Murder in the Mansion by Lili Evans Page A

sunshine she began to
consider the events that would ultimately bring about her death.
     
     
    ****
     
     
    William
stood at the window of his office staring out at the view of the lake. His law
firm was on the fortieth floor of a huge skyscraper in the heart of downtown
Toronto. From his expensive vantage point he could watch the boats coming and
going. He could also enjoy the women in short skirts and heels eating their
lunch on the terrace across the street.
    Even
at sixty, William was still unsure of which he appreciated more: money and
success, or a beautiful woman. He had spent a great deal of his life
surrounding himself with both.
    His
parents had provided him with a decent education and upbringing. They had put
him through university, even after he had bowed out of the family real estate
business. His brother had taken over that responsibility, leaving William without
obligation. After university he had used the inheritance left to him by his
grandparents to travel through Europe and had come home to go to law school.
That was where, in a sense, his life had really begun. William's twenties had
been an exciting time in his life. He had seen some of the world, dated a lot
of women, and met his best friends in law school.
    And
then at almost thirty, he had met Vivien.
    That,
William thought, had been the beginning of something else. He had stopped at
nothing to meet her, to have her, and to marry her.
    His
thoughts halted abruptly at the knock on his door. It was polite, a quick
rapping of knuckles against the wood before the door was pushed open.
    “Did
you eat?” Sam asked. He and William had been best friends since law school. It
had seemed natural for them to go into business together afterward and now
they, along with their friend Paul, owned a law firm together.
    “No,
I didn't bother to head down yet.”
    Sam
hesitated. William continued to watch the blonde in the blue sundress. He
guessed she was probably in her early twenties.
    “Do
you want to go get something?”
    “I
don't know. I don't want to ruin my appetite.”
    “For
what?”
    “Vivien's
party.”
    Sam
hissed out a breath. “Dammit. How do you do that?”
    “She's
been planning it for weeks,” William tore his eyes away from the blonde. “I
might be getting old but I'm not deaf and blind.”
    “Nadia
told you.”
    “Nadia
can't keep a secret!” William laughed. “She's her mother's daughter. It's
always written all over her face.”
    Sam
leaned against the door frame. “Well, act surprised. I know it's been a bit
daunting for her.”
    “Yeah,”
William began to sort through the pile of papers on his desk. “It's the first
party since, well, you know.”
    “Yeah,”
Sam spoke quietly.
    “Where's
Paul? Can he join us for lunch?”
    “Not
today,” Sam replied. “He rushed out of here early. Said he probably wouldn't be
back.”
    “He's
coming tonight though, right?”
    “He
said he'd be there,” Sam reassured him. “He had an appointment.”
    “Another
one?” William looked up from his desk.
    “I
think they ran some tests,” Sam said. “I heard him on the phone.”
    “Must
have gone for the results then.”
    “Guess
so,” Sam shrugged it off. “You know Paul, if he wants us to know, he'll tell
us. If not, you'll never get it out of him.”
    “Sounds
about right,” William agreed. “Well, I wouldn't mind a birthday drink.”
    “Got
any place in mind?”
    “There,”
William pointed to the terrace he had been staring at.
    “Across
the street?” Sam was incredulous.
    “Yeah,”
William told him. “We'll sit on the terrace and check out the blonde in the
blue dress.”
    “I'll
bet she's young enough to be your daughter,” Sam said.
    “Of
course,” William told him. “But that doesn't mean I'm going to do anything.”
    “This
time,” Sam retorted.
    “I
turned sixty today,” William's tone was serious. “I'm not as young as I used to
be and my heart isn't as strong as it once was. Those days are