Murder Under a New Moon Read online

  Robert Farley is now a bonafide duke, and solicitors from the Duchy of Brynelleth have come to negotiate his marriage contract to Mona Moon. When the three solicitors demand that Mona relinquish Moon Enterprises and live in England full time, she threatens to give Robert back his engagement ring and call off the wedding.

  She says quite frankly, “I’m not going to give up one of the largest mining conglomerates in the world just so I can host dinner parties at Brynelleth for your snotty friends.”

  Robert, caught between the responsibilities demanded by Brynelleth and his deep love for Mona, is furious with his solicitors for not being more diplomatic. However, the matter resolves itself when the three English solicitors are caught visiting the notorious bawdy house of Belle Brezing, the most famous madam in the South.

  Ooops! Events are made worse when one of them turns up dead in the bed of a lady-of-the-evening.

  Now Mona and Robert must find the culprit before their reputations are torn to shreds by their enemies. Fast-moving events threaten to turn Mona’s world upside-down as she is confronted with seemingly impossible decisions to make.

  Should she marry Robert Farley or not?

  Murder Under A New Moon

  A Mona Moon Mystery

  Book Eight

  Abigail Keam

  Worker Bee Press

  Copyright © 2021 Abigail Keam

  Kobo Edition

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission of the author.

  The history is documented.

  The Moon family, Moon Manor, and the Moon associates,

  family, and friends are fabrications of my imagination.

  So is Lord Farley—’tis a shame though.

  Special thanks to Melanie Murphy and Liz Hobson.

  Book Cover & Design by Peter Keam.

  ISBN 978 1 953478 06 1

  112321

  Published in the USA by

  Worker Bee Press

  P.O. Box 485

  Nicholasville, KY 40340

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  Table of Contents

  Cover

  About the Book

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Join Abigail Keam’s HoneyBee Newsletter!

  Books By Abigail Keam

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Glossary

  About The Author

  Books By Abigail Keam

  Josiah Reynolds Mysteries

  Death By A HoneyBee I

  Death By Drowning II

  Death By Bridle III

  Death By Bourbon IV

  Death By Lotto V

  Death By Chocolate VI

  Death By Haunting VII

  Death By Derby VIII

  Death By Design IX

  Death By Malice X

  Death By Drama XI

  Death By Stalking XII

  Death By Deceit XIII

  Death By Magic XIV

  Death By Shock XV

  Death By Chance XVI

  The Mona Moon Mystery Series

  Murder Under A Blue Moon I

  Murder Under A Blood Moon II

  Murder Under A Bad Moon III

  Murder Under A Silver Moon IV

  Murder Under A Wolf Moon V

  Murder Under A Black Moon VI

  Murder Under A Full Moon VII

  Murder Under A New Moon VIII

  Last Chance For Love Romance Series

  Last Chance Motel I

  Gasping For Air II

  The Siren’s Call III

  Hard Landing IV

  The Mermaid’s Carol V

  1

  “I must keep my family name,” Mona declared.

  “You will, miss. Madeline Mona Moon Farley, Duchess of Brynelleth,” the English solicitor replied.

  Mona tapped a finger on the conference table. “Mr. Dankworth, I don’t think you understand. According to my uncle’s will, I and my children must keep our last name legally Moon or we lose everything. We will be cast aside.”

  The chief solicitor looked aghast. “But Miss Moon, you will be a duchess. Your children will be in line to the English throne.”

  “That is such poppycock. I care nothing about being a duchess, and my children becoming king or queen of Great Britain is about as likely as me living on the moon. What I care about is being in control of Moon Enterprises. Moon Enterprises is worth twenty times that of the Brynelleth estate.”

  The main solicitor tore off his pince-nez in frustration. A whiff of his cologne drifted across the room. Some of it must have spilled on his waistcoat in which a pocket watch was tucked away. This was not the type of man to wear a Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso wristwatch or believe in central heating. “Miss Moon, I don’t think you understand the gravity of becoming the wife of His Grace, Duke of Brynelleth. By doing what you propose, you will make His Grace the laughing stock of England. You will not even be in the United States to tend to Moon Enterprises. You’ll be residing in England.”

  “Sir, I don’t think you understand the gravity of running Moon Enterprises. I have thousands of employees working for me, not to mention thousands of acres of land to manage. Moon Enterprises brings in millions of dollars every year to be dispensed to these workers and invested back into the company. How much does Brynelleth bring in? How many workers does Brynelleth have? Maybe a hundred at its height, not to mention that Brynelleth is in debt up to its neck. While Moon Enterprises is mining copper and other ores for the industrial might of the United States, Brynelleth is planting turnips.”

  Mr. Dankworth slammed shut his file and stood up. Motioning to his staff of two, he stormed out of the Moon conference room in Dexter Deatherage’s office located in the new Moon office building on Main Street in Lexington, Kentucky.

  Dexter shot a glaring look at Mona. “That went well.”

  “I noticed you didn’t run after them to smooth things out.”

  “I can’t stand those upper class English snobs. They make my teeth ache.”

  Mona laughed. “You must remember we are going against a thousand years of tradition with those chaps. They still refer to us as those rebellious colonists and expect me to curtsey when they enter a room.”

  “Egads. Do you really want to marry into that life?”

  Mona looked serious. “I love Robert. I really do. We must find a compromise to make this marriage work, but I will not relinquish Moon Enterprises. I know my duty.”

  “Robert also has a duty, Mona. Brynelleth is the center of the economy for Robert’s part of the world. He can’t let his people down either.”

&nbsp
; Mona threw her hands up. “I know. I know. A lot of people are counting on the two of us.” Mona stood up and went to the window, looking out at the bustling street. “I love Robert, but I can live without him, though my life will be dull and dreary. With Robert, my life is filled with joy. I want my life filled with joy, Dexter. Please find a way to make this marriage work.”

  Dexter took out his pipe and tobacco pouch. “Here is what I recommend. You keep your family moniker as your legal name. In return, you throw money at Brynelleth to bring it up to twentieth century standards such as modern plumbing and electricity.”

  “Oh, Dexter, you’re teasing now. I’m sure Brynelleth has indoor bathrooms and electricity.”

  “Are you sure? In either case, the roof will be shot. Roofs on all those old estate houses are always in need of replacing. That alone will cost thousands.”

  “I knew that Brynelleth was in serious debt, but I thought Robert handled that when he went over to visit his father.”

  “Robert got the debt under control, but he still owes the bank a considerable note.”

  Mona’s brow furrowed. “How much money are we talking about to pay off the debt and refurbish the estate?”

  Dexter wrote a figure on a piece of paper and handed it to Mona.

  She looked at it and whistled. “That much, eh? Goodness. That’s a lot of bananas.”

  “We can take the money out of the workers’ pension fund.”

  “No. This is a personal matter. Moon Enterprises money is not going to pay a dime for Robert’s ancestral home. I will have to shell out from my personal accounts.”

  “It will leave you broke, Mona.”

  “Doesn’t Bynelleth bring in any income?”

  “Pittance.”

  Mona said, “Okay. Let’s throw some money at this and make Robert’s lawyers more apt to compromise. For the next ten years, we will give thirty-five percent of my income after taxes and expenses to pay for repairs and upkeep on Brynelleth, but Brynelleth has to make changes. They can’t keep doing things like they have done since the 1700s. They must embrace modern farming and housekeeping techniques. Robert will be thrilled at the chance to bring the estate up to new standards. I know that he has been trying to get his leasees to change their farming methods.”

  “I’ll have our new legal eagles take Robert’s henchmen around and show them the sights. Ply them with burgoo and bourbon. Maybe then they will listen to reason.”

  Mona grinned. “Keep them away from the brothels.”

  “Shame on you for even knowing that houses of ill repute exist in our quaint little hamlet.”

  Mona was tired of talking about Brynelleth. She pulled back a wisp of her platinum hair. “How is Wilhelmina?”

  “Doing better. Much better.”

  “I feel as though I have neglected her. I’ve been so busy.” Mona thought back to her visit to Washington D.C. and her lunch with Eleanor Roosevelt, which led to deadly spy intrigue. “Why don’t we invite Robert’s blood hounds plus you and Wilhelmina for brunch on Sunday? Show them real Southern hospitality. Might defrost them a bit.”

  “Worth a try.”

  “Maybe I can get Wilhelmina alone to myself for a minute or two.”

  “She would like that. Thanks.”

  “Eleven sound okay?”

  “We’ll be there bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.”

  Mona gathered her gloves and handbag. “See you on Sunday, Dexter.”

  “Let me escort you out. I want to show you our new typewriters.”

  “A pleasure.”

  Mona and Dexter walked through his executive secretarial office and reception room into the major secretarial pool where six typists were busy. Off to the side of the room were more offices. Dexter had hired two young attorneys—one an expert in business law and the other lawyer worked on mining patents/claims.

  Dexter introduced Mona to each worker. She was impressed with the typists’ skills and looked over some of their work—most of it letters to various employees and buyers of copper ore. Smiling, Mona shook their hands and welcomed them to Moon Enterprises. Then Dexter took her to the switchboard room where three telephone operators worked. Everything was state of the art and impressive.

  Moon Enterprises occupied the top floor of Mona’s building with a guard and another receptionist stationed at the elevator. Dexter walked Mona to the lift.

  “You don’t have to walk me to my car, Dexter. I’ll be fine. Besides, I want to pop into the bank,” Mona said, pulling on her white gloves.

  “Very well. See you on Sunday.”

  The guard pushed the elevator’s button. The door opened to a uniformed operator whose gleaming brass buttons on his maroon jacket matched the highly polished walls of the compartment.

  Mona thanked the guard and entered. “First floor, please.”

  “Yes, ma’am, Miss Moon,” he said.

  Mona exited on the ground floor and entered the bank she had created to cater to the female patrons. The bank was slowly building up a clientele since many women were working outside the home, and the bank was gaining a reputation for fairness, especially when granting loans at a lower interest rate. More and more farmers sought the Moon Bank’s help after so many banks closed their doors in 1933.

  Mona conferred briefly with the bank manager and took a copy of the bank’s most recent quarterly report, which she stuck in her satchel. Saying goodbye to the bank staff, Mona walked outside to her car. At that moment, Mona spied a chauffeured black Pierce-Arrow sedan with a veiled woman sitting in the back. Mona, along with everyone else, stared as the car drove out of sight.

  Mona had just caught a glimpse of Belle Brezing, the most infamous madam in the South.

  2

  Dotty, Mona’s personal secretary, stood at the door of Moon Manor and welcomed Mona home. Taking Mona’s gloves and red Robin Hood Tyrolean hat, she asked, “How did it go?”

  “Don’t ask.”

  “That bad, huh?”

  “They stormed out,” Mona whispered.

  Dotty grinned. “Don’t you just love those stuffed shirts?”

  “Speaking of the English, is Lord Bob here?” That was Mona’s nickname for Robert Farley, now Duke of Brynelleth. Only Mona called him that, but everyone else still referred to him as Lord Farley even though Robert was now a duke. Tradition and custom was hard to change in the Bluegrass, the gem of Kentucky.

  “Yeah. He’s waiting for you by the pool, soaking up some sun,” Dotty said, giving Mona’s calendar a quick glance. One of her tasks was to keep Mona’s schedule flowing and to make sure Mona was where she was supposed to be. It showed that Mona was free for the afternoon.

  “I think I will join him. Can you have some sandwiches and tea sent out to the garden while I change? I’m starving.”

  “Sure thing.”

  “Thank you, Dotty.”

  “Before you go upstairs, your Aunt Melanie called. She seemed awfully angry about something. Said for you to call her back as soon as possible.”

  “She’s been pestering me for more money.”

  “I think the underlining cause is your negotiations for marriage to His Grace. Didn’t she have her caps set on him before you came along?”

  “I’m sure that’s why she is so agitated. Melanie will do anything she can to throw a monkey wrench between Robert and me. She can’t stand others being happy.” Mona sighed, feeling besieged. Would her relatives, especially Aunt Melanie, never give her a moment’s peace? “I’ll deal with her later. I want to see Robert now. Can you call Melanie back and relate that I’ll talk to her next week? I want to get these Brits off my back first.”

  “I’ll call her right now.”

  “Thank you.” Mona checked her platinum hair in the hall mirror next to the coat rack and umbrella stand. She ignored the fact that her galoshes were missing. The house butler, Thomas, disliked having a coat rack and umbrella stand next to the front door. He thought it looked tacky, but Mona liked the convenience. There was a constant batt
le between the two about it and now Mona’s boots were missing. She would have to hunt for them and put them by the front door again.

  All Mona’s employees quaked at the sight of her, except Moon Manor’s household staff, who pretty much did as they pleased. They were determined to make Moon Manor the showplace of the South, and Mona knew the staff expected her to play the part of a great lady. She tried to live up to their expectations, but at times it was all too much. Mona doubted she could live under the more confining restraints of being a duchess.

  “Oh, just a minute Dotty.” Mona pulled out the bank quarterly report from her satchel. “Can you look over this tomorrow and see where the holes are?”

  Dotty took the report and glanced at it. “Looks awfully thin. Do you have the list of depositors?”

  Mona winced. “Golly, I forgot to ask for one.”

  “No never mind. I’ll pick up the list on Monday.” Dotty gave a beautiful smile. “Because this evening I have a date.”

  “You cheeky vixen. Who with?”

  “The new assistant for Gentry Farms. We’re going to see the new Jean Harlow picture.”

  Mona kept a smile on her face, but she didn’t like the fact that Dotty was seeing an employee of Jacob Gentry, who was a vocal provocateur against her. He didn’t like women to play a part in public life and used religion to advance his opinions. Mona didn’t like Gentry personally or his loudmouth opinions on women. She thought him to be a filthy man, both spiritually and physically. More than one person had come to warn Mona of the disturbing things Gentry was saying about her.

  “Where did you meet this young man?”

  “At a mixer for professionals at the Main Street Baptist Church.”

  “Baptist churches have mixers?”

  “Well, you know, punch and cookies. Just a way for people to meet each other.”

  “Next you’ll be telling me that the Main Street Baptist Church is hosting a cotillion.”

  Both women laughed as that particular church preached against dancing.