He jabbed the space between them with his index finger. “He took Elaine on that excursion with the intention of killing her. And he did. Deny it till hell freezes, but you know it, and so do we.”

Pressured by her own doubt, feeling the weight of their vile allegations, she hugged her elbows and sank into the chair.

Her failure to respond immediately, along with her self-protective body language, spoke volumes to Drex. Now was the time to apply the thumbscrews. He said to Gif, “Call the PD. Stall them.”

“How?”

“Shit, I don’t know. Try to get Locke. He’s tenderhearted. Tell him she’s not feeling well, that we can’t get her out of the bathroom, something. Ask him to pacify Rudkowski. Say that we’ll have her there soon. Ish. An hour at the outside.”

“Will it be an hour at the outside?”

“Remains to be seen.” Gif left the kitchen to do as instructed. Drex motioned at the box of doughnuts and said to Mike, “Take those to the officers posted outside.”

“I already took them a box of their own when I brought these.”

“Then ask them if they need a bathroom break. Water. Sodas. Tell them Mrs. Ford is currently indisposed, but we’re working on her.”

“Rudkowski won’t hold out forever.”

“Neither will Mrs. Ford if she knows what’s good for her.”

That roused her. She straightened her hunched shoulders and looked up at him. He said, “They’re champing at the bit to interrogate you. And make no mistake, that’s what today will be. One long, grueling interrogation. I suggest you be thinking of what you’re going to say.”

“I need time to—”

“You’ve had time, Talia. I gave you time last night. You’re out of time.”

“Allow me to absorb all this. Please.”

Drex considered, then said to Mike, “Buy me a few minutes with those guys outside.”

Mike limited his opinion to a harrumph and a scowl then left through the door connecting to the garage. They heard the automated door going up. Drex resumed his seat at the table. He stared at her until she squirmed and asked, “What?”

“You’re using up your minutes.”

She raised her hands in a gesture of helplessness. “It’s all so much.” She looked at the file. “So horrendous. I don’t know where to start.”

He got up from his chair and dragged it over near to hers. He straddled it backward so they were facing each other. He met her gaze directly and waited. Waited longer. Then said, “This will come as no surprise. I’ve wanted you since I first laid eyes on you.”

Her lips separated, but she didn’t say anything.

“When we were alone on the deck of Elaine’s yacht, I was staring at you, all right. Engaging in polite conversation, but in my mind all your layers of white clothing were dissolving, and I was seeing you naked and on your back in an unmade bed. During your surprise visit to the garage apartment, I honestly don’t know how I kept my hands off you. Touching your face was all I allowed myself, and it was torture. I still taste that kiss, your mouth. I want to taste you all over. I want to—”

He broke off, dropped his head forward, and finished in a rough voice. “I want to do it all.” Then he raised his head, and, in a soft but insistent voice, said, “But if you fucking lie to me now, I’ll see to it that you go to prison for a long, long time.”

She swallowed. Faintly, she said, “Everything I’ve told you is the truth. I swear it. How Jasper—that’s the only name I’ve known him by. How we met, all of it, true, Drex. Elaine was my friend. Marian. How you could think that I would…”

She had to swallow again, then recovered and faced him with a small measure of defiance. “I have fibbed to you about inconsequential things. But I am not a criminal. I never conspired to hurt anyone.”

“Okay. Okay. That still leaves us with this. The man you’re married to is a serial killer. I’ve been after him for years. I’ve crawled inside his twisted brain, put myself in his place, and it’s a hellish, diabolical place to be. I loathe it. I detest it. I don’t want to live the rest of my life inside his fucked-up head.

“Until I moved next door and met him face-to-face, he was a phantom. Vapor. No more tangible than fog and just as impossible to capture. I feared I never would. But now I know he’s human.”

He raised his hand and squeezed it into a fist. “He’s flesh and blood. He eats and drinks. He puts on his pants one leg at a time. He sweats. He’s real, and he lives among us. I can touch him, and I’m going to catch him.” He paused and inhaled deeply. “Where could he be, Talia?”

“I don’t know. I swear I don’t.”

“Hometown?”

“He claimed none. He told me his parents were itinerant workers.”

“Where?”

“I got the impression of southern California. But I don’t know if he told me that, or if that was conjecture on my part.”

“His parents’ names?”

“He wouldn’t talk about them. He said he’d risen above his roots, and didn’t want to revisit the past. Ever. And, anyway, they were both deceased.”

“No family?”

“None.”

“Old friends?”

“No.”

“Convenient.” He had expected as much. “Did he mention past relationships, former marriages?”

“He was married once, a long time ago. She died.”

“She didn’t die. He killed her. Her name was Lyndsay Cummings.”

Talia glanced at the file. “She was the first of the eight?”

“First that we know of.” He wiped his damp upper lip with the side of his index finger. “Did he ever talk about her and their marriage?”

“He said the memories were too painful.”

“No doubt.”

She rested her hand on top of the file, staring at it. “No bodies were ever discovered, Drex.”

“Which doesn’t mean they weren’t killed. What it does mean is that we haven’t had forensic evidence that could connect the disappearance of one woman to another, and then to another, establishing a pattern that would ultimately point us to an individual. Not until Marian Harris, that is.”

She pressed her fingertips to her lips. “He couldn’t have done that.”

He didn’t argue with her, but she gained some breathing room when Gif returned. “A message from Rudkowski. He says we either deliver the material witness within half an hour or he’s coming here after her, and woe be to us.”

“Shit!”

“Locke’s patting his hand, but you know Rudkowski. Where’s Mike?”

“Hand-patting the patrolmen outside.”

“How long are you willing to wait, Drex?”

“Five more minutes.”

Gif divided a look between him and Talia, took in the seating arrangement, and must have concluded that Drex was putting on the full court press. He said, “I’ll check to see if there’s anything I can do to further Mike’s cause.” He left by way of the garage door.

“You heard,” Drex said. “You’ve got five. So think and talk fast. What did Jasper bring into the marriage?”