“He had nothing with him when we left the house. Not even his personal belongings.”

“Then his cronies made off with them. How come? What did they do with them?”

Since Jasper’s cookbooks had turned out to be a disappointing false lead, and therefore irrelevant, she saw no point in either denying the action or defending it. But Rudkowski’s yammering about them was keeping him preoccupied, which was what Drex needed her to do.

The agent propped his hip on the corner of the table, crowding her in an obvious attempt to be intimidating. “What tactic did Easton use to get you to pull a vanishing act with him?”

“No tactic.”

“Come on. He’s a con man. Did he schmooze you with his boyish charm? Hate to be the one to break it to you, but you wouldn’t be the first to fall for it, you know.”

“He convinced me that my husband is a career criminal and, given the opportunity, would very likely try to kill me.”

He scoffed. “You believed that?”

“If I had a grain of doubt, it was dispelled last night when Jasper killed that woman and critically injured Mr. Lewis.”

“Those crimes have not been attributed to Jasper Ford. They’re relative to nothing. Alleging that your husband was involved is just another of Easton’s wild hares. Had your husband ever met Gif Lewis?”

“Not to my knowledge.”

“Then how did he recognize him to attack?”

Drex had been unable to explain that. She refrained from answering.

Rudkowski cupped his ear. “Come again? I didn’t catch that,” he mocked.

“See what I’m getting at, Mrs. Ford? Easton makes up stuff to support his crazy notions. His claims of a serial killer have no basis, and never have.” He poked his index finger against his temple. “He’s nuts. He’s obsessed with a bogeyman of his own invention.”

She leaned away from him and gave him an unhurried once-over. “Then why are you so unstrung?”

He blinked. “Pardon?”

“I don’t understand your agitation. If you believe that Drex is a mental case, why haven’t you dismissed his wild hares as such, and gone on about your business?”

“Because he’s impeding my investigation.”

“Excuse me,” she said coolly, “but from my perspective, it seems you’ve contributed very little to the investigation of Elaine Conner’s murder and the search for my husband, whether he’s dead or alive, innocent or guilty. By contrast, you’ve spent a great deal of time pursuing Drex and deriding him at every opportunity. If anyone has an obsession, Special Agent Rudkowski, it appears to be you.”

Menundez snickered.

Rudkowski’s whole body inflated with indignation. His forehead broke a greasy sweat. He pushed off the table and, placing his hands on his knees, bent down until his face was level with hers. “You had better watch it, Mrs. Ford, or Shafer, or whatever you choose to be called. I’ll put you in lockup until you decide to cooperate.”

“How could I possibly be more cooperative? I came here of my own volition.”

“But you haven’t answered my question.”

“Which one?”

Rudkowski returned to his full height. “Where is Easton?”

With a pleasant smile, she said, “Right behind you.”

Chapter 36

Drex had arrived in time to overhear Talia’s putdown of Rudkowski. Based on his apparent choler, she had effectively fired him up to his pressure-cooker state. From the threshold, he said, “You sound out of sorts, Bill. We could hear you from the end of the hall.”

Locke nudged Drex into the room and closed the door behind them. He asked Menundez if he’d shared with Rudkowski the autopsy report on Marian Harris.

“Not yet. I saved Easton the honor.” The younger detective produced the report and passed it to Drex. “I circled the notation in red.”

“Thanks.”

Rudkowski shouldered between them and snatched the printout from Drex. “You’re under arrest. I’m considering booking her, too.”

Talia uttered a sound of dismay. “What for?”

“Leaving official custody without permission. Obstruction of justice.”

Locke and Menundez began protesting, but Drex talked over them. “You’re not going to arrest Talia,” he said. “Stop being a jackass and read that.”

With impatience, Rudkowski slid on a pair of reading glasses and homed in on the marked spot. “A button was missing off her blouse. So what?”

“So…” Locke proficiently explained its relevance. “This links that Florida cold case to our two here.” Menundez also had printouts of the other two reports and showed Rudkowski the notations about the missing buttons.

Rudkowski removed his glasses and said, “Well, it’s a commonality that warrants further investigation. But it could also be a coincidence.”

“Our chief of police doesn’t think it is,” Locke said. “Neither does the sheriff’s office, the state police, or the local FBI agents working the Elaine Conner case, or the SAC in Columbia.”

Rudkowski said, “You went over my head and talked to him before bringing this to me?”

“We couldn’t find you,” Menundez said, deadpan. “You must’ve been in the john.”

Before Rudkowski could form a comeback, Drex again held up a hand that signaled for quiet. “Locke, with your permission, I’d like to speak to Rudkowski alone, please.”

Rudkowski huffed. “So you can crow, I suppose.”

“I don’t consider the murders of three women something to crow about,” Drex said evenly.

“Oh, you’ve gone sentimental? Must be the influence of your new girlfriend here.”

Talia stepped forward as though to whale into him. Drex put out an arm to hold her back. “You’re a small-minded weasel, Bill. Ask anybody. And there’s a lot of bad blood between you and me. For once, put it aside. While you’re standing here tossing out insults to a woman who outclasses you by about a thousand times, and trying to get the best of me, a serial killer remains at large.”

“Even if that were so,” Rudkowski said, “it’s none of your concern, is it? You’re over, remember?” He held the printouts directly in front of Drex’s face and shook them. “By the way, this constitutes theft of a document pursuant to an active federal investigation. I can add that to your other offenses.”

Drex pushed the papers away from his face. “I didn’t steal that report, Locke obtained it. As per usual, you’re missing the big picture. Let’s talk about it, man to man.”

“Sure, we can talk, but I’m immune to you. Nothing you say will change my mind.”

Drex turned to the other three and motioned toward the door. “Maybe I can make him see sense, and he’ll tear up that arrest warrant.”

“Not going to happen,” Rudkowski said.

Drex ignored him and appealed to Locke. “Give me a few minutes with him.”

Locke said, “God knows you’re good at talking people into doing what they don’t want to do.” He motioned Menundez and Talia out.