The Body on the Lawn

Well, it has been a busy morning.  Breakfast with my brother was moved till tomorrow.  Something came up... he and his wife are trying to sell their house, partially to help pay for the farm.
And, I guess it's time to let the cat out of the bag.  Well, it's not really a cat.  It's more like a book.  A mystery.  The E book is now available on Kindle.  Paperbacks will be able to be ordered Friday, I think.

Since I've never done this before, I thought I'd give you a bit of the first chapter,

Darkness…

Dawn.  I’m an early riser.  Always have been.  Sitting up, I swung my feet over the side of the bed and slid them into my slippers.  The dogs were already stirring.  Boxers.  Since there are seven, we call them the Von Trapp Family Boxers, I know, very cute.

We have thirty-eight rooms, not counting the ballroom, a full time cook we call Cook, and three part-time maids.  The only mansion bigger in Laurel Lakes is Margaret Stanley’s, she has us beat by eight rooms, and her ballroom is substantially larger.

Crossing into the salon, I pushed up the door of the dumbwaiter and lifted out our morning tray with a carafe of coffee.  Morning equals caffeine.  Cup in hand, I pulled up my calendar to see what I had scheduled for the day.  First thing on the list?  Walking the dogs.

Twenty minutes later I was heading down the staircase surrounded by the Von Trapps.  Even though my grandfather installed an elevator when he’d built the place, we most often used the stairs.  The elevator is almost a work of art, all brass filigree. I remember my grandmother telling me how, when she was a little girl, two maids would need a full day to keep the whole thing bright and shiny.  My grandfather later had it lacquered, now a simple dusting does the trick.  However, seven full sized Boxers in an elevator is too tight a fit.