Park shook his head. “Coincidence?” Cooper shot him a look. “When we first met Freeman, she was researching and tracking wolves in Canada. Hirano’s time as a documentarian led to her doing the same. It would be more unlikely if they hadn’t crossed paths in their long careers in the same relatively small field. It’s one mention in a decade-old book. Not a postcard from prison.”

“True,” Cooper conceded. “But I still think we should talk to Freeman.”

Park frowned and turned, walking a couple steps away from Cooper. He flipped another book over with his toe. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“What? Why not?” Cooper stood, still holding Hirano’s book.

“I don’t trust her,” Park said.

“Really? I was thinking she could officiate our wedding,” Cooper said. Park didn’t look amused. “Of course I don’t trust her either. But there is a connection here. Tenuous, true, but don’t you think it’s worth following up on?”

Park was silent, thinking. Finally, he sighed. “All right, I’ll call Cola. See if we can arrange an interview tomorrow. In the meantime, you can come up with an opening question besides ‘Read any good books lately?’”

“Is this what they call the mortifying ordeal of being known?” Cooper asked the smoke-damaged ceiling.

“As long as you’re already mortified, do you have something to wear tonight?”

Cooper groaned. “No, god. I can’t believe this is the second time in three days I’m going to have to wear a costume.”

Park looked at him askance. “What do you mean?”

“I told you about the sunflower hat Cayla made me, didn’t I?”

“No, what do you mean second time?” Park clarified.

“Well, isn’t it a haunted Halloween gala?” Cooper said. “Don’t we—what do you think we’re supposed to wear?”

“To a black-tie event that cost nearly two grand to get into? A tux,” Park said, biting back a smile. “But if you want to put a different sort of costume on afterward, I suppose I can grin and bear it. In the meantime, we’ll have to buy off the rack, which is unfortunate, but—”

“I have a tux,” Cooper said.

Park looked surprised. “Really? Why?”

“I’ve lived a life before you,” Cooper said. “The occasion arose. The tux acquired.”

“You’re not going to tell me you were married before, are you?” Park asked, and Cooper laughed at the absurdity of that thought.

“It was for a case. When I was in undercover.”

Neil had helped him pick it out, actually. Weird, the way that worked. Cooper remembered being impressed when Neil recommended his personal tailor and thinking that was an older man thing. But now, full grown himself and just as clueless, he realized it was just a rich thing.