21.

“You guys reestablish contact with Crow yet?” Jesse said.

He was in the squad room with Suitcase Simpson, Arthur Angstrom, Peter Perkins, and Molly.

“He knows he’s being tailed,” Suit said. “He loses us whenever he wants to. You know that.”

“I know,” Jesse said. “Just asking.”

“We been staking out his house,” Arthur said. “Figure he’ll show up there pretty soon.”

“Got a notice out on his car?” Jesse said.

“Car’s at the house,” Arthur said.

“Maybe he’s got another one,” Jesse said.

“Another one?”

“Leave the car at home,” Jesse said. “Take a cab, rent another car. Cops don’t have your number.”

“If he can spend that kind of dough,” Angstrom said.

Arthur was defensive by nature.

“Arthur,” Molly said. “This guy left here ten years ago with about twenty million dollars in cash.”

“He’s got that kind of dough, why’s he here working?” Angstrom said.

“Maybe likes the work,” Suit said.

“Maybe he owes a guy a favor,” Perkins said.

“Maybe he blew the twenty million,” Angstrom said.

Jesse shook his head.

“No,” he said. “Crow didn’t blow the twenty million.”

“How do you know,” Arthur said.

“He wouldn’t,” Jesse said. “Why don’t you call around to some local rental agencies, see if he rented a car.”

“Maybe he didn’t use his real name,” Arthur said. “Maybe got himself a whole phony ID.”

“Maybe,” Jesse said.

“But you want me to call.”

“I do,” Jesse said.

He looked around the squad room.

“Anything else?”

“You still want a cruiser at the Crowne estate when the buses arrive,” Molly said.

“Yep.”

“Arrival and pickup?”

“Yep.”

“That’d be you this morning, Peter,” Molly said.

Perkins nodded.

“Anything else?” Jesse said.

No one spoke.

“Okay,” Jesse said. “Go to work.”

The cops got up and started out.

“Moll,” Jesse said. “Could you stick here a minute?”

Molly sat back down.

When the others had left, Jesse said, “Something going on with Suit and Miriam Fiedler?”

“No,” Molly said. “Why?”

“The little joke about Officer Simpson being on top of things.”

“I was just teasing her,” Molly said. “You know I can’t stand her.”

“Who can,” Jesse said.

Molly didn’t say anything. Jesse leaned back and stretched his neck a little, looking up at the ceiling.

“I think there’s more, Moll,” he said after a time.

“More what?”

“I think there’s something between Suit and Miriam Fiedler,” Jesse said, “that you have probably promised Suit not to tell me about.”

“Honestly, Jesse…” Molly said.

Jesse put up a hand as if he were stopping traffic.

“I don’t want to put you in the position where you have to break a promise or lie to me. I like you too much. Hell, I depend on you too much.”

“Jesse, I…”

Again, Jesse stopped her.

“Suit is very appealing to a certain kind of older, affluent, dissatisfied woman,” Jesse said. “They see him as both masculine and cute. Like a big, friendly bear, and he is often in marked contrast to their husbands.”

“Like Hasty Hathaway’s wife,” Molly said.

“Yeah,” Jesse said. “Like her. In return, Suit is flattered by the attention of such a woman, and their age and status seem not to be a detriment but an attraction.”

“Oedipus again?” Molly said. “Maybe you’ve been seeing that shrink too long, Jesse.”

“In fact,” Jesse said, “not long enough. But for whatever reason, Suit has a track record of bopping some surprising women.”

“Lot of that going around,” Molly said.

Jesse grinned.

“You bet,” Jesse said. “And I’m all for it. As long as it does not compromise what we do here.”

“You think Suit is doing the hokey-pokey with Miriam Fiedler?” Molly said.

“I do,” Jesse said.

“If you were right, would it harm the department?”

“Not if Suit kept it separate,” Jesse said. “Not as long as he continues to serve and protect the kids at the Crowne estate.”

“You think he wouldn’t?” Molly said.

“No,” Jesse said. “I think he will. But I don’t want him, or us, embarrassed.”

Molly nodded.

“I would,” she said, “if he were doing something.”

“Good,” Jesse said.

They sat together for another moment in silence. Then Jesse looked at Molly and said, “Miriam Fiedler?”

And Molly giggled.


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