Permanent Sunset by C. Michele Dorsey

believe he had pushed the issue so far. “That’s when I drove over to Bar None to see if you were there, Neil. It had to be after eleven thirty.”
    “How about the rest of you?” Neil opened it up to the group.
    “When she stormed out of the great room and went up into her room, I followed and tried reasoning with her once more. But she wouldn’t open her door, so I talked through it and just asked her to think about the big picture. I mean, it isn’t as if anyone thought the marriage would fail. It was just a precaution. I told her I had signed one,” Kate said.
    “Same here, but when I knocked on her door and she told me to go away, I did. Don’t get me wrong, I liked Elena, but she wasn’t warm and fuzzy like Lisa. She was a businesswoman, and I was done arguing with her. I came back down and Kate and I hit the sack,” Jack said.
    Sabrina was surprised to find she felt sorrier for the Keatings than for Elena. It sounded like they were blindsided by Elena’s last-minute hysteria over signing the prenup. She made a note to ask Neil more about prenups once they had an opportunity to talk alone.
    “I didn’t see her after she left the great room. I wasn’t about to try and persuade her to sign something she was so obviously opposed to. Isn’t that like duress?” Heather asked Neil.
    “Well, it can be. Prenups are contracts, but they have some added requirements and protections because they’re between people who have a personal relationship with one another. It’s not an arm’s length transaction, like it is when you have a business contract. How about you, Henry? When did you last see Elena?”
    Sabrina knew Henry wasn’t happy with this question, as it was a source of discord between the two of them. They would eventually need to sort through the issues the eleventh villa had brought to their business relationship and friendship, but first things first.
    “A little after eleven. Just before we left the villa. I felt bad for her. I mean, here she is on the night before her wedding and everyone keeps pushing a bunch of papers under her nose to sign. I went to her room. She had her dress on, with the train wrapped around her shoulders like a shawl. Her shoes were like the glass slippers out of Cinderella. She was obviously sad.”
    Sean let out a groan and put his head on his folded arms on the table.
    Out of the corner of her eye, Sabrina saw Detective Hodge approaching. The tall, slender man strutted with confidence toward the table.
    “Mr. Perry, Sergeant Detree tells me you’re here to see a client. Might I ask when you got a license to practice law in the Virgin Islands, sir?”
    Neil stood and rose, meeting Hodge eye to eye.
    “Detective Hodge, good to see you again. You’re certainly a busy man these days,” Neil said, extending his hand. Hodge looked at it, then shook it quickly.
    “About my question, sir.”
    “I represented Mr. Keating, Sean Keating that is, when I practiced in LA. I’m only here until we can find him local counsel,” Neil said. Sabrina could feel Neil’s discomfort. She felt uneasy, too. Why was this cop worried about an attorney being present at the request of a man whose bride had just drowned? Who cares where Neil was licensed? They weren’t in court.
    “Mr. Perry, you don’t need me to lecture you about the danger of practicing law without a license, do you? It’s one thing for you to be a Good Samaritan and bring the widow of a car accident victim to the clinic last night, but you will not be tolerated stepping over the line into areas reserved for professional law enforcement.”
    “Detective Janquar didn’t have any problems when Neil helped with the Carter Johnson case,” Sabrina couldn’tresist pointing out the obvious discrepancy. Car accident. Victim. Widow. Wait a minute, Sabrina realized, an awful lot had happened on St. John in the last twenty-four hours.
    “Wait. Who died in a car accident?” she asked, afraid of the answer. In the short