“Are you talking about Audrey Meek?” I asked.

All of a sudden he went quiet. He stared at me, and his face and neck turned bright red. What was this? He wasn’t a good actor and he wasn’t real smart either.

“What the hell’re you talking about? You been smoking my shit?” Farley said finally. “Audrey Meek? That chick they kidnapped?”

Mahoney leaned forward. “Audrey Meek. We know you know all about her, Farley. Where is she?”

Farley’s piggy eyes seemed to be getting smaller. “How the hell would I know where she is?”

Mahoney kept at him. “You ever been in a chat room called Favorite Things Four?”

Farley shook his head. “Never heard of it.”

“We have a record of your conversation, asshole,” Ned said. “You got a lot of ’splaining to do, Lucy.”

Farley looked confused. “Who the hell is Lucy? What are you talking about, man? You mean, like, I Love Lucy?”

Mahoney was good at keeping Farley off guard. I thought we were working okay together.

“You’ve got her in the woods somewhere in Jersey,” Mahoney yelled, then stamped his foot hard.

“Did you hurt her? Is she all right? Where is Audrey Meek?” I picked up.

“Take us to her, Farley!”

“You’re going back to prison. This time, you don’t get out again,” I shouted in his face.

It was as if Farley were finally waking up. He squinted his eyes and stared hard at us. Lord, he smelled, especially now that he was scared.

“Wait a fucking minute. Now I get it. That Internet place? I was just showin’ off.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Farley slumped down into himself as if we’d been beating him. “Favorite Four is for freaks to talk. Everybody makes shit up, man.”

“But you didn’t make up the stuff about Audrey Meek. You know things about her. You got it all right,” I said.

“The bitch turns me on. She’s a fox. Hell, I collect catalogues from Meek, always have. All those skinny-ass models look like they need a good unh, unh, uh!”

“You knew things about the abduction, Farley,” I said.

“I read the newspapers, watch CNN. Who doesn’t? I told you, Audrey Meek turns me on. I wish I abducted her. You think I’d be sleeping with Cini if Audrey Meek was around here?”

I jabbed an index finger at Farley. “You knew things that weren’t in the newspapers.”

He shook his huge head from side to side. Then he said, “Got a scanner. Listen in on police radios and such. Shit, I didn’t kidnap Audrey Meek. I wouldn’t have the balls. I wouldn’t. I’m all talk, man.”

Mahoney cut in. “You had the balls to rape Carly Hope,” he said.