Written In Blood Read Online Free PDF Page B

Dane.”
    “Why? What’s he done?”
    “He hasn’t actually done anything; it’s just a feeling I have. It’s the way he looks at me; it’s downright creepy .” She gazed straight into Claudia’s eyes and spoke in a low voice. “I get the feeling he’d love to wrap those big hands around my throat and squeeze the life right out of me.”
    The dread in her face prickled Claudia’s spine. She couldn’t help feeling uneasy, even though she’d never met Dane Sorensen. Taking the chair across from Paige, she wrapped her hands around her mug for the warmth. “You can understand he’d be upset about the will. You said his father left everything to you.”
    “It’s more than that—I can feel it, the way he hates me! It’s not just him, either. He has a twin sister, Diana—the Wicked Witch of the West. It’s weird; the two of them act more like a married couple than brother and sister. They even share a house.”
    Claudia sat quietly. She could see the perfect Barbie doll had a less than perfect life, but clearly there was more to the story.
    “Bert’s right; Dane is dead set on taking the school away from me.”
    “What does Diana think of that?”
    Paige snorted. “Diana thinks being twins gives them some spooky supernatural link. He makes the decisions and she follows.”
    Claudia wondered again about Paige’s motives in showing up with these revelations. “Paige, it sounds like you’ve got a lot to deal with. But you have to understand, the family dynamics won’t affect my opinion on your husband’s will.”
    Paige spread her hands in protest. “I’m not here about that! I know you don’t need to hear the family dirt. I know it makes me look pitiful, but I’m all alone. Honestly, I just need a friend.”
    “What about Mr. Falkenberg? You said he wanted to protect you.”
    “Not in that way,” Paige said, then fell silent.
    Claudia waited for her to clarify her comment, but she didn’t. “So you said they’re out to get the school?”
    “The Sorensen Academy,” Paige said, nodding. “It’s this enormous old mansion Torg’s parents built back in the twenties. Then his father got into trouble in the Depression and went broke, so he turned the house into a school for rich girls. Torg inherited it and kept it going.”
    No wonder her stepchildren resented her, Claudia thought. Naturally, they would expect to inherit such a place and keep it in the family. But Paige’s next words dispelled that happy notion.
    “The land up there off Sunset is real hot property. Dane always expected to get his hands on it, but it turned out he already had plans to demolish the place as soon as his father died. He wants to tear it down and build luxury condos. Pretty cold, don’t you think?
    “Didn’t even wait until his father was dead to get an architect and have the blueprints made up. Torg found out about it and went ballistic. The school meant a lot to him, but I think he was more hurt that Dane would do that to him.”
    “So it’s all about money?”
    “Dane owns a construction company and Diana sells real estate. They would make a bundle on both ends of the deal if he built those condos.”
    “Do you have any of his handwriting?” Claudia asked. As a handwriting analyst, she was always curious about personality and the way it revealed itself in the written word.
    Paige’s eyes widened. “Why?”
    “Handwriting reveals what motivates people, and it can help you understand how to deal with them.”
    “Really? I’d love to know what makes those people tick. I’ll see if I can dig some up.”
    “How did your husband find out what his son had planned?”
    For the second time, Paige looked uncomfortable. “Bert used to be Dane’s right-hand man.”
    That could explain the condition of Bert Falkenberg’s fingernails and his apparent discomfort in the high-quality apparel he wore. Construction seemed to suit him better than an office job.
    “Bert was really upset when he found out what Dane