Shaded Light: The Case of the Tactless Trophy Wife: A Paul Manziuk and Jacquie Ryan Mystery (The Manziuk and Ryan Mysteries Book 1) Read Free

shade,
    She stood, a sight to make
    an old man young.
    —ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON

ONE
    You self-righteous liar! But then you never think of anyone but yourself!”
    As Peter Martin stepped into the front hallway of his penthouse in an exclusive residential area of downtown Toronto, he was surprised to hear his wife’s angry voice. The voice he’d been hearing a lot lately. The one he hadn’t realized she possessed until several months ago. But this time she wasn’t speaking to him.
    He’d come home early from the office to pack for their weekend trip, expecting to find his young wife in the midst of deciding what clothes she should take to dazzle their friends. Instead, she appeared to be telling someone off. Unless by some miracle she was annoyed with herself. “Yeah, right,” Peter said softly.
    “But, Jillian, I wrote you weeks ago, and I asked you to let me know if this weekend wasn’t convenient.” The answering voice was soft and apologetic. Peter recognized it as belonging to his wife’s older sister, Shauna.
    Peter crossed the tiny front hallway into the living room.
    Jillian Martin, Peter’s wife, was seated on the sofa. Tone-on-tone embroidered ivory cushions served as a perfect backdrop for her flowing golden hair and tangerine lounging pajamas. As was inevitable when Peter saw her, he found his eyes caught and held by the smoothness of her tanned skin and the perfection of her delicate features.
    But today he had to shift his glance to Shauna, Jillian’s opposite—tall, gangly, mousy-haired, and pale—standing awkwardly before Jillian like a child on the carpet, her hands clasped, shoulders hunched. The small suitcase at her feet only served to make her position even more embarrassing.
    Jillian’s voice dropped to a purr. “Peter, darling, I’m so glad you’re home. Shauna has just arrived on the doorstep. She says I knew she was coming, but I didn’t, Peter. I’m sure I didn’t!”
    “Hello, Shauna.” Peter held out his hand as he walked toward her. “It’s good to see you even if there is a mix-up.”
    In spite of the thick lenses of her black-rimmed glasses, he could see relief in her eyes as she put her hand into his. The hand was limp and cold, and he held it for only an instant before moving to the sofa beside Jillian and inviting Shauna to sit down and make herself at home. Simultaneously, a part of his mind wrestled with the question of what to do with her.
    “I’ve told Shauna I’m sorry, but we just won’t be here, will we, Petey?” Jillian’s clear blue eyes, big as saucers, gazed at him with a studied helplessness he was getting to know well.
    “She’s right, Shauna. We’re going to one of my partner’s homes for the weekend. A house party. But perhaps we can work something out.”
    Shauna had tentatively seated herself on the edge of a plush ivory chair. Now she leaned forward and twisted her hands. “Oh, please, don’t worry about me. I must have made a mistake. If you’re going away I can just get a bus back home. Or I could stay here while you’re gone and look after things. There are a couple of books I wanted to buy. I could read them.”
    “What an utterly boring weekend!” Peter said with the involuntary shudder of a man who regarded books of all forms as work. “I think we can do better than that.”
    Jillian placed a beautifully manicured hand on her husband’s arm. “But there’s nothing wrong with that, Peter. She can stay here and read or watch TV. She’ll be fine.”
    “Yes, really I will, Peter.” Shauna sat forward eagerly, and he was almost convinced.
    “So it’s settled,” Jillian said as she rose gracefully from the sofa. “Well, I have to get back to packing. You can put your things in the guest room, Shauna. I had a late brunch, so if you’re hungry you’ll have to fix yourself something. I don’t know what there is.” As she left the room, she turned to her husband and said, “Don’t give it another thought, Peter.