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27

MAYO WAS obviously a weight lifter, a big genial-looking guy with short red hair and a nineteen-inch neck. He shook hands with Jesse and Suit when they were introduced.

"Mikey," Parrott said. "These people are interested in the Bangston twins; you know them?"

Mayo smiled.

"I do," he said.

"Could you talk to Jesse and Luther about them?" Parrott said. "I gotta go to Rotary."

"Sure," Mayo said.

"Use my office," Parrott said. "Close the door when you're through."

Parrott shook hands with Jesse and Suitcase and left. Mayo went around and sat behind Parrott's desk.

"Try it out for size," he said.

"I notice you smiled when Chief Parrott asked if you knew the Bangston twins."

Mayo nodded.

"Tell me why you want to know about them," Mayo said.

Jesse told him.

"Living side by side," Mayo said.

"Uh-huh."

Mayo shook his head and smiled again.

"I knew them," he said. "We all knew them. We went to Hempstead, they went to Spirit. But we still hung together. We all believed that Spirit girls were easy… You know how it was in high school."

"Ever hopeful," Jesse said.

Mayo nodded.

"We used to call them the Bang Bang Twins."

"Because they were, in fact, easy?" Jesse said.

"Yes."

"None of my business," Jesse said. "But did you…?"

"Most of us did," Mayo said. "But they had a trick they did."

"Trick," Jesse said.

"You never knew which one you were having sex with."

"On purpose?" Jesse said.

"Yeah, they used to like to switch so one time you'd be with one of them, and next time you would think you were with her and you were with her sister."

"How'd you know?" Suit said.

"When it was over, they'd tell you," Mayo said. "Sometimes they'd take turns with you and make you guess who was who."

"Guess they didn't take all that Catholic stuff too serious," Suit said.

"Their parents did," Mayo said.

"They were famous for this twin sex trick?" Jesse said.

"Yeah, the Bang Bang Twins."

"I wonder why they did it," Jesse said.

"They liked it, I guess," Mayo said. "They were always into the twin thing, you know. I mean, a lot of twins dress different, do their hair different, maybe, different makeup. I mean, they don't want to be exactly the same."

"The Bang Bangs did?" Jesse said.

"They wanted to be identical," Mayo said. "When we were in grammar school they always came to school in the same outfits, same hair, everything."

"So their mother probably wanted them to look alike," Jesse said.

"I guess."

"Know the parents?"

"Not really. Old man was a contractor. He's dead now. They got a lot of money. Big house on the water. Big into church stuff. Probably guilt."

"About what?" Jesse said.

"Old man was always kind of a sleaze. Never got convicted. But a lotta talk about not meeting the specs for his construction deals. Lotta talk about sweetheart deals with the state. Stuff like that. Lotta people say he fooled around."

"How'd he die?" Jesse said.

"Heart attack," Mayo said. "On a business trip to Cleveland. I think he was in the saddle at the time."

"How about the mother?" Jesse said.

"Mother's still around."

"Can you take us over there?" Jesse said.

"Sure," Mayo said.