Helia didn’t look thrilled but nodded. “If it would be helpful.”
“I know it seems intrusive, but yes,” Carter replied.
Rather than allow the detectives to separate him from Helia, he stepped to her side, set a hand on her lower back, and nudged her forward. He remained by her side, walking in a silence occasionally punctuated by sounds of chanting coming from the wedding ceremony. If anyone else noted the odd juxtaposition of two people happily starting a life together on one end of the property and four people focused on the brutal end of life on the other, no one said.
Again, they entered through the door farthest from the ceremony, following Helia to the second floor and into an office. She took a seat while he stood to the side, arms crossed, feet apart.
“You were Delta Force,” Carter said, finally acknowledging, as subtle as it was, that they’d investigated him.
He nodded. Helia’s eyes flickered up but she said nothing, returning to her task.
“How many tours?”
“Delta doesn’t have tours,” he responded. “We deployed.”
“You traveled a lot?”
Monk studied the man. He didn’t want to assume the questions had nothing to do with the investigation, and he doubted Carter was making casual conversation. He couldn’t figure out how they were related, though.
He inclined his head in response.
Carter grinned. “Is it anything like the movies?”
“Is police work?” he countered.
“No,” he replied without hesitation. “But I don’t mind. I like investigating. What did you like about Delta?”
“I emailed you the footage from the night you requested,” Helia said, the sharpness of her voice punctuated by the scrape of her chair across the floor as she rose. “Six hours total.”
Carter’s gaze lingered on him, then slid to Helia. “Thanks, we appreciate it.”
Helia nodded. “Is there anything else? I need to get back to work.”
Carter and Jess shook their heads. “Thanks, but this should do it for now. We can show ourselves out,” Jess said.
Helia smiled, not a friendly one. “Sorry, it’s against our policy to have unescorted guests on the property unless they are part of an event. We’ll walk you down.”
Monk fought the twitch of his lips. He had no idea if that was true, but he liked the steely sweetness of her response. No one could say she was being rude, but no one would be dumb enough to argue with her either.
Sensing the shift, the detectives nodded and moved into the hall. Once Helia shut and locked the door, he took his place beside her again. A few minutes later, they watched the white SUV cruise down the driveway.
He turned to his childhood friend. His childhood…everything. A breeze caught her hair, lifting the ends, displaying the delicate line of her jaw and her elegant neck.
“Well, that was interesting,” Helia said, her hazel eyes meeting his. “I’ve never been accused of murder before.”
“Not accused, investigated. Big difference.”
One dark eyebrow went up. “Didn’t feel different.”
“Says the woman who has never been accused of murder.”
As he’d hoped, her expression lightened, and her eyes took on a sparkle that was distinctly Helia. “Come on, He-man,” she said, looping an arm through his. “Let’s see if the staff needs help getting food from the kitchen to the dining room.” She squeezed his biceps. “If you’re going to keep these guns in top shape, lugging chairs isn’t going to cut it.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Monk sat in front of the unlit fire, debating whether to light it. He’d spent the day yesterday helping the Shaws and hadn’t returned to the castle until well after midnight. He’d fallen into a restless sleep on the couch, his dreams filled with darkness. Helia made an appearance a time or two. But on waking, the images he remembered most were vague and ominous, leaving him uneasy in the muted late-morning light of the tasting room.
It didn’t help that his father’s memorial started in four hours.
