Page 6 of These White Lies

His concerned tone has my charm offensive evaporating. “Care to elaborate?”

Luke scrubs a hand over his face. “I wish I could. I’ve been up all night, going over everything.” He gestures at the items in front of him. “I can’t get any clarity.”

A pit forms in my stomach. “You think she’s guilty.”

Luke frowns. “No. That’s the one thing I’m confident about.” He casts me a rueful smile and gestures for me to sit. “I mean as much as I can be without having witnessed the murder myself.”

“Okay. So, what’s the problem?” Dropping into the chair, I cross my ankle over my knee and lean back slightly. My posture might be casual, but my brain is hyper-focused. I arch a brow, waiting.

“The note.” Luke glances at his watch. “She’s going to be here any minute. It might be best to wait so we don’t go over it twice.” I shoot him a look, and he gives in. “It said, ‘Give it back,’ written in blood.”

For a moment, I’m silent.

“Give what back?”

Frustration is written all over Luke’s face. “She says she has no idea. Hasn’t even seen her ex in four years.”

“She’s lying.” I shrug even as my body coils tight.

“I don’t think so. She was adamant, and I believe her.” My friend’s gaze is serious when it meets mine. “I keep coming back to the fact that whoever killed Keith Gowan was sophisticated enough to figure out how to cut the power to her block, in order to avoid all security cameras, while they left the body—presumably to set her up since they also left the murder weapon. They also knew enough about her schedule to time it so that her housekeeper, who was there late that afternoon, didn’t discover him.”

He shakes his head frowning deeply. “The note was clearly intended for her, and it was patently evident that her housewasn’tthe original crime scene—zero blood spatter. It was so obvious that the police didn’t even bring her in last night. They questioned her at her house and let her go.”

The muscles in my neck lock up. “You think she’s in danger?”

“Yes…”

“But?”

“She won’t want to see it that way.” He grimaces. “I don’t have any proof she is, and Elizabeth likes facts.”

“I’d think the fact a body was left in her house with a mysterious message would be a pretty compelling reason to take precautions,” I say dryly.

“You’d think so. But Elizabeth is stubborn and likes to be in control. She isn’t going to like anything about this situation, and she’s going to fight against it.”

“Sounds fun.” I smirk.

Luke arches an eyebrow. “She’d eat you for breakfast.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“I’m serious, Brady. She’s a client, and by me hiring you, it makes heryourclient, too.”

I can’t resist goading him. “That feels a teensy bit hypocritical considering how you met your wife.”

“Don’t be stupid. I need your head in this, not your dick.”

“Why not both?” I have to stifle the urge to laugh as his face turns red, but if I’m honest, nothing about this is funny.

The thought of the beauty in the golden mask being in danger makes me unexpectedly furious.

3

ELIZABETH

“Thank you, Daria.”

“No problem. Do you want me to wait for you or…?”