Fatal as a Fallen Woman by Kathy Lynn Emerson Page A

parents threw him into even greater confusion. It made no sense to him that she hadn't asked for his help or advice when she'd all but agreed to marry him. Surely whatever skeletons resided in her family's closet were no worse than the many secrets the Northcotes kept.
    Foxe tipped his chair back and took a moment to collect his thoughts before he asked, "Ever hear the name William 'Timberline' Torrence?"
    "No."
    "Diana's father. Mean cuss, from what I hear. M'sister met him once." Foxe blew a smoke ring at the ceiling.
    So she'd been born Diana Torrence. It seemed strange to think of her as anyone but Diana Spaulding, though he did think Diana Northcote would suit her even better. "Did Torrence send for her?"
    Ben supposed she'd have rushed off to Denver if her father had dangled the hope of a reconciliation under her nose, although that didn't explain why she had been so terse in her telegram. Or why she'd apparently instructed Horatio Foxe not to reply to any of Ben's predictable demands for information.
    Foxe's chair landed on all four legs with a thump. He took the cigar out of his mouth and ran ink-stained fingers through a shock of sand-colored hair. The ironic gleam in his eyes had been replaced by a somber expression. "Torrence was murdered."
    "Good God!" Ben came to his feet in a rush, then stood still, arms akimbo, at a loss what to do or say next.
    "It gets worse."
    By the time Foxe finished providing details, Ben stared unseeing at the tall buildings visible through the office window. Why hadn't Diana told him what had happened? Surely she didn't believe he'd think less of her for anything her parents had done? That was insulting to him.
    "I haven't heard from Diana since she left New York," Foxe said after a short silence, "but I have learned a bit more about her mother's situation. Seems she's been running a bordello ever since the divorce. I don't mind telling you I'm a little worried about Diana. Must have been a shock when she got there and found out about that ."
    It certainly took Ben aback. He lowered himself into the chair once more and met Foxe's penetrating stare. "Diana is a remarkably open-minded female, and I have reason to know she can look at a 'soiled dove' and see an individual woman."
    Foxe's eyes narrowed. "Could you handle learning something like that about your mother?"
    Ben didn't answer. He didn't even try to imagine such a situation. "What about the murder charge?"
    Foxe shrugged, but there was a worried look on his face. "Elmira Torrence took off before the police could arrest her. She's disappeared without a trace." He extinguished the stub of his cigar and began to swivel his chair back and forth.
    "If there's something more, spit it out." Ben couldn't think of much that would be worse than the murder of one parent by the other, but something was obviously preying on Foxe's mind.
    "Denver grew fast, and so did its underbelly." He stopped swiveling and met Ben's gaze head on. "Politicians and lawmen are well paid to look the other way when it comes to what goes on in the saloons and gambling halls and brothels. According to my sources, Elmira Torrence has long-standing ties to one of the most influential of these . . . gentlemen, a fellow known as Big Ed. Edward Leeves. They grew up in the same small town. Both his parents and hers were in the hotel business. Elmira hooked up with him again after her divorce. If she's been involved in his business ventures, above and beyond running a whorehouse, and Diana pokes her nose in where it doesn't belong in an attempt to locate her mother . . . ."
    Ben bolted to his feet as Foxe let the thought trail off. Diana would "poke her nose in" and they both knew it.
    "You can get to Denver in five days if you leave right away and travel straight through. Diana herself can't have reached there sooner than Wednesday or Thursday."
    This was Saturday. Ben met Foxe's grim smile with a grimace of his own. There was no telling how much trouble Diana could get