The public defender sighed. ‘I want copies of the ballistics report and the print match.’
Drake turned on the defender. ‘You believe them? You’re supposed to be on my side.’
‘Are you really that stupid, Drake?’ the detective asked, laughter in his voice. ‘Your lawyer knows your goose is cooked. They’re gonna put a needle in your arm.’
The lawyer shook his head when Drake looked like he wanted to bolt. ‘They’re lying, Drake, trying to scare you. Michigan hasn’t had the death penalty in a hundred and fifty years.’
‘Ohio does, though,’ the detective said with a cold smile. ‘We’ll try you here in Michigan for the murder of that woman you shot in the parking lot last night. You’ll get life, for sure. But then Ohio will get their turn. You killed that young woman in the alley yesterday. You even went back and shot her in the head to be sure she was dead. You shot the man trying to save her life – in the back. Ohio’s gonna be sliding a needle in your arm, boy. I know I’ll be there on the other side of the glass, watching.’
‘I’ll bring popcorn,’ the agent deadpanned.
Scarlett snickered, making Marcus’s lips twitch, venting off just a smidgeon of his rage, but enough so that he could think.
‘I didn’t kill anyone,’ Drake insisted. ‘You have no proof.’
‘We have your gun, Drake,’ the agent said. ‘That’s all the proof we need.’
‘What do you want?’ the defender asked again.
The special agent held up the flash drive, and Drake’s eyes narrowed in anger. ‘That’s not mine,’ he exploded.
‘Riiiight,’ the agent said. ‘It’s got your thumbprint on it.’
‘Because I found it on the ground when that bitch shot me. I must have touched it then.’
The agent shook his head. ‘We have your print on the part that plugs into the computer and that was covered up. See, it’s right here in the video. There you are getting shot,’ he said, speaking slowly as if narrating. ‘Oh, and there you are digging it out of your own pocket and throwing it under the dead lady’s SUV. But at no time did you touch the plug part.’
Drake’s jaw clenched and he closed his eyes. ‘Fuck you.’
‘In your dreams, kid,’ the agent said, and the detective laughed.
‘We’re done here,’ the defender said, thin-lipped.
Drake turned to the lawyer, his eyes sly again. ‘Tell them I’ll decrypt the files on the drive if they let me go.’
The lawyer gave him a stunned look. ‘Uh, listen, kid, they are not letting you go.’
Drake shrugged. ‘Then they’ll never know all of Chip Anders’s secrets. And he’s got good secrets,’ he added conspiratorially.
‘Ooh, tell Vince to hurry decoding that thing,’ Isenberg said quietly. ‘The kid was gonna blackmail Stephie’s daddy. We might get information about the traffickers.’
‘Don’t worry, Drake,’ the agent said, pocketing the evidence bag holding the flash drive. ‘We’ve got experts who can decode anything. They should have cracked those files before we leave here.’
‘Moving right along,’ the detective said, pulling a cell phone out of another bag. ‘Your fingerprints are all over it, so don’t even try to deny it’s yours. This phone was used to text the phone belonging to the man you shot in the back yesterday morning. The text asked him to come to the alley. You in the habit of luring grown men to alleys, Drake?’
‘No!’ Drake hissed. ‘That text didn’t come from me.’
‘No, it didn’t,’ the detective said, suddenly sober. ‘It was a plea for help from a young woman your girlfriend’s daddy bought from human traffickers.’
‘Shit,’ the defender muttered.
Drake shrugged. ‘She probably stole my phone.’
‘She had an ankle tracker,’ the detective said. ‘She was confined to the Anderses’ house.’
‘Then how’d she get to the alley?’ Drake taunted.
‘How’d she get to your phone?’ the detective threw back. ‘It indicates proximity. How close did you get to her, Drake?’
‘I never touched her.’
Marcus heard a growl and realized it had come from him.
Squeezing his hand again, Scarlett used her free hand to unmute the microphone. ‘Tell him that the rape kit found sperm in the victim,’ she said quietly to the cops on the screen, ‘and that we’ll match it to him.’
‘The rape kit found no semen,’ Deacon said with a frown.
‘I know. I’m interested to see how he denies it. I want him to admit to assaulting Tala so that if Erica decides to press charges, she’ll have a foundation.’ Scarlett turned back to the microphone. ‘Also tell him that he should get checked for genital herpes and gonorrhea while he’s in the hospital. That he’s a carrier. That is true.’
The Detroit detective gave a tiny nod to show he’d heard. ‘You didn’t touch her?’ he asked Drake. ‘Then how did she steal your phone and plead for help? How did the ME find your sperm inside her?’
‘That’s a lie,’ Drake spat. ‘I used a condom.’
‘Knew it,’ Scarlett said with satisfaction. ‘Little prick.’
The detective leaned closer, getting into Drake’s space. ‘You didn’t use a condom every time, Drake. The ME found your Cincinnati murder victim had both genital herpes and gonorrhea. On the bright side, you won’t have to worry about getting it in prison. You already have it. That’ll take some of the pressure off once you get there. Because while we don’t have the death penalty, we have far more than our share of gang members who’re gonna think you’re so pretty.’
Drake’s expression was priceless. ‘Fuck you,’ he gritted out. ‘I’m done here. Get out.’
‘Tell him about his sister now,’ Deacon said quietly.
The detective and the special agent stood up. ‘One more thing, Drake,’ the agent said, ‘and this is very serious. We know you stole your sister’s car and her credit card because we found them with your prints all over them.’
‘Borrowed,’ Drake said with a surly glare.
‘Well you should know that you brought trouble to her door. Your sister is gone. Taken. Maybe by the same people who took your girlfriend and her family.’
Drake’s lips trembled. ‘Nah, she’s probably at work. She’s always at work.’
The agent shook his head. ‘No. Her landscaping van was in the driveway and her purse was on the kitchen table. There was a struggle. She fought hard.’
‘You’re lying to me. She’s fine.’
‘I hope you’re right. The people who took the Anders family . . . they meant business. You might do better to stay locked up. They were looking for you because they know you messed with their property. The girl who used your phone to text for help was desperate.’
‘What are they gonna do when they learn you’re in custody?’ the detective asked. ‘I’m thinking we should take you to Cincinnati and see how well you fare down there.’
Drake blanched. ‘It’s your job to protect me.’
The detective snorted. ‘No, our job is to prove that you shot the cashier and murdered that woman last night. We have it on tape, so I’ll admit our job is pretty easy. The creeps that took your sister and your girlfriend are Cincinnati thugs. CPD’s job is to find out who killed that young woman in the alley so that they can track it back to the people who forced her to come to this country to begin with – most likely the thugs that went after your sister trying to find you. Nobody’s gonna protect you, Drake – not us and not Cinci PD. You help them find out who’s after you and you protect yourself.’
‘God, he’s good,’ Scarlett murmured.
‘Yeah,’ Deacon agreed. ‘Don’t think it’ll be enough, though. Drake’s a sociopath.’
The agent pulled out the bag containing the flash drive and let it dangle. ‘Last chance to tell us what’s on this.’
The lawyer whispered something in Drake’s ear. Drake shook his head. ‘Unless you offer me something, I’m going to pass. Why should I make your lives easier? Knock yourselves out, guys.’
‘Little prick,’ Marcus muttered.
The detective retrieved his laptop, and the picture got very bumpy as he and the special agent walked through the white hallways of whatever hospital Drake was in.