On the way, Eve explained that though she couldn’t stay at her parents’ home, figuring that it, like Brian’s condo, would be under surveillance, there was also her widowed aunt’s place in Carpenteria, near Santa Barbara.“And it’ll be empty,” she told him. “Aunt Maureen went along with my parents to Ireland. They’ll be gone another two weeks.”“Does Brian know about the place?”“Sure, but he wouldn’t go there. I probably told him about their vacation in Ireland, but he never listens. As far as he knows, Aunt Maureen is at home. And anyway, he wouldn’t be able to get in even if he wanted to. You have to know the security code.”“Which you do?”“Which I do.”“Fine. I’ll drop you there, and then go on to the airport.”Eve smiled at him. “Home to Illinois, uh?”“Might as well. Brian could be anywhere, right? So I guess my bird-dogging days are over.”When they reached the hotel, Eve said that she would wait in the car for him, but he explained that he would be a while because he had some telephone calls to make and suggested that she might prefer to wait out by the swimming pool or in the bar.“Looking like this?”
