Fatal as a Fallen Woman Read Online Free PDF Page B

stumbled, then stopped to take a closer look. The bronze statue represented a deer, and it was not the only one. Several more, together with a half dozen bronze staghounds, stood scattered among the flower beds. Diana frowned, unable to imagine the mother she remembered choosing such rustic ornaments.
    Then again, she didn't suppose she'd ever really known either of her parents. At fourteen, she'd been sent away to finishing school. At eighteen, she'd married Evan. For all Diana knew, her mother had redecorated the entire house with a deer and dogs motif.
    Turning her attention back to the door, she rang the bell. The black ribbon fastened to it forcibly reminded her of why she'd come. Her father was dead. He'd been murdered.
    Diana had to fist her hands to stop them from shaking. A long moment passed during which she feared she was about to lose whatever thin veneer of composure she had left. It was the sound of the latch being lifted that brought her back from the brink.
    A young maidservant with coffee-colored skin answered the door.
    "Yes, mum?" Her black cloth dress was very plain, but over it she wore a froth of an apron ruffled with lace.
    "I am Mrs. Spaulding," Diana said. "William Torrence was my father."
    The girl, who had not been in the family's employ when Diana had last visited this house, looked confused. "I expect you'll be wanting to see Mrs. Torrence, then," she said after a moment. "You'd best come in."
    "Mrs. Torrence is at home?" Diana's heart leapt. She had scarcely dared hope her mother would be able to avoid arrest. In the dispatch, the chief of police had sounded so certain he had the right suspect.
    "Yes, mum," the maid said, stepping back to allow Diana to enter.
    Relief, and the trepidation that followed hard on its heels, left her feeling a trifle lightheaded. The reunion she both dreaded and longed for was upon her and she had no idea if she would be welcomed with open arms or sent away. When she turned too swiftly to pass through a door to her left, her vision blurred. She tripped over the edge of the carpet, clumsy as a newborn foal.
    "If you'll wait here, mum?" Regarding her warily, the maidservant backed out of the room.
    "Er, yes. Yes, of course," Diana murmured.
    Left alone in the sitting room, her first thought was that she was glad the girl hadn't shown her into the more formal parlor, the scene of her final confrontation with her father. She did not want to revisit that memory just yet.
    She drew in a deep, steadying breath. This was no time to behave like a weak and helpless female. She was a strong, independent woman, self-sufficient, well-traveled, and intelligent. Diana smiled a little at the egotism of that assessment, but it would not do to show a lack of self-confidence before her formidable mother.
    Calmer now, she idly studied her surroundings while she waited for the coming confrontation. The fine oriental rug on the floor of the sitting room was the same one she remembered, but the golden oak woodwork had dulled with time and lack of attention. Diana frowned, finding that strange. Her mother had always been a great one for dusting and polishing.
    The heavy brocade drapes and the pressed papier mâché wallpaper were new. So was the rubber plant given place of honor in the bay window. Its shiny green leaves also needed dusting.
    Unfamiliar furniture—chairs, footstools, and occasional tables—was much more ornate than the pieces that had previously been in place, and there was a great deal more of it crammed into the room. The pedestal that had once held a small marble statue, a tasteful nude, now displayed a plaster cast replica of the Venus de Milo with an eight-day clock in her midsection.
    Diana was not surprised to see that electricity had been installed. Her father had always liked to be up-to-date. He'd insisted upon having a telephone as soon as service became available, even though there'd been few others here in Denver with whom he could converse.
    She turned in a