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.”