He wasn’t sure how to politely say that he preferred being by himself and watched as Bob sat on his front stoop.
Bob surprised him when he said, “I’ll be honest, Kyle. I saw Kimberly earlier and she said that you were investigating Kilton. That the robbery might be an inside job.”
He looked toward Bob and held his gaze for a long time, impressed that the other man did not look away.
“My partner and I were going to come to see you today, but we got called away. I know that Tammy Rutgers reports to you, so you’re going to know all the shipping details.”
“You want to make this official? Go ahead, ask me anything.”
“Okay. I’m convinced that someone knew the route that the van was going to take. It was supposed to deliver to that particular pharmacy later in the afternoon but, even with the time getting moved up by several hours because of the change, the truck involved in the theft was already waiting there. Tammy knew the routes. You knew the routes. And the drivers knew the routes. I just found out today that Porter has that information as well. So that leaves me with a small pool of people that could have known what route they were taking.”
Bob sighed heavily and looked out toward the street. “I know you’ve got to look into me, but I’ll tell you, I had nothing to do with it. And I’d bet my life that neither did Tammy.”
“Okay, if I take you at face value for right now, what does that leave me with?”
“That leaves you with Porter, Charlie, and Joe.” Bob looked back at him and said, “But, of course, if I’m lying to you, I could just be setting them up.”
“Yep, that’s right. But I can already tell you that Charlie and Joe’s stories don’t match up.”
Bob’s gaze jerked back to Kyle and his brow lowered. “Damn.”
“Tell me about those two.”
Bob propped his forearms on his knees, clasped his hands together, and stared down for a moment. “Did you know Joe had a stepbrother that was a user?”
“Fuck,” Kyle bit out.
“Not raised together. Different dads and different last names. The only reason I know is that I stopped by the funeral home for family visitation when his mom died a few years back. He introduced me to his brother and then a couple of days later we were just shooting the shit and he mentioned that his stepbrother hadn’t been out of jail very long. I think he mentioned using, maybe even dealing.” With his head still facing down, he twisted around and caught Kyle’s eye. “I’ve never had a reason to suspect Joe. And I sure as hell don’t hold anything against him that someone in his family has ever done.”
“Out of curiosity, when I said that their stories didn’t match up and asked about the two, you told me something about Joe. Why is that?”
Bob’s brow crinkled. “I don’t know. I can’t tell you who’s lying when it comes to them giving different accounts, but I just don’t know anything about Charlie that’s suspicious at all. Hell, Joe’s stepbrother doesn’t make Joe suspicious either. I guess it’s just something I thought of.”
Kyle looked over as another car drove down the street and spied Kimberly. She parallel parked several doors down, bumping her back tire against the curb. If he wasn’t so concerned about her state of mind, he would’ve smiled. Instead, he watched as she got out and threw a glare his way. The two men stood, and Bob turned to reach out his hand.
Grasping it in a shake, Kyle said, “Appreciate the information.”
Bob waved toward Kimberly before going inside his house as she stomped up the front steps.
Opening her door, she marched inside, and Kyle followed. Rounding quickly, she said, “What were you talking to Bob about?”
“I’m not at liberty to tell you right now. It was official.”
She reared back as her eyes bugged out of her head. “Official? You were questioning my neighbor officially?”
“He volunteered to be questioned officially, so yes. And not as your neighbor, but as an employee and a person of interest.”
“A… a… a person of interest?”
He wondered if her eyes could widen anymore and sighed heavily. “Kimberly, I don’t want to talk about this now.”
“Well, guess what? We don’t always get what we want, do we?” She held out her hand, wiggling her fingers. “Keys.”
He was struck with déjà vu and wondered if she recognized