Kinley had the appeal of a tanned surfer, but on the wrong coast and too far from the ocean for that.

“Did you bring the food for the barbeque?” Ruby asked.

“Oh, no. Pearl got it local,” Kinley replied, seeming to ease a little. “Yeah, she heard about this butcher from work. The diner we both work at sometimes gets pork from this local guy.”

Ruby exchanged a look with Gabe. There was the swine.

“Do you know anything about this local butcher?” Ruby asked.

“I was with her when she put in the order,” Kinley said. “The guy was kind of a creep, honestly. He kept staring at Pearl's chest the whole time we were there. Making innuendos about pork.”

Pearl Helman, a leering butcher, and a clear tie to their victim's workplace. Ruby was surprised Gabe wasn't visibly lighting up.

“You didn't think to bring this up earlier?” Gabe asked.

Paul shook his head, “No, it wasn't a big deal. It's not like I thought the guy was the murderer. He came by to drop off her meat order, tried hanging around, making people uncomfortable, but I told him to get lost.”

“Do you know the butcher's name?” Ruby asked, her eyes narrowing. Something about Kinley wasn’t adding up. There was something he wasn’t saying.

“I don't know it. You'd have to look up Pearl's receipts or something,” Kinley said. “Is it going to help you find the killer? I mean, I saw him go. He walked out of the party. Didn't seem… you know, like a murderer.”

Gabe stood up, leaning in to Ruby.

“I'll get a researcher looking into her credit card history. You finish wringing this guy out,” Gabe said.

Ruby nodded, folding her hands in front of her as Gabe left her alone in the interview room with Kinley.

“When police interview you, this is the kind of information they're looking for, Paul,” she said pointedly. “You're sure you weren't concealing this information from us for any reason? You didn't suggest Pearl use this butcher?”

Kinley tapped nervously against the table.

“No. I didn't like the guy, but I didn't think he was dangerous. I did suggest him, okay, it was me but the way you guys were talking, I figured you’d call me an accomplice or something. He makes a good bacon-wrapped filet, okay!” Kinley said, “I didn't think he'd hurt anyone.”

“Alright, thank you for your time, Paul. We'll let you know if we have any more questions,” Ruby said, standing up.

“So, I'm clear?” Kinley asked.

“You're clear,” Ruby said, shooing him out of the room.