“Easier for whom?”
Daniel lowered his voice.
“For everyone.”
“No. For you. So you wouldn’t have to hear no.”
Evelyn studied him carefully.
Then another question occurred to her.
“Where did they get keys?”
Daniel turned his face away.
Claire abruptly stopped crying.
The silence between them supplied part of the answer.
“Daniel,” Evelyn said. “Where did they get keys to my house?”
He drew a long breath.
“I made a copy from your purse during the rehearsal dinner. Just the side entrance key and the guest wing key.”
Susan covered her mouth in horror.
Evelyn remained silent for several seconds.
Her son had taken keys from her personal belongings without asking.
That knowledge felt more intimate than the attempted occupation itself.
From the back of the room, the mother of one of Daniel’s friends murmured:
“That’s no longer a favor. That’s breach of trust.”
Daniel tried to put a hand on Evelyn’s shoulder.
