Chapter 28

As Drex had gathered, there was no one inside the house, but a police unit was parked at the curb with two officers keeping watch.

“I hope Rudkowski didn’t want fast food for lunch,” he whispered as he turned away from the window. “No lights, no unnecessary sound, and we’ve got to make these minutes count. Where should we start? I’ve already searched the master bedroom.”

“When?”

“Yesterday after you left for the airport.”

“It was you who set off the alarm.”

“Thought I was so clever to know the new code. Jasper laid that trap for me. Were you aware of the app on his phone?”

“App?”

“Never mind. Doesn’t matter now.” He thought for a moment. “Any other spaces like that safe room?”

“No. Until today, there’s never been cause to use it.”

“Whatever Jasper’s trophies are, they’re small, easily hidden, and he would keep them close to him, not where you would have better access. Where does he spend most of his time?”

She led him upstairs to a room at the end of the hallway. It was similar in proportion to her study. It was furnished with a desk and computer, a leather recliner, and a wall-mounted flat-screen TV. Like any ol’ man cave. Except that it was sterile, a stage setting lacking enough props to make it look lived in.

The hardwood floor was bare of carpet or rugs. Drex didn’t have time to see if any of the planks were loose, but he didn’t detect any cracks that would suggest a hidey-hole underneath. And, anyway, Jasper wouldn’t be that mundane.

He pulled the chair from beneath the desk and powered up the computer. “Do you know his password?”

Talia gave it to him. He typed it in. “If he gave you his password, we won’t find anything. Is this the only computer he has?”

“That I know of.”

Drex accessed Jasper’s email. Talia identified the names she recognized, most of whom were vendors they used for various services or acquaintances from the country club.

“Friends of Jasper’s?”

“Sometimes he plays doubles tennis and will have lunch with the group afterward. That’s about the extent of it. He’s not a mingler.”

He’d had several exchanges with Elaine, but they didn’t amount to anything. The most recent email from her had come in on yesterday morning, the day of her death. She’d thanked him for drinks and dinner the night before. There was no mention of an evening excursion on her yacht.

Drex went to the history of websites Jasper had visited. Most were for foodies or wine enthusiasts. Nothing exotic or noteworthy.

He was shutting down the computer when, from behind him, Talia said, “Drex, our picture is missing.” She was looking down on a round cocktail table next to the recliner. “Jasper made a ceremony of putting our wedding photo on that table the day we moved in.”

“Touching.”

“I thought so at the time.”

“Who had the picture framed, you or him?”

“I did. Why?”

“It could be significant that he took it with him. His souvenirs would be stashed in something portable, like a picture frame. Unless he hid his collection inside the walls for retrieval later.”

“If he’d torn into walls, I would have known.”

“When you were having the house decorated?”

“We didn’t make structural changes.”

“While you were out of town? He never had any ‘repair’ done, anything like that?”

“Not to my knowledge.”

“Any other pictures?”

“Of me. None of him.”

“Figures. The only one I know of in existence was the one taken on Marian’s yacht. I doubt he knew he was in the shot.”

He asked Talia to check the front of the house. Keeping out of sight, she peered through the louvered blinds. “They’re still there. Just sitting. No other cars on the street.”

Drex, who’d been surveying the Spartan room, noted all the bare shelves. “He doesn’t like clutter, does he?” he asked wryly. “DVDs? Books? Coffee mugs with funny sayings?”

“I told you, he didn’t bring much with him.”

“Yeah, but who doesn’t have stuff?” Then he realized that he didn’t. Mike and Gif were on him all the time about how barren his apartment was. Shaking off the thought that he had anything in common with Jasper, he asked Talia where the attic access was.

“In the garage. A ladder pulls down from the ceiling.”

“No time for that.”

“I need to put some clothes on,” she reminded him.

He nodded. “Wear something dark. Nothing fancy. Comfy.”

“Can I bring some things with me?”

“If you pack them in a bag you can carry in one hand or on your shoulder. Go. I’ll finish in here.”

She rushed out. Aware of the clock, Drex checked the closet but found only a couple of tennis racquets and a pair of swimming flippers, all hanging from the rod by specialized hooks. He tapped the back wall of the closet. It didn’t sound particularly hollow, and even if it were, he didn’t have any way to tear into it. There was nothing on the closet floor, not even a pair of sneakers past their prime.

In frustration over the shortage of time, he gave the room one last scan, then crossed the hall and entered the master suite. Since Talia hadn’t slept in here last night, everything appeared to be exactly as it had been when he’d searched it yesterday. The crystal tray holding Talia’s jewelry was still on her nightstand.

On the outside chance that Jasper had returned undetected, Drex checked his night table drawers again. All were still empty. Underwear, socks, the artistically folded handkerchiefs—nothing had been disturbed in the bureau. Nor had anything in the closet.

Staring into it, Drex muttered, “Fucking whack job.”

“What’s that?” Talia had moved up behind him.

“I was saying this looks exactly like my closet.”

She laughed, but it lacked mirth. “When we first married, I teased him about being such a stickler for order.” She ran her hand along the sleeves of the jackets so precisely hung. Drex figured she enjoyed disturbing the perfection. “Actually I’m surprised he was willing to leave this wardrobe behind,” she said. “He’s so particular about it. He changes it frequently. Almost everything is custom made. He keeps his tailor in business.”

“Custom made for Jasper Ford. Another of his incarnations wore blue jeans, flannel shirts, and cowboy boots. He went horseback riding and fly fishing.”

“How do you know all that?”

“I know a lot more. What I know right now is that we’ve got to get the hell out of here.”

“How do you propose we do it?”

“I have a route out the back.”

“They could see us.”

“They’re guarding against someone coming in, not going out.” While talking, he’d been tapping in Gif’s cell number.

He answered immediately. “Well, well. We’d about given up on you.”

“I need you to come pick us up.”

“Us? So she’s still with you?”