Saturday, May 14th 7:45 A.M.
The sound of running water in the next room told Dean that daylight had finally arrived and Cynthia Byrne was up and around. The sun flooded in through the still-open drapes, announcing that the violent storm of the night before had fled out to sea. He fought off the last of his dream demons, pulled himself to an upright position, and stumbled into the bathroom. After showering and dressing, he wrote a short note explaining he would be at police headquarters until midmorning and slipped it under her door. Cynthia Byrne needed a little time on her own before he barged back into her world.
Detective Norman Hunter had returned from his mountain fishing trip and was irate at the snafu that had occurred at the morgue in his absence. He was clearly embarrassed and apologized to Dean on behalf of everyone in the Norfolk Police Department, the City of Norfolk and the entire south. Confusing a Wassermann twin with Jeffrey Byrne was inexcusable.
"The least they could have done was issue a general description. Anyone would have known that tub of lard wasn't Byrne," Hunter fumed as he paced up and down the room. Dean let him get it out of his system. He tried to appease the Norfolk detective by saying no permanent harm had been done and even Mrs. Byrne seemed to have made it through the ordeal.
The local FBI had stepped into the picture and hustled action on the body, tentatively identified as Billie Wassermann-perhaps on an alphabetical basis only. A local autopsy was rushed through in the wee hours of the night and the remains of the obese thug were airborne, in route to Pennsylvania as they spoke.
Detective Hunter finally sat. "The word is someone did in Wassermann over on the Eastern Shore and the tide carried him out in the middle of the Chesapeake. Or maybe they took him out by boat. Either way, it's out of our jurisdiction. From what you say the odds are high it's only a matter of time until his brother floats in."
Dean agreed. "They'll have to put navigation markers out in the bay if they turn up any more bodies. It's getting pretty crowded out there."
"So much for closure on the Byrne case," Hunter said. "I feel badly for the missus. It must have been a shock seeing Wasserman instead of hubby."
"You don't know the half of it," Dean answered.
"Too bad she can't put the whole business to rest. Our active investigation is closed, but the file stays open until there's a body or a judge's ruling."