“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.”
The detective sighed with exasperation. “What’s the second favor?”
“Food. A couple of breakfast sandwiches.”
“Okay. Where are you?”
Drex told him the name of the suite hotel and the street it was on.
“We’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
“Oh, Locke.” Drex stopped the detective before he could disconnect. Holding Talia’s gaze, he said, “Talia goes by Shafer.”
Chapter 34
Drex opened the door to their knock. “That was twenty-five minutes.”
“There was a long line at the drive-through.” Menundez came inside and passed a carryout sack to Talia, who set it on the dining table.
“What was your breakthrough?” Locke asked.
Drex said, “Let’s see that report from Florida.”
The four of them gathered around the table. Menundez withdrew from his breast pocket a sheaf of documents that had been paperclipped and folded together. He passed them to Drex, who hastily thumbed through them.
Talia scooted closer to him so she, too, could read the report, which described in detail the contents of the wooden crate as the coroner had first examined it where it had been unearthed. There was no mention of a button. Fighting disappointment, Drex shuffled through the other documents until he found the autopsy report.
He scanned it so rapidly, it was Talia who saw the notation first and pointed it out to him. Under his breath, he exclaimed with a bit of anticlimactic wonder, “Damn. It’s actually there.”
“Documenting that you were right,” she whispered.
Smiling at her, he mentally did a fist pump, but then realized what he was celebrating. “Hell of a thing to be glad about, though.”
Beneath the table, she placed her hand on his thigh.
Locke made a sound of impatience. “I hate to interrupt your private moment, but can we please be filled in?”
“Have either of you read this?” Without waiting for them to answer, Drex turned the report around and stabbed the notation. “Missing button.”
Locke immediately made the connection. He blinked across at Drex. “Both Conner and Barker had a button missing from their clothing.”
“That’s his souvenir,” Drex said. “That’s the connecting link I haven’t had before now.”
Menundez beamed.
Locke was less elated. “It supports your hypothesis of a serial killer, but it doesn’t prove that he’s Jasper Ford.”
“I realize that, which dims my jubilation a bit,” Drex admitted. “Without concrete proof, this similarity could still be dismissed as a coincidence. Maybe the security video will help.”
He took a bite of the sandwich Talia had unwrapped and passed to him. Noticing the detectives’ sudden and obvious