He had claimed the February transfer was a deposit for heavy survey equipment.

Now he was treating it like a temporary loan he had meant to borrow all along.

“That will help cover the property tax bill in May,” I said.

“Exactly,” Daniel said.

“I know the household accounts looked tight on paper last week.

You don’t need to worry about my consulting expenses anymore.”

He opened a kitchen drawer and took out two forks, two spoons, and a stack of paper napkins.

I found a tall glass vase in the bottom cabinet and filled it with cold water from the tap.