No one behind him moved. No one spoke. Finally, Gif said, “This is his way of escalating.”

“I believe so. It’s his middle-age crazy we talked about. He’s taking chances he’s never taken before, and it scares me shitless.” He paused, then said, “See if you can get Locke on the phone.”

As Drex predicted, the other three in the room reacted to the request with a start. Before anyone could ask why or object, he said, “We need somebody inside, feeding us information, and keeping us updated. Rudkowski? Forget it. Lost cause. Do either of you have a contact in any of the FBI offices in South Carolina?”

They replied with shakes of their heads.

“So you can’t call in any favors. Besides, you can bet that Rudkowski has by now soured them on all of us. Same goes for Charleston PD, sheriff’s office, state police, Homeland Security. Every law enforcement agency.”

“Locke is a member of that fraternity,” Mike said.

“As well as Menundez,” Talia said.

“Yes, but you heard them talking when they were alone in your study.” He briefed Mike and Gif on what he and Talia had overheard from inside the safe room. “They saw through Rudkowski’s bluster and neither likes him. Us, they admire. I believe Menundez would jump at the chance to assist.”

“So why not call him instead?” Mike asked.

“Because Locke is more experienced, more mature, the deeper thinker, the less impulsive, the more senior guy, and, for all those reasons, that’s who we need.”

Gif hesitated, but took his phone out, went to his log of recent calls, and placed one to Locke. “Put it on speaker,” Drex said, then pointed to a place on the bar, and that’s where Gif set the phone. He scooted his chair closer to the bar and resumed his seat.

Mike stayed where he was. Talia moved to Drex’s side. He turned his head toward her and spoke softly. “Sorry I had to put you through that.”

“It was healthy for me, actually. Better than keeping it bottled up. I want him expunged, Drex.”

“Me too.”

She searched his eyes. “You put yourself through much worse, didn’t you? In that dark room for hours with the door shut?”

“That’s what they pay me for.”

“They did.”

He gave her a wan smile just as Locke answered with his name, sounding world-weary.

Drex addressed the phone and identified himself. “Can you talk to me without an audience?”

“Give me five minutes and call back.”

“Nope. Now or never. Yes or no? I made off with your material witness. Don’t you want to know why I called?”

“To negotiate a prisoner exchange?”

“All right, be an ass. Goodbye.”

“Wait!” They heard muttered cursing, followed by a lengthy pause, some muffled sounds, then, “Okay, I’m alone. Why did you call?”

“Do you think Jasper Ford killed Elaine? And please don’t give me the toe-the-department-line answer. Yes or no?”

“Yes.”

“That’s good news. Bad news is that you’re never going to catch him by looking for him.”

“How’s that?”

“You’re going through the routine. Airlines. Rental car companies. Hotel check-ins. Tell me I’m wrong.”

Silence.

“What I thought,” Drex said. “Listen to me. He is no longer Jasper Ford. He’s somebody else. He’s undergone so complete a transformation that you wouldn’t know him if he walked up to you and grabbed you by the balls.” He let Locke think on that, which the detective did without comment. Drex continued. “He left the airport with his roll-aboard. Did he leave it behind in the taxi?”

“No.”

“Was it found on the yacht?”

“No.”

“It was in the car.”

“Mrs. Ford had his car.”

Drex explained to the detective his theory that Jasper had left a spare car near the hotel where the taxi had dropped him. “An innocuous vehicle that can never be traced to him. He used it to get around that night. Inside it was that suitcase. Jasper swam ashore, but it was another person who left the beach.”

“You’re guessing.”

Drex rubbed his forehead. “I went on a trip this afternoon, into this sick shit’s head. He wanted everybody to think that Jasper Ford had been lost at sea. Do you agree?”

“Okay.”

“He could not risk Jasper Ford ever being seen again. Jasper Ford had to cease to exist just like his previous incarnations did. He changed his appearance and his identity somewhere out there on the beach.”

“Search parties have been combing the beaches—”

“You won’t find so much as a gum wrapper. He’s sanitary. Meticulous. Freakin’ anal. He put everything back into the suitcase. What he did with it after that, I don’t know. But it contained everything he needed to transform himself into someone else.”

“All right, for the sake of argument—”

“I’m not being argumentative for the sake of argument, Locke,” he said with heat. “I want to catch him, but I can’t fly blind. I’m trying to impress upon you that if you want him, toss the handbook on police methodology into the nearest trash can.” He took a breath. “But I’m listening. What was your argument?”

“If he did change his appearance, everything you said, we’ve already lost him. He’s gone.”

Drex looked over at Gif. “Gif said that this morning. He surmised that Jasper was probably long gone even before Elaine’s body washed ashore. I didn’t take issue with that supposition, because, at the time, I thought it likely. I don’t any longer.”

“Why not?” the detective asked.

“Because I put myself in Jasper’s place, and came up with three reasons why I wouldn’t leave the vicinity right away. First, if I had successfully pulled off a plan that intricate, it would be irresistible to me to enjoy it. It would be like skipping the fireworks after the championship win. He wants to bask in the glow of the fallout he’s created. The last local newscast I saw, he’s being described as a person of interest in Elaine’s death.”

“It was decided to hold back on naming him a suspect. We still can’t put him on the yacht or in the dinghy. It’s been tossed around that an unknown third party was aboard.”

“If they follow that line of thinking, he’ll get away. Locke, you’ve got to convince somebody that this isn’t a man who woke up yesterday morning and decided to knock off a lady friend. It’s not a love triangle gone south. Not even common thievery. He didn’t act on impulse.

“I promise you that he’s been plotting this for a while. Having talked to Talia about his recent behavior, I believe the discovery of Marian Harris’s grave served as his catalyst.”

“Detective?” Talia said.

“Mrs. Ford?” Locke exclaimed. “I didn’t realize you were listening in. Are you all right?”

“If you’re asking if I came with Drex by choice, yes. There was no coercion on his part.” She paused. “But I feel badly about the awkward position I’ve placed you and Mr. Menundez in. Last night you treated me kindly through a difficult experience. Thank you.”