Fool Me Twice

17

Molly wandered into Jesse’s office. He was seated behind his desk, staring out the window. He turned around when he heard her come in.

“There’s good news and bad news,” she said.

“Okay,” Jesse said.

“Do you want to know which is which?”

“Have I a choice?”

“The bad news is Carter Hansen wants to see you.”

“And the good news?”

“I’m having an excellent hair day.”

—

I’ve already had two calls from Portia Cassidy,” Carter Hansen said. “She appears to be out for blood.”

“How so,” Jesse said.

“She thinks you’re terrorizing her daughter.”

They were sitting in Hansen’s office. He had reluctantly provided Jesse with some coffee.

“Courtney Cassidy is an unrepentant, obnoxious adolescent who seems to take a perverse pleasure in breaking the law.”

“What were you doing in front of her house this morning?”

“Sightseeing,” Jesse said.

“I wish I found your attempts at humor amusing. Were you stalking the girl?”

“I was surveilling.”

“Stop being obtuse. What were you doing in front of her house?”

“I suspected that Ms. Cassidy was a chronic abuser of the law, and I was right. She was talking on a cell phone when she drove past me.”

“So what? People drive and talk on cell phones all the time.”

“It’s against the law.”

“Everyone knows it’s a dumb law.”

“But it’s state law nonetheless. You could look it up.”

“So you ticketed her?”

“I did. Her driver’s license can now be revoked for a period of six months. She’s a two-time offender.”

“And you believe that a judge will actually revoke her license?”

“An honest one will.”

“Oh, please,” Hansen said. “I want you to stop harassing her. It’s bad for business.”

“‘Harassing her’?”

“Yes.”

“Are you instructing me to look the other way when a crime is being committed?”

Hansen didn’t say anything.

“This girl has already been the cause of an accident that seriously injured someone, to which she responded in an arrogant and willful manner. I will continue to challenge her until the authorities can no longer afford to ignore her.”

“Don’t,” Hansen said.

“Excuse me?”

“Don’t keep challenging her.”

Jesse stood.

“We’re done here,” Jesse said. “As we have previously discussed, your position enables you to fire me but not to tell me what to do.”

Hansen looked away.

“Unless you’re firing me, I’m going back to work.”

Hansen didn’t say anything.

“Stay out of it, Carter,” Jesse said. “You don’t need any part of this fur ball.”

Hansen watched as Jesse left his office.