Murder at the Front: A Dora and Rex Mystery (Dora and Rex 1920s Mysteries) by Lynn Morrison

Author:Lynn Morrison [Morrison, Lynn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Marketing Chair Press
Published: 2023-07-28T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

Checkmate Marks The Start

The two women sat on either end of the narrow bed with a wooden chessboard occupying the space between them. The window was open to allow in what little breeze there was. Half a dozen birch and mahogany carved game pieces lay forgotten on the side, casualties of a battle of wits.

Inga’s hand hovered over a pawn before shifting sideways to move her knight instead. Her brow relaxed, and she blinked away the last of her tension. She’d managed to shore up her defences before Dora noticed the opening she’d left with a prior ill-thought move.

Inga’s satisfaction, however, was short-lived. When she glanced upward to see what was taking Dora so long to make her own move, she found the young woman staring off into space.

“If you’ve got somewhere else to be, don’t let our chess date stop you from going,” Inga said.

Dora blinked a few times, coming back to the present. “What? Oh sorry, I didn’t realise it was my move.”

“Not only that, but you’ve overlooked the fact you’ve checked me three times. Not to seem ungrateful, but the game is generally more fun when one’s opponent puts forth a minimum of effort.”

Dora blushed under her friend’s chiding. “I’m rubbish this evening. Please accept my sincere apologies for my poor showing.”

Inga brushed the apology aside. “I meant what I said earlier. If you have sleuthing to do, then go. I won’t take it too hard.”

“If I had an idea of where to go next, I would. Unfortunately, after spending a full day of muddling through ideas, I’m no closer to reaching a decision.”

“Will it help to talk things out?”

“That’s all I’ve done since I left Lord Audley’s home last night. Granted, the conversations have been entirely with myself, but the problem remains. Even though I have a suspicion Major Edgewell is our man, I have no way of proving it.”

Inga leaned against the pillow resting against the metal headboard and surveyed her friend. Dark shadows marred Dora’s English rose complexion. Her hair was still wet from washing it in the basin, the ends leaving damp patches on her lightweight shift. Her lips were pulled so tight, they were tinged blue. Grief, stress, and the ticking timepiece hanging over her like the sword of Damocles demanded a heavy toll.

Still, there had to be some way to help Dora. Inga’s gaze fell onto the chessboard. Without asking, she fluttered her hands above the board, moving the pieces back to their starting positions.

“Let’s try approaching this from a fresh angle. Instead of getting bogged down in the specifics of each individual, let’s look at the whole.” Inga motioned to the first row of chess pieces. “For the sake of discussion, Lord Audley will be our king. Major Edgewell can be queen, given he is second in command. The sergeant is a rook, Lord Rex a knight, and the remaining men under Audley’s command are the pawns. Fair enough?”

Dora nodded, her curiosity inflamed by Inga’s unusual approach.

“What’s the first thing you notice when you look at the board?”

“The opponent?” Dora asked, her voice wavering.

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.