Jack Bliss was the Detective who taught me to be a Detective. A big, rowdy, former Paratrooper, he had his own way of doing things. And a grand, dark sense of humor.
Harvey St Jean was the premier South Florida criminal lawyer. The subject of Calvin Trillin's Harvey St Jean, He Had It Made, he was at the top of the defense garbage heap in Miami. He was preferred by the criminal cartels. Until, in 1974, when someone shot him to death in his fancy car. The suspect was a Cuban cocaine dealer who claimed Harvey had stolen some of his money. Harvey? A lawyer? Why would he think that.
Harvey may have come close to his just deserts earlier, when he met Jack Bliss. Harvey defended two burglars who we'll call the O'Day twins. The O'Days had a neat little operation going. One would commit a burglary, while the other established an iron clad alibi. If caught, the one with the alibi would go to court. Who knew? They were identical. After he was identified, Harvey, their lawyer, would prove it couldn't have been him using the alibi. Worked great. Until they did it in Naples.
After stealing from a Naples hotel and getting caught, Harvey had gotten them off using the same trick. The O'Days walked. Not Guilty.
The gloating trio were on their way back to Miami when Jack pulled them over, miles down US 41, deep into the desolate swamp. Then Jack had a conversation with them that got their attention.
Jack was vague about what he'd told them, but when he loomed over you, and spoke in that flat, menacing, voice, accompanied by a wry smile, it amounted to one of those offers you couldn't refuse.
Like, "Your visa to Collier County has just been revoked." And, "Do you know how many folks have disappeared in these swamps? Never a trace found after the gators ate their bodies." And, "If you don't think I'm serious, just bring your az back over here and see."
Harvey and the O'Day brothers never returned to Collier County. Knowing Jack, I wouldn't have either.
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