The chewy, gummy sweetness melted in Fina’s mouth. “Thank you, Ruby. Exquisite,” she said as she clenched her teeth on the next piece of dried mango.
“It is delectable, isn’t it?” said Ruby, removing another piece from the handkerchief on the nightstand. “Ian gave me this bundle of mango this morning. We talked about it when we were at Pauncefort – I remember telling him how much I missed it.”
“He is thoughtful, isn’t he, Ruby?” Despite her jealousy of Ian and his somewhat suspicious behaviour, she liked him.
Ruby rubbed her nose. Fina knew what that meant. “He’s just trying to cover for his odd behaviour – such as following us.”
Washing down the mango with a large glass of water, Fina decided silence was enough of a response for now. She pulled out a full sheet of paper from the writing desk, rooted around for the pen, and then sat down to write.
“Thanks, Feens,” said Ruby, wiping her sticky hands on a nearby handkerchief. “Let’s try to organise our thoughts and then we can go back and take it all apart. Now, first – when might Balraj Chadha have been killed?”
Fina nodded, and wrote at the top of her sheet of paper: What happened?
Ruby said, “We know that he went to his cabin at 6:15. At 6:45, Agnes knocked and there was no answer.”
“So he must’ve been killed between roughly 6:20 and 6:40,” said Fina. She scrunched up her face. “That’s not much time.”
“I agree,” said Ruby leaning back on the bed. “But let’s assume it’s possible at this point and move on from there. That means the people who could have done it would be Violet, Patricia, Emeline, Dolores, and possibly one of the staff. I suppose it could have been Lev or the captain, but it would have meant placing their careers in jeopardy.”
Fina put down her pen. “So the murderer goes to Balraj’s cabin, knocks, enters, carrying the weapon with them, and kills him. We still don’t know what happened to the weapon.”
Ruby tapped her teeth. “They must have hidden it, or carried it with them out of the cabin and thrown it overboard. I suppose either is possible. And how would the murderer know that Balraj would feel ill and go back to his cabin in the first place?”
“Exactly. We could suppose it’s possible with extreme planning but that couldn’t include predicting that Balraj would come back to his cabin early. On the other hand, if it were spur of the moment – because the murderer saw their opportunity – then they couldn’t possibly have carried out the murder because it would take too much advance planning.”
“We are definitely missing something that will allow us to go forward,” said Ruby, staring at the ceiling. She sighed. “Let’s look at the possible suspects.”
Fina began to write.
Patricia Burbage: Did go downstairs during murder, to remove plantain from her hair. Unknown reason for killing him, though it was odd she asked for a séance. Something to do with her money?
Ian Clavering: Why is he on this trip? Acquaintance of Balraj. Odd behaviour. No real opportunity to commit murder during dinner.
Emeline Caulk: Did not go downstairs during dinner. No apparent motive for this murder, other than her generally frightful behaviour.
Dolores Dominguez: Has some sort of relationship with Balraj. Perhaps it went pear-shaped and she killed him? She did have opportunity because she sat out the dinner.
Phillip Gibbs: Did not go downstairs during murder, though perhaps he coordinated something with Violet? No apparent reason to kill Balraj, but perhaps he knew something about how they came by their treasure. Also – Balraj mentioned something in passing about the couple being “odd”.
Violet Gibbs: Looks ill and thoroughly unhappy. Not enough to kill, though. Was downstairs during murder. Not sure she’s well enough to hit Balraj on the head.
Gustave Marchand: Did not go downstairs during dinner. Was already friends – or at least acquaintances – with Balraj before the trip. Does his affable behaviour hide something?
Sadie Stiles: Did go downstairs with Victor during dinner, though she’d have to leave him to commit the murder. Seems implausible. Clearly upset with Balraj about something – enough to kill him? And what about that peculiar piece of paper about potatoes and grain?
Wrist aching, Fina put down her pen and wiped her brow. “What a conundrum,” she sighed. “It seems impossible. And we have only two days – not even that – left to solve the murder.”
“If we assume the murderer had to have been downstairs during dinner, then that narrows the suspects down to Patricia, Dolores, Violet and Sadie.”
Fina shook her head. “I agree, but we just said that even if they somehow had enough time to commit the murder downstairs, how could they have known Balraj would return to his cabin?”
“Well, assuming the murderer just took the opportunity to actually follow Balraj without knowing he would leave beforehand, then that leaves us with precisely zero suspects. That’s because Patricia didn’t know she was going to be the recipient of Victor and Gilbert’s plantain play, and Sadie didn’t know she would need to take Victor downstairs,” said Ruby with a small groan after she finished thinking aloud her conclusions.
A knock at the door saved Fina from having to agree with this dismal assessment of the investigation. “Come in!”
As she hastily turned the paper face down, the imposing figure of Patricia Burbage entered the room. Although the cabin was roomy, the woman somehow seemed to take up all the available space.
“Miss Burbage,” said Ruby, putting on her best insincere smile. “How may we help you?”
This time, Patricia was in too much of a rush even to sniff. “I must apologise for disturbing you, but time is of the essence. You saw what happened at the séance,” she said, spitting out the words rapid-fire. “The Ouija board confirmed what I already suspected. My life is in danger!”
Not again. Fina kept her mouth tightly shut. Let Ruby, with her diplomatic expertise, handle this one.
“I did see the séance,” said Ruby, treading carefully, “but to my mind, there was no indication that you, Miss Burbage, are to be the next target.”
“Did you not see what it spelt out? M-o-n-e-y! That was a clear reference to poor dear Henry and his fortune, which passed to me. Miss Dove,” she cleared her throat, “I feel you are not taking this seriously. A Ouija board never lies, you know. And I have had other signs, other foreshadowings, which I have no doubt represent warnings from the Other Side.”
Fina blinked.
“The Other Side,” repeated Ruby. Even her legendary patience was wearing rather thin. Fina braced herself to step in.
“Correct,” said Patricia grimly. “The captain has chosen not to take notice, but you mark my words.” She leaned in closer. “There is an evil-doer on this ship, and that evil is coming for me!”
Without waiting for a reply, she turned and left, flinging the door shut with a decisive bang.
Leaning back in her chair, Fina let out a breath of relief. “That was spiffing, Ruby. I don’t think I could have done it without calling her a liar.”
Ruby allowed a small smile to creep across her face. “She certainly does seem to suffer from paranoia. But she’s right about one thing.”
“What’s that? Not the bit about the Ouija board that never lies?”
“No. The bit about there being someone aboard this ship who is bent on doing evil.”