Sea Change

“I think you will be able to better integrate her past sexual indiscretions into your life,” Dix said, “if you spend less time thinking about her in exclusively sexual terms. It might bring you some peace. But I doubt that it was the cause of the breakup, or would cause one now. What you describe is mostly a healthy libido.”

“It is?”

“Sure,” Dix said, “and your fears have been exacerbated by the case you’re working on in which control and loveless sexual objectification is rampant.”

“And that’s why the case matters so much.”

“Probably,” Dix said.

“So how do we fix this?”

“You stop being the way you are,” Dix said.

“Like that?”

“Sure, like that. You think this is voodoo? If you’re doing something self-destructive, sooner or later you have to decide to stop.”

“So what the hell do you do?” Jesse said.

“I help get you to where you can stop.”

“And you think I’m there?”

“Hell, yes,” Dix said. “You are a tough guy. You can do what you decide you have to do. You’ll either trust Jenn, or accept that you don’t, and see what that brings.”

Jesse nodded.

“So all you’ve done is get me ready,” he said.

Dix smiled at him.

“Readiness is all,” he said.

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T wo uniformed state troopers, one of them female, brought the Plum sisters into

Jesse’s office. Molly followed them in.

“Captain says we should wait for instructions from you,”

the male trooper said.

“What’s your name?” Jesse said to the female trooper.

“Maura Quinlin.”

“Maura, stick around here. Your partner can go.”

“I’ll be in the cruiser,” the male trooper said.

He left.

“Sit,” Jesse said, “please.”

S E A C H A N G E

The sisters sat. Molly closed the office door and took a chair behind them. Trooper Quinlin sat beside her.

“Thanks for coming in,” Jesse said.

“It was kind of cool,” Corliss said.

“Riding in the police car and everything,” Claudia said.

Jesse nodded.

“And the state police guy is a real skunk,” Corliss said.

“That like being a real fox?” Jesse said.

“Sure,” Claudia said.

“People your age would probably call him a hunk,”

Corliss said.

Jesse nodded, looking at them. Corliss, it seemed to him, was usually the lead speaker. She’d say something and Claudia would follow up. He pointed at Corliss.

“Maura,” he said to the female trooper, “take Corliss into the squad room and sit with her.”

“What?” Corliss said.

“I have some heavy things to discuss,” Jesse said. “With your sister.”

“We always stay together,” Corliss said.

“It won’t be long,” Jesse said. “Maura?”

Trooper Quinlin stood and put a hand under Corliss’s right arm and helped her up.

“We always stay together,” Claudia said.

“Not this time,” Jesse said.

He nodded at Quinlin, who turned Corliss gently and walked her out of the office. Molly got up and closed the 2 4 3

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

door behind them, and sat back down behind Claudia. Jesse looked at Claudia without speaking. Claudia smiled very brightly.

“We’re twins, you know, we don’t like to be separated,”

she said.

Jesse continued to look silently at Claudia.

“Did your father sexually molest you?” Jesse said.

Claudia stared at him. “What?”

“Did your father sexually molest you,” Jesse said.

Claudia looked around the room as if Corliss might suddenly appear and answer the question. Jesse waited. Claudia stopped looking around and looked at him and opened her mouth and said nothing. Jesse waited. Claudia looked over her shoulder at Molly. Molly smiled at her but didn’t speak.

“That’s terrible,” Claudia said finally.

“It is,” Jesse said. “Did he molest you together or separately?”

Claudia shook her head.

“Did he molest all three of you together?”

“Three?”

“Florence, you and Corliss.”

“Stop asking me that,” Claudia said.

She began to cry. Jesse sat quietly and watched her. Behind Claudia, Molly sat looking at her hands, which were clasped in her lap. After a time Jesse took a box of Kleenex from a desk drawer and put it in front of Claudia, on the edge of his desk, where she could reach it.

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S E A C H A N G E

“Let me define what I mean by molest,” Jesse said. “So there won’t be any confusion.”

Claudia took one of the Kleenex and dabbed at her eyes.

“Did he touch you in a sexual way? Did he penetrate you?”

Claudia bent forward double and put her hands over her ears and began to moan. Jesse watched her quietly.

“For God’s sake, Jesse,” Molly said. “Leave the poor child alone.”

“I need answers,” Jesse said.

“Well, there are other ways,” Molly said. “If you don’t stop traumatizing her, I’ll file a report with the selectmen.”

Jesse grunted. He stood without a word and went out of the office. As he closed the door behind him he saw Molly get up and put her arm around Claudia’s shoulder. Jesse smiled to himself. Then he went down into the squad room and closed the door.

Corliss and Maura Quinlin were sitting silently at the table. He sat down across from Corliss.

“Well,” he said, “the truth is out.”

“Excuse me?”

“About your father molesting you,” Jesse said.

“Oh . . . my . . . God,” Corliss said.

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