Fatal as a Fallen Woman by Kathy Lynn Emerson Page B

but seemed to accept her decision.
    It was only after Matt drove away that Diana stopped to wonder why he'd come looking for her in the first place.
     

Chapter Five
     
    Diana went straight up to her mother's suite, taking pains to avoid the other occupants of the Elmira. After divesting herself of hat and gloves, she settled in at the small ladies' desk in the sitting room and located a pen and a box of thick, cream-colored stationary. It had never been opened. In fact, she found no letters addressed to Elmira in the desk. There were no bills, either, or any ledgers. Diana supposed Jane handled such things, if whorehouses bothered to keep written records at all.
    Keep your mind on the matter at hand , she warned herself.
    She'd been going about helping her mother all wrong. The shocks she'd had, one after another, had left her disoriented. She'd felt devoid of emotions one moment, too full of them the next. She had not been thinking clearly. Now she must. She set pen to paper and started to write.
    Composing an account of all she had learned so far helped Diana organize her thoughts. When she'd reread the pages, she added a brief note, signed the bottom of the last sheet and tucked the epistle into an envelope addressed to Ben Northcote. She'd mail the letter at her first opportunity.
    Her mind clearer, and one small burden of guilt lifted from her shoulders, Diana selected a fresh sheet of stationary and began to inscribe a series of pertinent questions. An hour later she studied the results of her labor with considerable satisfaction. She had come to no brilliant conclusions, unearthed no answers, but she did feel she had a much better grasp of the situation.
    The first question on her list was: What evidence is there against Mother aside from the glove?
    The second line read: When and where did Mother threaten Father before witnesses and who were they?
    Four years seemed a very long time for anyone to hold a grudge. If her mother hadn't killed her father over the divorce, what possible motive could she have had?
    The next three questions involved the Windsor Hotel:
    Did anyone see Mother at the Windsor that night?
    Who saw Father at the Windsor before he was killed?
    Why was he at the Windsor?
    It was a huge establishment, filled with bedrooms, barrooms, and ballrooms. Matt had said her father had been killed in a suite. His own, or someone else's? Had he been in one of the public areas first, attending a reception or engaged in a game of pool? Or had he taken a room in secret for some nefarious purpose?
    Who else besides Mother might have wanted to kill him? she wrote.
    A good many people might have, she supposed. But which of them would also have had the opportunity to make Elmira Torrence look guilty by planting a bloodstained glove in her room?
    The young widow profited from William Torrence's death. Diana wrote her name first. She might have had a confederate at the Elmira. Diana made a mental note to find out more about Miranda's background.
    "Business rivals," she murmured. "But who?" Her father had exhibited a ruthless streak in dealing with Elmira. Had he cheated others as well?
    She tossed her pen aside and used both fists to rub her eyes. For all she knew, half of Denver might have had good reason to want William Torrence dead!
    She looked at the list again. At least she had a place to start. With Miranda. Where had she been when the murder took place? Diana was contemplating just how she might find out when she heard a scratch at her door.
    Jane came in without waiting for an invitation. "There are some people downstairs who want to talk to you, Mrs. Spaulding."
    Jane's flushed face and nervous demeanor set warning flags flying. Diana quickly folded her list and tucked it into the pocket that already contained her letter to Ben. "What's wrong?"
    "Nothing! That is, there's nothing to be alarmed about. It's just that I don't know how to prepare you."
    "Who are these callers?"
    "They're all prominent local