The fountain ran. The gate held its latch. I watched as he turned his head sideways, the line of his jaw silhouetted in the twilight. He sat with his forearms on the table, hands loose.
“The heat breaks around October,” I said.
He pushed back from the table. “I need to check the latches before I turn in.”
“They’re fine,” I said. “I checked them.”
“I know you did.”
He was already standing. Then he stopped, not quite looking at me, his hand resting on the back of the chair.
“My mother used to sit outside after everyone went to bed. Fire escape, not a courtyard.” A pause. “Same idea.”
I wasn’t sure he meant to say it. His expression suggested he wasn’t entirely sure either.
“She’s not wrong,” I said.
“No. She rarely is.”
He left the table.
As I looked across the courtyard, I saw the salon light was no longer on. I’d left it burning. I was certain of it. I looked through the French doors at the dark interior and thought about whether I’d gone back inside at any point during the evening.
I hadn’t.
“Thiago.”
He reappeared in the doorway before I had finished saying his name.
“The salon light,” I said.
He was already moving past me.
I followed him inside. He didn’t reach for a light switch. He stood in the salon’s doorway with his phone’s flashlight low and swept it across the room. The Steinway, concert posters, and the front door to the avenue.
“How long were we outside?” he asked.
“Three hours. Maybe a little more.”
He was quiet for a moment. When he spoke, his voice was level. “They were here while we were playing cards.”
Chapter six
Thiago
Dominic appeared at the top of the stairs in a formal jacket with a silk pocket square in place. “Celeste is hosting this evening,” he said. “Her usual Wednesday gathering. I’m expected.”
I looked at him.
“I’ll be there until eleven.” He came down the stairs without hurrying. “You are not invited.”
“That’s not how this works.”
“It is how this works when the alternative is attending a friend’s party with a bodyguard at my elbow.” He retrieved his hat from the console table. “Celeste’s house has a security system. There will be six other people present, all of them known to me for decades, and a driver who has been taking me to her door since 2009.” He settled the hat. “I will not be caged, Mr. Reyes. We established this.”
“You’ll be alone between here and the car.”
“For approximately forty feet.” He walked to the door. “I suggest you use the evening productively. Figure out how astranger can be in my home while we’re playing cards with none of us knowing.”
