“Good God. I don’t remember,” Rodney said, the lines between his eyes deepening. “I just drove to Nebraska, hung out with my aunt, made sure she wasn’t suicidal, and then came back.”
Kurt reached for a third breadstick. “What about Wyoming?”
“WhataboutWyoming?” Rodney retorted.
Mia leaned toward him to bracket Kurt. “Have you been to Wyoming?”
“No, I have not been to Wyoming. Has anybody been to Wyoming?” Rodney asked.
Kurt tsked. “You know we have means of finding out where you’ve been.”
“Go right ahead, buddy,” Rodney said. “You look where I’ve been. I haven’t been anywhere except for Nebraska. Other than that, I’m trying to make this restaurant work.”
“Oh, yeah? We heard you’re rarely around,” Kurt replied.
Rodney swiveled to look at him. “You’ve been checking up on me?”
“We’ve definitely been checking up on you, Rodney,” Kurt said, lowering his chin.
“That’s it. I’m done.” Rodney pushed back from the table. “If you want to talk to me, feel free to contact my attorney.”
Mia also leaned back. “Who would that be, may I ask?”
“I’ll let you know when I get one.” Rodney turned and stomped away.
Kurt shrugged. “The breadsticks are good.”
Mia shook her head. “I find it fascinating that he’s been to Nebraska. We need to get a dump on his phone and his vehicle’s GPS if it has one.”
Kurt nodded. “We can also pull some traffic cam footage. I’m sure we have a couple of interns in the DC office who could spend hours upon hours trying to trace him between here, Kentucky, Nebraska, and Wyoming. Why not give it a shot?”
“Let’s also see if he’s been to Seattle lately,” Mia said.
The waitress bopped over and placed a ticket on the table. “For the breadsticks.”
Mia barely held back a chuckle.
“What an ass,” Kurt muttered, reaching for the bill.
The waitress shrugged. “Sorry. Rodney said you have to pay.” She was young and cute with dark hair, even darker skin, and an apron with perfectly hand-painted flowers. She wore jeans and a pink T-shirt.
Mia checked the T-shirt. There was a C and the @ sign and then an L. It took her a moment. “Seattle,” she murmured.
“Oh, yeah,” the waitress said, looking down. “Rodney brought this back for me after his last trip.”
Kurt paused in standing. “His last trip? When was that?”
The girl shrugged. “I don’t know when he went, but he gave me the T-shirt last week. He hasn’t been around much lately.”
“Is that a fact?” Mia asked quietly, standing. “Do you know where he’s been?”
“Nope. He doesn’t check in with me.” The waitress turned as someone waved to her from a table near the door. “I have to go. You can pay at the door.”
Kurt watched her leave. “Seattle, huh?” he murmured. “Let’s pull video from the airport, as well. We need to get a warrant for his phone and the GPS on his vehicle.”
Anticipation ran down Mia’s back. “Absolutely. Let’s do it.”
She turned to see Rodney watching them from the door by the kitchen, and for just a moment, his lazy façade flipped. Anger burned hot and bright in his eyes, and for a second, he looked like somebody else. Then his shoulders lowered, and he walked toward them, yanking the bill out of Kurt’s hand. “You don’t have to pay. You’re just doing your job.” His sigh was heavy.
