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“Did Adam Ezell have a tattoo?”
The silence lasted a beat.
“This is North McKinney,” he said. “We met at the jail. Did he have a tattoo?”
Another beat. Then Weiss said, “I think he did. Hold on.” The line went silent for a moment, and when Weiss came back, she said, “He had a tattoo on his arm. Why? Is there some question about identifying the body—”
“What was it? The tattoo, I mean.”
“A cross, I think. It had the letter E on it. For Ezell.”
North squeezed the phone and thought, Fuck yeah. Fucking yes. He said, “Thanks.”
“What—” Weiss began, but he disconnected.
“What’s the deal with—” Shaw began.
“Adam Ezell had a tattoo with a cross and the letter E.”
Shaw opened his mouth, stopped, and then said, “That man at the Mosses’ home, the one who was playing security guard, he had a tattoo with a cross and the letter E.”
“And because I’m a fucking genius,” North said, “I thought the E was for the church—Epiphany of Light. But what if it wasn’t? What if it was like Adam’s? The E is for Ezell?”
The sharp symmetry of Shaw’s face flickered with thought. “That would explain a lot. We didn’t have a direct connection between Gid and Adam, not unless you count that blackmail video. That’s one of the things that bothered me—it’s one thing for Gid to bribe a deputy and get some alone time with the women in the jail, but why Wahredua? That’s the part that didn’t make any sense. But if Adam’s brother is a member of the Mosses’ congregation—”
“Then it’s easy to connect the dots. Gid knows the brother. The brother puts him in touch with Adam. Adam arranges Gid’s playtime at the jail, under the guise of his ministry, or whatever the fuck they called it.”
Shaw dropped onto the bed. “Jem and Tean told us about the man they saw going into Adam’s house, remember? They said he had a tattoo.”
“And I assumed it was the Mosses up to some dirty shit.” North paused in the middle of opening a takeout container. “Fuck me. I am a fucking idiot.”
“That’s not fair. We couldn’t have—”
“We should have listened to them. We should have asked questions. We should have treated Jem and Tean like what they are: competent, intelligent adults.”
“I’m hearing a lot of ‘we’ talk, but if you’ll recall—”
“You were there too, jackass. You’re supposed to keep my head on straight.” North tore a bite from the burger, and as he chewed, added, “This is your fault too.”
Shaw made an outraged noise. “I want you to apologize right now, or I’m going to tell Jem everything you said.”
North chewed slowly. “You know, I think I could beat him up.”
“What? Who?”
“Jem. Especially if he doesn’t have his little toys. He’s got some mass, and he fights dirty, but I still think I could take him.”
For a moment, Shaw stared at him. “He’s our friend.”
“Right. I know. I’m just saying, in theory.” North took another big bite. “How good do you think he is at wrestling?”
“What is happening?”
“You wouldn’t get it,” North said. “It’s a brother thing.”
24
When Shaw placed the call, it went to voicemail, and John-Henry’s voice told him that if it was an emergency, to call 911.
