The men in the waders had the body on the plastic sheet. Working together, they lifted the body, but their footing in the mud was bad. One of the men slipped, and the body went down.

Pike took out his phone. He was going to let Cole know what was happening when he saw Straw approaching. The man in blue remained on the bridge.

Straw didn’t hurry. He strolled over like a man rehearsing what he wanted to say. When he arrived, he nodded at Pike.

“This time yesterday, I had a serious hard-on for you. Today, not so much.”

Straw paused. Pike knew he was now supposed to ask why Straw no longer had a hard-on, but Pike didn’t ask. He didn’t care. Straw finally nodded toward the homicide crew. The homicide detectives were talking as if they were excited about something, and two were on phones. One trotted to a waiting radio car, and jumped into the back seat as it left.

“Our detective friends are split down the middle whether you or Smith did this. They’re even running a pool.”

“How’d you bet?”

“I don’t think you or Smith had anything to do with this. That mess with the heads in Smith’s shop, I don’t think these bangers had anything to do with it. Something more complicated is in play.”

Pike studied Straw for a moment, and thought he was probably right. Straw’s shakedown operation was finished, so now he was digging for a replacement.

“Like what?”

“No idea.”

“Weren’t you guys watching the shop?”

Straw showed his first sign of irritation.

“We were watching the entire street, Pike. We had the front of his shop. Whoever made that mess broke through the back and got away clean. But you know that. You were there the next morning.”

“Too bad you didn’t see something helpful.”

Straw’s jaw flexed one time, then he studied the ground for several seconds before he looked up.

“You have any idea where these people are?”

Pike nodded toward Mendoza’s body.

“I thought he had them.”

“If he did, someone else has them now.”

“Who?”

“Whoever. I’m seeing Smith and his niece jammed up by something a helluva lot worse than a shakedown.”

Straw handed Pike a card.

“You learn anything or need any help, let me know. I’d like to find these people before whoever did that to Mendoza finds them.”

Button and Futardo returned from their group. Pike thought they were coming to get him for the homicide dicks, but Button had news, and the news made him smile.

“Alberto Gomer is no longer missing in action. Homeless dude found him an hour ago in a parked car up at the north end of the canal. His throat was cut ear to ear. That makes your boy Smith two for two.”

Futardo gestured toward the homicide detectives.