Queen of Hearts

by Rhys Bowen

  “I didn’t know, Queenie, and you mustn’t mention it to anyone. Mr. O’Mara is on some kind of secret mission.”

  “Cor blimey,” she said. “He don’t half lead an exciting life, don’t he?”

  “Doesn’t he, Queenie,” I corrected.

  “Well, he do, don’t he?”

  I sighed. She was never going to learn.

  “Shall I run your bath then?” she asked. “And what do you want to wear?”

  “I think the navy blue linen trousers and a white blouse, please.”

  She went across to the closet. “’Ere, I’m sorry about barging in on you last night when you were in the middle of a bit of the old how’s yer father.”

  “Yes, I was sorry too,” I said.

  “You should let me know in future when I’m not to bother you. Tie a ribbon on the door or something.”

  “Queenie, I wasn’t exactly planning something like that.”

  “Nobody ever is,” she said. “At least that’s what my old mum tells me. She said she’d been to the pictures with my dad and they took the long way home by the canal and next thing she knew she was expecting me and they had to get married in a hurry.”

  “I’ll remember not to walk home via the canal,” I said.

  The loudspeaker in my room suddenly crackled into life. “Attention, all passengers. There is to be a lifeboat drill for all passengers at ten o’clock ship’s time. That is ten o’clock at your lifeboat station for all passengers. You do not need to bring your life jacket. This is only a drill. Repeat, this is only a drill.”

  “I wonder what that’s all about,” Queenie said. “We already had one lifeboat drill when we came on board. We can’t have hit an iceberg, can we?”

  I looked out of my window and saw people out on deck in short sleeves. “I think it’s highly unlikely,” I said.

  As I took my bath I realized I knew the reason for the drill. They needed to know if anyone was missing without alarming the passengers. I dressed, went down to breakfast and heard plenty of expressions of annoyance that the morning was being interrupted by another ridiculous drill.

  “It’s not as if we’re on the Titanic,” one woman was saying.

  It was obvious that not many people had heard about the incident last night and I wondered if those who did know had been asked to remain silent about it. I managed to eat a hearty breakfast then went up to my lifeboat station on the top deck. My mother, Cy Goldman and Stella Brightwell joined me.

  “What a stupid waste of time,” my mother said. “How many lifeboat drills does one need?”

  “I think they’re up to something.” Cy peered over the side. “I think they want us out of the way on the promenade deck.”

  “Up to what?” Stella demanded.

  “Well, why did they ask if we had thrown anything out of our cabin window or whether anything was missing?” Cy asked.

  “That was certainly strange,” Stella agreed. “I couldn’t see what they were getting at. I said I may have tossed out a cigarette butt from time to time.”

  I said nothing. At our lifeboat station they took a roll call and kept us waiting for quite a while. It was only when mutiny was threatened that they let us depart again. I was just returning to my cabin when I saw the officer from last night approaching.

  “Lady Georgiana. The captain would like a word, if you don’t mind.”

  I was escorted back up the stairs to the officers’ quarters at the stern of the sundeck. I was shown into a pleasant sunny cabin paneled in dark wood. A definitely masculine room. The captain rose to his feet as I came in. Another officer was standing behind his desk and I reacted as I saw Darcy was standing over by the window.

  “Ah, there you are, Lady Georgiana,” the captain said. “Good of you to come. May I introduce First Officer Higgins and I believe you are acquainted with Mr. O’Mara.”

  “Yes,” I said, managing not to smile. “Mr. O’Mara and I are acquainted.”

  “Please take a seat.” He motioned to a leather sofa. “You might have guessed what was behind that muster on the lifeboat deck just now.”

  “Presumably you wanted to see if anyone was missing.”

  “Quite right.”

  “And what was the result?” I asked.

  “All present and correct, apparently.”

  “Then I must apologize for raising a false alarm,” I said. “I did hesitate before I called for help. I was never quite sure whether what I saw in the water was a person or not.”

  “I would have dismissed the incident as something quite harmless had it not been for a piece of disturbing news given to us two days ago. You met Princess Promila at our table. You noticed she was not present last night. She is extremely upset by the apparent theft of a large and very valuable ruby she had in her possession. It is called the Star of Srinagar and is a priceless family heirloom.”

  “She didn’t give you the jewel to put in the ship’s safe?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “She likes to wear her jewelry. Besides she felt quite safe in the knowledge that her jewels were either on her person or in her jewel case in her cabin.”

  “Was she wearing the ruby when it was taken?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “It was in her jewel case, so she says. But she swears her personal servant never left her suite.”

  “And could the servant maybe have been bribed to help with the robbery?” I asked.

  “The servant is an old family retainer, so devoted that she sleeps at the bottom of the princess’s bed.”

  I looked across at Darcy. “Do you think this is somehow connected to what I saw last night? Is that why you brought me up here?”

  Darcy came over and perched on the arm of my sofa. “It’s possible,” he said.

  “But if a jewel was stolen, the thief would hardly throw it over the side of the ship, would he? Not unless there was a boat waiting to pick it up below, and there wasn’t.”

  Darcy nodded. “I agree it is perplexing. But the occupants of the cabins from which your object could have been thrown have sworn that they were not responsible for throwing anything out of their windows, and that nothing appears to be missing.”

  “If you thought the item you saw thrown into the water was a person it must have been quite large,” the captain said.

  I nodded. “It’s hard to say how large as it was hurtling down toward the ocean when I noticed it, but it was a good size.” I held my hands apart to demonstrate.

  “And shape?”

  “No definite shape. Someone mentioned the word ‘bundle’ and I think that describes it. Maybe various items wrapped in one bigger piece of cloth?”

  Darcy shifted position on the arm of the sofa. “It would make perfect sense if people’s cabins had been robbed while a ball was going on, and the thief tossed down the items to be picked up by an accomplice, except that we are in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, nothing has been reported stolen last night, and we have seen no sign of any other ship around.”

  “To be out here in a small boat would be folly,” the captain said. “A ship our size could easily obliterate a small craft without even noticing it. And how would it have got this far from land? No. I have to say that the scenario you suggest is impossible. So the question is if not to hand something over to an accomplice then why throw something out of a window?”

  “Somebody trying to get rid of something incriminating,” I suggested.

  Darcy shook his head. “But what? What would you need to get rid of in the middle of the ocean that couldn’t easily be thrown out in New York Harbor?”

  “If someone thought that cabins would be searched?” I said.

  “Searched for the missing ruby, you mean?” Darcy asked. “Unfortunately it is extremely easy to hide a precious stone on a ship this size. Shove it among the life jackets, stick it into a potted palm. Our
best hope is searching every passenger at disembarkation—and what a stink that will cause.”

  “But the very act of throwing out the object has now brought about that very thing,” the captain said. He looked across at Darcy. Darcy put a hand on my shoulder, an action that gave me an instant electric shock and made me forget what we were talking about for a moment.

  “Georgie, what you don’t know is that one of the reasons for the lifeboat drill was to search every cabin for the princess’s jewel. Obviously we didn’t have enough time to do the job really thoroughly but there were plenty of cabins we knew we didn’t need to search. Those families traveling in second class, elderly clergymen, aged spinsters . . .”

  “What about the crew’s cabins? Did you search them too?”

  “In this case it wasn’t necessary,” Darcy said. “You see the reason I am on this ship is that I’m on the trail of a notorious cat burglar, responsible for a string of jewelry robberies. We suspect he’s a gentleman. He always leaves behind a black glove at the scene and the burglaries take place at society gatherings. Whoever he is, he’s dashed clever, and daring. He’s lifted things from under people’s noses.”

  “And left no trace, no evidence?”

  “Not a thing, except that one of the gloves had the letters BOB written in ink on the label. Whether that was something put on by the manufacturer or the shop that sold it we don’t know. Since our burglar is meticulous we can assume that if he wrote it there, he wanted us to know something. He was teasing us.”

  “You keep saying ‘he,’” I said. “You’re sure this is definitely a man?”

  “Since we suspect he can shin up drainpipes, cross ledges, open windows and perform various other athletic feats, it would have to be an exceptionally strong and agile woman. Also if it was one of the guests at various house parties, as we suspect it might be, a woman would be hampered by what she wore.”

  “And you have reason to think he’s on this ship?”

  Darcy nodded. “Two reasons, actually. We know an attempt was made to steal the princess’s jewels once before in Paris. And we know that Stella Brightwell is on this ship.”

  “Stella? You think she might be involved in this?”

  Darcy leaned closer to me, his hand on my shoulder now squeezing tighter. “This is not to go beyond this room, Georgie, but the only thing that links the burglaries is that Stella Brightwell was present at each of the gatherings.”

  “Golly,” I said, forgetting to be sophisticated. “You can’t think she’s the cat burglar. Why would she need to be? She’s a film star. She’s rich.”

  “Stranger things have happened before now,” Darcy said. “Some people turn to crime for the excitement, even when they don’t need money. However she has a watertight alibi for each of the robberies. When the crime was committed she was with a group of people, playing bridge, sitting at a dinner table, or in bed with Cy Goldman . . . all occasions on which it would have been noticed if she had left the room.”

  “So it is true then,” I said. “She’s Cy Goldman’s mistress? I thought they seemed awfully chummy.”

  Darcy nodded.

  “But doesn’t he have a wife? I’m sure she was mentioned.”

  “He does,” Darcy said. “Mrs. Goldman spends most of the year in their penthouse in New York. She doesn’t like the West Coast, apparently.”

  “And she doesn’t want to divorce him for carrying on with other women?”

  “Some people find divorce is too tiresome,” Darcy said. “And the current situation probably suits her just fine. She has all the advantages of being Mrs. Goldman. . . .”

  “Except one,” First Officer Higgins commented.

  I looked up and went bright red. Darcy grinned.

  “As I was saying,” he went on, “Mrs. Goldman has all the advantages of his wealth and position but she doesn’t actually have to put up with him. I’m sure you’ve noticed he is not the easiest of men. I’ve been told he likes his own way all the time. He flies into temper tantrums if he’s crossed. Like an overgrown two-year-old. But then men like him have what it takes to succeed. I don’t know if he’s told you his life history yet. He’s very proud of it. He came to America as a young man at the turn of the century, after his village in Russia was burned to the ground. He came with nothing, did any job he could lay his hands on, met Thomas Edison, saved up and bought his own movie camera, then moved out West and started shooting pictures. Now he owns one of the most successful studios in the world. He can afford to be difficult.”

  “So he would also have been present on each of the occasions that a burglary took place?” I asked.

  Darcy grinned. “I can’t see him climbing through a window or up a drainpipe, can you? And burglary is not in his nature. I’m sure he has ruined plenty of men. I’m sure he could kill with his bare hands, but nothing sneaky. Everything he does is larger than life.”

  “You say the thief attempted to rob the princess in Paris. Why did that not succeed? Was the thief seen?”

  “No, unfortunately. The princess had a visitor who had brought her little dog. The dog started yapping and they found the bathroom window had been forced open. The burglar must have come around the side of the building on a ledge. I tell you, the chap has nerves of steel, I’ll grant him that.”

  “So what are you going to do now?” I asked.

  “Search passengers when they disembark, but I suspect it’s easy to hide a precious stone. Apart from that we can only hope that the thief is encouraged to strike again.”

  “Encouraged, how?”

  Darcy gave me a long look. “I thought we might use you as bait.”

  “Oh, I say. Steady on,” the captain interrupted. “You can’t do a thing like that.”

  “Me? I’m known to be penniless. I have nothing worth stealing.”

  “You are related to the richest people in England. What if you let slip that Queen Mary has given you a special piece of jewelry, a rare old family piece and you really should have left it in the bank, but it’s so pretty that you wanted to bring it with you?”

  “And you think the gentleman thief will believe that? Having never seen me wear anything more startling than a strand of garnets or pearls?”

  “It’s worth a try. The royal connection might be irresistible.”

  “But shouldn’t I be flashing this piece around?”

  “Hint that you’ve left it safely in your jewel case in your cabin. Then see if the thief comes to take the bait.”

  “And you want me to stay in my cabin to catch the thief? What about when I’m asleep?”

  “Have your maid stay in the cabin when you’re not there and we’ll have it watched at night. It is the last night before we land. We don’t have much time.”

  “Queenie? You want Queenie to do something brave and responsible?” I had to laugh.

  “She’s been pretty brave before, Georgie. Hopeless in many ways but certainly she has spunk. Didn’t she try to clobber me once when I was sneaking into your room?”

  I went pink again and nodded. “It’s worth a try, I suppose.”

  Darcy stood up, patting my shoulder as he did so. “Good, then chat freely to your fellow passengers, especially at dinner, and we’ll see.”

  I was about to get up too when someone banged on the captain’s door. A worried young officer came in. “Captain, sorry to barge in like this, but a Mrs. Waldeck has reported a diamond ring missing. She knows it was in her jewelry case as she took it off after the ball last night. And when she went to put it on, after the lifeboat drill, it was gone.”

  “So your thief has not been idle after all,” the captain said, looking at Darcy.

  Chapter 10

  ON THE BERENGARIA

  STILL JULY 15

  I followed the captain and Darcy as we made for Mrs. Waldeck’s cabin. She was a skinny, almost gaunt, American woman
with a beaky nose that made her look like a bird of prey. And at this moment she looked ferocious enough to pounce on any of us.

  “What kind of ship are you running here?” she demanded. “You hire crew members who are criminals and thieves—send us up to the top deck for a completely unnecessary lifeboat drill, insist that our servants also leave their posts and then wonder that valuable jewels get stolen. What did we need another drill for, I’d like to know? We are not children. We learned our lifeboat stations on the first day out. And now here comes this stewardess saying, ‘Hurry up. Everyone wanted on deck,’ as if we were a flock of ducks.” She paused for breath then wagged a threatening finger at us—a finger dripping with rings. “I expect you to search every cabin and have my ring restored to me before we dock in New York or there will be hell to pay. Believe me, Mr. Waldeck is not a forgiving sort of man. He will be furious. The ring came from his mother and is valued at over ten thousand dollars.”

  “Mrs. Waldeck, I assure you we will do everything within our power to find your ring. Are you sure you didn’t just drop it or mislay it?”

  Those birdlike eyes glared at him. “Captain, I am a most careful woman. I do not drop or mislay things.”

  “I do apologize, Mrs. Waldeck. As I said . . .”

  “Mrs. Waldeck,” Darcy interrupted, “have you had any visitors to your cabin, apart from the steward? Anyone who could have noticed where you kept your jewel case?”

  “Nobody—except that movie actress woman, Stella Brightwell. She did come in here one evening but I didn’t let her in.”

  “Stella Brightwell?” the captain said. “Is she a friend of yours?”

  “Never met the woman in my life. I heard someone trying my door handle when I was getting undressed. I opened it and there was Stella Brightwell. She was a bit tipsy, I think. She apologized and said she had an identical suite one floor above ours and she had come up in the elevator and must have pushed the wrong floor button.”

  “Easy enough to do, I suppose,” the captain said.