“But only a very few came into such close contact with Gif mere seconds before he went down. Appearing to be a curious bystander would be good cover. He didn’t make himself conspicuous by running, or even rushing to get away.”
“The height is right,” Talia said. “He’s a little thicker in the middle than Jasper.”
“He padded his clothing.”
“Even with that,” she said, “I couldn’t swear that it’s him.”
“Sorry, Easton, but I don’t think so, either.” Menundez was squinting at the screen. “In fact, to me, your suspect looks like a woman.”
Drex turned away from the screen to face the three of them and gave a sly smile. “The perfect disguise. No one was looking for a woman. No one would suspect an older woman of committing an unprovoked attack like Gif suffered. Sara Barker would have turned her back to her without reservation.”
“Son of a gun,” Locke whispered.
Menundez said something in Spanish that Drex figured was a bit more explicit.
Talia just looked at him, her lips parted in astonishment.
Drex asked Locke if he could round up some men within the department whom he trusted. “Who can keep their eyes open and mouths shut. Have them take a look at this video, then ask if they’d be willing to loiter around the courthouse this afternoon and be on the lookout? Best I can tell by this video, he was dressed in a generic, dark-colored tracksuit that would be appropriate for either sex. Short-haired wig.”
“He might have changed identities again.”
“He might have,” Drex said. “But it’s a damn good ruse, the kind of joke that Jasper would eat up, and it worked well for him last night.”
Locke said, “I’ll do the recruiting while Menundez is booking you.”
Over Rudkowski’s protests, the detectives hadn’t put Drex in lockup to await his arraignment, but had remanded him to the interrogation room with a stern warning not to betray their trust by trying to sneak out.
He gave them his promise, but they’d posted an officer outside the door anyway. Rudkowski was too busy fielding calls from media outlets to closely monitor Drex’s preferential treatment. Had he, he would have created a ruckus.
Drex’s phone had been confiscated along with his other personal belongings, but he was allowed to borrow Talia’s to put in a call to Gif.
When Gif answered, Drex said, “Man, it’s good to hear your voice.”
“Drex, have you lost your fucking mind?”
“I see you’ve talked to Mike.”
“We just hung up. Sheriff’s office finally released him, and he’s on his way to you. He called from an Uber car and filled me in. Said you played Rudkowski like a fiddle.”
“With Mike’s help. He tipped that reporter for me, anonymously. The stealth only made her more determined to seek out Rudkowski for comment. I knew he would jump at a chance to denounce me on TV. While appearing to try and talk him out of it, I spoon-fed him what I wanted Jasper to hear. He even quoted me directly. Let’s hope it works to draw Jasper out.”
“I understand your reasoning, but, Drex, you let the genie out of the bottle. You stand accused of breaking the law of the land.”
“I did break the law of the land.”
“But now the world knows it.”
“Worth it, Gif, if we nail him.”
“Are you in lockup?”
“An interrogation room. With visitation rights.” Across from him Talia sat, unsmiling.
“How will you plead?”
“Not guilty. I’m not going to make it easy on Rudkowski. I’ve met with my court-appointed counsel. He’s old and tired, but knows the ropes. He told me we lucked out on the assigned prosecutor, who’s green, lazy, and none too bright. I was booked on misdemeanor state charges. Even if it goes to trial, which I doubt, I’ll probably get off with a fine and probation.”
“Rudkowski won’t settle for that. He’ll file federal charges and see to it that you do time. You know he will. Furthermore—”