Ginger Gold Mystery Box Set 1

by Lee Strauss

  “Ah, well, you did have both of them, didn’t you? You’d taken them from your husband’s dressing table so that he couldn’t wear them again.”

  “Why would I do that?” Mrs. Walsh said bitterly.

  “Because you knew they were given to him as a gift from Miss Guilford. It was why he said they had sentimental value.”

  Nancy gulped. “How do you know that?”

  Ginger opened a sideboard drawer and removed a receipt. “A silver set of cuff links with the fleur de lis engraved, purchased recently from the Boston Jewelers Exchange.”

  Nancy’s full mouth tightened.

  “I managed a little peek when we came to visit,” Ginger explained. “You really should close your drawers properly when company calls.”

  Nancy grumbled and folded her arms over her chest. “It was a wasted effort on my part to get him to leave the witch, but I didn’t kill him.”

  Ginger turned to Patty Applebalm. “You love your niece deeply, don’t you? She’s all you have left of your beloved sister.” Then she repeated the words Mrs. Fairchild had said earlier. “You’d do anything for Nancy, wouldn’t you?”

  Nancy sat up. Her eyes found Patty Applebalm’s, and the room seemed to still. She shook her head. “No, no, it’s not what you think.”

  Ginger cocked her head and held up the cuff link. “Isn’t it?”

  Miss Applebalm pointed a finger at Elise Walsh. “She struck him first!”

  “Patty!” Nancy’s face was now an unflattering shade of red. “Shut up!”

  “‘Struck him first’?” Chief Inspector Reed’s voice came from the open doorway. “Does that mean that you hit him the second time, Miss Applebalm?”

  Ginger looked to Haley, who stood at the doorway, and gave her a thumbs-up sign. But, in the next instant, Patty Applebalm was behind Ginger, and she whipped Nancy’s colourful silk scarf around her neck.

  Patty Applebaum’s voice trembled as she shouted, “Everyone out, or I’ll hurt her!”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chief Inspector Reed held both hands up. “Now, just hold on there.”

  “Auntie,” Nancy said, clearly shaken. “You’re not thinking straight. Release Mrs. Gold, and we’ll talk about this rationally.”

  Patty shook her head sharply. “Neither you nor I will go to jail for that horrid man. Nor for his wicked, stupid wife!”

  “Patty, please,” Nancy pleaded. “This isn’t the way.”

  “What other way is there?” she spat back. “He dishonoured you and the child.”

  Nancy’s eyes popped with disbelief. “Patty!”

  “It’s true, they might as well know now. That despicable man didn’t even have the decency to take care of his own flesh and blood. He left them to fend for themselves.”

  Elise Walsh collapsed against the sideboard. “I knew it!”

  Nancy Guilford sank into her chair. Her secret was out. Ginger felt for her—unwed and unsupported, worried for the welfare of her child. No wonder she and the captain had words.

  “Were you blackmailing Captain Walsh, Miss Applebalm?” Ginger asked. Though the scarf was snug around Ginger’s neck, she wasn’t in too much discomfort. She was willing to wait it out to get the full confession.

  “I was and didn’t feel one bit bad for it. It was the only way to give the child a chance at a decent life. My niece might act rich, but believe me, it’s all a show. She gets paid a pittance.”

  Nancy let out a low, spirit-wounded moan.

  Patty Applebalm’s voice pitched higher. “He threatened to go to the police and confess all, to expose us. I went to his room to confront him, and when Mrs. Walsh found us together...” Patty laughed maniacally. “She hit him out of jealousy. Jealousy! Can you believe that? As if I’d let that man touch a hair on my head! I just finished off what she started.”

  “It was the last straw!” Elise Walsh bellowed. “I wouldn’t stand for another speck of humiliation from my husband, whatever his reason for allowing you, you insipid cow, into his room.”

  As if she was having an out-of-body experience, Ginger saw the scene from an objective stance. Defeated, Nancy slumped in the chair like a rag doll. Elise Walsh stood to the side and twitched like a trapped animal. The chief inspector and Haley blocked the door, calculating their next move as they watched Ginger and her captor. MacIntosh’s eyes darted from person to person, arms forward as if he could keep things from spiralling out of control with his mind.

  Ginger had been in life-threatening situations before. France, in 1917, had been a place of constant fear. Her missions were dangerous, but she’d been trained to keep her cool. She had learned to gauge her odds in any given situation and discern the best move to keep her and those around her alive. In this situation, Ginger was the only one in any kind of imminent danger. Her throat burned in her effort to breathe, and stars formed around the edges of her vision.

  Ginger wondered whether Patty Applebalm knew the penalty for murder in England was hanging.

  Miss Applebalm, sensing her own desperate position, shouted, “Get out!” She tightened the scarf around Ginger’s neck.

  Ginger struggled, grabbing at her throat.

  Haley panicked. “Do as she says!” She stepped backwards towards the door. Chief Inspector Reed took a step towards Ginger just as Elise Walsh made a beeline for the door, but he caught her by the arm and held fast. Patty’s eyes were pinned on the activity as the chief inspector quickly clamped handcuffs on her nemesis.

  Taking advantage of her captor’s distraction, Ginger swiftly elbowed Patty Applebaum in the stomach. Patty folded with a gasp, loosening her hold on Ginger. Ginger released the scarf from her neck and used it to bind Patty Applebalm’s hands behind her back.

  Ginger looked over at Basil Reed and smiled. “I’m so glad you could make it, Chief Inspector.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Ginger presumed Elise Walsh’s guilt, but she wasn’t sure until the end whether Nancy Guilford had covered for Patty Applebalm or the other way around. When Mrs. Fairchild insisted that Miss Applebalm would do anything for Nancy, Ginger had wondered if that included murder. Turned out it did.

  Mrs. Walsh feared the captain’s last will and testament would be void without a body, or at the very least its execution much delayed, and to support her future, she was relying on being the sole benefactor. With the help of the food trolley the captain had ordered for his liaison with Miss Guilford, the two women managed to get the man down to the pantry and into the near-empty pickle barrel, where his body would be preserved. Elise Walsh gave Patty Applebalm one of the fleur de lis cuff links as a sign of the short-lived pact between them. It was just bad luck that Babineaux had stumbled on the corpse so quickly.

  Ginger made a trip to steerage to recover Boss from the kennel.

  “Dear Scout,” she said as the boy handed her pet over. “Thanks so much for taking care of Boss, and for your discretion in the other matter.”

  “’Tis fine, missus. Me and your Boss got along real well. I’ll miss the ol’ feller.”

  “I’m sure he’ll miss you, too.” The emotion Ginger felt saying goodbye surprised her. “Are you staying in London? Surely you must attend school somewhere?”

  “There’s nuffin’ I need learnin’ that my cousin Marvin can’t teach me.”

  Ginger wanted to snatch the eager-faced boy and run. Before she could think it through, she said, “You could come live with me if you like. You’d have a safe home and learn to properly read and write.”

  “Aw, missus, I couldn’t. My cousin needs me. And it ain’t my place in this world to be wiv grand folks like yerself. Anyways, I ’ave me ol’ uncle to fink about.”

  Ginger sighed. She had no business trying to swoop in and rescue Scout like he was a stray puppy. He had a family, and besides, she wasn’t even planning on staying in London. What was she going to do? Steal him off to Boston?

  “I understand perfectly. I do hope we will meet again sometime in the future.”


  “Yes, missus. That’d be brilliant.”

  Ginger affectionately patted the boy on the head, then tugged on Boss’s leash. She made a point to smile at all the steerage folk on the way out.

  Doing something for the last time, even a simple and mundane thing like picking up her dog from steerage, squeezed Ginger’s heart. Walking the open deck of first class, breathing in the saline air, and watching the bow of the Rosa cutting through the cool waters of the Atlantic, all for the final time on this trip. In the distance she could see a sliver of brown on the horizon—land. She took a second to enjoy the beauty. One thing Ginger had learned well was not to take the future for granted and to make the most of each moment, firmly grounded in the present.

  “Mrs. Gold!”

  Ginger snapped out of her reverie at the sound of Roy Hardy’s voice. “Hello, Mr. Hardy!”

  He raced down the deck and was red in the face from exertion and, Ginger presumed, excitement. “It worked! Your plan worked! Miss Chloe smiled and invited me to eat lunch with her, and now we’ve made plans to meet up for drinks in Liverpool!”

  Ginger clapped her hands. “I’m so happy for you, Mr. Hardy, and I’m not surprised. You’re a great catch!”

  “You’re too kind, madam.”

  “Pfft. It’s true. And do visit me in London if you ever find yourself there.” Ginger didn’t know why she extended the invitation. She was sincere in her desire to see the young man and his sweetheart again, but unless they visited in the next month or so, she would have left for America.

  He shook her hand with exuberant gratitude, and then hurriedly returned to whatever chore he’d interrupted when he beheld her.

  When Ginger rounded the corner towards her room, she recognised Miss Guilford staring mournfully out to sea. Her arms were crossed over a turquoise floral day frock that had a wide white sailor collar that draped over her shoulders. A wide-brimmed hat decorated with a long white-satin ribbon, shaded her eyes from the glare of the sun that lowered in the west.

  “Miss Guilford,” Ginger called out. “Are you all right?”

  “Right as rain, honey,” she said without a smile. Ginger noted the sarcasm.

  “I am very sorry for all that has happened.”

  “Patty was just a meddling middle-aged woman who only thought of herself.” Nancy Guilford spoke forcefully, but the lone tear that escaped gave away the affection she felt for her aunt.

  But Ginger couldn’t disagree with Nancy’s harsh words. Patty had been blackmailing the captain over his bastard child, which was why he’d borrowed money from Ginger’s father, money Ginger didn’t know if she’d ever see again.

  “She was misguided and disturbed, I’ll give you that,” Ginger said. “But I know she means a lot to you.”

  “How would you know that?” Nancy scowled. “You don’t know me at all!”

  Ginger held the photo of the infant she’d been carrying in her pocket. “I believe this belongs to you.”

  Nancy’s fingers trembled as she took it. “Where did you find it?”

  Ginger wasn’t about to give her means and methods away, so instead of answering said, “You spoke truthfully about being in the captain’s room the night he died, but you weren’t there as his guest. Rather, your aunt had told you what she’d done. You went there for the murder weapon and then threw it overboard, didn’t you? To protect her. It’s why it hasn’t been found.”

  Nancy stared at her with sad and forlorn eyes, but said nothing. Her silence confirmed Ginger’s conviction to the truth. That and the “big ol’ floppy ’at” on Nancy’s head, unlike anything Patty or Elise Walsh had ever worn.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  There was just enough time left to pack up before the SS Rosa was scheduled to dock in Liverpool. Ginger had booked a room at an inn for herself and Haley, and the two of them would take the train into London the next day.

  “Do you need any more help?” Haley offered. Her two suitcases had been packed and ready for some time.

  Ginger’s trunks and suitcases were filled and her hat boxes stacked. “I think not. The porter should be here shortly for my luggage.”

  “Will someone be waiting for us when we arrive at Hartigan House?” Haley asked. “Or are we about to present ourselves to an empty place?”

  “You know,” Ginger said, “I’m not sure. Besides Pips, whatever staff there is at Hartigan House will have been hired by Father, or perhaps by Pips himself.”

  “Who’s Pips?”

  “Clive Pippins is the butler. He’s been on at Hartigan House since I was a child.” Ginger’s mind pulled up pleasant memories of the friendly man. “I always called him Pips, and he called me ‘little miss.’ It’s been two decades since I’ve seen him. I was heartbroken when my father made me say goodbye.”

  “A happy reunion, then,” Haley said.

  “I’m sure.”

  Haley stared out the small window. “I’m going a bit stir-crazy waiting.” She turned and stared at the dog. “Why don’t I take the boss for a walk?”

  “Good idea,” Ginger said. She wouldn’t mind a few moments alone.

  Once Haley and Boss left, Ginger inhaled deeply and embraced the peace and quiet. She emptied the final item from the drawer of her night table—a black-and-white photo of a handsome Royal Army Service Corps officer in uniform.

  “My dearest lieutenant, I’m almost there.”

  Ginger lightly kissed the photograph before slipping it into her handbag.

  There was a soft tapping on the door, and to Ginger’s surprise, Basil Reed was on the other side of the threshold.

  “Chief Inspector,” Ginger said with a smile.

  “Please, do call me Basil.”

  “Basil. Come in. And you must call me Ginger.”

  “Ginger? Is that a nickname?”

  “It is. I was named Georgia after my father George, but my mother called me Ginger.” She tapped her bob. “Because of my hair. She said one George in the family was enough.”

  Basil smiled. “I like it.”

  “I wish I could offer you something to drink, but alas, everything has been packed up.”

  “That’s quite all right. I can’t stay long. I just wanted to say, um, well, thank you for your help today. I’m not sure I would’ve solved the case before docking without your assistance.”

  “You’re welcome. Besides the slight choking incident at the end, I quite enjoyed myself.”

  “Right. That was a particularly unpleasant moment for me as well. I also came to give you this.” He took another step towards Ginger and handed her a folded piece of paper. “The concierge was on his way to deliver it, and I said I’d be happy to run the errand for him.”

  “A telegram?”

  “Yes. I’ll go now and let you read it in privacy.” He held out a hand. “Perhaps we’ll meet again in London sometime.”

  “That would be delightful.”

  As soon as the chief inspector closed the door behind him, Ginger opened the telegram.

  GHASTLY DISCOVERY IN ATTIC OF HARTIGAN HOUSE STOP AWAIT YOUR ARRIVAL FOR ADVICE STOP PIPPINS

  * * *

  Sign up for Lee’s READERS’ LIST and gain access to Ginger Gold’s private Journal. Find out about Ginger’s Life before the SS Rosa and how she became the woman she has. This is a fluid document that will cover her romance with her late husband Daniel, her time serving in the British secret service during World War One, and beyond. Includes a recipe for Dark Dutch Chocolate Cake!

  It begins: July 31, 1912

  How fabulous that I found this Journal today, hidden in the bottom of my wardrobe. Good old Pippins, our English butler in London, gave it to me as a parting gift when Father whisked me away on our American adventure so he could marry Sally. Pips said it was for me to record my new adventures. I’m ashamed I never even penned one word before today. I think I was just too sad.

  This old leather-bound journal takes me back to that emotional time. I had shed enough tears to fill the ocean and I rem
ember telling Father dramatically that I was certain to cause flooding to match God’s. At eight years old I was well-trained in my biblical studies, though, in retro-spect, I would say that I had probably bordered on heresy with my little tantrum.

  The first week of my “adventure” was spent with a tummy ache and a number of embarrassing sessions that involved a bucket and Father holding back my long hair so I wouldn’t soil it with vomit.

  I certainly felt that I was being punished for some reason. Hartigan House—though large and sometimes lonely—was my home and Pips was my good friend. He often helped me to pass the time with games of I Spy and Xs and Os.

  “Very good, Little Miss,” he’d say with a twinkle in his blue eyes when I won, which I did often. I suspect now that our good butler wasn’t beyond letting me win even when unmerited.

  Father had got it into his silly head that I needed a mother, but I think the truth was he wanted a wife. Sally, a woman half my father’s age, turned out to be a sufficient wife in the end, but I could never claim her as a mother.

  Well, Pips, I’m sure you’d be happy to know that things turned out all right here in America.

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  About the Author

  Lee Strauss is a USA TODAY bestselling author of The Ginger Gold Mysteries series, The Higgins & Hawke Mystery series, The Rosa Reed Mystery series (cozy historical mysteries), A Nursery Rhyme Mystery series (mystery suspense), The Perception series (young adult dystopian), The Light & Love series (sweet romance), The Clockwise Collection (YA time travel romance), and young adult historical fiction with over a million books read. She has titles published in German, Spanish and Korean, and a growing audio library.

  When Lee’s not writing or reading she likes to cycle, hike, and watch the ocean. She loves to drink caffè lattes and red wines in exotic places, and eat dark chocolate anywhere.