Murder at the Dolphin Hotel by Helena Dixon

Author:Helena Dixon
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781838880620
Publisher: Bookouture
Published: 2019-12-10T16:00:00+00:00

After luncheon Kitty went back to her grandmother’s suite. She called the hospital to enquire if Mrs Craven was any better and learned she had been transferred to a private nursing home in Torquay to convalesce. Vivien’s information had left her restless and confused. Was her father really in England? Why didn’t he want to see her? Was he in some kind of trouble? Vivien’s description had been that of a man who had lived a slightly disreputable life and had now fallen on hard times. She was no fool, she’d heard about Chicago, the speakeasies and the gangsters. The newspapers often carried lurid descriptions of some of the more disturbing incidents.

Matt had gone to talk to Mickey about extra security precautions for the hotel, so Kitty decided to take some air along the embankment. She left a note at the front desk for Matt and set off at a leisurely pace, enjoying the breeze on her face and the welcome sights and sounds of normal life all around her.

She nodded hello to some of the people she knew as she walked and paused to admire a baby in a perambulator. Pleasure craft made their way along the river, some carrying trippers out to see the castle at the mouth of the estuary. The sounds of chat and laughter reached her from the people on deck. Other boats chugged upstream with the sunlight sparkling on the white wash. It was hard to believe that poor Cora had met such a terrible end here, in such a peaceful spot. A shiver danced along her spine at the thought.

She had reached the boat float. The other big hotel in town was situated right opposite, near the shops and tearooms.

‘Good afternoon, Miss Underhay.’ The gentleman speaking to her raised his hat and she recognised him as the stranger who had spoken to her the previous evening. His appearance was clean but slightly worn like so many who had suffered a downturn in fortune since the Great War.

‘Good afternoon.’ She went to continue with her walk but to her surprise he addressed her again. ‘I hope you don’t mind my enquiry, but I am an old acquaintance of your grandmother, Mrs Treadwell, may I ask after her health?’

A prickle of unease tickled the nape of her neck. ‘My grandmother is well, thank you. She is away at present, visiting family.’

‘And your mother?’

Kitty swayed on her feet.

‘I beg your pardon. You appear distressed.’ The stranger took hold of her arm and guided her to a nearby bench.

Kitty sat and took a deep breath to recover her wits. ‘I’m sorry, sir, clearly you cannot have seen my grandmother for some time. My mother disappeared many years ago and we are unsure of her whereabouts. It has been a number of years since anyone asked after her.’

She thought she heard him murmur, ‘So it is true.’

‘Forgive me, Miss Underhay, I did not mean to cause you distress. I have been abroad for some time for my health and have only recently returned to the area.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.