Swan Song (Julie O'Hara Mystery Series) Read Online Free Page B

person’s state of mind. We know the outward circumstances of Dianna’s life. I’d like to take it a step further, to understand her better. Is that all right?”
    They both nodded, silently.
    “You told the police that the last time you had seen Dianna was on Christmas day…that she came here, to your house. Is that right?”
    “Yes,” said Frank. “She came over for dinner, like always.”
    “She came to dinner a lot?”
    “Well…no…on holidays,” he said, sitting back, crossing his arms.
    Defensive…
    She looked directly at Betty and asked her a key question.
    “Dianna died on January 28 th , four weeks later. You hadn’t spoken to her in a month?”
    Frank answered before Betty had a chance to speak.
    “Dianna was in Real Estate. She was busy. She didn’t have a lot of free time.”
    Betty turned to him. Quietly, but firmly, she said, “She was never too busy to call me , Frank.”
    Julie paused, surprised by an intense micro expression that momentarily flitted across Betty’s face, but she caught herself and went on.
    “Joe was telling me that you folks are originally from Massachusetts. It looks like someone was quite good at skating,” said Julie, rising and moving toward the display of trophies. “Are they Dianna’s?”
    “Yes, all of them,” said Frank, joining her. “Dianna was a championship figure skater. These earlier ones, the plaques, were from her skating club. They had tests that the skaters had to pass for different levels, you know, junior, intermediate, senior? And this one, this is the Massachusetts State Champion trophy, first place.” He was beaming with pride at this point, remembering Dianna’s skating triumphs. “This smaller one is for the New England Regional. She placed third, but, of course, that was a much larger pool of skaters; they came from several states. And this one is for freestyle at the Rinks Festival…”
    Julie waited until he had described each award. “That is really impressive,” she said. “It takes a lot of hard work for a young athlete to get to those levels. It takes dedicated parents, too, what with the cost of private instruction and all the travel to competitions.”
    “Yes,” he said, smiling. Clearly, he hadn’t minded at all.
    “How long have you lived in Orlando?” Julie asked, as they returned to their seats. “Ten years,” said Frank, relaxed now. “We moved here after Dianna graduated. We were sick of the winters. Just wanted to get out of the cold, you know? We waited until she got out of school and made the move.”
    Betty rolled her eyes. It was slight, almost imperceptible.
    “Did Dianna miss the skating?”
    “No,” said Frank quickly, looking down. “She outgrew it.” He looked up again. “She wanted to get on with her life, you know how kids are.”
    Betty was looking straight at Julie, her feet together on the floor. But the moment Frank said, “ She outgrew it”, Betty shifted her position, as if uncomfortable. She looked away and crossed her right leg over her left, pointing away from him.
    Change the subject…she’s upset.
    “Did Dianna have a boyfriend, Betty?”
    “I think so, but she never talked about him,” she said, tension giving way to a small, sad smile. “I was curious. I tried to get her to open up about that, but she was very private in that regard.”
    “Did she express any feelings about work?”
    “Oh, she loved her work, and her clients loved her. They would buy one of her listings and then buy her a gift. She worked hard. And she was very competitive. That helped make her successful, I think.”
    “No doubt about it,” said Frank with pride.
    •
    “Well, any insights?” said Joe as he backed his Land Rover out of the driveway.
    “Oh, yes. First off, I think these two are ultimately headed for a divorce. Not all that unusual after the death of a child, especially an only child.”
    “I didn’t get that impression…what makes you think that?”
    “Several things. Do you