“There’s something else,” Locke said.
Drex sighed and leaned back in his chair. “Let’s have it.”
“This morning some guys fishing just off shore hauled in a man’s shoe.” Locke looked at Talia. “It matches the description you gave us of what your husband was wearing when you last saw him. Size ten, brown loafer with tassel.” Going back to Drex, he added, “Rescue teams, including the Coast Guard, are inclined to think that’s all they’ll find of him.”
“Sort of shoots down my theory that he’s still alive, doesn’t it?”
“If nothing else turns up by dark tonight, they’re calling off the search.”
“Shouldn’t his wife have been notified of that?” Talia said.
“Attempts have been made. No one has been able to reach you,” Locke reminded her, sliding a look toward Drex. He let that settle, then said, “There’s more.”
“Jesus,” Drex said. “I don’t know how much more good news I can stand.”
Locke gave him a grim smile. “Both Elaine Conner’s and Ms. Shafer’s financial portfolios are—”
“Let me guess,” Drex interrupted. “Intact. No recent activity. No sizeable withdrawals. Every cent accounted for.”
Locke shrugged. “I guess if he’s playing dead, he can’t be cleaning out bank accounts. Either he’s prepared to wait for things to blow over before he cashes in, or he’s sacrificing the money altogether in order to avoid capture.”
“Priceless.” Drex laughed, but without humor. “You’re right, of course, but he also knew that I would look to see if money was missing. That’s why he left it alone.”
Leaning forward again, he addressed the other three earnestly. “Don’t you see? Jasper knew what I would allege, because that’s been his MO. He made certain that I would be proved wrong. More than anything he wants me discredited and humiliated.”
He caught the two detectives exchanging a telling look and groaned, “What else?”
“We saved the best for last.” Locke withdrew a sheet of folded paper from the breast pocket of his sport jacket and laid it, still folded, on the table. “It’s a warrant for your arrest.”
“What?” Talia exclaimed.
“The deputy in Key West ratted you out for calling him this morning. Rudkowski wasted no time. He insisted. Our hands were tied.”
Drex flipped back the folds and scanned the warrant. “CID detectives were sent to handle this piddling misdemeanor shit?”
“Rudkowski figured that we would see you before anyone else could find you.”
“I can’t believe it,” Talia said.
“I can,” Drex said. “The man’s pettiness knows no bounds. He’ll put his one-sided rivalry above catching a man who would walk up behind a defenseless woman and break her neck.”
“Can he put you in jail?” Talia said.
Locke answered for Drex. “We don’t have to be in any rush to get him there.”
“Thanks for that.” Drex stood up and began to roam restlessly. “The thing is, the resentful jerk has effectively hobbled me. Now, when a single hour could make all the difference. Jasper may decide that Talia’s fortune and/or her life aren’t worth the risk of being captured. He’ll choose to disappear as he has before.
“Or, he could decide that he’s enjoying this killing spree and continue it in a frenzy until he’s finally treed. He would actually get off on that kind of notoriety. I guarantee you that wherever he is, he’s watching all the TV stories about the woman he killed last night. He’s feeling very proud of himself. The celebrity status fuels his ego, and when he’s good and stoked, he’ll act again.”
“Let’s hope not.”
“You’re not listening, Locke.” Drex returned to the table and, bracing on his hands, leaned in. “He’s beyond hope. Remember the Chi Omega sorority house? Bundy killed those girls, and minutes later attacked another only a few blocks away. Jasper is thumbing his nose at us in that same fashion. He proved it last night. He committed a random murder for no other reason except that he felt like it and wanted to yank my chain. The attack on Gif had to be spontaneous, because there’s no way he could have planned it.
“That kind of footloose violence may not make you nervous, but it scares the crap out of me. If he kills somebody else, you, Menundez, Rudkowski may be able to sleep nights, but I won’t.
“And if he says to hell with it, leaves the area, gets away, I’ll never get another crack at him, because now he knows me. From now on, he’ll be looking for me over his shoulder and will see me coming.”
He gave a hard shake of his head. “This is the time. We’ve got to stop him now. We’ve got to catch him plying his trade. We’ve got to catch him with those goddamn souvenir buttons in his possession.”