Wielding his spatula, Jasper flipped the patties. “That was quite a trick with the corn. Where’d you learn it?”

“A friend showed me. He’s a—”

“Foodie?”

Thinking of Mike’s bulk, Drex laughed. “No. That suggests a refined pallet. This guy will eat anything.”

“Has he taught you any other tricks?”

“Nope. My culinary skills end there. That smells great, by the way,” he said of the sizzling meat. “You obviously have the knack.”

“Was the UPS delivery for you or Arnott?”

Drex gave him a sharp look.

“I saw the truck as it pulled into the drive.”

“Huh.” Drex swirled the ice cubes in his glass. “I ordered a box fan. I would have returned yours tonight when I came over, but I had a handful of cupcakes.”

“You didn’t need to buy a fan. Ours was yours to use for as long as you needed it.”

“Thanks for that, but I’m beginning to feel like a mooch. In fact, I’d like to treat you and Talia to dinner. Don’t panic. We’ll go out. I don’t think you’d enjoy a dining experience at my kitchen table.”

Jasper smiled. “Don’t feel like you must pay us back.”

“I want to do it. But I’ll need you to suggest some good local restaurants. I haven’t tested any yet, and I don’t trust online ratings.”

“I’ll jot down some of our favorites.”

“I’d like to include Elaine.” Drex paused before adding, “If that’s all right with you.”

Jasper turned his head and gave him a bland look. “Why wouldn’t it be all right with me?”

Again, Drex’s pause was calculated. He glanced over at Talia, who was fiddling with a vase of flowers she’d set in the center of the table. When he came back to Jasper, he said, “Just wanting to make sure I wasn’t setting up an awkward situation.”

“For whom? I’m not following.”

Like hell you aren’t. “I thought maybe you and Elaine…?” Drex raised his eyebrows.

“Are just friends.”

Ignoring Jasper’s icy tone, Drex broke a wide grin. “Great. I thought so, but, you know.” He gave Jasper a light sock on the shoulder. A man-to-man, “we understand each other” tap. “Provide me that list of favorite restaurants and we’ll double date.”

Talia approached with a platter for the burger patties. Without taking his eyes off Drex, Jasper said, “Perfect timing, darling.” Then he leaned over and kissed her solidly on the mouth, a stamp of ownership.

When he ended the kiss, Talia turned away, appearing flustered and surprised by the sudden amorous display. Drex gathered it wasn’t something Jasper often did, and that he’d done it now for his benefit, not Talia’s.

I get the point, you son of a bitch.

Recovering quickly, and showing admirable poise, Talia graciously invited them to take their seats at the table. They assembled their burgers according to personal preferences. When they were ready to eat, Talia noticed that she’d forgotten the skewers for the corn.

“I’ll get them.” Drex shot from his chair. “I spotted them on the counter.”

Before either she or Jasper could stop him, he was already through the kitchen door. He swept the skewers off the counter into his palm, then glanced through the open door onto the porch. Jasper and Talia were debating the merits of ketchup over mustard. She laughed at something he said. They clinked wineglasses above one of the flickering candles.

Drex dropped to one knee, bent down toward the baseboard beneath the cabinetry, and felt along the seam connecting them.

“Looking for something?”

Drex tensed, then swiveled around and smiled as he came to his feet. “Found it.” He held up a skewer. “One had rolled off the counter and under the cabinet.” He took the skewer to the sink and rinsed it off.

Staring hard at Drex, Jasper stood blocking the doorway for what seemed to be an eternity, then his smile returned. He stood aside and motioned for Drex to go ahead of him. “I hope the corn hasn’t gotten cold. I’m eager to sink my teeth in.”

“I think he was talking about my neck, not the corn.”

After returning from dinner, Drex had lowered all the window shades in the apartment. Half an hour later, he’d turned off the lights as though he’d gone to bed. He put in the call to Mike and Gif and immediately told them what they’d been standing by to hear: He had succeeded in planting the bug, and it was working. “I listened in as they cleaned up the kitchen.”

Dual sighs had expressed their relief.

“How was it?” Mike asked now. “The corn on the cob.”

“So scrumptious it pissed him off.”

“He said that?” Gif asked.

“No, but I could tell.”

Jasper had become even more piqued when Talia all but swooned as she licked melted butter from her fingertips and declared that Drex had delivered as promised. Her husband’s genial expression never changed, but as the evening progressed, his dialogue became more terse, and his smiles began to look forced.

“Even if he’s not Weston Graham, I don’t like him,” Drex said. “He has this air of superiority. All-knowing. I admit that it amuses me to prick with him.”

“You’re amused. He’s controlled and all-knowing, which, by the way, you’ve told us are characteristics of serial killers. This quasi-friendship is making me nervous,” Gif said.

“I’ve got to play it as I see it, guys. If I went in and tried to match him in a chest-thumping contest, he would have nothing to do with me. Instead, he’s intrigued. Talia told me as much. He keeps having me back because he hasn’t figured me out yet.”

“God forbid he does.”

“Cheer up, Mike. If I go missing, you’ll know where to start looking.”

“That’s not funny,” Gif said. “Do you go armed on these dinner dates?”

“He’s not going to engage in a shootout. That’s not his style.”

“Nevertheless,” said Gif, the guru of practicality.

“Tonight was the first time my weapon and badge stayed home. All I had with me was the transmitter. Keeping it concealed was worry enough.”

He’d told them that he’d taken advantage of Jasper’s absence by arriving early, but he hadn’t said much about the private conversation that he and Talia had shared. He had revealed more to her than he should have, perhaps. But talking about himself might have earned him her trust, which was necessary if he was ever going to get her to open up about Jasper.

It had been risky to tell her the truth about his upbringing, rather than inventing one. But what he’d described might have sounded to her more fiction than fact. If she relayed it to Jasper, he might dismiss it as pure fabrication.

Even if Jasper accepted it as truth, it was unlikely he would ever draw a parallel between Drex Easton, would-be author next door, and the toddler who’d been whisked off to Alaska by his father after his mother’s abandonment. Drex wasn’t even certain she had ever told Weston Graham about her previous marriage. He might never have known of Drex’s existence. His mother’s perfidy then might well be protecting Drex from exposure now.