12
JESSE HAD slept in his clothes and, despite a long shower, a pint of orange juice, three cups of coffee, and two aspirin, he still had a hangover. He was sipping his fourth cup, at his desk, when Molly Crane stuck her head in.
She said, “Two things, Jesse.”
He nodded.
“We got a Peeping Tom report,” Molly said. “And the DA is going to stop by here after lunch.”
“Anything special about the peeper?” Jesse said.
“Nope. Some guy looking in a window,” Molly said. “Ran off when the woman’s husband yelled at him.”
“Who’s on patrol?” Jesse said.
“John Maguire and Arthur Angstrom,” Molly said.
“Send John,” Jesse said. “Howard Hannigan give a time?”
“I didn’t talk to him,” Molly said. “But his, ah, girl didn’t specify exactly. Just ‘after lunch.’ ”
“Wish I had a girl,” Jesse said.
“You got me,” Molly said.
“You’re a woman,” Jesse said.
“Well, I’m glad you noticed.”
“Crow told me,” Jesse said.
Molly blushed.
“Our secret, Moll,” Jesse said.
“I certainly wish it were just mine,” Molly said.
“Almost the same,” Jesse said.
“I hope so,” Molly said.
She studied Jesse for a moment.
“You’re looking a little peaked today,” she said.
“Drank more than I should have, last night,” Jesse said.
“Alone?” Molly said.
“Yeah.”
“Jenn?” Molly said.
“Yeah.”
Molly took in a big breath of air and let it out slowly.
She said, “Might be time to move on, Jesse.”
“Sure,” Jesse said.
“If you can,” Molly said.
“Sure,” Jesse said.
“What’s Dix say about it?”
“He seems to think I’m obsessed.”
“You think so?” Molly said.
“Maybe I want to be obsessed.”
“Maybe,” Molly said.
Jesse didn’t say anything else. Molly waited a moment in the heavy silence.
Then she said, “I’ll send John down to talk to the Peeping Tom folks.”
Jesse nodded. Molly stood for another moment, then turned and left the office. Jesse drank some coffee.
13
HOWARD HANNIGAN was thin-faced and dark-haired. He wore big horn-rimmed dark glasses, which he left in place when he came into Jesse’s office.
“Jesse,” he said. “We need to talk.”
Jesse nodded and gestured Hannigan toward a chair.
“What’s going on with Betsy Ingersoll?” Hannigan said.
“Nothing,” Jesse said.
“So why is Jay Ingersoll telling me that you are persecuting his wife?”
“Don’t know,” Jesse said.
“Have you cleared the case?”
“No.”
“Why not?” Hannigan said.
“Because she violated the civil rights of a number of thirteen-year-old girls, and I want there to be consequences for her.”
“Consequences.”
“Yep.”
“So are you telling me,” Hannigan said, “that you are leaving the case active to punish her?”
“Give her something to worry about,” Jesse said. “Make her wish she hadn’t done it.”
“Jay has talked with you?”
“He has,” Jesse said.
“And you know who he is?” Hannigan said.
“I do.”
“I’m up for reelection this fall,” Hannigan said.
“I know,” Jesse said.
“In Jay Ingersoll’s home county,” Hannigan said.
“Yeah,” Jesse said.
“It won’t help me to have Jay mad at me.”
“I can see how that would be,” Jesse said.
“So you’ll lay off his wife?” Hannigan said.
“Nope.”
“You’re willing to endanger my election? Just to annoy some goddamned school principal?”
“Yes, I am,” Jesse said.
“For crissakes, Jesse. You don’t have a prosecutable case.”
“Yet,” Jesse said.
“You mean you’re still trying to get something more on her?”
“Yes, I am,” Jesse said.
“Goddamn it, there’s nothing to get. She embarrassed a few kids.”
Jesse didn’t say anything.
“Even if you came up with something,” Hannigan said, “I wouldn’t prosecute it.”
Jesse didn’t say anything.
“I’ve talked to the selectmen already,” Hannigan said. “You want to get your ass in a crack, this is a good way to do it.”
Jesse nodded.
“What the hell is wrong with you, Stone?” Hannigan said.
“You don’t know, either?” Jesse said.
14
JESSE WAS sitting with John Maguire and Suit in the conference room at the station.
“What’s up with the Peeping Tommy?” he said to Maguire.
“Nothing much,” Maguire said. “Husband and wife”?he looked at his notes?“name of Richard and Alice North at Forty-one Rose Street, are getting ready for bed, bedroom’s on the ground floor, when she looks out the window and sees some guy hiding in the bushes. Mr.
North opens the window and yells at the guy and the guy scoots.”
“That’s it?”
“All they could tell me.”
“Anything in the way of a description?” Jesse said.
“Nope, just an ordinary-sized guy dressed in dark clothes. They didn’t see his face.”
“He see anything?” Jesse said.
“The peeper?”
“Yes.”
“Not as far as they told me. Why?”
“Just trying to find out whatever I can,” Jesse said. “Sometimes with peepers what they see changes their future behavior.”
“Really?” Maguire said.
Jesse nodded.
“Well,” Maguire said. “They said they were getting ready for bed, but I thought Mrs. North looked a little embarrassed.”
Jesse nodded.
“So maybe there was a little more going on than night-night,” Suit said.
“Maybe,” Maguire said.
“Peepers don’t usually do anything more than peep, do they?” Suit said.
“Not usually,” Jesse said. “But now and then they can escalate. Depends on what they see, sometimes, and how it affects them.”
“I figure it’s just some kid trying to see something he’s never seen,” Maguire said.
“Probably,” Jesse said. “Stay on it, John, and any more calls are yours.”
Jesse looked at Suit.
“How ’bout you?” Jesse said. “You got anything?”
Suit saluted smartly, and grinned.
“Paradise wife-swapping squad,” Suit said. “Reporting.”
“We got a fucking crime wave,” Maguire said.
“It’s called police work,” Jesse said. “People report, we look into it. People complain, we check. You know?”
“Wife-swapping ain’t even illegal,” Maguire said. “Is it?”
“Kid complained,” Jesse said. “Suit?”
“Well, they got a website,” Suit said.
“Course they do,” Jesse said.
Suit grinned.
“Call themselves a club, Paradise Free Swingers,” he said. “They have parties, cookouts, outings. They go on trips. All celebrating the swinging lifestyle.”
“Names?”
“Nope. Pictures of some members and their first names. But I know a couple of them from school.”
“In addition to Kimberly Magruder Clark?” Jesse said.
“Vinnie Basco. He played football with me in high school, wide receiver.”
“Anybody else?”
“His wife,” Suit said. “I think she was Debbie Lupo in high school.”
“I’d love to be in a club like that,” Maguire said.