Fatal as a Fallen Woman (32 page)

They entered the saloon together and settled in at the same table Ben had previously shared with Sheriff Crymble. "Elmira told Diana that you sent her a note asking her to meet you somewhere," Ben said when they'd been served. "She didn't say where. Elmira apparently went. You didn't show. That's why she has no alibi for the time of Torrence's murder. Why didn't you meet her that night as you'd arranged?"

"I never sent her any note. I never send anybody notes." He looked ready to chew nails. "I told Elmira that."

 "She didn't believe you."

"She thinks I had something to do with framing her for murder." He cursed colorfully, fell silent for a moment, then added, "Hell, for all I know, she thinks I killed him!"

Ben silently acknowledged that he could understand the urge to kill a man who'd hurt the woman he loved. But Leeves would never have planted that glove, implicating Elmira. Unless he'd had other plans all along and the feelings he professed for Elmira were a ruse.

"Why did you try to take over the hotel after Elmira disappeared? That didn't sit well with Mrs. Spaulding."

"Sometimes, my reputation as a . . . businessman puts me at a disadvantage." His smile was grim.

Ben waited.

Leeves shrugged. "Let me buy you another drink, Northcote. We'll talk about Torrence women."

* * * *

"Has Mr. Leeves left town?" Diana asked when she came down to a late breakfast the next morning.

"On the morning train," Red Katie mumbled, her attention more on her food than on the subject of who went where. "The professor saw him go."

Diana shot a questioning glance Ben's way. "Did you convince him I don't know where Mother is?"

"I think I did, but it occurs to me that he might not really have her best interests at heart."

"You don't think he loves her?"

"I think he might have quarreled with Torrence over your father's past treatment of Elmira. If Leeves lost his temper, I could see him turning violent."

"I have trouble imagining such a scene. It's not that I don't think Leeves capable of killing. I do. But I rather think he'd use a gun. Or his bare hands." She had no better idea, however, and finished her breakfast in glum silence.

Shortly thereafter, a telegram arrived for her, the answer to her query to the Whitehead
Sun
. "Oh, my," she said as she read the lengthy missive.

"What is it?" Ben asked.

"Evan did have family. Does have family." She could hardly take it in. That he'd concealed a mother and two siblings from her seemed as much a betrayal as his constant unfaithfulness. He'd led her to believe there was no one. "I didn't even try to find relatives to notify when he died. His poor mother!"

Ben took the cable from her limp grasp and read its contents for himself. "Someone at the newspaper must have known Spaulding personally or they wouldn't have made the connection. According to this, his mother remarried. The brother and sister don't have the same last name."

"And it says she died only a few months after Evan did. Did she ever learn what happened to her first born child? Oh, Ben. How terrible for her either way."

He read the cable again. "Her children left town right afterward. I wonder why?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I find it suspicious that Evan turns out to have a half-brother and we're looking for someone who might have wanted to avenge Evan's death by killing your father."

What Ben was suggesting made a terrible kind of sense. According to the telegram, Lawrence Markham was twenty-four.

"Alan Kent," she whispered.

"Alan Kent," he agreed. "He's only been here a year. He's about the right age."

"And there was something about him the first time I met him," Diana recalled, "that reminded me of Evan. Not any particular feature. Just an . . . attitude. But he was with Jane the night Father died. They were at the Elmira all evening."

"He might have persuaded her to lie for him. Which one do you want to talk to first? Kent or Jane?"

"Kent," she said without hesitation.

But that proved easier said than done. Alan Kent had also left Torrence on the morning train. It wasn't a business trip. He'd packed his belongings and taken everything with him.

Miranda assumed it was because she'd rejected him.

Diana wasn't so sure.

Late that afternoon, she gathered everyone in her party together and announced that she and Ben were heading back to Denver on the next express, which would travel through the night and deliver them to their destination at mid-morning. "I suggest we all go."

"May as well," Red Katie said. "We aren't making any money here."

"Thanks to your friend Mr. Kent," Maryam said, glowering at Jane.

"He was just doing what his boss told him to."

"Boss
lady
," Maryam taunted her. "And we know why, too."

Jane looked blank. "What are you going on about now?"

Diana tried to stop Maryam from blurting it out, but she was too late.

"Your gentleman caller's been calling on Miranda Torrence, that's what. Why else do you think he told you to stay away from him while you're in Torrence? He's not going to marry you when he can have a rich widow instead."

"That's enough," Ben said in a quiet, authoritative voice that made Maryam's mouth snap shut. "I don't think Alan Kent is going to be marrying anyone. In fact, he may have been the one behind all Elmira's troubles."

"We're going back to Denver to talk to Charlie Duncan at the Windsor Hotel, and to Pearl Adams." Diana glanced at Ben. At his nod, she gave them a short version of the story they'd pieced together. "So, it looks as if Alan Kent may really be Lawrence Markham, and that he had a reason to kill my father. If Charlie confirms that he shared his speculations with Kent, then we'll have the connection we've been looking for."

For a long moment, no one spoke. Then Nellie's eyes grew big and she gave an excited squeal. "Oh, that's it, then. That's what I knew!"

"What is, Nellie?"

"I saw Mr. Kent that night. He came in right before Elmira returned." Her gleeful expression faded into puzzlement. "But that can't be right. Jane was with him. Wouldn't she know if he'd just murdered someone?"

All eyes turned to Jane. Pale with shock, she looked from face to face, as if seeking another explanation. "I don't understand," she stammered. "You can't be serious. Alan didn't kill Mr. Torrence."

"You said you spent the evening with Alan Kent at the Elmira, Jane. If Nellie is remembering right, then you lied about that. Did you go out with him instead? And more importantly, did you stay with him the whole time?"

Jane sniffed, trying to hold back tears, but it was no use. She buried her face in her hands and sobbed. Several minutes passed before she had control of herself and could be questioned.

"Just tell us the truth, Jane," Diana said. "It will all work out if you just don't lie to us anymore."

Jane clasped Diana's hand and, with obvious effort, met her concerned and sympathetic gaze. "I did lie," she whispered, "but even if I'd told the truth, I couldn't have told you anything that would have helped you exonerate Elmira."

"Why did you lie?"

"Because I was afraid you would think I killed your father."

Diana gaped at her. Jane nodded. She took another moment to gather herself. Then, finally, eyes averted, she began to speak again, so low that Diana had to strain to catch her words.

"Alan escorted me to the Windsor Hotel that evening to meet with your father. He'd sent for me, you see—Mr. Torrence. He paid me to spy on Elmira. That's how Alan and I met. Your father hired me to bring him information. But I wasn't really spying on your mother. Once I met her, got to know her, I confessed everything. After that I was really working for Elmira."

Diana had been told that her parents spied on each other, but she still had difficulty accepting the idea. All else aside, it seemed such a petty thing to do.

"Why don't you tell us what happened that night," Ben said, in his best coaxing voice.

Jane sent him a grateful, if watery, smile and complied. "We went to the Windsor, to the suite where Mr. Torrence died. Alan and I came in through the back so that no one would see us. Mr. Torrence was very particular about secrecy. He paid the hotel staff well not to be anywhere where they might see anything."

"Was Father alone?"

"He was when we left, but he was expecting someone. His mistress, we thought."

"But Father was already dead when she got there," Diana murmured. "Tell me honestly, Jane. Were you and Alan Kent together every moment?"

Jane closed her eyes briefly. "When we left, I went ahead to make sure the coast was clear," she whispered. "But no more than a minute or two passed before Alan caught up with me. I'm certain of it."

"It doesn't take long to stab someone," Ben said.

"But there was no blood on him. And there
was
on Elmira's glove." Jane began to sob again. "It
must
have been Elmira who came in and killed him. It
couldn't
have been Alan."

"There's only one way to find out," Diana said. "We'll have to track down Alan Kent."

Chapter Sixteen

The train arrived in Denver on schedule. By ten Thursday morning, Diana, Ben, and Jane were at the Windsor Hotel. The others had gone back to the Elmira on Diana's assurances that they would be allowed to stay there. That much, at least, had come out of the evening Ben had spent with Ed Leeves in the saloon in Torrence. Leeves had promised to leave Elmira's girls alone.

Diana and Jane returned to Ben's suite while he made inquiries about Charlie the assistant manager. They found everything exactly as they had left it, and yet nothing seemed the same. A few days ago, Diana had  trusted the quiet, unassuming young woman at her side. Now she wasn't so sure, and she was reluctant to take any risks with her mother's safety.

On the other hand, even if Jane had divided loyalties and might be tempted to warn Alan Kent, she wasn't likely to do Elmira any physical harm. "I need to send a message to Ning," Diana told her. "Can you find Wen and bring him here?"

"Of course," Jane said instantly. She seemed glad of something to do. She didn't even ask why.

As soon as she was gone, Diana took out the letter she'd received from her mother. It was brief and to the point. It ordered Diana to stop meddling. That was advice Diana had no intention of following, not with so many questions unresolved.

Fortunately, the short note also contained a clue to Elmira's present whereabouts. Diana lifted the paper to her nose and once again caught the faint scent of bleach.

Ning would be able to confirm her guess. He'd probably known all along that Elmira Torrence was hiding out in his aunt's laundry in Hop Alley. With luck, she'd still be there.

* * * *

Ben found Charlie Duncan easily enough. Everyone in the hotel knew where he was. Unfortunately, he wouldn't be answering any questions. He'd been dead long enough for rigor mortis to have passed off by the time Ben got a look at him.

"Dr. Northcote, is it? What's your interest in this?" Denver's coroner didn't look pleased to have a visiting colleague interrupt his work.

"This man was a potential witness in a murder case," Ben said. "His sudden death is very convenient for someone."

Raised eyebrows and a skeptical demeanor greeted this announcement. Before the coroner could go on the defensive, however, Ben took steps to help him save face.

"I see you've not begun the autopsy. If you wouldn't mind my observing, it would ease my mind about the circumstances of his death. And perhaps keep certain . . . concerned parties from needing an exhumation order at a later date?" He toyed with mentioning Ed Leeves, but concluded that might hurt rather than help his case.

"What murder did he witness?" the coroner asked.

"He knew more than he said about William Torrence's death. Someone may have wanted to make sure he kept silent."

With a grudging nod, the coroner agreed to Ben's request, proving himself an honest man after all.

Ben didn't know what he expected to find. Perhaps nothing. But he could tell the coroner had intended to write off Charles Duncan's death as a seizure, or perhaps a heart attack, and not investigate further. Now he would at least make a show of examining the body.

"I'm told," Ben said as he helped strip away Charlie's nightshirt, "that he was found around noon yesterday by his landlady."

The coroner grunted, busy examining Charlie's face. He studied a bit of spittle at the corner of the mouth and lifted an eyelid to peer at the pupils. "Said she was concerned that he hadn't shown his face since the previous night."

* * * *

An hour later the two doctors shared heavy mugs filled with hot tea laced with whiskey.

"Poison," the coroner said. "But what one?"

Ben warmed his hands on the sides of the mug before he took another sip. He had no proof, but a possibility had suggested itself when he'd seen the state of Charlie's kidneys. It was readily available in certain circles, and capable of ending a man's life in a matter of hours. He told the coroner what he thought before returning to the hotel.

* * * *

Diana was waiting in Ben's suite, impatience writ large on every feature. "Don't tell me," she muttered in exasperation when she saw that he was alone. "Charlie's gone. Run off to avoid talking to us. Wen's unavailable too. I haven't been able to send a message to Ning."

"Charlie's gone, all right." Ben looked not at Diana but at Jane when he made his announcement. "He's dead. He was poisoned. It was meant to look like some kind of seizure, but given that Alan Kent, or should I say Lawrence Markham, had a forty-eight hour head start on us, I think he killed Charlie to keep him quiet. Charlie could link Markham to Evan Spaulding."

Jane's usual pasty color blanched further. Behind her spectacles, her eyes looked haunted. "That wasn't supposed to happen," she whispered. "He's not a murderer. He's a good man."

"Did you give him the Oil of Tansy, Jane?" Ben asked.

"No!"

"You had access to it. You spoke of it when Nellie mixed up her bottles. I imagine it's fairly common in places like the Elmira Hotel. Women have known for centuries that a high dose of tansy can abort a fetus. Of course, any dose high enough to kill an unborn child is also likely to kill the mother, but perhaps that's an acceptable risk in your business."