“So I had . . .” He pauses. “On waking today . . . and maybe it was you, maybe it was the talk last night, or last night in general, but when I woke up today it was like . . .”

“. . . Like what?”

He pauses to sit down in her kitchen chair, taking a deep swig of the latte. “Like Saint Paul on the road to Damascus.”

“Wait, Kierk, are you saying that you—”

“I’m not claiming anything,” he says up at her, shaking his head. “I’m not claiming anything right now.”

“Let me guess. You have to go.”

“Yes. But only because I have to get it down, just make everything clear.”

“So . . . I just want to make sure,” Carmen says, sitting down on his knee, “that last night was, I don’t know, that you’re okay with all this? You’re kind of running out on me here.”

“What?” Kierk looks up at her. “No, I mean, believe me, this is amazing. You’re amazing.” He kisses her long and hard. “But this idea is just nagging at me, I really think . . .”

“Maybe we could brainstorm it together?” “Maybe . . . but it’s not . . . it’s more like seeing a pattern but you can’t . . . If you go to describe it too soon it’ll fall apart. Like marring the dust on a butterfly’s wings. Like Fitzgerald.”

“Hmm?”

“I’m just gonna need the day. To investigate this.”

Carmen is nodding in his lap. “Yeah, I mean, that’s totally fine obviously. I’ve got a lot of work to do anyway . . . I think I’ve got an idea for a . . . lead. In our case. Or whatever. That we could pursue. Maybe tomorrow?”

“Sure. We’ll meet up tomorrow. Text me whatever you come up with in terms of our murder-mystery stuff.”

Kierk kind of picks her up and sets her down as he stands. Now Carmen can’t decide between seeing him off and going back to put a shirt on but she’s worried he might be gone before then. He’s already putting his shoes on and she’s still standing there in her underwear with her untouched latte.

Finally she just says—“You’re an elusive man, Kierk Suren.”

Grinning up at her—“Yeah, but I make up for it in other qualities.”

After a quick goodbye kiss Kierk disappears out the door and she hears his descent down the chairs. At first she laughs but then it turns into a frown. Her phone buzzes. Alex has texted her HOWD THINGS GO LAST NIGHT and has also sent her a bunch of kissy emojis. Carmen sends him back an emoji of a thumbs-up and some fireworks and an eggplant, followed by a string of question marks.