She had grown heated. Drex remained cool. “The culprit did get nervous, all right. Because he feared I knew that he had bilked Marian, then killed her.”

“Jasper didn’t even know her!”

Drex lunged forward, almost coming out of his chair. “You two met through her.”

“No, we didn’t. I told you how we met.”

He sat back. “Share with the detectives. Mike and Gif already know the story.”

Talking rapidly, in stops and starts, she told Locke and Menundez a condensed version.

When she finished, Drex said, “It’s awfully sweet, but it’s a lie.”

Mike addressed the two detectives. “Our guy had hooked his other ladies using online match-up services.”

“That’s not how he and I met,” Talia said.

“Right enough,” Drex said. “You were introduced by Marian Harris.”

“Jasper and I didn’t meet until months after Marian’s disappearance.”

Drex motioned to Mike, who withdrew the party photo from a file he’d brought in with him. Drex got up and walked over to the sofa, where Talia had changed her mind about sitting down. He held the picture out to her. “Ever seen this?”

“Yes. It was the last known picture taken of Marian. After her disappearance, the police interviewed everyone who was at that party, me included.”

He looked at the photograph as though giving it a fresh assessment. “You’re not exactly in on the merriment. How come you’re out there on the fringes all by yourself?”

“I didn’t know any of the other guests.”

He cocked his head to one side, indicating doubt.

She said, “I went to Key West to check out a hotel. Marian was a good client. I called her to see if she and I could have lunch. She said what good fortune it was that I was in town. She was hosting a party that night and insisted that I attend.”

“You didn’t know anyone else there?”

“I just said that.”

“You didn’t mix and mingle?”

“Since I was the outsider, Marian introduced me to several people.”

“What about him?” He pointed out the blurred figure silhouetted against the sunset. “Did she introduce you to him?”

She squinted. “Possibly.”

“What’s his name?”

“I don’t know.”

“Daniel Knolls.”

“If we were introduced, I don’t remember him.”

He leaned down to her and whispered, “You’re sleeping with him.”

She recoiled. “That’s not Jasper!”

He passed the picture to Locke, who looked at it and passed it to his partner. It made its way back to Mike, who replaced it in the file. Drex returned to his chair and gave Talia a long look. She stared back with defiance and hostility. “Say you’re as honest as Abe, telling the truth—”

“I am.”

“Haven’t you been struck by the similarities between Elaine Conner and Marian Harris?”

He could tell by the wariness in her eyes that she had. He let that question simmer, then said, “You told the detectives that you and Jasper parted company in the airport parking garage.”

“We did.”

“You told Jasper that you didn’t feel up to going, but urged him to go without you. You kissed goodbye and waved each other off.”

She nodded, but only after a nanosecond of hesitation, which Drex made mental note to pursue later.

He said, “You drove Jasper’s car out of the airport.”

“Yes.”

“She did,” Menundez said. “I got texted a security cam freeze frame.”

Mike had that, too, but Drex didn’t reveal that. The local cops didn’t need to be apprised of Mike’s hacking talents, lest some rule-bending was soon called for. To Talia, he said, “The camera got you, but if someone was inside the trunk of your car, Jasper for instance, he would have gotten away unseen.”

“Uh, Easton. He took a taxi.” Menundez held up his cell phone. “They texted me the video. Shows clear that he never went inside the airport. They’re checking with the taxi company to see where it dropped him.”

Mike had obtained that information more than an hour ago. Drex had only used the ploy about escaping in the car trunk to see how Talia would react when she learned that Jasper truly had run out on her.

Looking stunned, she asked quietly, “May I see that video, please?” Menundez handed her his phone. Stoically she watched the brief segment of video, then passed the phone back. “Thank you.”

Drex got up again, walked over to the sofa, and, this time, sat down beside her. Close beside her. Close enough to feel her trembling. “Talia, it’s not too late for you to talk to us. I don’t know what Jasper told you, or promised you, but it appears that he’s abandoned you to take the fall.”

“For what?”

“Elaine’s murder.”

“It hasn’t been established that she was murdered. There could have been an accident. He could be out there in the water, waiting to be rescued.”

“The man who swims miles every day?”

“He could be hurt.”

“He could also be safely on shore and changing his appearance as we speak. The next time you see him, you won’t recognize him as the man you share a bed with. You didn’t recognize him as the man at Marian’s party, but that was him, going by the name of Daniel Knolls. Marian was his most recent victim before Elaine, but there were a lot of others before he met you. He doesn’t deserve your loyalty. One last time, where is he?”

“I don’t know.” Her voice was so husky, it was barely audible.

He stayed as he was, peering deeply into her eyes. They were watery, but she never looked away.

Sighing regret, Drex stood up and motioned for the other men to follow him. They withdrew as far as the entryway. They were still within Talia’s sight, but Drex spoke so that she couldn’t overhear.

He posed a question to the group at large. “What do you think?”

Locke said, “Since we first broke the news to her about the body on the beach, she’s seemed distraught and unaware of her husband’s activities.” He looked over at his partner.

Menundez shrugged. “I don’t know. I flip-flop.”

Drex looked at Gif. “What’s your verdict?”

“We’ve laid a lot on her. I abstain.”

Drex gave him a sour look. “Mike? Your take?”

Mike addressed the detectives. “How much do you know about her? You know she’s not hurting financially?”

“We haven’t been given figures,” Locke said, “but word is that she’s worth a bundle.”

“Well, up to this point, me, Gif, and Drex have been agonizing. Was she going to be this asshole’s next victim? Or was she in on his fleecing scheme?” He raised one beefy shoulder. “She’s still breathing. Elaine Conner is in the morgue. Which is answer enough for me.”

“Victim or accomplice,” Drex said, “we’ve reached a stalemate with her.”

He looked into the living room, where Talia sat, hands clasped in her lap, rocking back and forth, staring vacantly into space. She looked frail and afraid. But he thought of how hot and cute she had looked when she’d paid him the surprise visit to the apartment. That could have been calculated. It had worked. He’d wanted what was inside those ragged jeans.