and into the room. Reaching for her hand, he guided her out of their hiding place.
The house was silent and, he sensed, empty save for the two of them. It was another gray day. The blinds were partially shut. The room was dim. He thought it was probably best that they couldn’t see each other clearly. She couldn’t have missed his erection. He’d never been this hard without having a woman under him or straddling him or sucking him.
In her dishevelment, Talia had never looked so sexy. Her lips plump and damp. Hair a mess. One side of her shapeless robe was hanging off her shoulder. Her nipples were peaked beneath her pajama top. She looked ravishing. Ravished. If only. Jesus, was he crazy?
No. He’d been right to stop.
“I had to,” he said, his voice hoarse. “I would never have gotten over being with you here. In his house.”
She swallowed with apparent difficulty and drew her robe back into place, then crossed her arms over her front. “I understand. I do. I probably would have hated myself afterward, too. I shouldn’t have let it go that far.”
He scrubbed his hands over his face.
“Right. And besides all that, I’ve placed us in a serious situation. It’s not too late for you to change your mind. You could stay here, wait for Locke and company, tell them that I had talked you into splitting but then you saw the light.”
“No. I’m going with you.”
“I have your trust now?”
“It was hard-earned, but yes.”
He took a deep breath, dropped his head forward, and for several seconds stared at the floor. When he raised his head, he spoke with unmitigated gravity. “Also trust this, Talia. If given an opportunity to kill him, I’m going to.”
“I hope so,” she said gruffly. “Because if you don’t, he will surely kill me.”
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