Read Online No Mortal Reason by Kathy Lynn Emerson - Free Book Online
Authors: Kathy Lynn Emerson
Ads: Link
was why she’d reacted so strongly to their disconcerting discovery.
In the privacy of the elevator, which he was able to operate after a brief study of the controls—pulling the cable down started the car moving up—Diana finally spoke.
“If we’ve walked straight into an old murder, then my family is right in the middle of it.”
“They’re going to have a difficult time,” he agreed. The unease he felt concerning the afternoon’s events increased.
“I’d like to help them somehow,” Diana said, “but I’m an outsider. I have no inkling what connections exist among these people. It’s a small community. For all we know, Elly Lyseth’s death is part of some feud that goes back for generations, and I don’t even want to think about what the good pastor may do to stir things up.”
“The situation is confusing right now,” Ben agreed as he brought the elevator to a smooth stop. He took her arm to walk to their suite. Diana seemed to have forgiven him for registering them as husband and wife but he was not such a fool as to broach that subject. “It is impossible to think clearly on an empty stomach,” he said instead. “After we have that set meal, we’ll talk.”
In the suite, he saw at a glance that his forgiveness was still in doubt. Diana had not unpacked for him. His Gladstone bag sat beside the sofa. A pillow and blanket had been stacked next to it.
When she went into the other room and closed the door, Ben hurriedly changed his shirt, collar, and cravat, and brushed his hair. His coat and trousers could have used a good brushing too, but he did not have a great many clothes with him and it did not seem necessary to put on the Prince Albert he wore as formal evening dress. He assumed the vest and coat he’d been wearing, then sat down in one of the parlor’s comfortable armchairs to wait for Diana to reappear.
Contrary to what he’d told her, he already had a very clear notion of what they should do. This was not a propitious time for a family reunion. Moreover, he had sensed dangerous undercurrents in Lenape Springs. As Diana’s future husband, it was his responsibility to keep her from getting caught in a riptide. As soon as possible, he intended that they leave this place.
* * * *
Ben and Diana had only just stepped out of the elevator into the lobby when Miss Grant intercepted them. “The coroner’s here,” she announced.
“He made good time.”
“Pastor Riker sent for him even before he came here to view what the workmen found. He delights in making trouble for us. And Mr. Buckley has a good horse. He wants to talk to you, Dr. Northcote, in the family parlor. I’ll show you the way.”
“I’ll come with you,” Diana offered.
“He just wants Dr. Northcote.” Miss Grant’s earlier anger at her father seemed to have faded to a simmering irritation directed at the world in general. The look she sent Diana was unfriendly in the extreme.
“I’ll wait for you in the dining room,” Diana said, accepting the inevitable. They both knew it would be a waste of energy to protest such an edict, but she did not yield without a grimace. She hated to be left out of anything, even a situation likely to distress her.
Ben lifted her hand to his lips. “Eat something. As one who knows you well, I predict it is only a matter of minutes before your stomach begins to growl. Loudly.”
This indelicate remark had Miss Grant goggling at them, but Diana only smiled and sent him on his way. What he’d said was nothing less than the truth. It also called up pleasant memories between them.
Miss Grant left him at the parlor door after calling out, “Doctor’s here.”
Ben pushed it open and went in. It appeared that the coroner, a thin, bespectacled man of about Ben’s own years, was just finishing up his interview with the Grant brothers. Howd Grant, ill-at-ease and fidgeting, stood by a window. Myron Grant, once again scowling fiercely, sat facing Mr. Buckley, both of them in
In the privacy of the elevator, which he was able to operate after a brief study of the controls—pulling the cable down started the car moving up—Diana finally spoke.
“If we’ve walked straight into an old murder, then my family is right in the middle of it.”
“They’re going to have a difficult time,” he agreed. The unease he felt concerning the afternoon’s events increased.
“I’d like to help them somehow,” Diana said, “but I’m an outsider. I have no inkling what connections exist among these people. It’s a small community. For all we know, Elly Lyseth’s death is part of some feud that goes back for generations, and I don’t even want to think about what the good pastor may do to stir things up.”
“The situation is confusing right now,” Ben agreed as he brought the elevator to a smooth stop. He took her arm to walk to their suite. Diana seemed to have forgiven him for registering them as husband and wife but he was not such a fool as to broach that subject. “It is impossible to think clearly on an empty stomach,” he said instead. “After we have that set meal, we’ll talk.”
In the suite, he saw at a glance that his forgiveness was still in doubt. Diana had not unpacked for him. His Gladstone bag sat beside the sofa. A pillow and blanket had been stacked next to it.
When she went into the other room and closed the door, Ben hurriedly changed his shirt, collar, and cravat, and brushed his hair. His coat and trousers could have used a good brushing too, but he did not have a great many clothes with him and it did not seem necessary to put on the Prince Albert he wore as formal evening dress. He assumed the vest and coat he’d been wearing, then sat down in one of the parlor’s comfortable armchairs to wait for Diana to reappear.
Contrary to what he’d told her, he already had a very clear notion of what they should do. This was not a propitious time for a family reunion. Moreover, he had sensed dangerous undercurrents in Lenape Springs. As Diana’s future husband, it was his responsibility to keep her from getting caught in a riptide. As soon as possible, he intended that they leave this place.
* * * *
Ben and Diana had only just stepped out of the elevator into the lobby when Miss Grant intercepted them. “The coroner’s here,” she announced.
“He made good time.”
“Pastor Riker sent for him even before he came here to view what the workmen found. He delights in making trouble for us. And Mr. Buckley has a good horse. He wants to talk to you, Dr. Northcote, in the family parlor. I’ll show you the way.”
“I’ll come with you,” Diana offered.
“He just wants Dr. Northcote.” Miss Grant’s earlier anger at her father seemed to have faded to a simmering irritation directed at the world in general. The look she sent Diana was unfriendly in the extreme.
“I’ll wait for you in the dining room,” Diana said, accepting the inevitable. They both knew it would be a waste of energy to protest such an edict, but she did not yield without a grimace. She hated to be left out of anything, even a situation likely to distress her.
Ben lifted her hand to his lips. “Eat something. As one who knows you well, I predict it is only a matter of minutes before your stomach begins to growl. Loudly.”
This indelicate remark had Miss Grant goggling at them, but Diana only smiled and sent him on his way. What he’d said was nothing less than the truth. It also called up pleasant memories between them.
Miss Grant left him at the parlor door after calling out, “Doctor’s here.”
Ben pushed it open and went in. It appeared that the coroner, a thin, bespectacled man of about Ben’s own years, was just finishing up his interview with the Grant brothers. Howd Grant, ill-at-ease and fidgeting, stood by a window. Myron Grant, once again scowling fiercely, sat facing Mr. Buckley, both of them in
Similar Books
