Sea Change

“They were all lying on a bed in the twins’ bedroom, sideways, across it, you know. Looking at some snapshots, and he came in wearing his bathrobe and closed the door and sat on the bed with them and began to pat Kimmy and his bathrobe fell open and exposed him and Kimmy was like, paralyzed.”

“How old?” Jesse said.

“Fifteen,” Kelly Cruz said. “And he said he always kissed his girls good night and because she was a guest he’d kiss her, and he kissed the daughters and then her, with his tongue. And she started to cry and he put his hand under her skirt and she said no and clamped her legs and started to cry and he said maybe he could show her how easy it was, and he proceeded with the twins.”

“Touching?” Jesse said.

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“Fucking,” Kelly Cruz said. “She wanted to run, she said, but she lived across town and she couldn’t get home without a ride. And the twins were telling her not to be a baby and . . .”

“He did it,” Jesse said.

“Yes.”

“In front of his daughters,” Jesse said.

“And when he got his rocks off, he got up and thanked her politely and left the room. She ran in and took a shower and got dressed, and called her father and he came and got her.

She told him that she’d had a fight with the twins.”

“How did the twins react to all of this?” Jesse said.

“Kimmy says that’s part of what made it so awful. They seemed to take it in stride—so he banged you. He bangs us, too.”

“She ever tell anyone?” Jesse said.

“No.”

“She know if he molested Florence?” Jesse said.

“She doesn’t know.”

“But it’s likely.”

“Very,” Kelly Cruz said.

“What happens to her now?”

“She’ll spend the night,” Kelly Cruz said. “Talk to a shrink tomorrow afternoon, and they’ll decide.”

“Notify her parents?”

“She doesn’t want them to know.”

“Maybe they should know anyway.”

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“This part of the case is mine, Jesse,” Kelly Cruz said.

“And you are going to honor her wishes.”

“I am.”

Jesse was silent.

“I’ll stay on it, and I’ll keep you informed,” Kelly Cruz said. “But I’m going to protect this kid as much as I can.”

“It’s the right thing to do,” Jesse said.

“Thanks.”

Again they were both quiet.

“There’s something wrong with that man,” Kelly Cruz said.

“Mr. Plum?”

“Yes. You haven’t seen him. He’s disconnected. You think maybe it’s Alzheimer’s or something, but he socializes. He plays tennis. He’s not suffering dementia that I can see.

Drinks a ton. They both do.”

“Mr. and Mrs.?”

“Yes.”

“You think she knows?”

“Yes.”

“But doesn’t know what to do?”

“That’s my guess,” Kelly Cruz said. “She said to me the other day that they had been gutted by wealth. Her phrase, gutted. ”

“Money doesn’t ruin people,” Jesse said. “They ruin themselves. Money just helps them to spread the ruination around.”

“I never had money,” Kelly Cruz said.

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“Me either, but I’ve seen it in action.”

The soundless energy of the open phone line lingered be -

tween them as they sat silently for a long moment.

“You stay on it,” Jesse said.

“I will,” Kelly Cruz said.

“I thought it couldn’t get worse,” Jesse said.

“And now it has,” Kelly Cruz said.

“Big time,” Jesse said.

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50

Y our problem,” Dix said, “is you’re scared.”

“Of what?”

“Of the relationship. You were burned

pretty badly, and now you are leery.”

“Once burned,” Jesse said.

“What’s your biggest fear in the relationship?”

“I’ll fuck up again, and lose her again.”

Dix smiled.

“And if she fucks up?” he said.

Jesse frowned.

“Molly said almost the same thing,” Jesse said. “For free.”

“What did Molly say?”

R O B E R T B . P A R K E R

“She said maybe the breakup was Jenn’s fault.”

Dix nodded.

“Was it?” Dix said.

“I guess in any breakup there’s two people at fault.”

“That sounds good,” Dix said. “Do you believe it? Vis-cerally?”

“No. I‘m pretty sure I drove her away.”

Dix nodded and leaned his head back and looked up at the ceiling for a moment. Then he looked at Jesse.

“You are co-opting the responsibility,” Dix said. “Bad things happen. If it’s your fault, then you can hope to prevent it in the future by not making the same mistake again. But if it is her fault, wholly, or partly, then you can’t prevent it. You have to depend on her, wholly, or partly, to prevent it.”

Jesse didn’t say anything for a time. Dix waited. Jesse nodded to himself. Dix was right.

“It’s about control,” he said.

“You could think of it that way.”

“And trust.”

“If warranted,” Dix said.

“And the sexualization stuff?” Jesse said. “That would be part of the control thing?”

Dix sighed.

“I think that’s a paper tiger,” Dix said. “I think you’ve clung to it as a way of keeping the responsibility. If you are ever-alert, and don’t sexualize the relationship, then you won’t lose her.”

“So why we been talking about it?”

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