“S’true. All of the above.” Akers fished his keys from his pocket, closing one eye and squinting at the lock. Cade took the keys and opened the front door. Akers stumbled in and spun, pointing one finger at him. “You need to go.”

“I will. Let me help you first.” He put his arm around the man and led him to his bedroom. “You sure you won’t take my money? Seems like you earned it.”

Akers nodded. “I did.” He squinted. “How much?”

“Five grand.” Like hell, but Akers was too drunk to know better.

“That’s a lot,” Akers said. He dropped backward onto the bed, resting on his elbows. “Depends on what you want to know.”

“The name of the fisherman.”

“Why?”

“Because nobody else has it. I’ll get a scoop and my boss won’t fire me.”

“Somebody should keep their job,” Akers muttered. “Sorry, though. Can’t tell.”

Cade had to focus on not clenching his fist and punching Akers’s lights out. He smiled instead, backtracking and coming in from a different angle. “Why didn’t Agent Taylor believe you?”

Akers’s head fell backward, like he was too tired to hold it up. “’Cause I might have talked to a reporter in the past.”

Cade’s lips twitched. “Might have?”

Akers harrumphed. “Fine. Did. It was just a little thing.”

“Did you get paid for that?”

“No,” Akers said sullenly.

“Then let me pay you, since you’re already kind of convicted, dude.”

Akers raised his head slowly, blinking owlishly. “I am, aren’t I?”

Cade said nothing, just let Akers ruminate on this truth for a few seconds. If I have to, I’ll get the fisherman’s name with a threat. He still had his gun, after all. But he’d have more confidence in the information if it were freely given.

“Garrett,” Akers said abruptly.

Cade managed to conceal his excitement. “That’s his name?”

“Yep. George Garrett. He was a fucking mess, I gotta say.”

I guess so. Cade felt a tiny bit of pity for the man who’d wanted to catch some crappie, but had pulled up a human head instead. “Do you know where he lives?”

“That’ll cost you extra, dude.” Akers began to laugh as only the truly drunk could do. “Double.”

“Fine. I’ll pay it,” Cade lied.

“Fine. Somewhere in Oakley. Don’t remember the street.”

“That’s okay. That’ll be sufficient.” He pulled Akers to his feet. “Come on, you need to take a little trip.”

Akers frowned and struggled. “No. Wanna go to sleep.”

“Don’t worry. You will.” Cade hoisted the man over his shoulder and carried him to the entrance of the basement stairs, right off the kitchen. Akers was fighting him now, the surprise of being lifted like a sack of potatoes having sobered him up enough to know something was not right.