“I’ve never seen this guy before.”

“You’re sure?”

He handed the photos back. “Positive.”

“Well, that’s too bad,” Bolton said, “because he’s part of your life now.”

An agent drove Phil home at eight, and Angie, Devin, Oscar, and I headed to my place so I could fill an overnight bag.

Bolton wanted Angie to appear vulnerable, alone, but we convinced him that if Evandro or his partner had been studying us, we should appear as normal as possible. And hanging out with Devin and Oscar was something we did at least once a month, though not usually sober.

As for my moving in with Angie, I insisted upon it, whether Bolton gave a shit or not.

Actually, though, he liked the idea. “I’ve thought you two were sleeping together since we met, so I’m sure Evandro assumes the same.”

“You’re a pig,” Angie said and he shrugged.

Back at my place, we settled into the kitchen while I pulled clothes from my dryer and stuffed them into a gym bag. Looking out my window, I saw Lyle Dimmick finishing up for the day, wiping paint off his hands and placing the brush in a can of thinner.

“So how’s your relationship with the Feds?” I asked Devin.

“Deteriorating by the day,” he said. “Why do you think we were shut out of the Alec Hardiman visit this afternoon?”

“So you’re demoted to babysitting us?” Angie said.

“Actually,” Oscar said, “we asked for this specifically. Can’t wait to see how you two do in close quarters.”

He looked at Devin and they both laughed.

Devin found a stuffed frog Mae had left behind on my counter and picked it up. “Yours?”

“Mae’s.”

“Sure.” He held it up in front of him and made faces at it. “You two might want to keep this guy,” he said, “if only to provide some counterbalance.”

“We’ve lived together before,” Angie said and scowled.

“True,” Devin said, “for two weeks. But you’d just walked out on your husband, Ange. And neither of you spent too much time around each other back then, if I remember. Patrick practically moved into Fenway Park and you were always out nights clubbing your way through Kenmore Square. Now, you’ll be forced together for the length of this investigation. Could be months, even years, before it’s over.” He spoke to the frog. “What do you think of that?”

I looked out the window as he and Oscar giggled and Angie fumed. Lyle descended the scaffolding, radio and cooler grasped awkwardly in one hand, bottle of Jack sticking out of his back pocket.

Watching him, something bugged me. I’d never known him to work past five and it was eight-thirty now. Beyond that, he’d told me this morning that his tooth hurt…

“Got any chips around here?” Oscar said.

Angie stood, went to the cabinets over the oven. “With Patrick, a good food supply is never a safe bet.” She opened the left cabinet, rummaged through some cans.

This morning, Mae and I ate breakfast, but that was after I talked to Lyle. After I talked to Kevin. I’d come back in the kitchen, called Bubba…