“I’m just trying to understand why you care where I took my dog two or three years ago.”

Bowman stops tapping and lifts her hand in the air. “So you took Grendel to the dog park. Did you always stay inside the dog park? Or did you sometimes walk him in the neighborhood around the dog park? I know some people do that. Maybe they get bored just standing there, watching the dogs run around. Maybe they want to get some exercise themselves. Did you ever do that? Walk Grendel around the neighborhood there?”

Again, it seems like an odd question. And I know Bowman is once again building to something.

“Yes, I did. When I first got Grendel, he didn’t socialize well with other dogs. So I’d let him spend some time in the park with the other dogs, and when he’d had enough of that and started to get cranky, I’d put him on the leash and walk around the neighborhood. I work with a guy who lives a few blocks from the park, so I kind of knew that area. Grendel never liked to walk very far. I do the same thing in my neighborhood now. He didn’t really like the dog park or my attempts to get him to play well with others. So I gave up eventually.”

“And this time you were going to the dog park . . . that was about two and a half years ago or so?”

“Yes.”

“It would have been in the summer about two and a half years ago?”

“I can remember going there in the summer, yes. Summer and a little into the early fall. That was part of the appeal. The weather was nice. It was good for me to be outside. Grendel too.”

“Got it.” She pauses a moment, then says, “You see, Sophia Greenfield lived one block from the dog park. And you were going there during the time she died. So I need to know exactly where you used to walk when you went outside the park.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

It’s been so long, I’m not sure I can remember the exact route I followed.

And even if I did remember, I’m not sure I should tell Bowman. I’m not sure I should tell her anything. Ever.

But I didn’t know Sophia Greenfield. And I didn’t kill her.

“I’m going to try to remember,” I say, “and after I tell you, I’m going to leave.”

“You can leave before you tell me, if you want,” Bowman says. “I already told you that.”

“There’s a street that runs parallel to the park,” I say. “I’d start there. But I don’t remember what it was called.”