Read Online Solitary Dancer by John Lawrence Reynolds - Free Book Online

by high clouds, working hard at looking bored.
    â€œIt’s borderline, I admit,” Fat Eddie said as Higgins returned the various police reports to his briefcase. “But there’s a link between them, McGuire and the victim. He can’t account for his whereabouts—”
    â€œNeither can we,” Higgins said. “Everything I heard about threats against the victim, including one made within hours of the murder, sounded solid enough.” He turned to Fox. “But there’s nothing from the interrogation, nothing from forensics that moves the case forward.” Higgins shrugged. “You haven’t given me anything new.”
    â€œShe said somebody might do her,” Donovan said. “She told her landlord she was afraid of somebody heavy. What’s that worth?”
    â€œNothing on its own,” Higgins replied. “You’ll have to give me more than that. Or we take another route, maybe a just cause restraining order, incarceration for his own protection, something to stick with for a few days until a lawyer files a habeas corpus.” He jutted his bottom lip out again. “Faced with a habeas, I can’t see any judge agreeing to extend a charge against McGuire based on what’s here.”
    Vance swung his eyes to Tim Fox. “What do you think?”
    â€œI got a fax an hour ago,” Fox said. He reached for an inside pocket of his sports jacket and withdrew three sheets of paper. “Bahamas Police, Nassau.”
    Higgins shifted sideways in his chair, watching Fox intently. Fat Eddie Vance rested several of his chins on one hand, his elbow on the desk. Phil Donovan muttered something under his breath and turned back to the window.
    â€œMcGuire was deported from the Bahamas as an undesirable alien in July,” Fox said, handing the report to Vance. “That was after he spent a week in the hospital recovering from a beating.”
    â€œWhat in God’s name happened to the man?” Higgins asked with concern.
    â€œHe got himself involved with some rich guy’s wife is what happened,” Fox said, watching Vance as the captain read the Bahamian police report. “She was living on their yacht while her husband was back home making his next hundred million. One of the crew members called his boss in Chicago, told him about McGuire cutting the man’s grass and the husband flew down with some muscle. They got McGuire on board and put the boots to him, apparently. Bruised all over, cracked ribs . . .” Fox shrugged and spread his hands. “They threw him overboard, the water revived him, some people in a boat saw him thrashing around and pulled him out.”
    â€œAnd what happened to the husband?” Higgins asked.
    â€œWhat happened? The husband got McGuire deported, that’s what happened. You’ve got money and influence, you can get that kind of thing done down there. And this guy has it. They never laid a hand on him. The next month the same guy, the Chicago millionaire, signs a deal with the government for some resort development in the outer islands. He’s called a hero, a few palms get greased, it’s all a tax write-off.” Fox grinned coldly. “By the way, a couple of weeks after McGuire left the island the wife got drunk one night, fell overboard and drowned. Way of the world, right?”
    â€œWhat else?” Fat Eddie asked, handing the report back to Fox. “Anything on this Lorenzo woman?”
    Vance glanced at Donovan, who shook his head. “No appointment book, no telephone directory. Gone.”
    â€œBank records?” Fat Eddie said. “You got her bank records?”
    Fox nodded. “She was doing all right financially. Over thirty thousand in cash, another hundred and fifty or so in investments, blue-chip stocks. Lots of good jewelry, none of it touched. Drove a nice little BMW, all paid for.”
    â€œWhat was up on that shelf that interests you guys so