by Helena Dixon
‘Will you remain in the area?’ The inspector looked somewhat mournfully at the empty biscuit plate. Perhaps he had skipped his breakfast.
‘I have some plans,’ Matt said, surprising Kitty.
‘Good, good. Well, shall we set to business then?’ The inspector put down his tea and began the lengthy process of taking their statements.
It took until lunchtime to complete the details. The inspector left and asked them to call at the police station in the next few days to check and sign the statements once typed. Kitty promised to let the inspector know if her father made contact so his statement too could be verified.
Once the inspector had left, they made their way to the dining room for lunch. ‘You must go and rest after we’ve eaten.’ Kitty was concerned that Matt had begun to look pale once more.
‘For once, I shan’t argue with that.’
Vivien and Bobby were at their usual table and Kitty noted that Vivien was dressed in her travelling costume. Bobby’s face was a mass of purple and blue bruising that made Kitty wince. They were finishing their meal as Matt and Kitty were seated.
The waiter took their order and left. Bobby and Vivien came over to their table. Matt immediately rose and asked Vivien to take a seat.
‘No, thank you, honey. Our car will be here soon, and I must supervise them loading the trunks. We heard that they caught the murderers last night?’ She looked at Kitty’s strapped up fingers and Matt’s sling.
‘Yes, Walter Cribbs and Colin Wakes are behind bars,’ Kitty said.
‘My maid told me that Edgar had been here too last night?’ Vivien looked tired, Kitty realised; there were fine lines at the corners of her eyes.
‘Yes, he was, but had to leave early this morning.’
Vivien looked at Bobby. ‘Bobby felt I should come and apologise to you, Kitty. Our stay here wasn’t entirely on the level and some things happened.’ She paused and looked at her husband again. ‘Well, let’s just say I may have done things that I bitterly regret.’
Kitty realised that this was a big admission coming from Vivien. ‘I understand.’ Now that the ruby was gone and her father safe, she could even forgive Vivien for damaging her beloved clock.
Bobby gave a small cough. ‘If you’ll excuse me, I think the car may be here.’
Vivien watched him leave the dining room. ‘Have you ever been in love, Miss Underhay?’
Kitty shook her head, colour stealing into her cheeks.
‘Lots of folk don’t get it, but I love Bobby. He rescued me at a time when I really thought I was going to die. The depression hit hard in America, especially amongst those of us who had little or nothing to begin with. Bobby saved me. Finding that ruby would have meant we would have been free. Free to stay in Europe – Paris, maybe – where we’re more accepted. We would have been safe. Desperation makes folks do desperate things. Love makes you do desperate things.’
Kitty caught Vivien’s hand in her undamaged one. ‘I’m sorry. I do understand. Will you be all right?’
Vivien gave a small smile. ‘I hope so. I wanted to explain, before we left. I’m glad you met Eddie. He’s not a bad man, he just wanted a better life, I guess.’
Kitty released Vivien. ‘I know. I hope you and Bobby have a safe journey and that things work out for you both.’
Vivien shook hands with Matt and stalked away, her head held high, to accept her furs from the staff as she left to supervise her luggage.
‘I never asked you about your plans now this is over. Are you going to be staying in Devon?’ Kitty asked, once their meal was before them.
‘Actually, I’ve seen a house in Galmpton on the other side of the river, Churston, not far from the golf course. I’ve been at a bit of a loose end since I left the army and since, well, since I left London. My parents would like to see me settled and I have no desire to return to the capital.’ His expression was bleak, and Kitty knew he was thinking about the past.
‘Because of Edith?’ She thought of what Vivien had just said about love.
‘Yes.’
‘What will you do?’ She chased a piece of potato with her fork. It was proving difficult to eat with only one good hand. It made her unconscionably happy to know that he planned to stay in the area.
‘I rather thought I might stay in the security and investigation business. A hotelier in Torquay I got talking to during the masked ball has already approached me to investigate a problem of some thefts from guests. Sometimes these things are too delicate a matter for the police.’
Kitty smiled. ‘That sounds interesting. Of course, if you wanted any assistance anytime, where a woman’s touch might be useful…?’ She arched an eyebrow at him, her pulse speeding a little.
‘Then I can call upon you?’ He smiled at her.
‘Absolutely.’ She beamed back at him. ‘I am terribly handy with an umbrella.’
‘By the by.’ He paused and wiped his mouth with his napkin and signalled to one of the waiting staff. ‘I have a little something for you.’
‘For me?’ Kitty was puzzled.
The waiter returned, carrying a large cardboard box. She pushed her plate aside and the waiter set the box down in front of her.
‘What is this?’
‘Open it,’ Matt said.
Curious, she carefully undid the flaps on the top of the box and parted the tissue paper. ‘Oh, Matt, it’s my mother’s cuckoo clock. How on earth…? And it’s been repaired! Oh, thank you!’ She swallowed back the tears of joy that threatened to overwhelm her. The broken fret work had been replaced and it looked as good as new.
‘I knew how special it was to you. There’s no secret jewel hidden in it this time, though. The weights are both lead, and the timekeeping should be improved.’
‘Thank you.’ She stared at the clock. ‘Do you think I’ll ever find out what happened to her, Matt?’ She couldn’t begin to express how happy she felt having one of the last links to her mother returned to her.
‘I’ll keep it as an open case,’ he promised.
The waiter returned bearing an envelope. ‘I’m sorry to disturb you, Miss Underhay, but this just came.’ He handed her a telegram.
Panic swept through her. ‘Oh, I hope everything is all right with Grams and Aunt Livvy.’
She tore it open with shaking fingers. Surely nothing had happened to her father.
Invitation to stay follows. Can’t wait to meet you. Cousin Lucy
She read it out loud to Matt before turning to the waiter. Relief rushed through her. ‘No reply, thank you.’
‘Very good, Miss Kitty.’ The waiter left.
She wondered what her grandmother would make of the news that she now had other relations not too far away from her. It was strange that only a few weeks ago she had been wishing for more excitement and an escape from the hotel. It went to show that one should be careful what one wished for. On the positive side, now she had new relations to meet and the possibility of assisting with Matt’s proposed new venture.
Matt raised his glass, a twinkle in his dark blue eyes. ‘Here’s to new beginnings.’
Kitty smiled back. ‘New beginnings.’
If you loved Murder at the Dolphin Hotel, sign up here to be the first to hear about Helena Dixon’s next book in the Miss Underhay Mysteries series.
Sign up here!
Hear More From Helena
Want to keep up to date with Helena’s latest releases?
Sign up here!
We promise never to share your email with anyone else, and we’ll only contact you when there’s a new book out.
A Letter from Helena
I want to say a huge thank you for choosing to read Murder at the Dolphin Hotel. If you enjoyed it and want to keep up to date with all my latest releases, just sign up at the following link. Your email address will never be shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Sign up here
The UK in the 1930s was a time of great change and contrasts, which adds an extra dimension to Murder
at the Dolphin Hotel. I love Dartmouth and the Torbay area and I hope you enjoyed Kitty and Matt’s adventures there as much as I loved creating them. Kitty and Matt’s partnership will continue with more thorny mysteries and I hope you’ll enjoy reading more about them.
I hope you loved Murder at the Dolphin Hotel and if you did, I would be very grateful if you could write a review. I’d love to hear what you think, and it makes such a difference helping new readers to discover one of my books for the first time.
I love hearing from my readers – you can get in touch on my Facebook page, through Twitter, Goodreads or my website.
Thanks,
Helena Dixon
www.nelldixon.com
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the people of Dartmouth for all their kind and generous assistance in providing information and allowing me to fictionalise parts of their beautiful town. Dartmouth Historical Society were very helpful, and their archives are a wonderful resource. Murder at the Dolphin Hotel is the first of a series of stories I’ve wanted to tell for many years, and it wouldn’t have happened without the support of the Coffee Crew, aka my wonderful author friends, Elizabeth Hanbury and Phillipa Ashley. My excellent and trusty beta readers, Sandra Forder, Kimberley Menozzi and Lisa Chalmers, all of whom are also wonderful writers.
I would also like to thank English Heritage for their help with information about Dartmouth Castle and its history. A special thank you also to the vicar of St Saviours church in Dartmouth who took time one cold January morning from dismantling the Christmas tree to show me around the church and tell me the history. It is a truly beautiful and special church.
Of course, it goes without saying almost that I need to thank some other special people; my husband, David, who is also my research assistant, and my daughters, Robyn, Corinne and Alannah, who are my cheer squad. Last but not least, the whole team at Bookouture for loving Kitty as much as I do, my excellent editor, Emily Gowers, and my wonderful agent, Kate Nash. All of you are superstars.
Published by Bookouture in 2019
An imprint of StoryFire Ltd.
Carmelite House
50 Victoria Embankment
London EC4Y 0DZ
www.bookouture.com
Copyright © Helena Dixon, 2019
Helena Dixon has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers.
eBook ISBN: 978-1-83888-062-0
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events other than those clearly in the public domain, are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.