Erik cut a look their way. The wolf shifter probably had hearing good enough to listen in on their entire conversation.
Mia sipped her water. “I can honestly tell you that Seth isn’t afraid of anything, Kurt.”
Erik nodded from across the restaurant.
Kurt unzipped his blue windbreaker. “Maybe not, but there’s something really weird about that town, Mia. You have to know that something is seriously off in Lost Lake.”
“All old towns are eccentric,” she said smoothly, straightening as Rodney emerged from the kitchen with a basket of breadsticks. He placed it on the table and then took the chair between them.
Rodney was in his late twenties with sandy blond hair, liquid blue eyes, and a fit physique. Mia knew from her investigation—brief that it was—that he was a runner who also liked to box at a local gym. Today, he wore jeans, a black T-shirt, and an apron around his waist. “So, you two are back to me, huh?” he asked, sitting and reaching for one of the three water glasses on the table.
“Desperation, I guess. Thanks for meeting with us,” Mia said.
He shrugged. “Whatever. If I refused, you’d just pull me in again. I told you before, I had no idea Delaney was a murderer.”
“We know.” Mia nodded. “I reviewed all your interview transcripts on the way here.” The plane ride had been smooth and quite comfortable, although she would never admit that to Seth. She’d also scoured every victim’s autopsy report, except for the last one since they didn’t have it yet. Not one bit of trace evidence had been left on any of the bodies. There was absolutely nothing, and it was incredibly frustrating.
“Tell me again what you did for Delaney,” Kurt asked smoothly, reaching for a breadstick.
Rodney rolled his eyes. “As you know, Robert Delaney was a lawyer with Delaney & Jacobs, LLP. I interned for him when I was in law school, which, by the way, I did not finish because all of this happened.”
Kurt looked around. “Yeah, but it looks like you did okay for yourself. Owning a restaurant has to be much more relaxing than being a lawyer in DC.”
Rodney nodded. “True. Good point.” He took another sip of his water, his hand steady. “So, I learned law and trial procedure from Delaney. That’s it. He left the office every day at six, and I didn’t see him again till six the next morning. Apparently, he was out murdering people during those nighttime hours. I, on the other hand, was sleeping.”
“Delaney had an alibi for two of the murders,” Mia said softly, not touching her glass or the breadsticks. Her stomach felt a little queasy, which was probably normal for any pregnancy, especially one involving a wolf shifter pup.
Rodney looked at her, his gaze hard. “I’m well aware of that because you hit me with it a million times during the two interviews I allowed before. I wasn’t an accomplice. I think you probably got the alibis wrong.”
“What do you mean?” Kurt asked, reaching for a second breadstick.
“Delaney was a smart man. He’s one of the most strategic men I’ve ever met. The guy was brilliant, actually—if completely psychotic.” Rodney reached for a breadstick. “If anybody was smart enough to fake alibis, it was him.”
Mia shook her head. “We have him at the opera for one of the killings and grocery shopping late at night for another—something he said he often did. I have him on video for both.”
“Ah, but videos can be faked,” Rodney said smoothly. “I’m telling ya, the guy was a loner. The only reason he took on an intern was because the court required attorneys to do so at the time. He didn’t like me. He didn’t like anybody. He just wanted to do his own thing. He won his cases, made tons of money from his clients, and then he went out and killed people.” Rodney threw up his hands. “That’s all I can tell you.”
Mia could tell he was about to take off. “Have you been to Kentucky lately?”
“Kentucky? No. Why would I go to Kentucky?” Rodney snarled.
“How about Nebraska?” Kurt asked.
Rodney shifted uneasily. “Why?”
Mia perked up. “Just answer the question.”
Rodney rolled his eyes. “I have an aunt who lives in Nebraska, and yes, I visited her a few weeks ago because she was having a hard time.”
“Why was that?” Kurt asked.
Rodney shoved his water glass away from himself. “She’d been dating some guy who dumped her. She was really depressed, and I went out to cheer her up. That’s it.”
“Did you drive, or did you fly?” Mia asked quietly.
“I drove. I took my time and had fun,” Rodney elaborated.
Kurt leaned closer to him. “So, you didn’t drive through Kentucky?”
