Benyon, I’ll have him sleep in my suite, in Barrett’s bed.’
Benyon nodded so Edward went to the telephone and summoned Fenton. Verity arrived, accompanied, as always, by Sam Forrest. Edward was tempted to tell him this was no business of his and ask him to leave but he restrained himself.
‘Verity, could you come into the next cabin for a moment. If you will forgive me, Benyon, there’s just a couple of things I need to say to Verity in private.’
Reluctantly, she followed him into his cabin and he shut the door after them.
‘What’s this all about?’ she said truculently. ‘I suppose you want to shut me up.’
‘How’s Mrs Dolmen?’ Edward asked, ignoring her question.
‘The doctor’s given her a sedative. Her husband’s with her. By the way,’ she said meaningfully, ‘if you want to know, the doctor told me about finding the body on the meat rack. Tom Barrett was murdered. Presumably, that has something to do with his being Lord Benyon’s valet. If that
is
what he was. There’s no good you looking like that. It’s much better that you are open with me. I haven’t discussed this with anyone except Sam but rumours are flying round the ship. You can’t keep this sort of thing secret.’
‘Does that mean it’s your duty to send a report through to the
New Gazette
? I suppose it would be quite a coup for you.’
‘Damn you, Edward, I’ll do what I think fit. Don’t preach at me. I knew you wanted to put pressure on me to keep quiet. So far, you’ve given me no reason why I should. I’m not promising anything.’
‘If I admitted to you that Barrett’s death was, almost certainly, to do with Benyon because he wasn’t just his valet but also his bodyguard, would that satisfy you?’
‘Why does he need a bodyguard?’
‘He is going to the States on business of national importance . . . to talk to the President. I can’t tell you anything more.’
‘I’d worked that out for myself,’ she said shortly. ‘Why else would he be killed? It has to be because of who he was with.’
‘All right, but from now on anything I tell you about why Lord Benyon is going to America is confidential and not for publication.’
‘I don’t want to know why he’s going to the States. Anything you tell me in confidence you’ll never read in a newspaper I write for – you ought to know that by now – but the murder
will
be reported in newspapers on both sides of the Atlantic and I might as well report it as anyone else. At least I will be accurate.’
‘As long as we understand each other because, of course, I want your help . . . yours and Sam’s, but our investigation has to be confidential. Will you tell Sam the rules?’
She took this as an apology of sorts and decided she would be forgiving.
‘I will.’
They shook hands on the deal, a little embarrassed but glad to have straightened things out.
They returned to Benyon’s cabin to find Sam, Marcus Fern and Benyon still trying to come to terms with the death. Fenton had also joined them so the suite was beginning to look overcrowded.
‘For it to be so ugly . . .’ Fern was saying. ‘Did it need to be so beastly?’
‘It’s obscene,’ Sam said vehemently, hitting his fist against the wall. ‘To kill him and then strip him and hang him on a rack of carcasses . . .!’
‘Horrible!’ Verity agreed. ‘I saw bad things in Spain but over there you expect people to do awful things to each other. Not here . . . not on the
Queen Mary
.’
‘Terrible wherever it happened,’ Benyon murmured.
‘But how do you know that’s what did happen?’ Marcus Fern said, surprisingly.
‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean, Miss Browne, how do you know the killer stripped Barrett
after
he had killed him and when did he hang him up? Was it some sort of awful joke? The murderer can’t have thought the body would not be found. I’m sorry to sound callous but it may be important. It may tell us why the killer did what he did.’
‘As you say,
Benyon nodded so Edward went to the telephone and summoned Fenton. Verity arrived, accompanied, as always, by Sam Forrest. Edward was tempted to tell him this was no business of his and ask him to leave but he restrained himself.
‘Verity, could you come into the next cabin for a moment. If you will forgive me, Benyon, there’s just a couple of things I need to say to Verity in private.’
Reluctantly, she followed him into his cabin and he shut the door after them.
‘What’s this all about?’ she said truculently. ‘I suppose you want to shut me up.’
‘How’s Mrs Dolmen?’ Edward asked, ignoring her question.
‘The doctor’s given her a sedative. Her husband’s with her. By the way,’ she said meaningfully, ‘if you want to know, the doctor told me about finding the body on the meat rack. Tom Barrett was murdered. Presumably, that has something to do with his being Lord Benyon’s valet. If that
is
what he was. There’s no good you looking like that. It’s much better that you are open with me. I haven’t discussed this with anyone except Sam but rumours are flying round the ship. You can’t keep this sort of thing secret.’
‘Does that mean it’s your duty to send a report through to the
New Gazette
? I suppose it would be quite a coup for you.’
‘Damn you, Edward, I’ll do what I think fit. Don’t preach at me. I knew you wanted to put pressure on me to keep quiet. So far, you’ve given me no reason why I should. I’m not promising anything.’
‘If I admitted to you that Barrett’s death was, almost certainly, to do with Benyon because he wasn’t just his valet but also his bodyguard, would that satisfy you?’
‘Why does he need a bodyguard?’
‘He is going to the States on business of national importance . . . to talk to the President. I can’t tell you anything more.’
‘I’d worked that out for myself,’ she said shortly. ‘Why else would he be killed? It has to be because of who he was with.’
‘All right, but from now on anything I tell you about why Lord Benyon is going to America is confidential and not for publication.’
‘I don’t want to know why he’s going to the States. Anything you tell me in confidence you’ll never read in a newspaper I write for – you ought to know that by now – but the murder
will
be reported in newspapers on both sides of the Atlantic and I might as well report it as anyone else. At least I will be accurate.’
‘As long as we understand each other because, of course, I want your help . . . yours and Sam’s, but our investigation has to be confidential. Will you tell Sam the rules?’
She took this as an apology of sorts and decided she would be forgiving.
‘I will.’
They shook hands on the deal, a little embarrassed but glad to have straightened things out.
They returned to Benyon’s cabin to find Sam, Marcus Fern and Benyon still trying to come to terms with the death. Fenton had also joined them so the suite was beginning to look overcrowded.
‘For it to be so ugly . . .’ Fern was saying. ‘Did it need to be so beastly?’
‘It’s obscene,’ Sam said vehemently, hitting his fist against the wall. ‘To kill him and then strip him and hang him on a rack of carcasses . . .!’
‘Horrible!’ Verity agreed. ‘I saw bad things in Spain but over there you expect people to do awful things to each other. Not here . . . not on the
Queen Mary
.’
‘Terrible wherever it happened,’ Benyon murmured.
‘But how do you know that’s what did happen?’ Marcus Fern said, surprisingly.
‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean, Miss Browne, how do you know the killer stripped Barrett
after
he had killed him and when did he hang him up? Was it some sort of awful joke? The murderer can’t have thought the body would not be found. I’m sorry to sound callous but it may be important. It may tell us why the killer did what he did.’
‘As you say,
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