“I thought Wilbur would be here,” I say. I thought he would have wanted to see what Boyd wanted to ask me, but I don’t even know if he is home.
“He has some business to attend to,” Archer shares, surprising me. “I assured him I’d be here with you.”
“Well, look at that,” I cock my brow. “You and Wilbur, besties.”
He rolls his eyes and shakes his head, dismissing me just as Boyd walks into the room tailed by another man, in grey cords and a battered leather jacket. Boyd, however, is in a tailored suit, looking the part.
“Miss Alderman,” he says, offering his hand out to me.
“It’s Miss Holton,” I correct him, but he ignores me, shaking my hand, and he takes a seat opposite us. “I’d like to go through the events of last night. Where were you last night before you arrived home?”
I hesitate and look at Archer. I couldn’t exactly tell the detective we were all at an illegal fighting ring.
“She was with me,” Archer says. “We were at my house hanging with Seb, Rafe and Verity. I drove her home.”
Boyd nods. “Are you two dating?”
My brow wrinkles at his question and before I can reply with a firm no and ask him why that question has any relevance, Archer answers for me again.
“Eliza is with me.”
Boyd nods his head and looks down at his notepad. “Have you had crossed words with anyone since you arrived in town, or can you think of anyone with a vendetta against you?”
I shake my head as I place my drink down on the coffee table before me. “Well, there is one person.”
Boyd looks at me, pen poised, waiting for me to continue.
“Georgia Hamilton.” I pause when I feel Archer tense beside me. “She made it clear that she thinks I’m trash and I don’t belong here. Plus, her and Archer used to be a thing.”
Archer clears his throat. “It isn’t Georgie. I’ve known her all my life. She might mouth off, but she isn’t the type to do this.”
I turn and stare at him in exasperation. I want to point out that she pushed me off a flipping cliff, but then I’d have to divulge what we were all doing on the cliff in the first place. I can’t believe he’s defending her? I should have known. They all protect their own when it comes down to it.
Boyd chews on the end of his pen. “Regardless, we’ll pay a visit to speak with Georgie and find out where she was yesterday evening. We have reviewed the security footage and whoever did this, they covered their tracks. They hacked into your grandfather’s security and deleted any footage from around the hour or so before you arrived home.”
“Wilbur’s arranging for tighter security to be put in place. There will be guards patrolling at night,” Archer tells him.
Boyd nods and, popping his notepad in his jacket pocket, he stands to his feet. “Well, we’ll be in touch. If you see or hear anything that might help, please get in touch.” He holds out his card to me and Archer takes it and pops it down on the table.
“Have you considered the Silver’s?”
Boyd pauses where he is standing. “The Silver’s. What makes you think we need to look at them?”
Archer places an arm over my shoulder. Looking like the doting boyfriend. “Let’s just say Damon Silver has his eye on Eliza. He might be seeking revenge because she rejected him.”
I shake my head, holding my hand out. “This wasn’t Silver. There’s no animosity between us.”
“I think you should check him out,” Archer insists, and Boyd nods his head.
“We’ll pay the Silver residence a visit.” He holds his hand out to Archer, who grasps it firmly.
“Thank you, Detective. I know I don’t need to tell you that this case needs the full attention of our local force.”
“Of course,” he replies with a nod of his head as he follows his partner to the door. It’s weird the respect Archer gets from men twice his age.
As soon as the door closes behind them, I spin on my heels and glare at Archer. “What the fuck was that?”
Archer sighs, and ignoring me, he heads for the stairs. Where the hell is he going? I race up behind him. “Why did you defend Georgie? And why did you suggest they speak with Silver? You know they were both at the meet last night?”