Warren crossed his legs. He wore dress slacks and tan loafers. He looked to be in good shape for his age, but he had enough of a pooch to suggest that he liked steak dinners.

‘So what can I do for you, Detective?’ Warren asked. ‘I love helping our boys in blue. Even ones with earrings.’

Cab smiled. Everyone mentioned the earring. ‘I’m not here in an official capacity. Not as far as the Naples Police goes.’

‘Well, in what capacity are you here?’

‘There are concerns that Diane Fairmont may be at risk like Birch was ten years ago. Possibly from the same source. I’m trying to find out if that’s true.’

Warren chuckled and shook his head. He didn’t get angry; he got amused. ‘What, is this part of her campaign strategy? Have you been conscripted by the folks at Common Way? I’m not really looking to be a political punching bag for that crowd. Been there, done that.’

‘Are you still bitter about what happened ten years ago?’ Cab asked.

Warren sucked on his cigar and blew out a sweet cloud of smoke. He had puffy Santa Claus cheeks. ‘Not really.’

‘It ruined your political career.’

‘True, but it made me a millionaire.’ Warren poked a thumb at the radio station behind him. ‘Look, Detective, ten years ago I was the Republican candidate for Congress in the Twelfth District. It was my fourth run at it. I never cleared 45 percent. I was a nobody, an electrician with barely a dime to my name. Look at me now. Millions of people hang on my every word. Bill O’Reilly has me on speed dial. I’ve got a mansion on the inland waterway. I’m blessed to live in this country.’

‘Except back then, you finally had a chance at winning the race, and Birch Fairmont took that away.’

Warren squinted into the beating sun. He slid out sunglasses from his pocket and put them on his face. ‘Okay. Sure. Ten years ago, the Democratic incumbent dropped dead of a stroke. The Dems replaced him with a newbie liberal who suffered from foot-in-mouth disease. Talked about Fidel like he was some kind of George Washington. So yeah, I was running neck-and-neck in the polls.’

‘Then Birch got in the race,’ Cab said.

‘That’s right, he did. Or rather, Lyle Piper pushed him in. Lyle was the political brain behind Common Way. Him and Caprice Dean. Suddenly we had a three-way race, and Birch’s numbers were pretty strong for a while. He got a lot of buzz, and buzz gets you free face-time on TV. Even so, I was going to win in the end. People have a way of coming home to their spouse after they have drinks with that pretty stranger in the bar.’

‘You don’t think Birch would have pulled it off? Everybody said he had the momentum.’