Page 88 of Good Boys Don’t Bite

“Nothing.”

“Stop saying nothing when you mean something.”

Ronan laughed.

“You say nothing constantly.”

“Yes.”

“At least you admit it.”

Elliot waited. Ronan went into the kitchen. Opened the refrigerator. Closed it without taking anything. Interesting.

“What?” Elliot asked again.

Ronan looked toward him.

“Where'd you run this morning?”

The question arrived so unexpectedly that Elliot almost smiled. Instead, he frowned.

“What?”

“This morning.”

“I know what morning means.”

“Where'd you go?”

“Why?”

“Curious.”

Elliot studied him. He could lie. That was easy. The more important question was what Ronan already knew.

“East,” Elliot said.

“Toward campus?”

“No.”

“River?”

Elliot paused. There. A trap. Not a sophisticated one. Still.

“No.”

Ronan leaned against the refrigerator.

“Where?”

“Maple. Then Alder. Turned around near the old elementary school.”

That route worked. Approximately forty minutes. Residential streets. Enough mud. Nothing near the river. Ronan nodded. Elliot watched him.

“Why?”

“No reason.”