Murder Under a Full Moon

by Abigail Keam

  Mona made it clear that one Pinkerton was to be stationed in the hallway at all times. The maid and Mr. Hammond, the butler, were excused as Samuel and Violet would tend to her personal needs. Each person was to get everything they needed like extra towels before taking possession of their suites as there would be no further room service. None of the hotel staff would be permitted in their rooms.

  Of the six men, three men were to remain on the hotel floor at all times. Mona instructed them not to give anyone her whereabouts or any information about Moon Manor or Moon Enterprises. Idle talk would be cause for dismissal.

  Jamison was told to rent two cars suitable for four people each and to check them for listening and explosive devices each time before they were driven.

  Samuel and Jamison glanced at each other. They knew something was up as Mona did not like security details following her. In fact, she loathed them. So, what was the matter? Bombs! Jamison was not sure he would recognize such a thing off hand. He had no idea what a bomb looked like, but he knew every part that belonged in a car. If something looked out of place, he would spot it.

  Violet stood behind Mona while she was giving instructions. She nervously wrung her handkerchief and nibbled her bottom lip. She realized Mona was not telling her everything. It both irritated and stimulated her. She wanted to be a bigger help to Mona, and she wanted something of excitement for herself. After all, she was ready to start living her life. There had to be something more than mending Miss Mona’s clothes, and fetching tea. She wanted a grand adventure, but also to remain safe at the same time. Somehow, Violet felt that was not how life worked, so she was rattled when Mona began giving restrictive instructions to her staff. Violet felt strongly that it had very little to do with Lord Farley canceling their trip. Something else was not right, and she could see some mild anxiety on Samuel’s and Jamison’s faces. They felt it, too.

  Mona said people were hounding her for copper contracts, but she didn’t state who they were. Moon Enterprises was in the business of selling copper. Mr. Deatherage, Mona’s lawyer, said traveling was always healthy for making new business contacts. It would seem that Mona would welcome inquiries for the Moon copper. It didn’t make sense. Violet felt sure that Mona’s unease had to do with the visits from the two G-men and Mr. Scott.

  As soon as the men retired to their rooms, Mona ordered a mess of sandwiches, coffee, soda pops, and desserts for them. She knew Samuel had an enthusiasm for Coca-Cola and ordered him several cases. She and Violet would dine alone in their suite and stay in for the night.

  Around midnight, Mona got a call from the front desk stating that a man named Rupert Hunt wished to come to her room. Having gone to bed already, Mona threw on some slacks and a shirt and met Hunt in the main lobby.

  Violet donned a house dress and surreptitiously followed Mona. She saw Mona and Rupert Hunt go outside and across the street, talking for a few moments. Violet didn’t know exactly what Hunt did for Moon Enterprises, but knew that he posed as an assistant professor to get Mona on an expedition to Eastern Kentucky. She had heard Lord Farley and Mona arguing when she hired Hunt to act as her eyes and ears at her mines in the West. Lord Farley said Hunt was a little weasel who almost got them killed. Mona said his nefarious skills might prove to be invaluable to her.

  Now Hunt was here in Washington getting instructions from Miss Mona. Violet clutched at the collar of her house gown. She couldn’t help thinking that Mona was not candid about the last two days, and somehow she was in danger. Oh, how she wished Lord Farley was here. He would confront Mona for the truth.

  Violet wouldn’t dare!

  8

  While she and Violet were having breakfast in the dining room, a hotel clerk handed Mona an ivory envelope made of expensive paper. It was addressed to her with elaborate calligraphy.

  The clerk informed Mona, “Miss Moon, there’s a British Embassy footman outside waiting for your response.”

  Mona asked the clerk to wait while she read the enclosed note.

  “Who’s it from?” Violet asked, trying to read the return address.

  “It’s from Lady Lindsay. She wants me to come to lunch this afternoon.”

  “Are you going?”

  “I think I shall.”

  As if anticipating Mona’s next move, the clerk handed Mona a blank envelope with crisp stationery with the Willard’s letterhead.

  Mona scribbled on the stationary and inserted it into the envelope. After writing Lady Lindsay’s name on the front of the envelope, she handed it back to the clerk. “Please tell the footman to deliver this personally to Lady Lindsay.”

  “Very good, miss.” He went off in search of the footman.

  Mona continued to eat her poached eggs in silence.

  “Shall I accompany you?” Violet so wanted to see the British Embassy.

  “I have a task for you while I’m with Lady Lindsay. Are you game?”

  Violet was disappointed, but tried not to show it.

  Mona curbed her smile when she noticed Violet’s fallen expression. “What I am asking you to do might be construed as naughty but not dangerous.”

  “Really? How naughty?”

  “I want you to go to the maid’s section in the basement on the pretense of looking for a sewing machine to mend a dress. Once there I want you to ask about a German who had a room near us on the second floor.”

  “What kind of things?”

  “Like his name for starters. Anything you can find out about him. Was he a good tipper? How often did he check into the Willard? Was there anything unusual about his habits or clothing? Anything at all about the man.” Mona looked at Violet’s bright eyes. “Will you do it?”

  “I think I can, but what if the maids don’t want to talk?”

  “I will give you six five dollar bills. That might loosen some tongues, but remember to be discreet. Don’t go down there with both barrels blazing. A whisper here. A whisper there.”

  “What if they don’t spill?”

  “Ask the bell boys. Flirt. Men always open up when a pretty girl smiles at them.”

  Violet blushed. “You think I’m pretty.”

  “I think that when you are thirty, you are going to be devastating. Right now, you are just starting to bloom.”

  Violet put her hand to her cheek, feeling the heat rise. “Bless you for that, Miss Mona.”

  “But what’s more important, Violet, is that you are intelligent and have a kind heart. Nice looks can only get you so far.” Mona looked at her watch. “Oh, goodness, I’m late. Jamison is waiting for me.”

  “You’re leaving?”

  “I’m going to make a stop before I head out to the British Embassy. You go on back to the room. The five-dollar bills are on my dressing room table.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “I have to make a pit stop at a bank first. We are running out of cash.”

  “The Willard will let you run a tab.”

  “Not for what I need. Only cash will do. Gotta run. Good luck to you.” Mona rose and headed to the main lobby.

  One of two Pinkertons who had been breakfasting at another table got up and followed her out.

  The other security man escorted Violet back up to her suite, which he checked before he let Violet inside.

  Violet hurried to Mona’s bedroom and found the bills. Stuffing them inside her dress hip pocket, she tore a seam in one of Mona’s expensive evening gowns.

  Now she was ready.

  9

  “Good afternoon, Lady Lindsay,” Mona said, after being shown into a conservatory.

  “So nice to see you again, Miss Moon,” Lady Lindsay said, extending her hand.

  Mona shook it in a perfunctory manner. She certainly was not going to kiss it. “It is very kind of you to invite me so soon after the embassy ball.”

  “You mentioned my rose garden and I thought you might want to see the new one I planted at the embassy. I thought we might stroll through it before I ring for lunch.”

&nbs
p; Mona said, “That would be delightful.”

  Since Lady Lindsay was so stiff and formal, Mona wondered about the purpose of the lunch invitation. She doubted that Lady Lindsay really wanted to show off her rose garden.

  “Let’s go through here,” Lady Lindsay said, showing the way out of the conservatory and into a red brick-walled garden space at the back of the embassy.

  Mona marveled at the variety of plants and the variation of color.

  “Do you garden, Miss Moon?”

  “I told you that I dabbled in it. I did try your rose garden plan on my own, but it failed.”

  “I believed that I said that you might have possibly used the wrong manure.”

  “Yes, I remembered you said that.”

  Lady Lindsay pursed her lips. “I thought you might. I must apologize for my rudeness. I wasn’t really speaking of manure in that sense.”

  Mona faced Lady Lindsay. “I got the true meaning of your statement, Lady Lindsay. I am used to boors trying to make jokes at my expense, but I always manage to get the last laugh.”

  Lady Lindsay seemed a little startled. “Well, you do speak your mind.”

  “As do you.”

  “Then let’s not waste each other’s time.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  Lady Lindsay pointed to a pair of glistening, black wrought iron chairs sitting on a circular patio. “Let’s sit, shall we?”

  Mona sat. Upon that point Lady Lindsay offered her a cigarette. “I don’t smoke.”

  “They are wretched things. The stench on a person’s clothes and hair is almost unpalatable.”

  “Then why smoke?”

  “Nervous habit, I suppose,” Lady Lindsay said, lighting up. She reached for an ashtray sitting on a nearby table. Lindsay pondered for a moment before speaking. “I’m an American, you know.”

  Mona nodded.

  “Ronald’s first wife was Martha, my cousin. We are both grandnieces of General William Tecumseh Sherman.”

  “I’ve heard.”

  “Do you think that odd? I mean being married to two women of the same family.”

  “I don’t consider it at all. I have other things to occupy my mind.”

  Lindsay scrutinized Mona. “You’re a tough cookie. People are usually impressed by that fact.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  “You are from New York?”

  Mona said, “But my family is Southern. Those below the Mason-Dixon line might have negative feelings toward anyone related to General Sherman, who burned his way through the countryside to the Atlantic Ocean.”

  Lady Lindsay inhaled deeply on the cigarette. “Are you one of those people, Miss Moon?”

  “I think it best not to converse about the Civil War. Tempers still flare discussing old grudges. I want to look toward the future. I say let the dead bury the dead.”

  “I have been told that you were a cartographer and worked in Mesopotamia.”

  “Yes, I am a great admirer of Gertrude Bell. I have studied all the great explorers like Richard Burton and T. E. Lawrence and read all their works.”

  Lady Lindsay asked, “Did you ever meet Gertrude Bell?”

  “Miss Bell had been long gone before I worked in Mesopotamia.”

  “Miss Bell is an example of what British ingenuity can do for the world. I know her family quite well.”

  “While I admire Miss Bell’s work, I feel her borders for the countries carved out of Mesopotamia will cause a great deal of harm.”

  “In what way?”

  “The same way religion has divided the Catholics and the Protestants in Ireland. The Sunni and Shiite Muslims will never live in harmony. And then there are the Kurds.”

  “The British will keep the peace.” Lady Lindsay’s eyes lit up. “Let’s talk about the future.”

  “What about it?” Mona asked, growing tired of this cat and mouse conversation.

  “Great Britain is the leader of the Western world.”

  “I think there are some who would disagree with that, but go on.”

  “It is important to Europe and even to the United States that Great Britain maintains its present position, but it can’t do that without minerals.”

  “I’m listening.” Mona waved smoke away.

  “At the moment, the sun never sets on the British Empire, but the truth of the matter is that Great Britain is a broken country. Oh, you can’t see the rot firsthand, but the Great War and now this blasted Depression have compromised Great Britain to such a degree that maybe in thirty years or less, there will be no British Empire. It will cease to exist.”

  “Is that such a bad thing, Lady Lindsay? The British Empire has brought a great deal of misery to a great many people.”

  “I don’t deny we have made mistakes, but we have brought law where there was none and established educational and medical institutions. You can’t deny the British have improved the standard of living wherever we have been.”

  Mona didn’t reply at first. There was truth in what Lady Lindsay said. It was also true Great Britain had bled India economically dry, but she simply didn’t want to make an enemy of this woman who held immense influence in Washington.

  Irritated at Mona’s silence, Lady Lindsay said, “Let me put it this way. Would you rather see Great Britain have your copper or Germany?”

  “So you are pitching on behalf of the British government. I just had someone tell me not to sell to Europe at all.”

  “Surely you can see from the newspapers that democracy in Europe is threatened, and if we go down, Miss Moon, the United States is next.”

  “I think Europe should mind its own business, and America should do the same.”

  Lady Lindsay looked surprised and snubbed out her cigarette. “I didn’t realize that you were an isolationist, Miss Moon. I pictured you more as a citizen of the world since you are going to marry Lord Farley. Surely, you must have sympathy for the country of his birth.”

  “At the moment, I have no contracts with Great Britain, but I will entertain the idea for information. I’d like to see the security report on Lars Dardel and the coroner’s report on his death. I’m sure one of your people did the autopsy. I don’t even know how he died.”

  “Dardel was stabbed to death.”

  “With what?”

  “A small knife perhaps, but our entire cutlery was accounted for. Whoever killed Dardel brought the weapon with him.”

  “Any idea who did it?”

  Lady Lindsay shook her head. “It could have been a half dozen people at the party. Washington is crawling with secret agents, spies, and provocateurs, and most of them have diplomatic status.”

  “Dardel was a low-level diplomat. Why was he invited to the party?”

  “You would have to ask my husband. I didn’t make the guest list. I never do.”

  “Why were you so resentful of me coming to the ball?”

  “Oh please, must we go into that? I was wrong. I admit it.”

  “I hold the keys to the copper. Belly up to the bar, so to speak.”

  Lady Lindsay hesitated and then decided to come clean. “It was because Alice Longworth bullied my husband for an invitation on your behalf.”

  “Your husband didn’t seem to mind my being at the ball. That doesn’t explain your rudeness.”

  Lady Lindsay said, “I did apologize for that. I assumed you made Alice get that invitation for you. I considered you an upstart. A social climber.”

  “You’re wrong about Alice getting me that invitation. It was a personal request from Lord Farley to your husband.”

  Realizing her mistake, Lady Lindsay gasped. “I do, indeed, apologize. It seems I have been a frightful beast. Ronald is going to be so cross with me if he finds out what I’ve said.”

  “I would hate for him to find out.” Mona stared hard at Lady Lindsay. “Will you get that report for me?”

  “A report wasn’t done.”

  “The British make a record of every time they pass wind.
I know this incident was reported to MI6 that very night.”

  “There’s no need to be crude, Miss Moon. You won’t make friends that way.”

  Mona smirked. “You know what they say in this town—if you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.”

  10

  Violet headed down to the warren of offices and workspaces hidden in the basement of the Willard. Staffers were scurrying about amongst the clatter of deliveries, whooshing sounds of new electric washing machines, and shouts of supervisors ordering their employees about.

  A harried-looking woman wearing her hair in a severe bun and a pinched nose stopped Violet before she ventured far. “I am Mrs. Ruttle. May I help you, young lady?”

  “Yes, yes,” Violet stammered. She held out Mona’s dress. “I need a sewing machine to mend my mistress’ dress, please.”

  “We have several seamstresses who can help you. How bad is the rip?”

  Violet clutched the dress tightly against her waist. “Thank you, but I prefer to do it myself. My mistress doesn’t like anyone handling her clothes but me.”

  The woman looked Violet up and down before snapping her fingers at one of the maids loading up her cart. “Hilda, come here.”

  “Yes, Mrs. Ruttle?”

  “Take this young woman to the sewing division and show her a machine.” Hilda looked curiously at Violet. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Thank you,” Violet said.

  “As soon as you finish, young woman, you should leave this area immediately. Guests are not permitted at this level of the hotel. Understand?”

  “Yes, ma’am, and thank you again.”

  Mrs. Ruttle looked Violet up and down again sizing her up. Pleased at Violet’s politeness, she waved the two young girls away and went about her business.