It was. Drex paused and restarted it frequently, zoomed in on still frames, zoomed out, fast-forwarded and rewound so often that Locke said, “I’m getting motion sick.”
“Me too. I could do with a Coke. Got one around here?”
“Forget it. I’m not leaving you alone.”
“I wouldn’t cut out on you. Scout’s honor.”
“You’ve got ten more minutes. I’ve got calls to return.”
Locke walked a short distance away, but still in sight, and got on his phone. Drex paused the video at a certain point and leaned in closer to the monitor to study one of the frozen images. He backed it up, saw the same individual. He fast-forwarded, but slowly, watching even more closely.
Locke returned. “Time,” he said.
Drex pushed back his chair and stood up. “Thanks.”
“Hold it. Did you catch something I should see?”
“Rudkowski’s waiting.”
“Look,” Locke said with irritation, “you can continue bullshitting, or you can clue me to your plan.”
“Plan?”
Locke gave a sigh of exasperation. “Easton, I admire you more than I like you. I think you’re smart, and I think you’re earnest. Menundez has a man crush on you. You appeal to his cowboy-cop ideal. When Rudkowski told us about you, the things you’ve done in the name of ‘duty,’ I thought at first that he had to be lying.”
“All this to say…?”
“I would rather have you at my back, even without a badge, than that guy with one. But I’ve got to know the plan you’re hatching.”
Drex thought too much of Locke’s integrity to continue pretending. “In your situation I would feel the same frustration. But I’m reluctant to discuss a plan that isn’t even close to hatching. It’s still embryonic.”
“I could help, field ideas.”
“When the time is right.”
Still looking vexed, Locke said, “Have you ever met the SAC in Columbia? The one Rudkowski is reporting to?”
“No.”
“Doesn’t matter. Jump the chain. Call him directly. Explain this grudge match between you and Rudkowski.”
“Who has painted me to be a nut case. Even if I could get through to the SAC, by the time I convinced him that I wasn’t delusional and paranoid it could be too late.”
“All right, how about this? I’ll take you in to see our chief. He’s a reasonable man, and he’s had two women murdered in the past two nights. He wants the culprit. Bounce your idea…Why not?” he asked when Drex began shaking is head.
“Because, as reasonable as he may be, he’ll toe the line. While he’s trying to figure out what to do with me, time is running out.”
“Maybe it already has. By now, Jasper Ford may be long gone.”
“Do you honestly think that? If you do, say so.”
“No. I think he’s alive and unraveling just like you say.”
“Okay then. This is the game-winning three-point shot at the buzzer, and I don’t need my own damn team trying to block it.”
“That’s my point, we’re not a team.”
“We are,” Drex said. “I swear.”