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in the vicinity of this hotel, it was doubtful that he would attend the conference.
When Allie joined them, Eve reached out and embraced him.
“You have brightened this room with your presence my dear,” Allie said. 
Eve laughed. “It’s good to see you, Allie.” 
She straightened the bow tie for him, as she usually did several times during the course of the conference, then introduced Burke as Richard.  She did so reluctantly.  She hated perpetuating the deception on Allie.    
“So this is your mystery man.” Allie clasped Burke’s hand in a firm shake.
Eve grinned at Allie’s description.  Though he had never married himself, he was quite the romantic.  Allie was something of a matchmaker and after learning that she was no longer married kept a watchful eye for prospective candidates for her affection.
Allie quickly engaged Burke in conversation.  As usual, Allie’s topic of choice was chemistry and Eve’s stomach tightened.   Burke hadn’t been expecting to have to step in and impersonate a chemist.  Did he even know anything about chemistry?  If so, did he know enough to be able to fool a professional? 
Part of her wanted the smug Burke to fall on his face and she imagined herself apologizing to Allie for the deception when Burke slipped up.  The more practical part of her, though, knew in order for the suspicion against her to go away, for Burke himself to go away, Burke’s impersonation had to work.  She was thinking of how to rescue him from the conversation when it soon became apparent that Burke didn’t need a rescue.  He was holding up his end with Allie just fine.
“Dr. Abernathy is about to begin his talk very shortly,” Allie said with a broad smile.  “I don’t want to miss that. Shall we proceed?”
Eve fell into step beside Allie, leaving Burke, and Matt Deligne to follow.  Inside the conference room, Eve set her purse on the floor and took a seat beside Allie. Burke sat on Eve’s other side.  Though Eve usually enjoyed the seminars scheduled at this conference, and partook of as many of them as she could fit into the tight three days, she couldn’t have been less interested now.  Keynote speaker Dr. Gerald Abernathy was introduced, made his way to the podium, and began to speak.  Eve glanced at her watch.  She’d never known time to move so slowly.  She wanted it to be midnight and to be back at the cottage with the meeting with the buyer underway.
Abernathy droned on.  By the avid expressions on the faces of the people around her,  his audience was enthralled.  Allie, in particular, had slid forward and now sat on the end of his seat.  Eve shifted position in the plush chair.  She moved several times more on the taupe cushion then Burke’s arm snaked around her shoulders, stilling her. 
He leaned toward her and whispered in her ear.  “You’re wearing a hole in that chair.”
Of course, he was calm.  This was a job to him.  Business as usual. To her it was her life.  Before she could give Burke that reply, Abernathy announced that he would be taking a brief intermission.  Eve broke Burke’s grip on her shoulders and shot to her feet.  
“Fascinating.  Positively fascinating,” Allie said.  He rose slowly to his feet.  “I think I’ll help myself to some refreshment.” 
A table took up a portion of one wall and wait staff bustled about setting covered dishes and trays on the white covering. 
Allie glanced from Eve to Burke and then to Matt who now formed a semi-circle around him.  “Anyone care to join me?”
Matt clapped Allie on the shoulder.  “I’m with you.”
Allie turned to Eve.  “How about you my dear?”
“Sounds good.”
Allie offered his arm.  
A cell phone rang.  Burke retrieved the ringing phone from his pocket.  Richard’s phone, Eve realized.  His name was stamped on the cover.  The formula.  The keys to the cottage.  The cell phone.  Burke had been thorough when he’d searched Richard’s body.
Burke