I wanted to say, “Sometimes?” but I just listened to what Siegel had to tell me.

“Anyway,” he went on, “I just came by to say I know you’ve got your hands full these days, and if there’s anything you need, you should let me know. Anything at the Bureau, or even just security backup here at the house — someone to pull an overnight or whatever.”

He looked up at my blank face and finally smiled. “Really. No tricks. No bullshit.”

I wanted to believe Siegel. It certainly would have made things easier. But my instinct was still to distrust him. I couldn’t just shake that off because he came over with a peace offering.

Then the door opened behind me, and suddenly Bree was there. “Everything okay out here?” she asked.

Siegel chuckled. “I guess my reputation precedes me.”

“Actually, we’ve got a teenage news service sitting on the stairs inside,” Bree said. She put out her hand, ever the peacemaker. “I’m Bree Stone.”

“Detective Stone,” he said. “Of course. Good to meet you. I’m Max Siegel, Alex’s nightmare from the Bureau. We occasionally see things a little differently.”

“So I’ve heard,” she said, and they both laughed. It was a little surreal actually. This was a side of Siegel I’d never seen before, the friendly, interested-in-anyone-but-himself side. And it seemed to have come out of nowhere.

“Max was just dropping this off,” I said, showing her the bottle of scotch.

“Right.” Siegel took a step down toward the sidewalk. “So, anyway, mission accomplished. Nice to meet you, Detective.”

“Stay for a quick drink,” she said, and gave my hand a squeeze. “It’s the afternoon. I’m sure we could all stand to wind down a little.”

There was no pretense here; we all knew what she was trying to do. Siegel looked up at me and shrugged. This was my call, and honestly I would have liked to have said no, but that seemed as if it could just create more trouble than it was worth.

“Come on in,” I said, and led the way. “Mi casa es su casa, Max.”

Inside, Jannie had fallen back as far as the kitchen table. Nana and Ali were there, too, in the middle of a game of Go Fish. It was Ali’s latest obsession these days, but they all stopped and looked up as we came in.

“Max, this is everyone. Regina, Jannie, Ali, this is Agent Siegel.”

Ali’s eyes bugged out at the motorcycle helmet, and Siegel put it down in front of him. “Go ahead, little guy. Try it on if you want to.”

“It’s fine,” I said to Ali.

I took out some glasses and ice, and a couple of SmartWaters for the kids. Nana went to open the cabinet where we keep the chips and crackers, but I shook my head no just enough for her to see.