Murder in the Mansion Read Online Free PDF

voice again, “Good! I wish you'd died a long time
ago!”
    There
was the sound of a crack. Not very loud, but enough that William jerked against
the door. He could hear muffled sobbing. “Why don't you go back to hell where
you came from. No! Stay away from me! I will never let you near me again! I
never should have let you near me in the first place!” Her voice had grown
louder and louder. William took a long sip to calm his pounding heart. “I never
loved you! Sex isn't love.”
    He
stood frozen for one moment, realizing one of the voices belonged to his wife.
Then he pushed the door open and heaved the champagne glass across the room.
The glass shattered against the wall. Assessing the scene unfolding before him
William stepped back as if he'd been struck. As if sealing his fate, he slammed
the door shut behind him.
     
     
    ****
     
     
    Before
going into the study, Vivien had seen William glance her way across the patio
and knew he wanted to talk to her. After more than three decades with her
husband, she thought she knew every look and gesture. She wanted a few minutes
to herself before she spoke to him. She wanted a few minutes away from all of
the people who crowded her, from the noise, from all of it. She spent a few
moments speaking with her sister, thinking she'd sneak inside afterward, and
then turned when Nadia spoke from behind her.
    “Great
speech, Mom.”
    “Thanks,”
Vivien was surprised when Nadia hugged her. She put her arms around her,
knowing how many people were watching, and tried not to be bothered by the
public display of  affection. She and Nadia had never had that kind of
relationship.
    “Dad
says I'm free to go. I won't be late.”
    “Okay,”
Vivian studied her. “I don't have to tell you to be careful.”
    “No,”
Nadia agreed. “I haven't had much to drink.”
    “Then
I'll see you later,” Vivien replied. Her eyes passed over her husband across
the patio. He looked distracted but was heading into the house. This was her
moment to get away from everyone, and she didn't give Nadia a backward glance
as she made her way briskly toward the house.
    It
was only the speech that had rattled her nerves, she told herself as she moved
quickly through the kitchen. She'd put a lot of thought into what she would say
and how she would say it and thought she had pulled it off well. About a dozen
guests had rushed onto the terrace after she'd finished to congratulate her, to
tell her how meaningful it had been, and to thank her for being so gracious.
Pamela had even had her husband film the whole thing and would send her a copy
later.
    In
the powder room off the foyer she seemed miles away from the constant chatter.
She wasn't required to smile or make small talk or throw out compliments,
deserved or otherwise. She stared warily at herself in the mirror. Her dark hair
was perfectly styled, her make up unsmeared, even after so many hours of
socializing in the June heat. Her white sundress was fashionable but not
overdone. Her silver sandals were feminine but surprisingly comfortable. Vivien
had learned every trick of the trade. She felt she had mastered all of the
versions of herself she was required to portray. In her marriage to William,
she had excelled as a hostess. She had passed, narrowly, as a wife. She had
failed completely as a mother.
    Maybe
if she hadn't been so busy looking the part and trying to be perfect, she
thought. She knew she had been an asset to William's career but essentially his
career had ruined their marriage and that had destroyed their children. It was
like a pyramid. Their lives had been ruined from the top down and the important
things that upheld the entire structure, were struggling at the bottom to keep
the whole thing from falling down.
    She
slipped discreetly out of the powder room and down the long hallway. She loved
her house. She had made it her own. She had overseen the building of additions
and decorating, occupying herself on the many occasions when William