“They’re still going.”
“I thought I’d go back to the office and write up my report so far and check in with the forensics folks. You two want to grab some dinner back in Ocean View later?”
“Yeah, that sounds good, we’ll give you a call when we get back,” said Decker. “We have to go report in, too. I’ll drive back with Agent White.”
Andrews gave them a thumbs-up and walked off to his car.
Decker led White over to the rental and they climbed in and drove off.
They had barely gone thirty feet when White unloaded. “I don’t appreciate getting dumped by my partner.”
“I can—”
“Shut up, ’cause I’m not done. In fact, I’m just getting started. I’m a good agent and I’ve been busting my hump for a long time and I don’t deserve this shit from you or anyone else.”
“Look, I—”
She stuck a finger in his face. “I’m not done, so shut the fuck up, Donnie!”
“Didn’t take you for a Big Lebowski fan,” said Decker, referring to the line from that classic film.
“If you ever pull that shit on me again, I will lay your ass out so fast, you’ll think Muhammad Ali came back from the grave and used you for punching practice. And I already told you I have a double black belt in karate, so I can lay your butt out. I don’t care how big you are.”
“I’m trying—”
She smacked him on the arm. “Not done yet, Decker. And as soon as this case is over, however it turns out, I’m getting the hell away from you. And then you can go and play your stupid little mind games and screw over somebody else, because I’m not having it. I am not putting up with your bullshit and you are not blowing up my career. Now, do you understand what the fuck I’m saying to you?”
Several moments of silence passed.
“Decker, I asked you a question.”
“I was just making sure you were done.”
“I hope to hell that I am.”
“You’re right. I screwed with you and I shouldn’t have. It was my fault and I’m sorry.”
“Why in the hell did you do it in the first place?” barked White.
Decker didn’t answer right away. “I don’t handle change well. And you’re not Alex. But even with Alex, it was no picnic with her for a long time.”
“Yeah, she told me. But you eventually warmed up to her. You gave her a chance. Why am I different?”
“You’re not different. Maybe I am.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning, I don’t know. But what I do know is we have a case to work, and it’s going to take both of us to get there.”
“And why should I give you another chance?”
“I can’t think of a single good reason,” he conceded.
White said, “Good. If you had tried to bullshit me I might have shot you.”
They drove for a bit in silence.
“Okay, what did you find out today?” she asked.
He told her about his theory on Draymont and Cummins being lovers.
“The ME confirmed that she’d had consensual sex that night. And the physical evidence substantiates that it was probably with Draymont. DNA on the sheets will confirm. If so, he was probably leaving the house when it happened, while the judge was probably upstairs in bed. She heard the shots and raced downstairs.”
“Shit, what made you think to check that?” said a stunned White.
“No one could confirm that there ever were any real threats against the judge. She’d been threatened before, for real. What did she do when that happened? She notified the U.S. Marshals Service and they assigned her protection. What you don’t do is go out and hire your own protection. There would have been no need. So, another plausible reason for Draymont to be there was sexual. Doris Kline thought the same thing.”
White shook her head, looking confused. “But why go through that sort of subterfuge? She was single. Draymont was, too.”
“That’s what we have to find out. I also spoke with the Perlmans. They just got back from New York. They weren’t much help. They suggested Gamma to Cummins because Maya Perlman’s former legal client made threats against her. They weren’t around during the murders, so they didn’t see anything. But Maya Perlman was really upset. She and the judge were close.”
Next, he told her about his meeting with Kasimira Roe. “That’s why I was in Miami and then drove up to meet you at Lancer’s place.”