diff --git a/modules/m_keys.cc b/modules/m_keys.cc
index c36564b34..e2e8d4ed0 100644
--- a/modules/m_keys.cc
+++ b/modules/m_keys.cc
@@ -532,17 +532,16 @@ ircd::m::keys::cache::get(const string_view &server_name,
 	// Without a key_id we search for the most recent key; note this is not
 	// the same as making a state_key="" query, as that would be an actual
 	// ircd.key entry without an id (which shouldn't exist).
-	const event::idx &event_idx
+	const event::idx event_idx
 	{
 		key_id?
 			node_room.get(std::nothrow, "ircd.key", key_id):
 			node_room.get(std::nothrow, "ircd.key")
 	};
 
-	if(!event_idx)
-		return false;
-
-	return m::get(std::nothrow, event_idx, "content", closure);
+	return event_idx?
+		m::get(std::nothrow, event_idx, "content", closure):
+		false;
 }
 
 bool