“I’m sure he will. I’ll tell him—”
“Especially since Talia Shafer is from there.”
Rudkowski froze in the process of raising his glass to his mouth. “Say again, deputy.”
“Talia Shafer lives in Charleston. At least she did. I’m not sure Agent Easton knows that. This incident in Charleston occurred only a few hours after he called me, asking about her. It’s a crazy coincidence.”
“Not so crazy,” Rudkowski said, speaking too softly for Gray to hear.
“I figured he would want to know about this new case, if he doesn’t already. Since I can’t reach him, will you see to it that he gets the message?”
Rudkowski clicked off the TV and swung his legs over the side of the bed. “You can count on it, Deputy Gray. In fact, I’m going to deliver it personally.”
Chapter 22
Talia was immobilized by Drex’s stare as two men eddied around him into the kitchen and introduced themselves to the detectives. Drex walked toward her, crowding into her personal space before he stopped. “Surprise.”
“You’re FBI?”
“The writing thing wasn’t working out.”
A cavalcade of recollections flashed through her mind. Her involuntary reactions to his deceptive charm, her nervous retreat from his apartment, her anguish over what had taken place in the garage of the medical building, the ambiguities she’d wrestled with, the times she had defended him against Jasper’s reservations. All that crystalized into hatred.
Softly but emphatically, she said, “Go straight to hell.”
“You tried that already.” He spread his arms. “I’m still here, and you’re up shit creek.”
He held for a beat, then turned away from her and shook hands with Locke and Menundez. “I apologize for crashing your party, but I believe you’ll welcome our intrusion. We can shed a lot of light on your investigation. Excuse me, Mike.”
He nudged the enormous man aside and knelt down to reach beneath the cabinet. When he straightened up, he held out his hand to show the detectives the object in his palm.
“What is that?” Talia asked.
Drex turned to her. “Commonly called a bug. I’ve been using it to eavesdrop on you and Jasper.”
“You bugged our home?”
“You say that like you didn’t know it was there.”
“I didn’t! Isn’t that illegal?”
She asked the group at large, but it was Drex who said, “It’s not as illegal as kidnaping, conspiracy to commit murder, and murder, which is what you and Jasper stand to be indicted for, so if I were you, I wouldn’t split hairs on legalities.”
He wasn’t teasing. He wasn’t baiting her as he’d done in Elaine’s living room. This wasn’t playacting. He was serious, and the import of what he had alleged stole her breath. “What are you talking about?”
“We’ll get to it. First, meet Agent Mike Mallory, who put me on to you and Jasper.”
“A pleasure.”
His response was so droll, Talia couldn’t tell if it applied to the introduction or to the service he’d performed for Drex.
Drex pointed to the other man. “Agent Gif Lewis. He—”
“You’re the man from the coffee shop,” she said. “I remember you.”
“That’s a first,” the heavy man said under his breath.
Gif Lewis acknowledged her with a polite nod. “Mrs. Ford.”