Smoke in Mirrors

oriented toward the view of the lake and the office towers of downtown Seattle on the other side. Two very expensive-looking vehicles of European extraction were parked outside the garage at the edge of the broad drive.
    “Deke was right,” she said. “Whatever happened after the murder of Sebastian Eubanks, Andrew Grayson doesn’t seem to have suffered too much financially.”
    “Judging from his attitude on the phone when I called him a while ago, he isn’t shy about discussing it, either.”
    They got out of the SUV and walked toward the entrance. The double front doors were lacquered in a rich, gleaming red. They opened just as Thomas reached out to ring the bell.

    A silver-haired man with patrician features stood in the opening. He wore a cream-colored shirt and hand-tailored trousers. Intelligent curiosity lit his eyes. There was also a measure of caution in his gaze.
    “Miss Hutton and Mr. Walker? I’m Andrew Grayson. Please come in.”
    “Thank you,” Leonora said.
    Thomas held out his hand. “Call me Thomas.”
    Andrew took the hand Thomas offered. His grip was firm and confident. He studied Thomas’s black eye.
    “Mind if I ask?” he said.
    “No, but it will be easier to explain in context.”
    Andrew nodded. “This way, please.”
    Thomas followed behind Leonora as Andrew led the way through a wide, two-story-atrium center hall.
    The hall opened onto an expansive great room. The floor-to-ceiling windows captured the sweeping, panoramic view of the lake. A green lawn rolled down a gentle incline to the water’s edge. A sleek yacht was tied up at the private dock.
    A man who looked to be about the same age as Andrew, but with more weight and far less hair, was working on the dock. Thomas watched him hoist a coil of rope and disappear inside the large craft.
    “My partner, Ben Matthis,” Andrew said. He motioned toward a pair of black lacquered chairs upholstered in tan leather. “Please sit down.”
    Leonora turned away from the window and sat down beside Thomas.
    “Thanks for agreeing to see us on such short notice,” Thomas said.
    Andrew lowered himself to the cushions of a black leather sofa and leaned back into the corner with negligent ease. “I must admit, you said just enough on the phone to make me curious. I went online while I waitedfor you and I found nothing in the reports of the deaths of the two women you mentioned to connect them to the murder of Sebastian Eubanks.”
    Thomas glanced at Leonora and then clasped his hands loosely between his knees.
    “We’re not sure there is a connection,” he said. “But we do know that, shortly before she died, Bethany Walker was interested in the details of the Eubanks murder. The second woman, Meredith Spooner, found some clippings of the murder that Bethany had apparently tried to hide. A short time later, she, too, was dead. Both women spent a lot of time at Mirror House before their deaths and both women were rumored to have been using drugs.”
    “We don’t believe that last part,” Leonora said. “We’re very sure that neither Bethany nor Meredith was into the drug scene.”
    “That’s all you’ve got?” Andrew asked.
    “There’s more.” Thomas gestured toward his shiner. “Some guy in a ski mask tried to throw me off the footbridge last night. He was high on drugs at the time. The chief of police says the kid probably won’t remember much about the assault.”
    “But you don’t think it was a random act of violence, is that it?”
    “No,” Thomas said. “I think a con man named Alex Rhodes is involved in this thing. He doesn’t want us digging any deeper.”
    Andrew looked thoughtful. “The fact that you found me means you’ve already dug very deep. The college trustees went to great lengths to keep my connection to Eubanks a dark secret after I was asked to resign.”
    “We had a little help from Margaret Lewis,” Leonora said.
    Andrew’s expression first showed surprise and thenquiet amusement. “Ah, yes. The department secretary. That explains everything. I’m delighted to hear that she’s still alive. An amazingly competent individual, Mrs. Lewis.”
    “What can you tell us about the murder?” Thomas asked.
    “About the murder? Nothing.” Andrew moved one hand, palm up. “Except to say that I didn’t do it. And I don’t know anything about this Alex Rhodes person you mentioned. But I can tell you a few things about Sebastian Eubanks, if you like.”
    “Margaret said that Eubanks had