Delko's eyes flicked to the rearview mirror and he narrowed them at Gabe. “It was the trespasser. He stabs those pigs. The same every time. And makes it look like I did it.”

Ruby buried down her own apprehension. Delko was so committed to that narrative. Worse, his body language supported that he believed what he said. Someone else stabbed the pigs.

“You're telling me that some guy broke into your butcher shop, stabbed a bunch of... pigs. Then he breaks into your house and puts up dozens of pictures, lights a few candles, all without you noticing?” Gabe said. “And your plan was to ambush this trespasser at night in the dark?”

Delko sat back in his seat. “I'm not saying anything more.”

Ruby caught a flash of his eyes in the rearview mirror, a dark hate lingering in his gaze.

*

Through the two-way glass, Ruby watched Gabe have his go at Delko. It was an aggressive approach, an attempt to break or intimidate Delko into a confession. Ruby wasn't so sure Vallejo would pick a man easy to break.

Bellisario stepped into the dim room. Even from his posture, he seemed more business-like than usual. Ruby wasn’t used to seeing the more official side of Bellisario. She always felt it was something he saved for when he had to deal with his bosses.

“Cut him loose,” Bellisario said.

Ruby flashed him a look of surprise.

“What? Why?” she demanded, “he's our best suspect. His boots matched the prints from a crime scene.”

Bellisario shook his head, turning to watch the interrogation. He knocked lightly on the glass. Both Delko and Gabe looked, but only Gabe was capable of getting up from the table and coming through the door.

“Sir?” Gabe asked, shutting the interrogation room behind him. He shared Ruby’s exact brand of confusion.

“His alibis checked out,” Bellisario said. “After you marched him out of a butcher shop in front of every cop on the night shift.”

Ruby set her jaw.

“How is that possible?” she asked.

“A bar's got him on camera when the second victim was killed,” Bellisario said. “A man can't be in two places at once.”

The color drained out of Ruby’s face. She should have known better. Everything about his place was just a little too much. Everywhere they looked, there was something conveniently incriminating lying around.

“You can't be serious. You didn't see his garage,” Gabe protested. “Maybe the video was doctored.”

Bellisario raised a hand, silencing Gabe before he could throw out more theories. Bellisario really must have been getting a headache from the higher ups within the Bureau. That was the exact kind of flashy, brash display they didn’t want reflecting on them. At the time, it had been perfectly reasonable to want all hands on deck to bring the guy in. They’d found bloody boots in his house.

“That is the kind of connection Vallejo would have,” Ruby added.

Bellisario sighed.