Mason twisted the paddle, turning the dog over in the water, forcing him to let go his hold. There was that about Slick. You didnt have to spend the afternoon explaining things to him. He thought for a moment, working up his pitch, I assumed, then picked up the phone, dialed, and after a few more moments got through to Warner B. Gallops. It was a pleasure to listen to Slick sell. First he was charming, then he was winning, and finally he was convincing — especially when he lied, which he did beautifully, particularly about what a valuable contribution I was making to the investigation. How did he know where you were? And you like the Sig Sauer over the Glock, good Army man that you are. But diversity makes the world go round. Im living proof of that. That the guy ran out and bought a new truck was probably not a good thing. The person who hired him might have been afraid the cops would take a second look at Myers, and hed fall apart and start pointing fingers, said Devine. Thatd be real nice of you. This GSP thing aint worth a damn. So Doxey slipped out and picked up all that stuff and took it to his own garage. That was where he gave us the break we wanted. His accomplice had been too nervous, and Doxey, trying to cover up, made a fatal slip. He only hoped that he was up to the task. This is Miss Street, my secretary. May we come in for a moment? Iexpect him home, yes. Im all jittery. Im so nervous I dont feel that I can— Thats right, it does, the sheriff announced grimly, swinging the cylinder out to the side. One exploded cartridge, he said, “44 caliber.” Oh, no, I dont want nothin to do with him and you shouldnt either, honey. He just wants to get you alone so he can ask you a bunch of questions.’ The coast right now was reasonably clear, at least he hoped. He stepped out and closed the door with his coat sleeve over his hand. He set off at a rapid pace and called Campbell along the way and told him what he had discovered. He had burned through all his inheritance by then, and he had some personal scandals he was dealing with. Over twenty years ago, when Id only been an investigative journalist for a few years, I traced a meeting that Cowl had with some shady people in the Seychelles, but then the trail went cold. Then he dropped off the radar for about a year or so. He might have been in Asia or eastern Europe, at least those were my best guesses. Next, the man waltzes back into New York, buys and rehabs that skyscraper, starts his investment group, hires all sorts of pricey talent, suddenly has a clientlist that the biggest players on Wall Street would covet, and boom, hes the talk of the town. He wasnt even twenty-five years old. Thats what the cops are trying to find out. While I was standing right in front of you and you were coming at me with fists raised? I thought about where Vullo might find himself another Max Quane and then I had an idea. But before I could tell him about it his secretary came in with the check. She handed it to Vullo who scrawled his name on it and then moved it across his huge desk to Murfin who signed with something of a flourish and handed it to me. I looked at it, saw that it was for five thousand dollars, and put it in my pocket. He had a Facebook page, but it was private, and thus restricted regarding what he had access to. Chapter 41 Am I going to get paint on my suit? Herbie asked. Its brand-new..