9.1 Vivienne

The atmosphere in the parlour room was markedly different from the earlier tension that had filled it before, Vivienne noted when she walked in. Liam and his father were seated on plush chairs, glasses of whisky in hand and a half empty bottle of something that looked expensive on the table between them. It was a squat glass thing, reminding Vivienne more of a laboratory volumetric flask than anything you ought to drink out of, and covered with a matching glass stopper in the shape of a crystal diamond.

The air was sour with the scent of alcohol, which mixed badly with her husband and father-in-law’s colognes to create a noxious that put Vivienne in mind of rotting trees and trash. Not that they noticed, as their conversation was completely dominated by boasts about their various real estate investments, and neither of them even noticed when Vivienne pushed the door open and stepped over the threshold.

Marcus was by the door, looming there so silently that Vivienne d