Robert B. Parker’s Damned If You Do

27

Jesse met Clarice Edgerson and Thomas Walker at the same bench on the Boston Common. Jesse sat next to Clarice. Thomas stood.

She had on a short gray sweater dress that she wore over a black leotard. Several shards of her luxuriant auburn hair escaped from beneath the floppy green hat that covered her head. She had on the same red-framed Ray-Ban sunglasses that she had worn before, which were noticeably more suitable for the clear skies and bright sunshine of the warm spring day.

Thomas had on a classic Armani blazer, a button-down dress shirt that was open at the neck, and a pair of crisply pressed jeans.

“Thank you for agreeing to see me again,” Jesse said.

“It’s my greatest pleasure to be making these little forays out here to see you,” Clarice said. “How’s tricks?”

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that question?”

She chuckled. A rich, low, ripe chuckle that lit up her beautiful face.

“I don’t quite know why, but you do manage to tickle me,” she said.

“Happy to be of service.”

“Whatever is it that brings us here this time?”

“I now have the dead girl’s name, but it’s yielding no clues.”

“I was under the impression that all you wanted was her name,” Clarice said.

“That’s right.”

“But now you want more. I should’ve expected it. Men always want more.”

“I was hoping that perhaps you might know her.”

“Know her? Why would you think I might know her.”

“I was hoping.”

“Is it your plan to drag me out here every time you can’t figure something out for yourself? Just because you have Mr. Fish on your side?”

Jesse didn’t say anything.

“I hate the feeling of being used. Please don’t play us for a pair of jerks.”

“That’s hardly my intention,” he said.

“Allow me a few minutes to try and believe that.”

“What’s the girl’s name,” Thomas said.

“Janet Becquer,” Jesse said. “With an odd spelling. B-E-C-Q-U-E-R. Does it ring a bell?”

After several moments, Clarice said, “I remember interviewing a young woman who was seeking employment. It was a couple of months ago, maybe. I’m not certain that her last name was Becquer, but I do believe that her first name may have been Janet. Do you remember her, Thomas?”

“She was the blond looked kinda like Jennifer Aniston.”

“That’s the one,” Clarice said.

“So you did meet her,” Jesse said.

“Yes,” Clarice said.

“Did you hire her,” Jesse said.

“Strange child, that one,” Clarice said.

“How so?”

“I tried to hire her, right there on the spot. As I remember, she had a nice quality about her. I liked her. But she said she needed to think about it.”

“You mean she didn’t accept the job?”

“That’s right.”

“And the job she was interviewing for was that of a call girl?”

“We like to refer to our people as service representatives. Kind of sugars the pill, if you get my drift.”

“And she didn’t accept the job.”

“We never heard from her again.”

“Did she leave any contact information?”

“Thomas would know about that,” Clarice said. “Thomas, did this child leave you her info?”

“Not that I remember,” he said.

“How do you find the women you interview for these positions,” Jesse said.

“How do we find them,” Thomas said.

“Yes.”

“Most come by recommendation.”

“You mean people contact you with the names of candidates for these jobs?”

“Something like that,” Thomas said.

“So they come by appointment,” Jesse said.

“Yes.”

“And they make the appointments directly with you?”

“They do.”

“Do you generally get their contact information prior to making these appointments?”

“You know something,” Thomas said. “I think we’re done here. We’ve paid our debt to Mr. Fish. We interviewed this girl. We offered her a job. She declined. That’s all we know. I believe this ends our relationship, Mr. Stone.”

Thomas nodded to Clarice, who stood.

“I do so hope you find what you’re looking for,” she said to Jesse.

“I don’t think you’re a pair of jerks,” he said to her.

“That’s very comforting. I feel a whole lot better now.”

Clarice smiled.

“It’s been nice knowing you, Jesse Stone,” she said. “I have to say that you behaved honorably. Unusual for someone in your profession. Especially when it involves someone in my profession. You’ve given me heart. Yessir, you have surely given me heart.”

Thomas took her by the arm. Somewhat roughly, Jesse noticed. He avoided further eye contact with Jesse. He pulled Clarice away, and together they left the Common. Jesse watched them go.

He spent the evening studying Janet’s diary. He kept returning to the anomaly. The four sets of three initial notations, three references to TSS and one to NSS.

He played with as many solutions as his mind could manufacture but found none of them satisfactory.

Finally he went to bed. It was many hours later, after having been sleeplessly haunted by the notations in Janet’s diary, that he stumbled on the answer.