As we walked outside, the medics were loading the body into the ambulance. I’d overheard them discussing the official time of Todd’s death, so I assumed that the coroner had been notified. It all felt so final that it gave me pause once again.
Reverend Todd had not been a good man, certainly not a priest who should guide anyone’s spiritual life, but he had been a person who didn’t deserve to be murdered. My thoughts swarmed as I hurried to Charlie. He was nearing the police car, and the deputy looked to the sky as if she couldn’t quite believe she was about to put her boss and former police partner in the back seat.
In a moment of surprising kindness, Jill took a step back to give us a minute. I didn’t like her better for it, in part because I knew she was listening to us, but I would have taken any opportunity to get close to Charlie right then.
“What do I do?” I whispered as I leaned in, confused and probably still a bit in shock.
“Wait, watch, puzzle it out,” Charlie said, brushing hair off my face. “The truth will come to light—and in forty-eight hours I’ll be back at your side.”
That wasn’t good enough for me, and we both knew it.
He examined me with tenderness. “Please be careful. Don’t do anything that could get you hurt.”
I knew that he didn’t want me involved in something that could be dangerous. It was too late though. I was involved. I was the maid of honor at a wedding weekend where a man was now dead. I was the girlfriend of the man who was willingly turning himself in for questioning. I was the half-heiress to the RosePalace estate where the death had occurred. I was in it, for better or worse.
“Waiting isn’t my forte. I’ll figure this out.” I planted a quick kiss on Charlie’s lips. As I moved closer, his hand reached out and touched mine. He slid something into my palm before closing my fingers tightly around the object.
“Dakota, be careful who you trust,” he said, before turning to Jill. “I’m ready.”
I swiped at the tear slipping down my cheek, trying to stay strong and trying to distract myself from the thing that was biting into my skin. “We’ll have you out in time for the wedding,” I told Charlie, as if it was still on. “You gotta be my plus-one.”
Charlie attempted a smile as he ducked his head and climbed into the back of the car.
I waved at him and then turned around and counted to thirty as the car drove around the bend in the driveway. Only then did I allow myself to slip my hand into my pocket and feel the object’s edges.
I knew what it was immediately, but I had no idea where it had come from or why Charlie would be entrusting it to me.
My super-ethical, follow-the-rules-no-matter-what sheriff boyfriend had slipped me a key.
TWENTY-THREE
I stood outside, shivering in the snow and clenching the key that Charlie had slipped into my hand. I needed to find out what it actually opened, and the only place I could think to start was Todd’s room, if I could get inside.
As I climbed the stairs to the fourth floor, I tried to still my rapidly beating heart, giving myself time to think through a good excuse to gain access to the space. Thankfully, I recognized the officer standing guard at the door. It was Keith Becker, a guy who had graduated a couple of years after me and joined the force straight out of high school.
“Hey, Keith,” I said, trying to make my voice sound casual even though it was late, a man was dead, and my boyfriend had been taken into temporary custody. “The deputy asked me to take a look up here, to see if I noticed anything that seemed out of the ordinary.” I swallowed hard. “I won’t touch anything,” I lied.
To his credit, Keith narrowed his eyes, unwilling to believe me just because I said so. Still, I had been involved in solving two recent investigations, which had given me clout in our town.
“You can call Jill, if you like,” I said before quickly adding, “but she’s probably busy since she’s, you know, not here.”
Oh Lord.I sounded ridiculous, and I suddenly wondered ifword had already gotten out that Charlie had been taken into the station.
“Just a second,” Keith said, lifting his two-way radio to his ear before speaking to the person at the other end. “Deputy, Dakota Green is here. Says you want to take a look inside the guest room.”
In the five seconds that he was silent, I thought about taking off at a sprint. I shouldn’t have done this, shouldn’t have snuck up here with the key in hand, shouldn’t have lied. But then he put the radio on broadcast, and Deputy Jill Wright’s voice came across loud and clear.
“You there, Dakota?”
I glanced at Keith uncertainly but leaned toward the receiver. “Yes… ma’am.”
“All right. Officer Becker, let her in. She was the one who found the body, and she’s been involved in the details of the wedding this weekend. Let her see if anything seems out of the ordinary,” Jill said, startling me as much as the officer. “Dakota, you’ve got five minutes. But don’t touch anything.”
I rolled back my shoulders and tried to fix my face to make it look like I’d known this would be the deputy’s response all along.
Keith moved out of the way so I could step across the threshold, taking in the place where the deceased, known as Reverend Todd Anderson, had been staying for the past twenty-four hours. Except, I noticed immediately, the bed was made, each corner tucked tightly—just like the staff did every time I stayed here—and the towels were still folded into the shape of swans and sitting squarely on his pillows, as they would be only upon arrival.
Unless he’d been expertly trained on bed-making just after his arrival, I was fairly certain that Todd hadn’t actually slept here, which I supposed made sense, what with his close relationship to Anton’s mother. I cringed at the idea of the two of them together and was glad that I didn’t have time to dwell on that image.
