ask him what he thought of Genie spending so much time on deck with that handsome Dr Bartlett too.’

‘Dr Bartlett?’ Fen remembered the auburn-haired older doctor who had been having such an intense conversation with Genie only yesterday morning. ‘They weren’t… I mean, surely not?’

‘A seven down perhaps,’ James’s disembodied voice said from the other side of the newspaper. Fen stared at the sports news on the back page for a moment before Eloise spoke again.

‘Aunt M…’ Eloise paused and then bit her lip, before deciding to continue, ‘Well, she has an opinion, as I’m sure you won’t be surprised to hear. I don’t know if I should say it out loud, it seems so disrespectful to poor Genie, giving her the bum rap, but Aunt M wonders if she might have been murdered by someone who wanted to get their hands on our jewels.’

‘Your jewels?’ Fen needed to make sure she had that right. Even James lowered his newspaper, awaiting Eloise’s answer.

‘Yes, Aunt M’s tiara and my lovely earrings. She’s convinced Genie stole them, you see.’

James harrumphed and Fen shook her head. ‘I don’t think she’d steal from you…’ But Fen silently wondered if Eloise might have a point – Genie had lusted after those jewels and only last night she had admitted to having a gap in her alibi. Time enough to slip out of her room, follow Eloise back to her cabin, wait for her to fall asleep, or, even better, leave, as she did, and then slip in and steal the jewels from under the snoring nose of Mrs Archer. And if Spencer thought she had been having an affair with another man, he may have killed her in a fit of jealousy, or the doctor may have slipped into her cabin and then decided the loot was enough to retire on… ‘Eloise,’ Fen churned these thoughts over as she spoke. ‘Is your aunt still able to wrap the captain around her finger?’

‘Is the Pope Catholic?’ Eloise answered with a glint in her eye.

‘Do you think she’d ask him, on our behalf, if we could get a look in Genie’s cabin? Under the auspices of looking for her jewels?’

‘How ghoulish!’ Eloise leaned in closer. ‘But yes, and Aunt Mariella would be over the moon if you did find anything relating to her jewels. She was on at the captain first thing about having poor Genie’s cabin searched, so I’m sure she’d happily let you do the dirty work.’

‘As long as she doesn’t think I’m about to pawn them to help shore up the east wing…’ James murmured somewhat grumpily from behind the paper.

‘How rude,’ Fen said to the sports headlines, and Eloise giggled.

‘He’s not wrong though. Aunt M thinks it’s Genie one moment, then James, and probably when I see her next, she’ll have the president himself on the suspect list.’

The waiter arrived with a tray of coffee and poured a cup for Eloise from the steaming pot. She added milk and took a small sip before carrying on talking.

‘But yes, Fen, I’ll ask her to have a word with the captain to get you back into Genie and Spencer’s cabin.’

‘And the sooner the better. As much as I hope someone finds Spencer soon, the last thing we need is him heading back to the cabin and hiding any evidence.’

‘True.’ Eloise put her cup down and called the waiter back over. Asking for his notepad, she wrote a few words on it and then tore off the leaf and handed the whole lot back to him. ‘Please see that Mrs Archer in first-class cabin five gets this message. Quickly!’ She shooed him off and turned back to Fen. ‘There you go. Message sent and access, no doubt, shall be granted. What’s next?’

‘Next is finding Spencer and asking for his side of the story. And if you really think the doctor might be involved, then finding him too.’

‘That should be easy enough.’

Fen hoped it would be, and that the kindly looking doctor wouldn’t be affronted by them questioning him and implying all sorts of improprieties on his part. As Fen thought about this, Eloise made light conversation.

‘I do like this china. And, I must say, everything on board is done beautifully. I should like a room like this when we have our Hamptons house.’ She looked around, as if she were sitting in a showroom and appraising all the goods within for her own consumption.

‘Do you have a house in mind?’ Fen asked politely, though her thoughts were altogether focused on Dr Bartlett and his possible relationship to poor Genie.

‘Reginald’s family have places, of course. But…’ Eloise trailed off. ‘I don’t know them terribly well. I’ve been in France for so long, Aunt Mariella says I’ll be decorating the beach house like it’s Versailles!’

‘Oh stop it, Eloise.’ Fen shook her head, but the thought had dragged her back from thinking about murders and had made her laugh.

‘I don’t think Frank will mind much if