Brent followed his best friend’s example. Running in this heat without adequate hydration was dangerous, even if they had waited until after the sun set to log a few midweek miles.

They drained their bottles in silence.

“You’ve been quiet tonight.” Adam slid his empty bottle back into place.

“Long day.”

“Transitioning to a new job is always rough. They give you any interesting cases yet?”

“Yeah. Did you hear about that fake bomb someone left at a local radio show host’s house?”

Adam stared at him. “You’re working the Eve Reilly case?”

“I was the closest detective when the call came in last Friday. I take it you’ve been following the media coverage?”

“Hard not to. The press has been all over the story.” He propped his hands on his hips. “That’s a high-profile assignment for a rookie.”

Brent coaxed out a few more drops of liquid and stowed his bottle. “After ten years as a cop, I’m not exactly new to law enforcement.”

“You’re new to the detective ranks.” Adam swiped off a bead of sweat tracking down his temple. “So tell me about Eve Reilly. Is she as dynamic in person as she is on the radio?”

That was not a topic he wanted to discuss.

“Yes. Let’s run.” He took off, leaving Adam no choice but to follow. If he picked up the pace, maybe his once-a-week running partner would focus on pounding the pavement and forget about conversation.

His buddy caught up to him in a few strides. “Why don’t you want to talk about her?”

So much for any hope of avoiding that subject.

Time for evasive maneuvers.

“I’m happy to talk about her—but I’ve only seen her twice. Why are you interested in her?”

“I like her show.”

“I didn’t know you were into talk radio.”

“I’m not—but Rebecca got me hooked on Eve’s program.” He dodged another jogger who was running the opposite direction. “I tune in while I’m driving to work, unless I’m practicing an opening statement or closing argument—a frequent activity if I’m alone in my car.”

“You ever get any strange looks from fellow commuters while you do that?”

“Not often. These days, most people assume I’m on a hands-free call. But at a stoplight a couple of years ago, I noticed the passenger in the adjacent car watching me with a weird expression. She had her window open, so I cranked mine down too and called over to her that I was a prosecuting attorney practicing for court.”

“What happened?” With Adam, there was always a punch line.