Dean thought a moment. "Who says Byrne bought them? He wasn't alone all day. He took that guy Brunel out for a drink. Maybe Brunel's a biker too and they're his shoes."
"But nobody's contacted him yet. Can't the Norfolk police chase him down?"
"It's Norfolk's case-not Parkside's or mine. They've been more than generous with help and information but the investigation is closed and I have to tip-toe on ice digging into it. There's still not a shred of proof tying Byrne to Scranton, the money, or being alive."
"If you believed that was a fact we wouldn't be sitting here talking about it. If you'd spend as much time chasing after the truth as you do trying to convince your gut instincts they're wrong maybe we'd get somewhere."
Dean let out a deep sigh. "You should have been at Byrne's house tonight and seen the warmth of that family. Cynthia's finally starting to pull her life together and now we drag up all these questions. If the sorry son-of-a-bitch isn't dead and I find him, I think I'll kill him myself!"
"So are you going to go to Lieutenant Anderson with this stuff?"
Dean looked up. "It's not enough. All we have is a few unanswered questions and circumstantial evidence. There's not a lick of factual proof and there's a chance there never will be. Winston would have my job if I blew his mob case on unfounded speculation and if I went public in any way, the news is sure to get out. It was my big mouth mentioning Byrne in front of Baratto that caused most of this problem but God knows what an open investigation would unfairly do to Cynthia Byrne. She's convinced her husband is somewhere on the bottom of Chesapeake Bay. She's just now beginning to see things clearly for the first time in weeks. How can I drag out a pile of maybes and cause her to spend the rest of her days wondering if hubby will jump out from behind some bush? It's just not fair."
"So you gonna ignore all this?"
Dean looked at him long and hard. "You know me better than that, Fred. I can't turn my back on it either. Much as I still think Byrne is dead there are too many unanswered questions."
Fred was uncommonly quiet and minutes passed before he spoke. "My read is you've got feelings for Cynthia Byrne, but not being up-front with her is like walking a tight rope on a windy day. If it comes out later you weren't truthful with her there's a good chance you can kiss any future goodbye."