“I know all Sammy’s aliases.”

“So you do know him?”

“I helped put him away for his first stint.”

“A few days ago, did you drive a vehicle provided by him from Lexington, Kentucky, to Atlanta?” The woman deputy consulted her small notepad. She read off the make, model, and license plate number of the minivan. “Blue in color.”

Mike scowled. “Why’re you asking?”

“Did you?”

He mulishly held his tongue.

“If you’re unwilling to answer,” said the male deputy, “we’ll have to take you in for further questioning.”

“First, you need to tell me what for, and, if you’re taking me in for an interrogation, once we get there, you must provide me with legal counsel before I say a word.”

“This is an informal interview,” the woman said.

Mike snorted. “We all know there’s no such thing. What’s your probable cause for hassling me?”

The two looked at each other and seemed to come to an agreement. The woman said, “Last night, Sammy Markson was arrested and charged with several counts of grand theft auto.”

That little shit. He was cutting deals with the Fayette County, Kentucky, sheriff’s department.

Mike had notified Sammy that he was coming to Charleston and that he had left the minivan at the Atlanta airport for retrieval at a later date. It had seemed the decent thing to do. He could now kick himself.

The male deputy said, “Markson provided your name as someone who would vouch for him.”

“Vouch that he’s guilty or vouch that he’s innocent?”

“He didn’t specify. Which is our probable cause for hassling you.”

Mike gave a grunt of contempt. “Sammy would sell out his own mother.”

“He did. Late last night. Let’s go, Mr. Mallory.”

“Wait, my friend is—”

“Agent Rudkowski is being kept apprised of Lewis’s condition. By last report, he’s stable. You’ll be notified if he takes a downturn.”

Mike saw no point in arguing with these two, who were merely carrying out their orders. His fight was with Rudkowski. He heaved himself off the love seat and tucked his laptop under his arm. Just then, his cell phone chimed. “May I?”

Again the pair silently consulted each other. The man came back to him. “Make it quick.”

He answered. Drex said, “Rudkowski got to the deputy in Key West. He’s clammed up, and there was no cracking him. We’ve lost that resource.”

Mike sighed. “That’s the good news.”

Drex pitched the phone onto the bar, where it landed with an unheeded clatter. But even before that display of temper, Talia knew that Mike had relayed something Drex hadn’t wanted to hear.

With a sinking feeling, she said, “Bad news about Gif? Please say no.”

“No, he’s still doing okay.”

“Then what?”

When Drex had awakened her and told her about his breakthrough, he’d been humming like an overloaded electrical circuit. The call to the deputy in Florida had dimmed the wattage. But this call to Mike had taken all the sizzle out of him.

“In terms of helping, Gif was lost to me as of last night. Now Mike’s been hamstrung. If I didn’t know better, I’d think Fate was working against us. Dammit!” He picked up his coffee cup and hefted it like a baseball pitcher on the mound. He even looked at the far wall as though gauging the distance.

Before he could pitch it, she walked over, took the cup from him, and set it back down on the bar. “What’s happened with Mike?”

He gave her a run-down, after which she asked, “Was the car stolen?”

“Probably.”

“Did Mike know?”

“He didn’t ask. Sammy won’t incriminate him because he’ll want him as a future ally, which it appears he’ll need. But the point is, Mike is mired in this now and unavailable to me.”

“What can I do?”

He was about to reply when one of his cell phones rang. He looked at the readout. “Locke.” He answered and put it on speaker so she could listen in. “Morning.”

Locke said, “You’re still answering this number.”

“For the time being. Did you hear about Mike?”

“No. What about him?”

“Long story, and it will keep. What’s up?”

“Remember me telling you that one of the people we talked to last night noticed a man walking away from where Lewis fell?”

“Witness said he seemed to be in a hurry.”

“We’ve isolated him on two security cameras.”

Drex glanced over at Talia. “Jasper?”

“Since we never met him, and you say he’ll have altered his appearance, we don’t know. We need you to take a look.”

“Absolutely. I’ve got a breakthrough for you, too.”

“What?”

“I want to confirm it first. Soon. Now.”

“Is Mrs. Ford still with you?”

“Hello, detective,” she said. “I’m here.”

“Good morning, Mrs. Ford. Are you all right?”

Drex said, “You know, every time you talk to her when she’s in my company, the first thing you ask is if she’s all right. It’s beginning to hurt my feelings, in addition to pissing me off.”

“Well, is she?”

“I’m fine,” she said. “Where should we meet you?”

“Not here at the department.”

“Rudkowski is still in residence?” Drex asked.

“We suggested he relocate to the FBI office. He says his business is with us.”

“I doubt the local agents would welcome him.”

“Anyway, we’re stuck with him. Menundez and I will come to you.”

Drex laughed shortly. “I don’t think so.”

“You told me where I could find you last night, and good thing you did.”

“Yeah, but this could be a trap baited with a bogus security camera video.”

“It isn’t. But I wish I had thought of doing that yesterday.”

Drex looked at Talia, who gave a quasi-shrug of consent.

“Okay,” he said. “But I have a favor to ask. Two favors.”

Sounding put out, the detective said, “I’m already doing you a favor.”

“These are small ones, and nothing compromising.” He asked him to call Deputy Gray in Key West. “Request the coroner’s report on Marian Harris.”

“I already did. Yesterday. It was emailed.”

“Good man!”

“It relates to your breakthrough?”

“If I’m guessing right.”

“I’ll forward it to you.”

As eager as he was to see that report, Drex scotched that idea. Emails left a trail. He needed Locke working for him on the inside. If the detective was called on abetting him, he would lose that vital connection to the cases. “Print it out and bring it with you.”

“Why don’t you just tell me what you’re looking for?”

“No need to get you excited if I’m wrong. Besides, I want to see it for myself.”