This set them both off. Paul knocked on the table, said to Angie, “Hello, may I come into your chat hut?”

Angie was laughing so hard she had tears in her eyes. “Sorry, no, this is a chat condo.”

“Oh, excuse me!” He wanted to get off another line, but he was laughing too hard to do it.

“Okay, enough already,” I said.

Angie, pulling herself together, said, “No, Dad, there’s no one from Oakwood I keep in touch with through my chat huts.” Paul slid out of his chair and onto the floor, clutching his side.

Should I ask her flat out? Ask her why she’d been to visit Trixie? But if I asked her now, I’d have to come clean on the whole surveillance thing, and if I did that now, I wouldn’t be able to take one last crack at it tonight, to see whether I’d scared off Trevor for good.

So I let it go.

“I’ve got stuff to do,” Angie said, taking her plate to the counter. Paul managed to get up and followed her out of the kitchen.

“I have to lie down,” he said, still laughing. “I think I’m gonna die.”

Shortly before eight, Angie went downstairs, shouted, “See ya!”

I scrambled out of my study, where I still tried writing books but more often built models of spaceships and other science fiction kitsch, like my recently completed models of the Green Hornet’s Black Beauty, and Gort, the iconic robot from The Day the Earth Stood Still.

“Hey,” I yelled down to her. “You be careful tonight, okay?”

“Oh!” Angie said. “I just realized. I don’t even have a key for the new car.”

“Two came with it,” I said. “Hang on.” I’d left the second one in a dish where I keep spare change on top of my dresser. “Come to the bottom of the stairs.” She did and I tossed it down to her.

“You look good, by the way,” Angie said, doing up the buttons on her blue coat.

“Huh?”

“Your clothes. I meant to say something at dinner, but got kind of distracted. They look good on you. Are you wearing new boxers?”

“Check it out,” I said, undoing my belt, turning around, and dropping my khakis halfway down my butt.

“Oooh! The ones with the chili peppers on them!” Angie said. “You’re hot, Dad, very hot. But please pull your pants back up.”

I obliged.

Angie had her set of keys out and was slipping the one for the Virtue onto her ring. She was having a bit of trouble with it, so I came down and got it onto the ring for her.

And then I gave her a hug. “Remember, call me if you have a problem, and don’t do anything stupid, okay?”

Angie smiled. “You mean, don’t do anything you might do?”

“Exactly.”