Casey refrained from kicking him in the knee. “I know about him. Did she tell you anything about herself? Where she was before she came here, why she showed up here in the first place, who might have wanted her dead?”
He shrugged that way teenagers do when they think adults are asking stupid questions. “Why should I tell you?”
“Look, kid—”
Eric swiveled so he stood in front of Casey, hiding the dishwasher from her view and looking down into her face.
She made a move to get around him, but he held up his hands. “Casey, you’ve got to cool it.”
She gave a little laugh. “Excuse me?”
“Casey…” His earnest expression and kind eyes were enough to make her pause, and she allowed him to lead her back almost to the dining room door, where he spoke quietly just for her ears. “Look, I know you want answers, but this isn’t the way to go about it. You’ve got the kid half scared and half pissed off. Not the way to encourage confidences.”
She took a deep breath and looked straight ahead at his throat, where his Adam’s Apple bobbed up and down once as he waited. The tendons stood out, like he was clenching his jaw, and there was a tiny patch of stubble he’d missed that morning when he’d shaved. She wondered if it would feel scratchy if she kissed it.
“Okay,” she said. “You do it.”
“I didn’t mean you couldn’t—”
“Please, Eric.”
He swallowed again, and the tendons relaxed. “Okay.” He stood there for a moment more before making his way back across the room. He crossed his arms and leaned against the counter. “So, Sam…may I call you Sam? We understand this must be hard for you, especially if Alicia was your friend. I know it’s hard for Bailey, here—”
Casey must have made a sound, because Eric paused, and he and the other two looked at her. Casey cleared her throat. “Sorry. Must have been a frog.”
Eric frowned, then turned back to Sam. “Sam, we all want to know who did this to Alicia. What happened to her was terrible, and devastating to everyone who knew her. Including Ricky. Casey doesn’t believe her brother would have done such awful things, and Bailey agrees. Do you really think Ricky seems like the type to hurt her?”
Sam shifted on his feet, not looking Eric in the eye.
Bailey stomped her foot. “Sammy, come on—”
Eric shook his head at her, and she clamped her mouth into a thin line.
Sam mumbled something.
“Sorry?” Eric said.
“I guess he’s not. I just…why would he even like her? I mean, she was kinda cool, sure. Not friendly or anything, just pretty, I guess, for her age, I mean, she was kind of old, and she seemed smart. But she worked here. How did he even meet her? She never went out in the evenings, and he worked for some fancy place.”
Really? Casey was surprised at that. She’d never considered Ricky’s catering job fancy, but then, she supposed it was when compared to The Slope.
“How do you know she didn’t go out?” Eric asked. “Did she talk about what she did on her off hours?”
Sam went pink. “Well, I asked her if she wanted to catch a movie one time—this was before I knew about him—and she said she just wanted to go back to her place. By herself. Not with me. I mean, it wasn’t an invitation. She wasn’t like that. Not even with the customers. Not like some people.” He glanced at Bailey, who didn’t seem to catch what he was implying.
Eric nodded. “So she kept to herself. Did she ever say anything that seemed strange or out of character? Or anything that could have meant she was scared?”
“She never seemed scared. She always walked home by herself, even when it was dark out. I offered her rides different times, but she always said she was fine on her own. I wish…” He shook his head and looked at something above Eric’s head. Maybe one of the cobwebs in the corner.
“And you don’t know where Alicia was before she moved here?”
“Nah. She never talked about it. I never asked.” He went to shove his hands in his pockets, remembered he was wearing big rubber gloves, and stuck his hands under his arms instead. “Have you asked Karl? He’s the one who would know.”
“The manager,” Bailey said, in case Casey and Eric had already forgotten.