“A big black sedan. Maybe a Ford. I don’t know.” A shiver went through her as she spoke. “It followed us all the way from the cemetery,” she said. “I lost sight of it on Fairfax.”

Keegan barked a laugh and stood up, relieved. “Oh, sweetheart,” he said. “That was just me.” He laughed again, but more gently. “I guess I got made. I’m getting rusty in my old age.”

Eve gaped up at him. “You?” she said. She seemed relieved—and then confused, perhaps even angry. “Wait,” she said. “Why were you following us?”

Keegan took a deep breath. He should probably have told her already, but now he had no excuse to keep the whole story to himself. He sat back down on the sofa, but close enough now to take both her hands. “There’s something I haven’t told you,” he said, measuring his words. “It’s nothing for you to worry about.”

He told her all about Catling and the ten thousand dollars and the set of black-and-white photos. He told her about the car parked at her back gate, and the other car waiting outside the church today. He watched her eyes as he told her the details, and she seemed to teeter between annoyance and bewilderment.

When Keegan was done with the whole sordid story, Eve pulled her hands away from him. “Why didn’t you tell me all this before?”

It was the obvious question, and Keegan had no ready answer. He shrugged helplessly. “I wasn’t sure it was you in the photos,” he said. “I still can’t be sure. I only saw them for a few seconds.” He backpedaled, lamely. “I wasn’t going to take the job. So, it didn’t seem—” He shook his head hopelessly. Why did he feel the need to excuse himself? Hadn’t he only tried to protect her? “I gave you the gun on the off-chance you were really in some kind of danger.” It had gotten so complicated so fast, and now he was too exhausted to think the whole thing through—his reasons and calculations—and put them into words. “I didn’t want to frighten you when I wasn’t sure.”

Eve’s face was a tear-streaked, befuddled mess. “But why would anyone want to find me?” she said. “Let alone be willing to pay a fortune to do it? It makes no sense.”

He shook his head. “I have no idea,” he said. “I just wanted to make sure you were safe.”

Eve gave him a bitter laugh, her eyes still glassy but with an anger ember in them now. “By giving me a loaded gun?” she said.

Put that way, in retrospect, it did sound absurd. Keegan leaned back against the sofa, anger rising. “Don’t try to make this my fault,” he said. “I didn’t shoot anyone.”