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“Uh, Kenton didn’t answer when I knocked so I went in.” RJ stopped and scrubbed his hands over his face. “He wasn’t in here, and there was no blood, hat or knife.”
“That was around midnight?” Ruby questioned.
“Probably closer to one,” RJ corrected. “After I got home and Melanie told me what Kenton had done, she and I talked for a while before I came up.”
The silence settled in the room for several moments before Ruby shifted her attention to Melanie. “And what about you?”
“I didn’t come up here until the following morning,” Melanie was quick to answer. “When Kenton didn’t come down for breakfast, RJ and I went to his room together because I didn’t want to face Kenton alone. There was no blood, knife or hat.”
Ruby nodded, and she looked at her tablet. “I’ve worked out a general timeline based on what you’ve all said. The assault on Mia happened around six. We haven’t heard from Birdie yet, but that’s the last time anyone saw Kenton. Is that right?”
All made sounds and responses to indicate that was correct.
“About an hour later, Mia, you came up here,” Ruby went on. “Why?”
“To kick Kenton in the balls,” she answered honestly. “I hated that I’d let him get to me like that, and I wanted to make it clear that it wouldn’t happen again.”
Ruby kept her stare fixed on Mia. “And you’re certain you didn’t bring your knife with you?”
“Certain. I couldn’t find it. I usually kept it in the drawer of my nightstand, and it wasn’t there.”
Ruby did more staring. “And the blood and hat were here in the room by then but not the knife. You took the hat.”
Mia nodded. “So, I guess that means Kenton was killed between six and seven p.m. that night.”
“It looks that way,” Ruby murmured. “And shortly after you made that discovery in Kenton’s room, you left, and then Angel arrived home.” She shifted her gaze to him. “Birdie told you what had happened with Kenton attacking Mia so you went to confront him. You found the blood and the knife in Kenton’s room, took the knife and went looking for Mia.”
“I did,” Angel said. “I didn’t see Kenton at all that night.”
Neither had Mia after Kenton had attacked her, but that led her to another question she needed answered. “Kenton’s killer put him in that grave. That meant moving the body down a flight of stairs.”
“Maybe,” Ruby muttered, but then pointed to the large window. The bottom of the sill was only a couple of inches from the floor. “One possibility is the killer could have dragged him there and tossed him out. The body would have fallen very close to where Kenton’s car would have been parked. From there, the killer could have managed to get him inside it and drive away.”
“Even if Kenton was larger than the killer?” RJ asked.
“Even then,” Ruby confirmed. “Adrenaline can give a person a lot more strength than they usually have. It could have been enough to hoist Kenton onto the seat and drive off before anyone could see what was going on.”
Yes, Mia could see it playing out that way. There were no street views or exterior lights on that side of the house.
“Another possibility is that Kenton was alive when he got into his car,” Ruby went on. “He could have set up this scene, gone to his car, and been attacked while he was already inside it. The killer could have then driven him to the dump site and buried him.”
That made more sense than the first theory, but Mia didn’t get a chance to verbally play it out because of the sound of approaching footsteps. They turned to see Birdie step into the doorway. She wasn’t alone. Her husband, Roger, was right by her side.
Birdie was wearing a red top and pants that looked as expensive as the rest of her. That included her sky-high designer heels, her hair and makeup, and the diamond earrings that sparkled in her earlobes. She’d definitely come a long way from her time in foster care.
Roger was every bit just as polished and looked as if he were on his way to an important business meeting rather than escorting his wife to what had once been the scene of a crime.
Birdie took one look at the blood, and even though it wasn’t real, she went pale and turned toward her husband, burying her face on his shoulder. A gravelly sob tore from her throat, and it took her several moments before she lifted her head and looked at them.
“I don’t want to talk here,” Birdie said, her voice a tangle of nerves. “Please, let’s go downstairs. There are some things I need to tell you about that night.”
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Chapter Nine
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Angel hoped like hell that soon they’d have answers as to what’d happened to Kenton. The civilian in him wanted to hear what Birdie had to say right away. But the former cop wondered if this info should be given down at the police station after the woman had been Mirandized.
