“I guess you’re right.” But he was just placating her. His heart protested, but his brain overruled it. “But I have to say I didn’t not believe Joanne. I mean, it makes sense. Why wouldn’t Bob go to Flanders? You’ve talked about how much research he does. So he’s probably just jet-lagged. Which would explain the mistakes in his message.”

After a long pause, Bridget said, “I’m starting to think they’re not mistakes.”

“Then what are they?”

“Clues.”

Every word of hers was just making Ajay feel worse. “Clues to what, Bridget? If Bob had something he wanted to tell you, why wouldn’t he just come out and say it?”

She stopped at a red light. “I don’t know. But I think something’s wrong.”

He ran a hand down his face. His fingers were still trembling. “We’re just lucky those cops didn’t arrest us. I was imagining having to call my parents from the police station. Even in my imagination, it didn’t go over well.” His parents had reluctantly accepted Ajay’s B’s. Encouraged his cooking. But an arrest? That would break their hearts.

“But we didn’t do anything wrong.” She turned back onto the highway. “All we did was look in the windows to make sure Bob wasn’t hurt or passed out or something.”

“You left out the part about how we got past the locked gate. Which is trespassing, at least technically.” Ajay pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to find the right words. “You know, until we talked to those cops, I’d never thought about what it would be like being a celebrity. Having strangers show up at your house uninvited. Having some of them believe they’re in love with you, or even that you’re in love with them. But those people really think it’s true.” He focused on the two cones of light pushing ahead of them into the darkness.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw how she stiffened. “You believe me, don’t you?”

The silence stretched out until it seemed almost unbearable.

Finally, Ajay broke it. “Look, you clearly know everything about Swords and Shadows. More than it’s possible to imagine anyone else in the world knowing. And I’ve seen you working on that database so many times.” The cop’s words echoed in his thoughts. On the internet, anyone can be anyone.

“So you don’t believe Bob hired me! You don’t believe I know him.”

“I didn’t say that, Bridget,” Ajay finally said. “You did.”

“But that’s what you’re thinking, isn’t it? That actually I typed up Bob’s message to myself? That doesn’t even make sense.”