Moonflower Murders: A Novel

Pünd and Hare visit Leonard and Samantha Collins at Church Lodge. Samantha Collins reveals she saw Melissa enter the church at 5:45 p.m. on the day of her death. Leonard divulges that Samantha is about to receive an inheritance, and they are going to London to discover the will’s terms. However, they have told Algernon they are going to see a play. Pünd questions Algernon, who claims he was sleeping off his alcoholic lunch at the time of the murder.

Pünd and Hare agree that Francis Pendleton is still a prime suspect. Hare points out that love and jealousy can be powerful motivators for murder, using the example of Othello, who strangles Desdemona in Shakespeare’s play.

The Collins children stay with the Mitchell family while their parents are in London. Nancy reads them a bedtime story: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. She has not yet told her parents about the pregnancy, as her father is violent and regularly beats her mother.

In London, Samantha Collins learns she has inherited £700,000 from her aunt. Leonard again advises her not to tell Algernon. Meanwhile, Algernon searches Leonard’s desk at Church Lodge and finds the solicitor’s letter informing his sister of her inheritance.