Gabriel yanked his gaze away.
"Should I get dressed?" I said.
"No, of course--" He stopped. "Perhaps. If you'd be more comfortable."
I turned the coffee making over to him. As I passed, I noticed him watching me again. He looked away fast.
"Oh, and there is a reason I woke you up before six," I said. "Dr. Evans called."
Genuine confusion, then he swore. "Chandler contacted him."
"Which you expected, right?"
"That depends." He paused, and I could see him pulling himself back together. When he spoke again, he sounded more like his usual self. "If it required an early morning call, that means he's alarmed by our visit. Perhaps we can use that. What did he say?"
"I'll tell you after I'm dressed."
His hand lifted, as if to tell me not to bother. Then his gaze slipped to my bare legs.
"Yes. You do that. I'll prepare the coffee."
So what did I tell Gabriel? That Evans had called out of concern that we'd joined forces again.
Gabriel sighed. "I should be flattered that he finds me so intimidating, but it's becoming irritating. What does he want?"
"Me to come over right away. He says he has information on you that I need to see."
Gabriel shook his head. No surprise. No consternation. Just that head shake. "I'm sure he does. Some rumor he's dug up and believes himself the first one to do so, which he is not, such being the nature of rumors. All right, then." He paused. "I'm presuming he said to come alone?"
"That's the idea."
"Immediately?"
"Yep."
Now Gabriel did look concerned.
"Yes, I know," I said. "It screams setup."
"It certainly does. However, if that were the case, it would make more sense to invite both of us, since we are clearly both a threat."
"Unless he figures I'll bring you anyway. Or he might really just want to talk. He's seventy years old. I don't think he's going to jump me at the door to silence me."
"Anyone can use a gun, as someone did to silence Joshua Gray."
"You think Evans did it?"
"I have no idea." He paused. "Perhaps he's simply nervous about the pharmacological connection and believes you're the more sympathetic ear. I'll still insist on coming along, though I'll stay outside."
"Not going to argue."
"All right, then. Ms. Mosley's lead can wait. We'll pursue this first."
"Anita has a lead for us?"
"She left a message on my voice mail. Another potential contact, someone she needed to confer with before passing along his name. He was a subject in one of Chandler's experiments. One that Evans participated in. He'd very much like to speak to us, apparently."
I set my coffee cup on the counter. "Shouldn't we do that first? If he can add to the picture, it would help to have that before I visit Evans."