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Conversation was casual and easy – easier than I’d expected between Joe and Reeve. They chatted about the land and the ins and outs of ranching and the luxury hotels that Reeve owned. Though, while each question from the investigator seemed in line with typical small talk, I could practically hear the gears turning in his head, processing each of Reeve’s answers and filing it away for later in categories with labels like Suspicious, Follow-up, and Miscellaneous.

It was hard to guess whether Reeve caught it as well. He didn’t give any indication that he was on guard any more than usual, but that was the thing about Reeve – he was subtle in the way he held his cards. So subtle, it was almost impossible to discern whether he was even playing the game.

As had been the case in Palm Springs, dinner was served from a warming cart, our plates having already been dished up in the kitchen so a staff member could place them in front of us still piping hot. Another server poured wine for each of