He lifted his gaze to hers. It was an effort for her to stare back without blinking. She could practically feel the brush of Drex’s thumb against the corner of her mouth.
“The reason I ask,” Jasper said, “is because Elaine also told me there was a strain between Drex and you last night, a hostility that became more palpable as the evening progressed. Was she imagining that?”
“No.”
He looked at her as though expecting her to elaborate.
“I’m thirsty.” Withdrawing her hand, she got up and went to the fridge. “Would you like a bottle of water?”
“No thank you.”
She returned to the table with one, twisted off the cap, and took a drink.
“Talia? How do you explain this tension between you and Drex?”
“He brought up Key West. Not in a random way, either. And he wouldn’t drop the subject.”
“Yes, I know.”
She jerked to attention.
“I heard all about it from Elaine. Nothing of it from you. Why didn’t you tell me this the moment you got home last night?”
“Because whenever the subject of Marian arises, we both become upset. Drex’s persistence unnerved me, but, in hindsight, I believe he only mentioned Key West in the context of wanting to visit the Hemingway house. Nothing more.”
Jasper sat as still as a stone, but he wasn’t as contained as he seemed. She could hear each deep inhale through his nose, each exhale. “I’m not so sure. Elaine said he pestered you with questions.”
“I told him I didn’t particularly like the place, he prodded me to tell him why. Rapid-fire questions. It was as though…”
“What?”
“It felt like he was trying to spark a reaction, make me blurt out something.”
“Do you think he knows something about Marian?”
“No. Maybe, Jasper.” She withdrew her hand from his and used it to rub her forehead. “I don’t know.”
“He’s living next door, Talia,” he hissed. “I should have known about this immediately.”
“I didn’t tell you because I predicted you would respond exactly as you are. You’re jumping to a conclusion that has no real basis. You’ve mistrusted Drex from the start.”
“As it turns out, with good reason.”
“We don’t know that!” she exclaimed in a stage whisper. “His mention of Key West triggered a response from me, and he noticed. I tried to shoot the topic down.”
“But he persisted.”
“Only to be obnoxious. Honestly, I think that’s all there was to it.”
And she did. Because this morning Drex had dismissed the idea of going there any time soon, and there hadn’t seemed to be an ulterior motive to his mentioning it. In fact, she’d started the exchange by asking about his proposed trip.
But she couldn’t tell Jasper about that conversation without telling him that Drex had followed her to the medical building. Knowing about that would reinforce his suspicion.
He’d been ruminating and now said, “Key West came up toward the conclusion of the evening. Elaine picked up on antagonistic vibes as soon as you arrived at her townhouse.”
“I had told him about Elaine’s history with men, of her falling hard and getting hurt. I warned him against romancing her. Last night, he flaunted that he was doing just that. He was positively oily.”
“How did Elaine respond?”