Blood Orchid (Holly Barker 3)

“About what?”

“About every aspect of this case.”

“Which case?”

“Harry, this isn’t getting us anywhere. You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

“Yeah, okay.”

“Okay, full disclosure?”

The waiter came back with Harry’s mai tai; there was a little umbrella in it. “No tip for him,” Harry said as the waiter walked away. He tossed the umbrella onto the table. “So, tell me what you’re doing down here.”

“Harry, I don’t believe I received a confirmation of our new arrangement, the one about full disclosure.”

“All right, all right, full disclosure.”

“That means an answer to any question I ask?”

“Any relevant question.”

“Harry, if I ask a question, it’s relevant. Now, if you’re ready to deal on equal terms, two-way information highway, say so; if not, please go away and leave me to enjoy this very good dinner.”

“All right, two-way information highway.”

“I’m going to hold you to that, Harry.”

“Now tell me what you’re doing here.”

“I’m solving the murder of Carlos Alvarez.”

“Who?”

“Come on, Harry, Grant must have told you about this.”

“Not much.”

That was good, Holly thought. Grant was being close-mouthed.

“He’s the guy who broke into my house repeatedly and tapped my phones. He turned up dead in the Indian River.”

“And you’ve solved it?”

“Not yet, but I’m on the way. Oh, by the way, Carlos also killed your two Miami property developers and tried to kill Ed Shine.”

“What?”

“No kidding.”

“Why do you think so?”

“Carlos was spotted at a Miami shooting range by somebody who was connected connected. He was a crack shot. He bought or was supplied with a Winchester twenty-two rifle, went to the range to sight it in, and had a silencer made for the rifle and his own forty-caliber Heckler and Koch semiautomatic. Isn’t that what your Cuban developer was shot with?”

“Yes. We recovered a slug from the inside of the guy’s car door. The nice Mercedes upholstery kept it from being deformed too much, so we can probably get a match, if we ever find the gun.”

“My people are going to start searching the Indian River around the North Bridge for the gun tomorrow morning. I think Carlos was shot there with his own gun, and my guess is the shooter tossed it, along with Carlos.”

“Send it to me when you get it, and I’ll run the ballistics.”