"What's a matter, Dean?" DeLeo asked. "Are you buying the accident theory too?"
Dean continued to shake his head. "I don't know anything about the case, but I know it would take a room full of CPA's to figure out how many cups of coffee you guys owe each other."
Sackler crossed the room to the trashcan, retrieved the prior day's edition of the Parkside Sentinel and read aloud.
"Jeffrey Byrne, age 38, of 156 Maid Marian Lane, Parkside, apparently drowned in the early morning hours of Tuesday, May fourth while on a business trip in Norfolk, Virginia. According to sources at the Ocean Shore Motel, Byrne was last seen on his way to the beach shortly after midnight by Leo Sutter, a waiter at the motel. When Byrne failed to answer a wake-up call the following morning, a clerk finally opened his room. According to Detective Norman Hunter of the Norfolk Police Department, Byrne's bed had not been slept in. Motel personnel conducted a search and a motel employee later found the Parkside man's clothing and room key on the public beach across the road. Police are continuing to investigate while a search for the body is underway. Detective Hunter advised the Sentinel by phone that tidal conditions on the Chesapeake might make retrieving a body difficult.
"Byrne, a nine-year resident of Parkside, was born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He was the husband of Cynthia Cosgrove Byrne and the father of Randy Byrne, a Parkside High School senior. Jeffrey Byrne was employed in a regional marketing position by The World Wide Insurance Company of Philadelphia."
"Hell of a baseball player," Dean said glumly, finishing the dregs of his coffee.
"Who?" asked Sackler.
"The son, Randy Byrne," Dean answered. "I saw him play last spring when I went out to the high school to bust the Cummings kid for breaking and entering. They were on the same team, only Cummings rode the bench and Byrne was the star-he played shortstop. He's good. The whole team was pretty sharp, but he was far and away the standout. The kid could have a future, at least get a college education out of the game."
"So?" Sackler asked, his eyes brightening. "All the more reason for hubby to stick around. Why would he skip, answer me that? If my kid were a future all-star, I'd want to see it. Like I told you, it was just a stupid accident."
"What do you think, Dean?" DeLeo asked.
"I reserve judgment," Dean answered, just as Lieutenant Anderson entered the room. Harrigan woke up, as if on cue, smiling broadly at everyone.
"At least one of you guys is still objective about this case," the white-haired Anderson said. He tossed a file to Dean. "It's all yours. Norfolk wants us to dig around up here before they go busting their backsides trying to drag the Chesapeake Bay for a body."