his relationship with that football player

I'm not sure why the main character would have been so eager to have that football player waiting on him hand and foot. Sure, having a helper around the house might have sounded like a nice idea, but wasn't he worried that the football player might catch on to what was going on? That main character would have been better off spending as much time alone as possible, especially since he knew that the house was bugged and that he was being watched.

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Jim Hutton (1934-79) and Ellery Queen = 