“Eve?” Colin hitched up one side of his mouth. “We’re on a first-name basis, are we?”

“I didn’t see any point in formalities.” Brent resisted the urge to tug at his collar. Why did the office suddenly feel stuffy?

Colin rocked back in his chair, watching him. “She’s a very attractive woman. Single too.”

His coworker was on to him—and denying the obvious would give him more ammunition.

“I noticed.” He kept his tone casual.

“Any eligible man would be crazy not to.”

“You’re not eligible. What would your bride say about you ogling another woman?”

“Trish has no worries. She’s the only woman for me and she knows it. Besides, I was appreciating, not ogling. Any guy would have to be blind not to recognize Eve Reilly’s attributes.”

“She does have a fine mind and an engaging personality.”

Colin grinned. “I’m sure she does—among other worthy qualities. You should investigate them all.”

How had this conversation degenerated into a discussion about his personal life?

He had to get them back on track.

“Do you have anything else?”

“On Ms. Reilly—or your suspect?” Humor lurked behind Colin’s question.

“The latter.”

“I talked with one of the detectives in Texas who had a couple of run-ins with your guy relating to the restraining order. His personal assessment was less than favorable.” He pulled out his cell, scanned the screen, and put it back in his pocket. “What did you find?”

“The cell records were of marginal use. They did confirm he’s been in the area for the past two weeks, but the origination point of the calls during the times in question aren’t precise.”

Colin snorted. “Tell me about it. All you get on those reports is a cell tower location—and switching centers can route even consecutive calls to different places. In a congested urban area like this, the best you can do is place a subject within a several-square-mile range.”

“And triangulation with GPS only works during a live call—or if we ask the cell provider to ping a phone periodically to track movements. I’ve got surveillance on Jackson for a day or two, but I may have to resort to pinging after that if we don’t have a resolution.”

“So let me rephrase my earlier question. Did you dig up any helpful information?”

“Yeah. I paid Jackson’s boss a visit. He confirmed our guy was on the job the day the bomb was left at Eve’s—except for the half hour he disappeared on lunch break. The job was in Kirkwood.”

Colin pursed his lips. “That would put him—what? Eight to ten minutes from Eve Reilly’s place?”

“Right.”

“I wonder if anyone can vouch for his whereabouts during the missing half hour?”