Page 59 of Reckless Chance

“I’d like to speak with Taylor Williams, please.”

“May I ask who’s calling?”

“It’s Lowri Upton. I’m following up on a meeting earlier today.”

“Thank you. I’ll transfer you now.”

After a short wait, I hear, “Hello. This is Taylor. I understand you’re following up on a matter. I’m confused as to which matter that might be.”

I wasn’t expecting a high-pitched voice that sounds nothing like the man we met, so I ask, “Is this Taylor Williams?”

“That’s correct.”

“Then I’m confused as well. I met with an attorney earlier today whose name is Taylor Williams. That attorney was a man with a deeper voice than yours. Do you have a relative by the same name?”

She laughs. “Not that I’m aware of, and I’m not a man. Whomever you met with was someone else.”

“So, to be clear, you don’t know of another estates & trusts attorney in Las Vegas by the name of Taylor Williams?”

“No, and it’s a rather small community of lawyers in my field here. I’d know if there was one.”

“How strange. He must not have been local. I’m curious. Why don’t you have a photo on your website? Did you join the firm recently?”

“No. Someone hacked our website last week and posted cartoon caricatures of everyone. Management used that as an excuse to update our real photos. It’s supposed to be fixed in a day or so.”

“What a pain. Sorry to have bothered you.”

“No problem.”

“Thanks for your time.”

I end the call, more suspicious than before. It’s a strange coincidence that their website was hacked the same week someone showed up using her name.

For the next hour, I search every attorney database and website I can find, looking for another Taylor Williams. It turns out there are four. One is dead, one is retired, one is a patent litigator, and another is an in-house attorney at a car manufacturer. None of their photos even faintly resembles the man we met today.

Hmm. Detective Fielder will want to hear about this oddity too.

Turning to social media, I search for info on Mr. Brentwood. He wasn’t actively posting anywhere. I don’t even find any photos of him with his partner. On the other hand, Mr. Galanis is all over social media, but Mr. Brentwood is missing from the posts. Even more unexpected is that Amelia, the performer from the show, is in several photos with Mr. Galanis.

What does that mean? Is that how Mr. Brentwood got his ticket to the show? If that’s the case, why didn’t Mr. Galanis know that fact? And why didn’t Amelia mention it?

I’m considering whether to have another chat with Amelia when my computer dings with a message. The surveillance videos are ready.

Great. Let’s see if any of the accidents before Mr. Brentwood’s fatal fall were caught on video.

Talk about boring.I’ve caught myself dozing off at least three times as I go through hours of videos from the theater. I need caffeine and sugar.

“Walter, if you can hear me, please bring me a cup of coffee and something with chocolate for a snack.”

If it wouldn’t appall Sean’s butler, I’d be happy to retrieve the snacks myself. However, when Walter is on duty, he’s made it clear that he’ll take care of my requests for food, and Jenny will handle anything related to my wardrobe. Apparently, my marriage to Sean meant a promotion for Jenny. She’s now assigned to me full time rather than looking after me and VIPs in several other suites.

As if by magic, Walter appears. “Of course, ma’am. It will only take a few minutes.”

“How do you do that?” I shake my head.

“It’s my job, and if I do say so, I’m quite good at it.”

He bows slightly and leaves before I can think of what to say.