Murder on the Lusitania (9 page)

No sooner had the thought entered his mind than it became a reality. A tall, elegant woman in her early thirties came over to him.

“Good afternoon.”

“Oh,” he said, looking up. “Hello.”

“Do you mind if I join you?” she said, indicating the empty armchair beside him. “I’ve been twice around the entire ship and my legs simply refuse to take me an inch further.”

Garrow rose gallantly from his seat and pointed to the chair.

“Be my guest,” he invited with a smile.

Henry Barcroft was indefatigable. In the hour and a half during which Dillman kept track of him, the journalist mingled effortlessly with first-class passengers on the promenade deck before going up to the boat deck to chat to those in second and third class. It was still dry but the wind was cold enough to require hats and coats on even the hardiest travelers. The mood aboard had altered somewhat. When they first struck out into the Atlantic, passengers had been lulled into security by the
Lusitania
’s unprecedented scale and stability. It was like being on a small island. Perceptions had now been adjusted. It was not the size of the ship that they noticed but the sheer vastness of the ocean surrounding it. The North Atlantic was one of the most dangerous bodies of water in the world. Its raw power could be seen and felt. Though it was maintaining good speed, the
Lusitania
had somehow shrunk in size. To some on the boat deck, it felt less like a giant liner than a miniature raft.

Dillman was interested to see that Ellen Tolley and her father were also up on the boat deck, standing at the rail and gazing out across the heaving surface of the ocean. He observed, for the first time, that the father used a stout walking stick when he moved, swinging one stiff leg ahead of him and leaning on his daughter’s shoulder to negotiate any stairs. Wanting to speak with Ellen
again, Dillman could not break off his surveillance. Time drifted past. When the journalist eventually began to make his way up to the bridge, Dillman started to follow him but another duty called. It was almost four o’clock and someone would be waiting for him in the first-class lounge. Reluctantly he let Henry Barcroft off the hook and went off to meet Violet Rymer. She was torn between fear and excitement.

“I was afraid that you wouldn’t come, Mr. Dillman,” she said.

“You had my promise.”

“That’s what I was counting on.”

“Who don’t we find a quiet corner?” he suggested.

Dillman led her to some armchairs partly obscured by a pillar and a couple of potted palms, thus ensuring the measure of privacy that was vital if Violet was to be drawn out. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were dancing. He had never seen her so animated.

“Do your parents know that you’re here?” he asked.

“Oh, yes. Honesty is the best policy.”

“And they had no objection?”

“None, Mr. Dillman. I told them I was meeting you. What I didn’t dare to tell them, of course, was why. Mummy has an appointment in the hairdressing salon and Daddy wanted to do some work, so he’s stayed in the suite.” She gave a girlish laugh. “I’m free at last!”

“I’m pleased to hear it.”

“I’ve got so much to tell you.”

“Have you, Miss Rymer?”

She looked across at him and felt another surge of affection for him, lowering her head at once in embarrassment and biting her lip in dismay. Violet needed a couple of minutes to recover her composure. Dillman waited quietly, a noncommittal smile on his face. Violet looked up and blurted out her question.

“Can I trust you, Mr. Dillman?”

“I hope so.”

“You wouldn’t report any of this to my parents?”

“Not if you ask me to keep it from them.”

“Do you promise?”

“Of course.”

“I’d die if I thought you’d betray us,” she said earnestly.

“Us?”

Violet blushed as she realized she had already divulged part of her secret, but Dillman’s smile reassured her. Having once started, she now plunged in and told him the full story in a low, urgent voice.

“I didn’t want to come on this voyage at all,” she admitted. “It isn’t really to celebrate my twenty-first birthday. It’s to get me out of England. Mummy and Daddy planned to come on their own at first, but then they discovered that … that there was someone in my life that I cared about. Someone very important to me. I knew they’d never approve of Philip and that’s why we kept it a secret, but we were seen together by Mildred.”

“Mildred?”

“One of our servants. She’s traveling with us on the ship. Anyway, Mildred told my parents and that was that. Daddy was enraged. He called me the most terrible names. He refused even to meet Philip. Daddy said that it was an unsuitable attachment and that it had to stop at once. When I tried to argue back, he just yelled at me.”

“But you stuck by your guns.”

“Of course. I
love
Philip.” Her cheeks crimsoned again at the boldness of her confession. “Nothing will make me give him up. We’ve sworn to marry one day. Philip is the most wonderful man in the world.”

“But not the choice of your parents?” said Dillman discreetly.

“Mummy and Daddy are such snobs.”

“What do they have against the young man?”

“Philip’s half-Irish, to begin with,” she explained, “and he has no money at the moment. But he will have some when he gets another position. He’d still be working at the same office if the senior partner hadn’t had a grudge against him. Philip is a brilliant man. He’ll succeed at whatever he takes up. He’s just going through a bad patch at the moment.”

Dillman was sympathetic. “A dreadful patch, by the sound of it, if he’s just been deprived of the woman he loves. It must be awful to think that she’s three thousand miles away.”

“But I’m not, Mr. Dillman. That’s what I want to tell you.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Philip is here. On board the
Lusitania.”

“How do you know?”

“He sent a message. One of the stewards brought it.”

“That’s swell news!” said Dillman with a grin. “You must be thrilled.”

“Part of me is thrilled,” she confided, “but another part of me is scared stiff. If Mummy and Daddy find out …” She brought both hands up to her face in a gesture of despair. “That’s why we have to be so careful.” Violet sat back and let out a sigh of joy. “I never dreamed that this could happen. The most I hoped was that Philip might come to Euston to wave me off. When he wasn’t at the station, I hoped against hope that he might somehow get to Liverpool, but there was no sign of him.

“Yet he was aboard all the time.”

“No, Mr. Dillman. I don’t think so, or he’d have tried to contact me sooner. My guess is that he joined the ship at Queenstown. He told me that he often went back to Ireland to see his family. He’s so clever, don’t you see?” she said, almost giggling. “Mummy and Daddy thought I’d be safe once the ship sailed. It never occurred to them that Philip might get aboard, least of all in Queenstown.”

“Is he traveling in first class?”

“Second. Just imagine. He’s actually
here
. On the ship.”

“Who don’t you go and find him?”

“That was my first thought,” she said, “but it’s not as easy as that. I’m frightened that we might be seen. Even if Mummy and Daddy are not watching me, there’s always Mildred. Not to mention other people on the ship who know us. It’s too big a risk to take.”

“So what do you intend to do?”

“Arrange a time and place to meet Philip in secret.”

“His cabin is the obvious choice.”

She nodded guiltily. “That’s what I’ve suggested. Mr. Dillman, I hope you won’t think this is improper behavior. I love my parents, but I can’t let them stand in the way of my happiness, you do see that. Philip is everything to me, and you can see from the effort he made to get aboard how important our friendship is to him.”

“This goes above and beyond friendship, doesn’t it?” he said with a grin. “Good luck to both of you! I’m flattered that you felt able to confide in me, and I hope that everything works out for the best.”

“That depends on you, Mr. Dillman.”

“Me?”

“Yes,” she said, producing a letter from her inside her purse. “I want you to find where Philip is and give this to him. I know it’s a lot to ask and I know it’s beastly of me to involve you in my private life, but there’s nobody else I can ask. Will you, Mr. Dillman? Please.”

It was not an assignment he wanted and he could foresee all sorts of complications resulting but it was impossible to turn down Violet Rymer’s request. Her earlier behavior was now explained and his guesses about the family secret were confirmed. There was little consolation to be gleaned from all that if he was to be employed as a messenger boy. He had far more pressing things to do than to become part of someone else’s clandestine affair. At the same time, he spied a potential bonus. Violet Rymer’s growing fondness for him had been imperfectly concealed and could never be requited. In pairing her up with her true love, Dillman would at least be moving her attention completely off him.

“I’ll give him the letter, Miss Rymer, but that’s all I will do.”

“You have to bring me back his reply.”

“Well, yes, I suppose that I could do that as well.”

“Oh, thank you!” she said, clutching his arm with both hands. “I knew that you’d help us. You’ve saved my life, Mr. Dillman!”

* * *

It was happening at last. Philip Garrow was realizing how invigorating it was to be on board a famous ship on its maiden voyage. Feelings of joy and pride blocked out until now came through with greater intensity. He was happy, even elated. Wearing his new suit and oozing confidence, he was taking tea in the company of a woman who was growing more beautiful and interesting by the minute. What made the conversation even more enjoyable was the fact that Rosemary Hilliard was evidently deriving equal pleasure from it. She was a well-traveled woman with an air of unforced sophistication about her. Garrow found her charming. It was her wedding ring that cast a slight shadow.

“Are you traveling alone, Mrs. Hilliard?” he wondered.

“I’m afraid so. For the first time.”

“The first time?”

“Yes, it’s something of an adventure for me, Mr. Garrow.” She gave a sad smile and lowered her head. “My husband died almost a year ago. I knew that I should get away and have a change of scene, but I could not pluck up enough courage until now.”

“You strike me as a person of great courage.”

“Do I?” she asked, lifting her eyes.

“Very much so, Mrs. Hilliard. I’m very sorry to hear about your husband. It must have been a dreadful blow to you. But you seem to be bearing up remarkably well now and that’s to your credit.”

“Thank you.”

“Did your have any children?”

“I’m afraid not. It was something that just never happened. In the circumstances, it is perhaps just as well. Children need a father.”

“Oh, I can vouch for that,” he said with feeling. “I lost mine when I was only six years old and it was as if the whole world went dark all of a sudden. It was a terrible handicap, not having a father.”

“Did your mother remarry?”

“Not until we had grown up and left home.”

“Is that when you came to England?”

“Yes, Mrs. Hilliard.”

“And you took up a position with this company you mentioned.”

“That’s right. We import goods from all over the world.”

“You did extremely well to be promoted to management so soon.”

“I was fortunate, Mrs. Hilliard,” he said airily, concealing the fact that he was still a lowly clerk when he was dismissed. “The company valued and rewarded enterprise. When they saw that I was full of bright ideas, they decided to give me a chance to prove myself.”

“A sensible decision, by the look of it.”

“Yes, their faith in me has been justified. They were also generous enough to give me time off to come on this voyage. I’ve always wanted to visit America, especially as we do a lot of our business there. And the notion of sailing on the
Lusitania
was, well, almost intoxicating.”

“That’s what I felt, Mr. Garrow.”

She gave him a long, searching look, which he answered with a smile. Rosemary Hilliard was an attractive woman whose good looks had largely fought off the ravages of time. The quality of her attire suggested wealth as well as taste, yet she was wholly free from the vanities and prejudices that had their true home in first class. They chatted on for half an hour, probing gently to explore each other’s character and to gather more background information. Both were satisfied with what they learned. A friendship was slowly emerging.

The arrival of a steward cut short their conversation.

“Excuse me, sir,” he said. “Forgive this interruption, but there is someone who wished to see you on a matter of urgency.”

“Who is he?”

“The gentleman did not give a name, sir.”

“Gentleman? Then it was not Albert, one of your colleagues.”

“No, sir.”

Garrow quailed inwardly, fearing that Matthew Rymer might somehow have learned of his presence on the ship and come in
pursuit of him. “An older gentleman with side whiskers, by any chance?” he asked, trying to sound offhand.

“An American gentleman, sir. He said it was important.”

“How intriguing!” said Rosemary Hilliard. “Off you go, Mr. Garrow.”

“I hate to leave you like this.”

“Not at all, sir. I’m agog to know what this little mystery is all about. I won’t budge from this seat until you return.”

Philip Garrow gave her a smile of farewell before going out with the steward. Ensconced with his new acquaintance, he had forgotten all about Violet Rymer but sensed that she had now come back into his ken.

“What’s going on?” he said to the waiter. “Where is the man?”

“Waiting outside your cabin, sir.”

“Why there?”

“You’ll have to ask him.”

The steward melted away and Garrow hurried off to his cabin. When he saw Dillman, he became wary and approached slowly.

“Are you looking for me, sir?” he asked.

“Mr. Philip Garrow?”

“That’s right.”

“I have a message for you,” said Dillman, taking the envelope from his inside pocket. “The young lady who sent it was insistent that it should be opened in private.”