“It’s blood,” he said. “It’s called transfer splatter. That means that someone touched blood and then touched you.”

She was trembling. Her hand shot up to the spot where Archie had touched her hair and she started to claw at it, pulling the hair loose.

“It’s okay,” Archie said. “I got it.” He could feel the wet on his fingertips, a coolness on his skin.

She had allowed a crack in her façade and now the wall was crumbling. Her hands tightened into fists. Her face tensed with fear. The skin of her neck and chest was rough with goose bumps. It’s what happened to people after car accidents, after the adrenaline surge dropped and the body indulged in all that repressed panic.

Archie had to refocus her, keep her calm. “I can help you,” Archie said. Leo had talked to Archie freely with Star in the room. Archie didn’t know how much she knew, but Leo clearly trusted her with his life. Whatever their relationship was, Leo relied on her. If he was in trouble, he’d go to her for help. Archie tilted his head at the bag. “Is that for Leo?”

She nodded, swallowing hard.

“Where is he?” Archie asked.

“In the guesthouse,” she said in a voice barely above a whisper.

“Can you get me in there?” he asked.

She seemed to consider it, taking several long breaths. She was gathering herself, rebuilding the emotional wall. He watched it happen. Her bearing changed. She set her shoulders back. She lifted her chin. Her expression settled into a mask of pretty/neutrality. Finally she gave him a nod. “Maybe. If they think I’m taking you there for a party.”

“A party?”

Her eyes were hard now, her irises reflecting the orange flame. “I’m not here as a guest,” she said. “I’m working.”

Archie digested this. So Star did more than dance. It made sense considering their introduction. But he had hoped, for her sake, that their interaction had been an anomaly. He measured his response, searching for the right level of nonchalance. “Oh,” he said. “Right.”

Archie heard voices approaching. Star leaned forward and swiftly pulled the shirttails from Archie’s pants and then reached up to pull his tie loose. She fumbled with it for a moment and then Archie whispered, “It’s a clip-on.”

He thought he saw her roll her eyes. But she unclipped it and opened his shirt collar.

The voices were closer and Archie looked over Star’s shoulder to see two of Jack Reynolds’s security detail rounding the corner. Star pressed against him, the black bag between them, touching but not touching. Whatever was inside the bag, it was soft.

The men looked at Archie and sniggered, but kept walking, and soon disappeared around the house.

“All clear,” Archie said.