Darius had the distinct impression that Eve almost rolled her eyes at that but held it in.
“Green Suits are what I secretly call the businessmen who don’t mind donating or investing big money to the Keys Foundation but, for whatever reason, don’t like a little ol’ assistant like me being in the room.” She already had her arms crossed over her chest, but Darius noticed she tightened the stance. “It’s the only time I’m okay with being a little passive-aggressive.”
One of the office doors behind them opened. Darius kept his spot next to Eve but angled around to see whose heavy footsteps were headed their way.
It wasn’t long before the sheriff’s long face was staring right at him.
“Miss Myers, if you would excuse us for a moment, I need to have a talk with Detective Williams.”
Sheriff Liam Weaver was a large, solid man of muscle and steel, but when he needed to cut his ingrained intimidation down, the smile his wife had helped him find over the years did the trick. His long face softened with the small upturn of his lips as he told Eve she could return to the wedding party.
Eve glanced at Darius but nodded and left without another word.
No sooner than he heard one of the doors shut behind them than the sheriff’s smile all but disappeared.
“The talk with Scott Keys went that well?” Darius asked.
Liam’s jaw tightened for a moment.
“He’s not the Keys brother I’m worried about,” he said after a moment. His already-low voice grumbled lower. “What all do you know about Mitchell Keys?”
That surprised Darius.
He answered with honesty.
“Only what the kids told me earlier. He’s the younger, unpopular one of the two.”
And Eve’s future husband.
“Why?” Darius added.
Liam glanced across the room. Martin seemed to be done with his initial pass. Darius would talk to him next, then go from there. Starting with retracing the man’s steps and hopefully finding where he’d been killed. Then he would—
“I think Mitchell Keys might be our killer,” Liam said, halting all of Darius’s future plans in an instant.
“What?”
The sheriff sighed. He wasn’t looking at Darius when he explained. Which was good, because Darius’s usual composure momentarily cracked at what he said next.
“And I think there’s a good possibility that the bride-to-be might have helped him do it.”
Chapter Five
Eve was happy to get out of her wedding dress and slip back into more comfortable clothes. The slightly oversize knit sweater hung past the waist of her jeans while her tennis shoes felt like an apology to her poor feet. She had never been a heels type of girl, and yet she’d had to endure the tall traps she had promptly thrown back into her bag once she had entered the bridal party dressing room. The bobby pins forcing her hair into a headache-inducing tight hold were more of a production to get rid of. She only managed to pull half of them out before deciding the ones on top could stay until the last vestiges of adrenaline had disappeared. Because, ever since seeing Gary slumped over in the lobby, dead, Eve had felt like ants were crawling beneath her skin.
She felt for Gary. And she worried for her plan.
Not to mention the Darius of it all. After he and the sheriff had interrupted the wedding, she had believed a wonderful excuse was coming her way—something that would put a hiccup large enough in the proceedings that she would have more time to do what she needed.
But a murder?
That hadn’t been even remotely on her list of possibilities.
A knock on the suite door sounded. Eve checked her reflection in the mirror to make sure she didn’t look as chaotic as she felt and scooped up her bag. No matter who was at the door, she had already decided that she wouldn’t be going back to the old library anytime soon. Especially not for her own wedding.
A familiar and not-at-all-liked face was frowning so severely that Eve had to fight the impulsive urge to shut the door as soon as she had opened it.
Maria Sanderson was a few years younger than Eve but acted as if she had lived twenty more lives than her at any given moment. Her confidence came from two places and two places only: her husband’s money, and a lifetime of having everything she wanted handed to her. It was a slightly harsh assessment that Eve had made after meeting the wife of Scott Keys’s best friend, Toby. But now, a year later, she stood steadfast in her opinion.
