Death on Board by Anita Davison

Author:Anita Davison [Davison, Anita]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Boldwood Books

Reaching the end, she looked up from the page, her thoughts whirling as she put possible faces to names in her head.

‘Flora?’ Cynthia called from the sitting room. ‘Your coffee will get cold.’

‘Er—coming.’ Flora thrust the paper back into her pocket and went to join Cynthia.

14

Flora read the newspaper clipping again back in her own sitting room, staring at the stark print long after she reached the end. Her thoughts whirling, she was vaguely aware of the slap of horizontal rain that lashed the deck outside, accompanied by the scream of the wind. Convinced the obituary referred to Eloise and her late husband, she tried to put the pieces together in her head. That Eloise had changed her name came as no surprise, though the fact her husband had died less than a week after their secret wedding sent chills through her. No wonder his family were suspicious – anyone would be – and had engaged lawyers.

Did a question remain as to how Theo had died? Because if it was gastritis, then why was Eloise convinced she was about to be accused of murder? So certain, in fact, she left the country with only the things she could carry to avoid it. And if her late husband’s lawyers had employed Mr Hersch, what did he know which could be used against her?

That Parnell kept the clipping gave credence to Eloise’s claim he had tried to blackmail her, but which also begged the question that the evidence he spoke of could exist as well.

She recalled the raised voices on her first night on board and tried to picture Eloise battering Parnell with an ashtray, but somehow the image felt wrong. Parnell had been taller than Eloise and far stronger. Unless she had taken him by surprise. In which case, how did she get his body out of the stateroom and down to the deck below?

With these questions and others circling her head, it took a moment or two for her to notice a repeated knocking at her door. The sound persisted as her progress across the room was hampered by the fierce bucking of the ship. Finally, she flung the door open to reveal Bunny.

‘I thought you were never going to let me in.’ He shouldered sideways through the narrow gap, smoothing his wet hair back with cupped hands. He removed his steamed-up glasses and wiped the lenses with a handkerchief produced from a pocket.

Flora fetched a towel from the bathroom, their hands connecting as he took it from her. She drew hers back sharply, hoping he did not notice the impeding blush that prickled her skin. ‘Is the storm getting worse?’ Flora asked, self-conscious he might think her gauche if she coloured at every innocent contact, though at times she caught the sparkle in his eyes that implied he felt it too.

He nodded. ‘Looks like it, though Matilda is secure, thank goodness.’ He emerged from under the towel, still giving his scalp a vigorous scrub. ‘Everything all right? You seem distracted.

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