Chapter 43
It took half an hour to get the man in the backseat of Delaney’s car through processing. He again provided his name and DOB—Joshua Perry—but his prints weren’t in the system.
Vaughn let Delaney take care of this part, making Perry the cop’s collar, if he was actually responsible for the murders. Vaughn remained unconvinced. Either way, this was fine by him. Delaney deserved whatever credit was to be had. He’d been working his ass off.
But it was still their case.
During this entire process, Darnell hung back, saying nothing.
They put Joshua in Interview Room 2, let him sweat a little.
“I’ll talk to him with Darnell.” No argument from Delaney—he’d already gotten what he wanted. “In the meantime, let’s assume he is Joshua Perry. Delaney, look into his past. I want you to focus on his education. He said he got lost, right?”
“Yeah.”
“No phone on him?”
“No phone or wallet.”
“Okay, so I’ll ask him where he parked. If he gives up the location, head out there, see if you can find it. If you do and his phone is in his car, give it to Bowes.”
Delaney nodded.
“Darnell, I’ll do the talking, got it?”
Darnell grunted an affirmative.
“Okay, we’re going in. Delaney, make sure the camera’s recording.”
Vaughn Mirandized Perry the second he walked into the room. Asked the man three times if he understood. He said he did.
“Good. We’re going to start with the easy stuff. What’s your name?”
“Josh Perry. I told the—”
“What were you doing by the Cedar Ridge Preserve?”
“I was lost,” he said desperately. “It was dark, and I got lost.”
“What were you doing out there?”
“I just . . . I’m so tired, man.”
“What were you doing out there?” Vaughn asked again.
“I was playing this game. This . . . button game. And then the voice on the speaker says that I won, that I could go free. So I left. Got outta there.”
“Josh, you ever heard of the prisoner’s dilemma?”
“The what?”
“How about the tit-for-tat strategy?”
Perry scrunched his nose.
“I mean, I heard of tit-for-tat, but I don’t know what it means. Like give and take?”
If this was an act, it was a fucking good one.
“Tell me about the game.”
“It was this thing with red and green buttons—”
“Start earlier. How did you hear about it?”
“Oh. I, uh, I got this flyer thing under my wiper when I was parked at a gas station. It—”
“Where?”
“Uh, the one on Belt Line Road. QuikTrip?”
Vaughn waited a beat, made sure that Delaney on the other side of the one-way glass overheard.
“What’d it say?”
“It was an ad for a TV show. Wanted players for a puzzle game to win some crypto—”
“You still have the ad?”
“Yeah, in my car.”
“Okay, so you got the ad, then what?”
“I called the number, but there was no answer. To be honest, I kinda forgot about it—thought it was a scam. Then I got a text the next day from the same number with a list of instructions.”
“Which were?”
“Like, go to this parking lot, leave your phone and wallet in the car. Don’t tell nobody, that kind of stuff.”
Darnell cleared his throat—a signal. Vaughn was tired of talking, tired in general, so he allowed his partner to say a few words.
Sometimes—almost all the time—sitting and listening was the best approach.
Not here, not now. As per his own admission, Perry, like Vaughn, was exhausted.
They needed to keep peppering him, keep the man off balance.
“You didn’t think that was a little weird?”
“Of course, but I need the cash. Lost my job and I need the money, man.”
Vaughn nodded, trying to look understanding and sympathetic.
“Okay, so you get the instructions and then what? You drive to the parking lot?”
“Yep.”
“Which one?”
Joshua scratched his head. He had stubby fingernails that weren’t quite grimy but definitely weren’t clean.
“Stillwater Cafe.”
“Then?”
“I got the address for the game. Put it in my GPS, did my best to memorize it. Read that screen like fifty times. Wasn’t far.
Less than a mile. But I suck at directions.
Like, real bad. I got lost. The text said that I had to arrive by midnight, so I had lots of time—at least I thought I did.
But I just couldn’t find the damn place.
Musta walked in circles for twenty minutes.
Don’t have no watch, so I didn’t know the time.
Got to the barn on time—well, I musta got there on time, ‘cause I didn’t get kicked out. ”
“You just walked in? Then what?” Vaughn now.
“A voice from a speaker told me to shut the door—I did. Then he told me to sit at the desk. I was tired and sweating . . . just sat, then I got instructions. Didn’t have no time to think.”
“So you play the game?”
“Yeah. Then the voice said I won, just like that. After ten rounds. Told me to go, said I’d get paid.
The door clicked open and I left. Started to walk back to my car.
At least, I tried to. Like I said, I got lost. Walked around for hours .
. . all friggin’ night. Then that cop . .
. man, he was angry. Told me to get on the ground. Pulled his gun on me ‘n everything.”
Not surprising. Delaney had done the same thing with Ivy, her father, and the nurse.
“Josh, from my side of the table, all of this, everything you’re saying, sounds incredibly unbelievable.”
Josh wiggled his nose as if it itched.
“Honestly? I know. Too good to be true, right? Especially with my luck. But I thought what the fu—sorry, what the heck? Worth a shot. And it kinda looked legit. There was a camera, and the voice was, like, computerized or something? Am I . . . am I gonna get that Bitcoin?”
“No idea. Josh, did you see anyone else there? Anyone other than the cop who found you in the field?”
“Naw. Not a single person. Just that voice over the speaker.”