He sat up in bed and his head felt like it was underwater. What the hell was going on? Hed had two beers, not ten. Devine had met Brad Cowl exactly one time. Well, he hadnt really met the man, but it was the closest he was ever likely to get. It was Devines recruiting classs official first day, and the company’s leadership and the great man had been rolled out to greet them. They were gathered in one of the conference rooms where huge deals were routinely closed and enormous amounts of wealth changed hands. Devine could almost smell the money in the air. Mason said,For heaven sakes wake up, pay attention to me. Lets get this stuff over with. Answer the. question, cant you? It would seem that you are deliberately trying to distract my attention in order to gain time. Everything in New York is very expensive. Im working right now on a way to access it. The hitch of course, which both Dorsey and the smarter reporters would point out, was that getting the Justice Department interested would likely take some time— if they ever got interested at all. But now we were on the offensive and making at least some average citizens wonder if Dorsey and his associates might not be behind this. Asking questions, just like theyre doing with everybody else. And maybe I have my limits, too. And I might be just about to reach them. You can have them free. Im encouraging one, Stone replied. For some people the thought of suicide is a comfort, I said. It gets them through their tough spots. The thought of it comforts them because it offers an ultimate solution to all their problems. Sort of. He was standing behind a nurse that he took with him. I blew his hat off, he said, handing it to Dino, but I think I only grazed him. That deputy district attorney got hold of me after court, and told me he didnt like my answers, and that he would have to dismiss the case if I couldnt be more cooperative. So I pushed back my chair, managed to put on quite an act, told him I was entitled to more consideration as a taxpayer, but that as far as I was concerned, he could go ahead and dismiss the case that Id seen enough of his courtroom tactics to know that Perry Mason would tie him up in a knot and make me a laughingstock instead of an aggrieved victim, so I didn’t give a damn. Then I turned and stalked out of the office. Chapter Five In the canoe? But that particular property wont be worth anything unless it is leveled. He was now a suit who was once a soldier. Devine could just tell. And really still a soldier because it gets into your DNA and there is no way to separate it from you. It becomes you. Yes. A black BMW?.