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ON THE PHONE Liquori said, "I got your message. I guess Ray Mulligan slipped through a crack for a while."

"You know where he is?" Jesse said.

"Not quite," Liquori said. "But I got his parole officer."

"Who might know where he is," Jesse said.

"He's supposed to," Liquori said. "Name's Mark Bloom."

Liquori gave Bloom's phone number to Jesse. Jesse wrote it down.

"You talk to him?" Jesse said.

"Nope, thought you oughta talk to him. It's your case."

"Weren't you up here a little while ago acting like it was your case?" Jesse said.

"That's 'cause Healy asked me," Liquori said.

"And if I asked you?"

"Healy's a state police captain. You ain't," Liquori said. "Hell, Jesse, I'm giving you the parole officer."

"Yeah," Jesse said. "Good. I'll call him."

He hung up.

"For crissake," he said to the empty office, "I'm the chief of police."

Then he dialed the number of Ray Mulligan's parole officer.

"Until a couple weeks ago he lived in your town," Bloom said. "Now he's got a one-roomer in Salem on Lafayette Street. Up toward the college."

"You know why he moved?" Jesse said.

"Worked on an estate on Paradise Neck," Bloom said. "And lived there in a guesthouse. Couple weeks ago they fired him and he had to move out."

"Know the people he worked for?"

"Family named Moynihan," Bloom said.

"What kind of work did he do?"

"Chauffeur," Bloom said.

Jesse snorted quietly on the phone.

"Know why they fired him?" he said.

"Told me he thought the wife had it in for him," Bloom said.

"Say why?"

"Claimed he didn't know."

"What's he doing now?" Jesse said.

"Living off severance pay, looking for work. Severance was generous," Bloom said.

"How much did he get?" Jesse said.

"Enough," Bloom said.

"How much?"

"I'm sorry, Chief, unless it's clearly germane to your case, I feel that is confidential between me and my parolee."

"Your parolee," Jesse said.

"Yes," Bloom said. "He's served his time. He now deserves the same consideration as anyone else."

"You take your job seriously," Jesse said.

"I do. My first responsibility is to protect the public, and my second is to help the parolee."

"Ever a conflict?" Jesse said.

"Of course," Bloom said. "I deal with it on a case-by-case basis."

"Good for you," Jesse said. "I'll need to talk with him."

"Okay," Bloom said.

He gave Jesse the phone number.

"I'll need to talk with him in person," Jesse said.

Bloom gave Jesse the address.

"I'll meet you out front," Bloom said.

"No," Jesse said. "Thanks. I'll need to talk with him alone."

"How come," Bloom said.

"I may need him to tell me things that will get him in trouble with you."

"Like what?"

"I don't want to get him in trouble with you," Jesse said.

"I'm in charge of him," Bloom said. "I'm supposed to know what's going on."

"Not this time," Jesse said.

"What the hell is this?" Bloom said. "I am responsible for the safety of the public."

"And I'm not?" Jesse said.

"Well, yeah," Bloom said. "But I'm supposed to know."

"I feel your pain," Jesse said. "I am the chief of police in Paradise, Massachusetts. I am investigating two murders and I don't know anything."

"It'll go easier if I'm there," Bloom said.

Jesse took in a long breath.

"He won't talk to me if he's worrying about you revoking him right back into Slam City," Jesse said.

"If I send you to him and don't go with you, it'll make me look bad," Bloom said.

Jesse leaned back in his chair and swiveled around so he could look out his office window at the fire trucks being washed in the driveway next door. He breathed in and out carefully.

Then he said, "If you come near me or him while I need him, I will throw your ass out into Lafayette Street and step on your face."

"Hey," Bloom said.

"I will then get you fired," Jesse said.

He hung up the phone and yelled out his office door for Molly. In a moment she appeared.

"Intercom broken?" she said.

"Where's Suit?" Jesse said.

"I believe he is in the squad room drinking coffee."

"Get him in here," Jesse said.

"Wow, are we surly today," Molly said, "or what?"

"Chief-of-police manual allots an hour of surliness a month," Jesse said.

Molly smiled.

"I thought you'd already used up this month's," she said.

"Just get Suit for me," Jesse said.

"I will."