Twill called to the alligator. ‘It’s who he is, Rex. You believe that? An idiot is who he is.’

Cab couldn’t decide if Twill was drunk or stoned or simply ducking the subject. ‘Somebody obviously told you something.’

‘Hey, why tell stories about the dead? Birch is gone, right? That’s probably for the best. A lot of people knew he was a son of a bitch. He would have gone down in flames sooner or later. Even his insiders were on to him. Lyle Piper called me the Saturday before Labor Day. Said we needed to have a talk.’

‘About what?’

‘I don’t know. I was in the Keys that weekend. No phone. But I heard things after the murders that made me put two and two together.’

‘So help me do the math,’ Cab said.

Twill took a second beer can and rubbed the cool, damp aluminum over his chest. ‘Okay, look, I’m not saying it means anything. People get mad, they blow off steam. You don’t ruin somebody’s life over that. That’s why I never printed anything.’

‘Who are you talking about?’

Twill sighed. ‘You know that Diane had a son, right?’

‘Drew,’ Cab said.

‘Right. Drew. He had big problems, okay? Heavy into drugs. Hanging out with some really bad people. He killed himself not too long after the murders. Thing is, Drew hated Birch Fairmont. I mean, hated him.’

‘Who told you that?’

Twill put a finger on the side of his nose. ‘Sources. I can’t name names.’

‘Okay, so Drew and Birch didn’t get along. That’s not exactly news when it comes to stepsons and stepdads.’

‘Oh, this was more than not getting along. Believe me. Look, I didn’t go searching for this. I was a reporter, and I was convinced that Ham Brock and the Alliance had gone off the deep end. I was hunting for proof to put the bastards away. This gal I talked to, she didn’t want to tell me anything. It kinda spilled out. I don’t think she told the police either.’

‘Told them what?’ Cab asked.

‘A couple weeks before the murders, there was a problem at Birch’s estate.’

‘What kind of problem?’

‘She wouldn’t say. Or maybe she didn’t exactly know, but it sounded mean. What she did know is that Drew was so wild about it that he got dropped into rehab. Know when he got out? Right before Labor Day. Interesting, huh?’

‘But you don’t know what happened,’ Cab said.

‘I don’t. I looked for dirt, but nobody would talk. Even my original source got cold feet. She told me she didn’t hear what she said she heard. Well, it ain’t the kind of thing you’re likely to make a mistake about.’

‘What did she hear?’