Wallace shrugged. “We could make a stink at the state level about the licenses being issued.”
“The automatic weapons licenses?”
“Couldn’t hurt.”
“You think we could get the licenses pulled?”
“Maybe. I know some people.”
“We’d need more than personal contacts, Hurd. If the licenses were canceled, Barney would request a hearing and get it. He’d be able to say that none of his people had ever fired one in anger.”
“And we’d be able to say that they’ve no need for more firepower than we have in our department.”
“I don’t know what that would get us, except to alert Barney Noble that we have more than a passing interest in what he’s doing out there.”
“Would that be a bad thing?” Wallace asked. “It might rattle him a little.”
“What’s the purpose of rattling him?”
“To let him know that we take an interest in what goes on on our turf.”
“I think I’ve already let him know that, with this Cracker Mosely thing.”
“What’s Cracker Mosely?”
“The man I interrogated yesterday.”
“Who is he?”
“He’s an ex-cop out of Miami. He killed a drug dealer with his baton and did time for it.” Holly wanted to see where Wallace would go with that information.
He wrinkled his brow, a major use of facial expression for him. “And yet he got licensed for security work?”
“And to carry a gun.”
“How’d that happen?”
“A computer check showed no criminal record.”
“Well, that’s a major lapse, isn’t it?”
“I thought so.”
“Have you called anybody at state records to find out why?”
“Not yet.”
“Why not?”
Holly shrugged. “I just want to let it ride for a while and see what happens.”
“While you’re letting it ride, I’d like to run records checks on all the security people out there.”
“How? We don’t even have their names,” Holly said.
“I could run a check on security-guard licenses issued in Orchid and cross-check that against the Palmetto Gardens addresses.”
Now Holly was stuck. So far she hadn’t told him anything that Barney Noble didn’t already know, but this was new territory. She took a deep breath. “I’ve already done that, Hurd.”