Murder on the Marmora Read Online Free Page A

struck by the ornate woodcarvings.
    When he inspected the promenade deck, he made a point of going to Genevieve’s cabin. Knowing she would not be there, he slipped a note under the door, asking her to call on him at her convenience. The distant sound of cheers told him that the
Marmora
had cast off and he soon felt the vessel tilt and ride. Engine noise built up but it was not overly intrusive. The ship had five double-ended boilers and two single-ended ones. While the passengers waved their farewells, Dillman knew that trimmers and stokers would be working hard to keep the boilers fed with coal. In his opinion, they were the unsung heroes of the shipping companies.
    Having gained a rough working knowledge of the layout of the ship, he went back to his first-class cabin on the main deck. It was not long before Genevieve joined him. As he let her in, he ducked under her hat to give her a kiss on the cheek. She was delighted to see him. They had arrived separately and agreed that they would not be seen together in public. Operating independently, they had found, enabled them to cover far more ground than would have been the case if they presented themselves as a couple. It made their occasional meetings in private all the more precious.
    “Well,” said Dillman, “what’s your first impression of the
Marmora
?”
    “A good one,” she replied, removing her hat and undoing the buttons on her coat. “She’s compact and well appointed. What about you, George?”
    “I was disappointed at first,” he admitted. “Working for Cunard has spoiled me. I expected the
Marmora
to be bigger somehow.Now that I’ve taken a closer look at her, I withdraw my reservations. She’s well designed and ideal for her purpose. And, of course, having a much smaller number of passengers will make our job so much easier.”
    “Easier in one way, harder in another.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “It will be much more difficult to escape. We can’t lose ourselves in a crowd.”
    “Do you feel that you need to, Genevieve?”
    “Oh, yes. I’ve heard the alarm bells already.”
    She told him about her meeting with Myra and Lilian Cathcart, people she liked but who somehow had to be kept at arm’s length. Genevieve was not sure which of them would be the more dependent on her. Myra’s geniality would enable to her to make other friends aboard, but Lilian would not mix easily.
    “I suspect that the daughter will be the real headache,” she decided. “And the last thing I want is to have Lilian hanging on to me like a drowning sailor clinging to a piece of wreckage.”
    “A very beautiful piece of wreckage,” he said gallantly.
    “It could be a drawback, George.”
    “You’ve coped with that problem many times before.”
    “But only on much larger ships with two or three times as many passengers.” She relaxed and gave an appeasing smile. “I’m sorry to trot out a complaint the moment we meet,” she said. “Myra Cathcart may even turn out to be a boon. If my guess is right, she’s something of a merry widow. Myra will attract a lot of people around her and I’ll get to know them without having the trouble of making their acquaintances on my own.”
    “That’s all part of our job,” Dillman reminded her. “Merging with the passengers and befriending as many of them as we can. There’s no better way to gather intelligence.”
    “I know, George.” She glanced around. “You have a very nice cabin, I must say.”
    “It’s a long voyage. Comfort is essential. What’s your accommodation like?”
    “Too close to the Cathcarts.”
    “I could always arrange to have you moved.”
    “No, no. They’d be terribly offended. I’ll stay put.”
    “Fair enough.”
    “Have you met the purser yet?”
    “Yes,” said Dillman, with a slight grimace. “Mr. Kilhendry is not the most sociable fellow. He told me to my face that he’s not an admirer of the American nation and he resents the both of us because we worked for Cunard. He