Page 40 of Devil in the Details

“I suppose so,” he replied. “To be honest, I wasn’t sure whether I was going to make it this far. Either all that studying paid off more than I thought, or the rest of the people in the competition just aren’t that good.”

Delia grinned. “I have a feeling it’s probably the former.”

“If you say so.”

The waiter came back with the wine, which he expertly uncorked — not that she’d expected anything less in an establishment like this — before tipping a scant quarter-inch into Caleb’s glass so he could taste it. He pronounced the wine excellent, so their server poured a decent amount for her before going back to top off Caleb’s drink.

She’d already decided on the duck, figuring it wouldn’t be as heavy as a steak but would still go well with the wine. Caleb ordered a porterhouse, and soon enough, they were left to their own devices again.

Not that Delia thought they’d be able to discuss anything too sensitive here. Maybe they weren’t elbow to elbow with the people at the neighboring tables, but still, the restaurant was crowded enough that they’d need to watch what they said.

“Has Aaron shown the house?” Caleb inquired, his tone a little too casual.

Was he worried that the realtor might go poking around where he shouldn’t? She supposed real estate agents ran that risk whenever they left a house on a lockbox, but it was just easier to let other agents view a property on their own schedules rather than having to handle the whole setup themselves.

“No,” Delia replied. “Or at least, while he told me he had some clients who might be interested in the place, he hasn’t said anything about actually giving them a tour yet.”

“Good,” Caleb said, and she lifted an eyebrow.

“I thought you wanted to get out from under that property.”

“I do,” he said calmly. “But I’d much rather it went to someone who’s represented by a different agent.”

Fair enough. It was his house, after all, and his was the final determination as to who would actually end up with it.

“Well, another agent showed it this morning,” Delia told him. “And I know Marcy can really get things moving if she thinks a house is perfect for someone, so it could be that we have an offer as soon as Monday morning.”

“That would be good,” Caleb responded. “It would be one less thing to worry about.”

Yes, he did have quite a lot on his plate right now. True, until escrow closed — well, unless Marcy’s buyers were paying cash, which Delia sort of doubted — all sorts of things could go wrong and the deal could still fall apart, but even though horror stories abounded in the real estate industry, she’d only had that happen twice in the entire time she’d been selling houses.

“Then let’s drink to that,” she said as she lifted her glass.

Caleb obligingly raised his as well and clinked it against hers. Once they’d both had a swallow of merlot, however, he glanced around and said in an undertone, “But your realtor friend and his possible accomplice weren’t the only strange thing about the tournament.”

Pausing, Delia sent a quick glance to either side. No one seemed to be paying them much attention, and yet she still didn’t know if it was the best idea to be discussing this sort of stuff right now.

He’d obviously noted her wariness, because one corner of his mouth quirked as he remarked, “It’s okay. I’m not mentioning the big D-word. But still, there’s this one guy — Ty Carter. He was knocked out in the first qualifying round. I saw him at the casino today, though, which seemed strange.”

“Strange how?” Delia asked. “I mean, I don’t think it’s too weird that he might have come back to watch the competition. Maybe he was trying to study everyone’s strategies, see if he could pick up some tricks.”

A shrug, and Caleb swallowed some wine. “Under other circumstances, I might say maybe that’s all it was. But the guy’s vibe is…weird.”

“Like, big D-word?” After all, if anyone could sense a demon, it would be someone with demon blood in their veins.

His expression grew cloudy, as if he wasn’t quite sure he could explain what he was thinking. “Not exactly. The energy was off, but not off in that particular way.” He stopped there, brows pulling together, and then he shook his head. “I know I’m not explaining myself very well.”

Delia could tell he was frustrated, so she did her best to look sympathetic, even if she couldn’t quite understand what had set him off. “It’s okay,” she said. “Did this Ty Carter person do anything to disrupt the tournament or cause some other kind of problem?”

“Nothing like that,” Caleb replied immediately. “I suppose that’s part of the reason why I can’t figure out what’s going on with the guy. He’s just…watching.”

Which was sort of what spectators were supposed to do at a poker tournament. However, the man had definitely pinged Caleb’s radar, which meant something was going on even if he couldn’t explain what it was.

“Well, I can try to keep an eye on him when I come to watch you on Thursday,” she said, and at once, Caleb’s brows lifted.

“You don’t have to work?”

“I do,” she replied calmly. “But I started rearranging my schedule as best I could so I’d be free from three onward on those afternoons next week.”

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