‘So who killed Birch?’

‘I have no idea,’ Warren said.

‘Do you think Ham Brock knows?’

‘You’ll have to ask him. I’m not saying it couldn’t have been some deranged sympathizer acting on his own. Maybe it was. I just don’t think it was Ham or any of his boys. They’re too smart. On other hand, there were also nasty rumors about Birch during the campaign.’

‘Rumors?’ Cab said.

‘Oh, yeah, some ugly stories buzzed around the grapevine. Ogden was behind most of them, so who knows whether any of it was true. I didn’t peddle the dirt myself, because it would have made things worse. After Labor Day, you couldn’t say a bad thing about Birch. Getting killed makes you a saint. From what I hear, though, Birch was no saint.’

‘How so?’

‘Oh, let’s just say that Birch and Diane weren’t exactly one big happy family. That was all for the cameras.’

Cab stood up. He smoothed his suit and tugged the knot on his tie a little tighter. Warren remained sitting comfortably on the bench, with an arm slung around the back. Pungent smoke surrounded him like a halo.

‘What about this year?’ Cab asked. ‘Feels like déjà vu all over again, doesn’t it?’

‘Politically? Sure it does. The Governor is cruising toward reelection, and then miraculously he gets bogged down in a corruption scandal involving his inner circle. The mainstream media pegs Attorney General Cortes as another crazy Tea Party Republican, just like me. Hell, Ramona was on Ham Brock’s legal defense team, so she must be a radical extremist, right? And in marches Diane Fairmont of the Common Way Party to save the day. Like the Church Lady would say, how conveeeeenient.’

Cab cocked his head. ‘Are you suggesting Diane had something to do with the scandal involving the Governor?’

Warren leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. ‘I’m saying Common Way has built a reputation as a centrist organization that’s above the fray, and that’s a bunch of crap. They’re as ruthless as either of the other parties. Come on, who did they bring in to handle oppo work when Diane got in the race? Ogden Bush riding a new horse with the same dirty ass. So don’t tell me Diane Fairmont is anything other than politics as usual.’

‘You do sound a little bitter.’

‘I just believe in knowing my enemy.’

‘Diane’s your enemy?’ Cab asked.

‘This country has many enemies,’ Warren replied, ‘inside and out.’

‘How well do you know her?’

‘Well enough to hope she loses. Do you know her, Detective?’

‘We’ve met,’ Cab said.

The radio host opened his mouth, closed it, and chomped his lips over his cigar. Finally, he said, ‘Word of advice from me to you. Don’t trust her.’