Sea Change

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“Lot of people who drive to New York a lot have them,”

Healy said. “Nice to zip past the tollbooth backups.”

“And our system works with theirs,” Jesse said.

“Convenient,” Healy said.

Jesse and Healy leaned on the iron railing at the edge of the pier above the float where the small boats docked. In the dark water along the edge of the wharf, an occasional dead fish floated, and orange peels, and indestructible bits of Styrofoam, scraps of seaweed, an occasional crab shell, one condom, and a red-and-white bobber that had come loose from a fishing line.

“Found her right there,” Jesse said. “Against the float.”

“With the other flotsam,” Healy said.

“Fancy word,” Jesse said.

“Yeah. Sometimes I read things.”

They were quiet, watching the slow water slap gently at the pier. Jesse raised his eyes and looked at the mouth of the harbor. He thought he could pick out the Lady Jane anchored there. He took in a big breath and let it out slowly.

“Maybe I should reformulate my theory of the case,” Jesse said.

“What would your new formulation be?” Healy said.

“That I don’t know what the fuck is going on and I don’t know who to believe and I have been chasing my own ass up to now.”

“You know this business,” Healy said. “You have to as-2 6 8

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sume everyone’s lying to you. But you have to act as if they weren’t.”

“The bastard was up here,” Jesse said.

“His car was up here,” Healy said.

“She went ashore to see him and never came back.”

“Blondie says.”

“Why would she lie,” Jesse said, “about this.”

Healy smiled.

“Yeah,” Jesse said. “She’d lie about the time of day if it seemed like a fun thing. Or she had an itch she felt like scratching.”

“Still,” Healy said. “He probably was here. He is probably a pedophile. He probably molested his daughters. He’s a lying bastard. What’s Cruz think of him.”

“She thinks there’s something really wrong with him.”

Healy smiled.

“I’ll bet she’s right,” he said.

“So why would he decide all of a sudden to drive up here and kill her?”

“If that’s what he decided,” Healy said.

“I know,” Jesse said. “I know. I can’t prove it yet. But let’s assume he killed her.”

“Okay,” Healy said.

“Why would he suddenly drive up here and kill her and drive home?”

“Maybe she told him it had to stop,” Healy said. “Her, the twin sisters, all of it.”

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“As far as I know she came up with Darnell from Miami, so she was around there before June. Maybe they had the falling out then.”

“And she left in a huff and came north with Darnell,”

Healy said.

“And he decided to follow her.”

“Why not kill her right there, during the falling-out moment?” Healy said.

“Maybe it was in front of the mother and he couldn’t do it then.”

“She knows, you think?” Healy said.

“Cruz says she does.”

“She know he killed their daughter, assuming he did?”

Healy said.

“I don’t know. It might be a nice piece of leverage to shake her loose.”

“Course, your original theory might actually be true,”

Healy said. “Darnell, or Ralston, or both.”

“Or they’ve just been lying every step of the way because they’re afraid of getting caught in the sex ring stuff.”

“Most of which is not illegal.”

“True,” Jesse said. “But it is not universally popular in the best yacht clubs.”

“Everybody has things to cover up in this thing,” Healy said.

“Most things,” Jesse said.

Healy grinned at him.

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“Ah, Laddy Buck,” Healy said. “The job is making you cynical.”

“Anyway, I’ve got them on the stat rape charge,” Jesse said.

“Nice to have a fallback position,” Healy said.

Jesse smiled for a moment.

“At least I can arrest somebody,” he said.

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58

W e’re going to have to talk to the Plum twins again,” Jesse said to Molly. “Can

you stay sober long enough to sit in?”

Molly blushed.

“Shut up,” she said.

“Let’s have a little respect here,” Jesse said.

“Shut up, Chief Stone,” Molly said.

Jesse nodded.

“Better,” he said. “Get Steve to cover the desk.”

“We doing good cop, bad cop again?”

“Play it by ear,” Jesse said. “But it doesn’t do any harm if they like you and fear me.”

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“They bring a lawyer?” Molly said.

“Nope.”

“Wow,” Molly said. “They are dumb.”

“I’m counting on it,” Jesse said.

The twins sat beside each other in front of Jesse’s desk.

Molly sat as she had before, behind them, near the door.

“We want to stay together,” Corliss said.

Jesse looked at them without expression.

“Maybe I can get you adjoining cells at Framingham,”

Jesse said.

“Framingham?” Claudia said.

“Women’s Reformatory,” Molly said behind them.

They both turned toward her.

“Jail?” Corliss said.

“We might go to jail?” Claudia said.

“It happens,” Molly said. “If you don’t let us help you. It could happen.”

Jesse glared at Molly.

“What are we, the Salvation Army?” he said.

“Part of our job is to help people,” Molly said.

“I don’t want to help them,” Jesse said. “I want to put them in jail.”