“What were you good at?”
“Before I became what I am, you mean?”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t remember, really. Maybe just football.”
“I thought your memory was infallible.”
“Yeah, well, what’s really infallible? Clearly not people.”
They ate their meals and discussed the case.
“It seems to me that we’re no further along than when we got here,” said White in a frustrated tone. “We’ve got a hodgepodge of clues, all pointing in different directions, one guy under arrest, another guy who might have done it. But with both of them the clues add up one way, but not all the way.”
“Maybe we’re looking at the wrong suspects then,” said Decker, plunking a fry in his mouth and chewing it. He hefted his beer and took a drink.
“Which means we have to find new suspects. And if you think those people dying are also tied to Kanak Roe’s disappearance, we need a whole new set of facts. And maybe a parallel universe to reside in.”
He put his beer down. “You know what I wonder?”
“No, Decker, but I’m sitting here with bated breath just waiting to hear.”
“How did Kanak Roe, after leaving the Secret Service without his federal pension, manage to start a security business in Miami and grow it into Gamma?”
“Hard work, perseverance, some luck?” she suggested. “Isn’t that the American Dream?”
“Lots of people try to do that, and yet most of them don’t build their dream into a billion-dollar enterprise.”
“So, what are you saying?”
“I’m just wondering if he had help,” said Decker.
“Help? What kind of help?”
“Any kind of help.”
“You mean from his Secret Service days?” asked White.
“Yeah.”
“Well, he guarded presidents, met a lot of wheeler-dealers, no doubt. They might have supported him in the private sector.”
“I’m thinking about something other than legal means,” said Decker.
“Why are you thinking along this line all of a sudden?”
“I’ve been thinking about it ever since I learned the man was terminal and headed out on his boat never to be seen again.”
“What’s the connection with his illness and a boat ride?” asked White.
“I just think researching his past might not be a bad thing. Like we did with Draymont and Lancer. That definitely panned out for us because we found out they knew each other in DC and were running a blackmail business.”
“How do you propose to do that?”
“We can start by talking to his daughter,” noted Decker.
“You want to call her or go see her tomorrow?”