“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.