Read Online The River Knows by Amanda Quick - Free Book Online

all certain that we can leap to the conclusion that he murdered Fiona Risby.”
    “I agree. Her death was, by all accounts, a suicide.” Emma considered briefly. “But there is that necklace Stalbridge found in Hastings’s safe. Emeralds and diamonds set in gold, you say?”
    “Yes. It looked quite valuable. At this point, however, I have only Mr. Stalbridge’s word that it belonged to Fiona. Even if that proves to be true, it no longer constitutes proof of Hastings’s guilt now that it has been removed from the safe.”
    Emma gave a ladylike snort. “Stalbridge was right about one thing: Leaving it in the safe would have served no purpose. If Hastings really is guilty of murder, he is hardly likely to allow the police to search his house.”
    “And even if it were found in the house, I’ve no doubt that Hastings would be able to provide some explanation. He could always claim that the necklace belonged to his first wife, who had admired the Risby necklace and had ordered an exact copy from a jeweler.”
    “Not that Victoria Hastings would have worn a copy of anyone else’s jewelry,” Emma said dryly. “She was a lady who set the fashion. She did not follow it.”
    “I recall that you mentioned she was noted for her sense of style.”
    “Yes. She was a very beautiful woman.”
    Louisa quickly opened her notebook to the pages labeled VH. At the start of the investigation into Hastings’s business affairs she had asked Emma for some background information on Hastings and his first wife. She had also interviewed the lady’s maid who had worked for Victoria Hastings.
    There were not many notes on Victoria. At the time she had not considered the first Mrs. Hastings important, but in hindsight a couple of phrases took on new meaning.
    She ran her finger down a page of her own cryptic handwriting and paused.
    “You mentioned that she was one of the few women you had met who knew how to swim,” she said.
    “She was the only woman I ever met, aside from myself, who knew how to swim,” Emma stated. “It is not a skill that many females ever learn.”
    “That would seem to lend credence to Mr. Stalbridge’s theory that she may have been murdered. Why would a woman who could swim choose to jump off a bridge as a means of suicide?”
    “Any woman, skilled swimmer or not, who leaped into the river fully clothed would likely drown,” Emma pointed out. “A fashionable lady often wears nearly forty pounds of clothing. The sheer weight of her skirts and corsets would draw her down to the bottom as surely as if she were chained to a boulder.”
    Louisa shuddered. “True.” She consulted her notes again. “You said you did not know her well.”
    “No. I don’t believe she had any family connections of her own to speak of. I met her occasionally at various social affairs, but that was the extent of our acquaintance.”
    “Her maid told me that Hastings was in the habit of discussing his business affairs with her. It is rather uncommon for a husband to do that. He must have admired her intelligence.”
    Emma nodded. “She seemed to me to be a very shrewd woman. I can well imagine that she had a head for financial matters.”
    Louisa closed the notebook again and leaned back in her chair. “There is something that worries me about Mr. Stalbridge.”
    Emma raised her brows. “I am pleased to see that your intuition is functioning well. Tell me, what is it that alarms you? Aside from the fact that he knows how to break into a safe, of course.” She paused for emphasis. “I trust you do realize that is a rather unusual talent for a gentleman?”
    “I admit that skill does raise a few questions, but what concerns me the most is that he appears to be obsessed with the notion that Fiona Risby did not commit suicide. I got the impression last night that he would go to any lengths to prove that she was murdered.”
    Emma gave a small shrug. “I expect it is because he would like to clear his own name.”
    Louisa