Murder on a Mississippi Steamboat Read online

“But let’s not forget about the Hinchcliffes. Vera has acted a little strange this whole trip. I’m sure she has something to hide and then there is Johnny Stokes. He acts very odd sometimes, too. And he showed up late for dinner, maybe he slipped down to the cold storage to make sure he didn’t leave any evidence,” Nora said.

  “Good points. And as I know from my mystery novels… err… from reading so many of them,” Aunt Julia said, “one must not rule out any suspects.”

  “We need concrete evidence against someone. Preferably Oxley.” Max played with the lighter in his hand, flipping it between his fingers. “Tomorrow the police will come and that’s sure to make the killer nervous. They might take another trip down to check on the body for one last look to be certain they didn’t leave any evidence on it.”

  “And let’s not forget, someone has that picture that was missing from Delilah’s wall. They might want to get rid of that if they fear the police will investigate,” Julia said.

  “And there’s the drugs. They have to be on board somewhere,” Max said.

  “That leaves only one option. We need to keep a close eye on the suspects tomorrow,” Nora said.

  “We’ll have to split up the duties,” Aunt Julia said.

  Max looked uncomfortable about that. “As an agent of the government, I can’t condone putting civilians at risk. Distracting Oxley is one thing, but following someone who could be a killer is another.”

  “One person can’t follow them all. We’ll compromise: if we happen to find something unusual then we’ll report directly to you.” Aunt Julia gave Nora a look that indicated “directly” might not mean quite as soon as that. “After all, the drugs have to be somewhere. I hardly think Oxley would dump them in the river. There’s a lot of money involved, I assume.”

  Max nodded. “There is. I suppose that’s not a bad plan. But you can’t give anyone any hint that you know about those drugs. If Oxley has an accomplice, you don’t want them finding out.”

  “Of course not.” Julia looked solemnly at Max. “But it’s very important to me to find the killer before Artemis Leonard comes on board. Giles is worried he’ll alert the press and the Miss Delta Belle will be tainted with scandal. And, well… I do want to prove that he’s not the only one who can find a killer.”

  Max nodded. “Very well then. If I discover anything about the killer, I’ll let you know. If they are also involved in the drugs, then we’ll be able to kill two birds with one stone. We should compare notes tomorrow. Meet here after breakfast?”

  “Sounds good,” Julia said.

  “You ladies enjoy the rest of your evening.” Max sauntered off.

  Aunt Julia turned to Nora. “Well then, I suppose we should get to our rooms. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  June 15, 1926

  Nora awoke bright and early on the final morning of their voyage eager to get going on the case. She hoped Aunt Julia had some better ideas than she did because today was their last chance to crack the case. Once Artemis Leonard came on board, he’d take over and they couldn’t very well hang around trying to solve the murder. Unless, of course, he refused to let anyone leave the boat. Hopefully, Aunt Julia would be able to solve it before he even got on board. Nora really didn’t want to hang around after they docked.

  Aunt Julia was eager to get started too. She was wearing a smart navy-blue walking suit and brimming with energy. Nora herself was wearing a light summer dress in pale violet, perfect for the last day of travel.

  “Well, this is it!” Aunt Julia exclaimed. “I feel like we will make a breakthrough today.” She surveyed Nora. “You look lovely, dear. Dressing for someone we might be working with?”

  Nora blushed. She wasn’t, not really. Okay, Max Lawton was handsome, but they’d be going their separate ways after today. Still, a little flirtation was always good for the ego. “No, Auntie, I just wanted to look good on the last day. That way our new acquaintances will remember me looking my best.”

  Aunt Julia gave her a knowing smile but looked concerned.

  “Are you worried about the case?” Nora asked.

  “Not really worried… It’s just there are some puzzling elements.” Julia took a deep breath. “But never you fret. I think I have a plan. First, let’s stroll the deck. We’re docking today and maybe one of our suspects will give themselves away. It must be very stressful waiting to make their getaway. Once the boat docks they may feel they are free and clear.”

  “I suppose the rumor that the death wasn’t an accident has been spread to the entire ship by now.” Nora opened the door and stepped out onto the veranda. “Maybe the killer isn’t even someone we’ve had under surveillance.”

  “Oh no.” Aunt Julia gazed at the riverbank a few hundred yards away. “I feel certain it’s one of the people we’ve met.”

  It was another gorgeous sunny day—at least they’d picked a week with good weather. Nothing worse than being stuck in a small cabin on a boat for days on end while it rained. Though the sultry heat of the south was a bit much for Nora. She was from New England and used to a cooler, less humid climate. She fanned herself periodically as they strolled slowly along the veranda.

  Aunt Julia, glancing out at the passing scenery, had a worried look on her face. “Do you think the boat is going faster?”

  Nora laughed. “No. Are you afraid you won’t solve the case before Artemis comes aboard?”

  Aunt Julia huffed. “Not at all. Plenty of time.”

  Beulah and Harry Entwhistle were sitting in two of the veranda rocking chairs. Beulah had her knitting bag on the deck next to the chair. Purple yarn spooled out as her needles worked at quick speed.

  “Look, I’m almost done with the hat.” She held it up to show them. It really was quite lovely, with an intricate braid-like pattern.

  “Gorgeous,” Aunt Julia said, and Nora nodded her agreement. Nora had tried to knit once and only managed to produce a knotted clump.

  “The soothing motion of the boat and the peaceful scenery just moving along is so relaxing that it seems to have made me knit faster. This is the quickest I’ve ever produced a hat, isn’t it, Harry?” Beulah turned to Harry.

  Harry looked up from his paper and grunted.

  “I thought so.” Beulah put the hat back into her knitting bag, and as she did so her smile turned to a frown. “Well, would you look at that.” She reached into the bag and pulled out her diamond brooch.

  “See, I told you you’d just misplaced it,” Harry said.

  “Oh dear, I guess I did.” Beulah laughed. “Silly me, I’ve been looking all over for it.”

  “Oh no! So glad you found it,” Julia said.

  Beulah dropped the knitting and fastened the brooch to her collar. “I hope you enjoyed the cruise. I kind of hate to see it end. Seems like we just came on board.”

  “Yes, it sure is flying by.” Aunt Julia glanced out at the riverbank again. “Well, we must continue on our stroll. We’ll see you at breakfast?”

  “Wouldn’t miss it.” Beulah returned to her knitting.

  They walked a bit more, then Julia said, “That was interesting how the brooch was in her bag, wasn’t it?”

  “Was it? I could see how it could have fallen in there,” Nora said. What was Aunt Julia getting at? “Is there something you aren’t telling me?”

  Julia stopped and looked at her. “All things in their time, dear.”

  Nora sighed. Leave it to Aunt Julia to be so vague. She didn’t always share her ideas in a case unless she was one hundred percent certain. It was maddening. Though she supposed she couldn’t blame her. She wouldn’t want to make an incorrect assumption that pointed a finger at the wrong person. Every nuance should be noticed, but they might not necessarily mean what you think at first. It was when you put them all together that you got your answer.

  “Julia, I’ve been looking for you.” Giles Hendricks appeared at Aunt Julia’s elbow. He looked nervous. No surprise there; once Artemis Leonard came
on board later today he could cause quite a stir about the murder. The Miss Delta Belle’s reputation, and most of Giles’ money, was at stake. If the papers found out about the drug trafficking, that would make things even worse. Nora didn’t dare mention that to Giles. Sometimes it was better not to know things.

  Giles pulled them further toward the stern and out of earshot of anyone else.

  “Please tell me you’ve discovered the identity of the killer,” he pleaded.

  Aunt Julia smiled. “Don’t worry, I will deliver the killer to you before Artemis Leonard can get involved. I assume the boat will dock on time?”

  “Sven has assured me we will be right on time.” Giles twisted his hands together. “He’s already radioed ahead and Artemis Leonard will be waiting at port. That reminds me, we must make sure the umm… body… is as we left it. Sven wanted to see to that himself.”

  “Sven? Why would he need to do that?” Julia asked. “He seems so stoic about making sure he is piloting the ship, I’m surprised he can leave the pilot house.”

  Giles nodded. “He’s very conscientious and not just about piloting the ship. He assured Mr. Leonard personally that he would make sure the body is not disturbed and now feels responsible.”

  “Perhaps I should accompany him on that. I’ll need to know if anything is amiss,” Julia said.

  “And Doctor Montford should be there. He was the one who examined her,” Nora added.

  Giles nodded. “Sven says the stretch of river near Greenville is smooth and he can leave the boat in the care of the co-pilot. We’ll hit there around two p.m.”

  “We’ll be there,” Aunt Julia said.

  “That bit about checking the body was a bit unusual, don’t you think?” Nora asked as Giles walked away.

  “I see why Artemis would want the body checked, but what if one of the persons checking is the killer?” Aunt Julia said. “I suppose that’s why he called upon Sven.”

  “Yeah, unless Sven is the killer. Let’s face it, his demeanor is rather odd.”

  “Maybe he’s just not outgoing. Though I do think it was strange that he didn’t see anything. Yes, yes, the smokestack is in the way but still.” Julia stopped at the top of the stairs. “I think after breakfast I might have another look around up there.”

  Nora glanced behind her in time to see Max Lawton passing by the top of the stairs. He winked. She tried to do the same but only managed to look like something had fallen in her eye.

  Breakfast was an extravagant affair since it was the last one of the trip. The jazz band was playing and Lily and Joy sang a duet. The food was delicious, but Nora was disappointed that no new clues were gleaned. Other than seeing Max discreetly tail Oxley, nothing much happened and Nora was glad when it was time to meet Max. Hopefully he’d discovered something that would move the case forward.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Max was at the small deck leaning against the railing. He was smoking a cigar, the puffs of smoke trailing out behind the boat. Nora tucked her cigarettes further into her bag. She didn’t want Aunt Julia to get any ideas.

  Aunt Julia sidled up to him as if the place were crowded. It wasn’t, only the three of them were there as usual. “I saw you following Oxley. Did your pursuit yield any results?”

  Max shook his head. “Unfortunately all he did was talk to Giles Hendricks and prepare some things for the show.”

  “Darn!” Aunt Julia scowled.

  “What about you?”

  “We didn’t make any new discoveries.”

  Max blew out a puff of smoke. “So what do you have planned next?”

  “I need to follow up on something one of the band members told me earlier and then we’re going to watch them take another look at the body.”

  “What is this clue from the band member?” Max asked.

  “Kenny who plays the saxophone ran into Oxley in the hallway the night Delilah died.”

  Max raised a brow. “And…?”

  “Well, it could provide Oxley with an alibi. Or not.” Aunt Julia gave a half shrug. “I’ll need to do further research.”

  “So he might not have killed Delilah, but he could still be moving drugs.” Max stubbed his cigar out, thankfully. Those things did smell terrible and that enforced Nora’s vow to quit smoking even though cigarettes didn’t smell quite so bad. “It would be a good way to provide an alibi. Have one of the staff lie and say they saw him.”

  “I don’t think so. If Oxley was going to do that, he’d have them lie and say they were all together. But Kenny said they were all sleeping. He was awakened by the scream and rushed out into the hall to find Oxley coming from his room,” Nora said.

  Max’s gaze narrowed. “Coming from or going to?”

  “I asked that,” Aunt Julia cut in. “He said coming from but then I also asked how long it took for him to get into the hallway. I don’t trust Oxley and have an idea, but it needs to be proven out. I try not to cast accusations without solid proof.”

  “A smart way to operate.” Max’s tone of respect indicated that he was starting to think of Aunt Julia in a professional capacity. Nora felt proud of her aunt. The woman really did have a good head for investigating. She probably could have been a great investigator in her time, but women weren’t allowed on the police force back then. She’d had to satisfy her crime-solving urges by writing about them in books. Nora didn’t feel too bad, though: those books had made Julia a lot richer than being on the police force would have.

  “Speaking of alibis, that’s what makes this case sticky. Everyone was asleep. All the suspects were awakened by the scream. They all had to get robes and slippers before they could arrive on the scene. Or at least anyone who wasn’t already out and about on the boat such as yourself did.” Aunt Julia nodded at Max.

  “So we should look at who arrived first on the scene.” Max frowned. “I remember that one of the singers was there and a young man. Member of the band, I believe.”

  Aunt Julia nodded. “Yes. That was Joy. And Lily came later.”

  Nora tried to picture who had been there early and when each of their suspects had arrived. There had been a few people when they got there, including Joy. Then the boat stopped, and others arrived. The Hinchcliffes, Dr. Montford, Sven, Lily.

  “If the killer pushed Delilah, then hid somewhere close by, they could easily have been on the scene to make it look like they’d just arrived,” she said.

  “Or they might have waited a bit so as to show up later,” Aunt Julia said.

  “We might also want to consider who wasn’t there,” Max said. “In my experience, the killer often doesn’t want to be associated with the crime at all.”

  “But this case is a little different.” Nora hated to sound like a know-it-all, but there was a big reason that made it so you couldn’t apply normal deductions to it. “People were summoned by Delilah’s scream. So, in this case, if the killer didn’t want to call attention to himself by acting different, he would have shown up at the scene.”

  “Unless he was claiming he didn’t know about the murder. That’s what they do in normal circumstances,” Aunt Julia pointed out.

  “I don’t think it’s plausible in this case.” Nora didn’t usually get the chance to correct Julia. “No one could claim they didn’t hear that scream, it echoed through the whole boat and things were quiet. So anyone who said they didn’t…” Nora’s voice trailed off. As usual Aunt Julia was on to something.

  “Sven didn’t hear it, but he was in the pilot house and, as we heard for ourselves, it is quite noisy,” Aunt Julia said. “But there was one person who claimed to be totally ignorant of Delilah’s death.”

  “Really?” Max asked. “Who?”

  “Johnny Stokes,” Nora supplied.

  “You mean that guy who seems to have trouble standing straight?” Max asked. “He does act wired. Do you think he could have killed Delilah? And why?”

  Nora shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe he’s mixed up in the whole drug thing with Oxley. That would
explain why he’s so unsteady.”

  “These are all very good ideas.” Aunt Julia glanced at her watch nervously. “Since this is the last chance for the killer to cover things up, I say we get going. I have to go back to the scene of the crime and catch up with Giles for the body viewing.”

  Nora grimaced. Dead bodies really weren’t her thing: she was much better at studying live bodies and figuring out their intentions.

  “I’ll check out this Stokes character. My money is still on Oxley. If he’s distributing drugs, he’ll likely make a move after we dock but I’ll keep watching today.” Max looked at his watch also.

  Aunt Julia nodded. “All righty then. The day is passing quickly. We better get to it.”

  Chapter Twenty

  “Quiet, dear, I’m counting.” Aunt Julia held up her hand to silence Nora as they walked up the carpeted stairs from the dining room. They’d left Max on the little deck, with plans to meet in the Texas lounge at four p.m. It would be too suspicious to come down here with the changeover, and all the passengers would be busy packing so the Texas lounge would be empty. Hopefully by then they would have narrowed things down enough to pinpoint the killer and get Max his evidence against Oxley. If it turned out that Oxley was behind both crimes then all the better. Aunt Julia loved killing two birds with one stone.

  They’d hurried back through the now empty dining room. The stage had been cleared, the tables removed and a lone staff member was washing the floor. Since they were docking that evening, there would be no more meals on this cruise. The staff were getting it ready for its next voyage with a totally different roster of passengers and, hopefully, no murders.

  Nora didn’t much like being shushed, but she was used to Aunt Julia’s quirks by now so she remained silent walking alongside her aunt up three flights of stairs to the sun deck. There was a balmy breeze, thankfully, as it was quite stifling and Nora’s lovely linen dress was starting to stick to her.