“I had an aunt, but I snapped her neck. She had money, and I needed it. I figured I’d make my way to you across the country, but then I thought it might just be better to be here.”
She shook her head. “How did you find me today?” It didn’t make any sense. Rodney was bright, but he wasn’tthissmart. Or was he?
Rodney rubbed his nose. “I had a camera set up in Bobbi Trienzi’s apartment. I knew you would search it at some point. So, after you visited me in DC, I figured I’d just hang out here for a while. I mean, I was cleared, right?”
It felt like her throat was closing. They had cleared him, which meant the FBI wouldn’t be looking at him as a suspect in her kidnapping. “You knew where she lived? Bobbi? So,yousent her flowers?”
He chortled happily. “I sure did. Never met her, but I still enjoyed the mystery of sending her flowers.”
“What about Lori Clang?”
He clapped his hands together. “Oh, that was even more fun. In fact, we met for several dates. She kinda liked me.”
“Yet you killed her.” Mia’s temples pounded.
“Yeah. It was part of the game, and she was stupid. Like you. I love how easy it was to fool you,” Rodney said, kicking back as if they were having a nice discussion over a roaring fire. “You know, it’s easy to fake the time of death, at least for a short little bit, right? As soon as all the autopsies are in, it might not be so easy. Then again...alibis are.”
Mia gingerly tried to twist her wrist to see if there was any give in the shackle. The metal cut into her skin, and she bit her lip to keep from crying out.
It was time to shake him up a little. “Rodney, you’re kind of pathetic,” she spat, rolling her eyes like a bored teenager. “I mean, Delaney was the real master. He was an artist. You’re just a copycat. Why are you sitting there looking so gleeful?”
His chin dropped, and sparks lit his eyes. “Do you really want to make me angry right now?”
“I couldn’t care less,” she muttered. “You’re no Robert Delaney, and you know it.” She yawned, surprised by how easy it was. Those drugs were definitely still in her system.
Rodney slowly stood. Today, he wore a white T-shirt with dark jeans and, oddly enough, polished brown loafers.
Mia’s gaze caught on the shoes. She’d only seen him wearing sneakers. “The shoes are a nice touch. Didn’t Delaney always wear loafers?” She’d tap her fingers to her mouth, but she couldn’t move her hands. “Oh, no. Wait. He didn’t. He wore very expensive Italian leather shoes. You probably can’t afford those, can you?”
She leaned toward him, making sure her expression remained slightly bored. “Did your mom dress you, Rodney?” She remembered from her short investigation into him that he’d been abandoned young.
His face flushed. “You’re going to regret that.”
“I doubt it,” she snorted, trying not to eye the table behind the chair. He’d have to unshackle her to move her. When he did, she could make her move. Hopefully, strength would soon return to her limbs.
He slowly walked over to a side wall and bent to a trunk she hadn’t noticed. It opened with a creak, and he took out what appeared to be a heavy plastic apron to pull over his head. Mia watched him and tried to see inside the trunk for any weapons. Her best bet was the tray of implements over by the table. She could make good use of the screwdriver. She swayed on the chair.
“I think I gave you too much in the darts,” Rodney said. “You need to be awake for this. It’s one of my favorite parts.”
“Why did you kill Rocko Blunt?” she asked. Perhaps she should keep him talking until she could feel her knees again. “And why would you leave the bodies where you did? The poor women left at the asylum, the co-op, and the gas station.” All within Seth’s territory.
“I would do anything to get your attention. Don’t you understand that? I had to be close to you.” He took out a knife from the trunk and walked over to her. “I missed you. We had so much fun, and then you shot my friend and just took off. How could you leave me like that?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t give you one thought. Delaney mattered. You don’t.” The angrier he became, the less focus he seemed to have. She kicked back and forced herself to relax, even though her arms were starting to ache. The chains were too short, and they pulled at her shoulders, making her left elbow pulse in pain. Something was going on with one of her nerves, too, because her ring and pinky fingers on her right hand were going numb—or at the very least they were tingling.
“You know,” she started. “I studied Delaney. I learned everything about him from his history to his work, and even his hobbies. His IQ was off the charts. Did you know that?”
“Of course, I know that,” Rodney sputtered. “I knew him better than anybody.”
She shook her head and studied him as if she just couldn’t quite understand. “Yet he took you on as an apprentice.”
Rodney’s chest puffed out.
She wrinkled her brow. “Why? You’re not nearly as smart as he was, nor as interesting. What was it about you? Was he just desperate, or is it really that hard to find serial killers these days?”
Rodney turned suddenly and kicked her square in the shin.
Pain burst up and down her leg, centering in her knee for some reason. She gasped but kept from crying out. Then she threw back her head and forced a laugh. “See? Like that. Nothing in the world would’ve gotten Delaney to lose his temper. Not even me.”
