"Okay," Sunny said.
"Rest of them are mostly kids," Jesse said. "All of whom, far as I can tell, are old enough to do what they want."
"What do they do?"
"They preach, they hand out flyers, they go door-to-door, raising money."
"They got some kind of special belief?"
"They're in favor of renewal," Jesse said.
"What the hell does that mean?"
Jesse grinned.
"Renewing the original intent of Christianity," Jesse said. "At least as they understand it. Love, peace, that kind of thing."
"Wow," Sunny said. "Subversive."
"You bet," Jesse said. "Town hates them, want me to chase them out of town."
"Which you haven't done."
"They haven't committed a crime," Jesse said.
"So, what's the complaint?"
"They're not one of us," Jesse said. "And they're kind of r atty-looking."
"They preach on the streets?" Sunny said.
"Yes."
"That can be annoying," Sunny said.
"It is," Jesse said. "It's annoying as hell, but it's not illegal."
"And you're hung up on the Constitution?" Sunny said.
"Old school," Jesse said.
"And the town council understands?"
"I don't believe so," Jesse said.
"And you care what the town council understands," Sunny said.
"Not very much," Jesse said.
They were quiet for a moment. The silence was comfortable.
"You want to know why I'm asking?" Sunny said, after a time.
"Yep."
"But not enough to ask," Sunny said.
"I knew you'd tell me."
2
S
UITCASE SIMPSON DROVE the Paradise police car across the causeway to Paradise Neck, with the sun bouncing brightly off the open ocean to his right and the sheltered harbor to his left. He always thought the ocean reflected the sun more brightly than the harbor, but Jesse always laughed at him when he said it, so he didn't say it anymore. Still thought so, though.
He had the morning shift, seven to two on the east side of town, along the water. Arthur Angstrom was on the west side. It was noon. A Cadillac Escalade was parked at an angle on the roadside, just past the Paradise Neck end of the causeway. Simpson pulled up behind it and got out. The car was empty, and there were no keys in sight. Suit tried the door. It was unlocked. He got in and sat in the driver's seat. He opened the glove compartment. The car was registered to Petrov Ognowski. He found the button inside the glove compartment and popped the tailgate. Then he got out and took a look.
There was a dead man.
The back of his head was black with dried blood. Suit felt for a pulse in the man's neck. There was none. And his skin was cold. Suit went back to the cruiser and called it in.
"Molly? Suit. I got a stiff in the back of a Cadillac SUV, out at the Neck end of the causeway."
"You want an ambulance?" Molly said.
"Pretty sure he's dead, but no harm," Suit said. "Where's Jesse."
"He's out of the office," Molly said. "I'll send him when I find him."
"Okay."
"You know who it is?" Molly said.
"Car's registered to Petrov Ognowski," Suit said. "I don't know if the stiff is him."
"You haven't searched him," Molly said.
"No."
"Don't blame you," Molly said. "Here we all come."
The first to arrive was Arthur. He pulled his cruiser in behind Suit's and walked over and looked in the back of the SUV.
"Back of his head's all fucked up," Arthur said.
"I figure that's where he got shot," Suit said.
"Nice police work, Suit."
Simpson grinned.
"But there's no exit wound that I can see."
"So?"
"Just observing," Suit said.
Behind them, from the Paradise end of the causeway, there was the sound of a siren.
"You search him?" Arthur said.
"We got people to do that, don't we?"
"Sure, State ME will inventory everything."
"So why don't we let him search?" Suit said. "'Less you want to?"
"Search him?"
"Yeah."
"We can let the ME do it," Arthur said.
The siren faded as the ambulance pulled up and two EMTs got out. One was a woman. Her name was Annie Lopes.
"Whaddya got?" she said.
"Looks like a murder," Arthur said.
Suit said, "Unless he shot himself in the head and then climbed into the back and pulled the tailgate shut."
"That how you found him?" Annie said.
"Yep."
The two EMTs went and looked at the body. Annie put her hand to his throat and put her hand on his face. She picked up his right arm and let it fall.
"He's already starting into rigor," she said.
"So he is dead," Arthur said.
"Mostly they are," Annie said, "when they're in rigor." The second EMT was a guy named Ralph.
"Find any keys?" Ralph said.
"Nope."
"How'd you open the back?" Ralph said. "Car was unlocked," Suit said. "I popped the tailgate." Annie laughed softly.
"Wow," she said.
"Cops have their ways," Suit said.
More sirens sounded across the causeway.
3
O
NE MEMBER of the Renewal is a kid named Cheryl DeMarco. She just turned eighteen, and her parents want me to get her out."
"Whether she wants to get out or not?" Jesse said.
"I explained that if she didn't want to leave," Sunny said, "there wasn't a lot I could do."
"And?"
"They asked if I knew anybody who could remove her forcibly."
"Which of course you do," Jesse said.
"I told them I didn't," Sunny said.
"A white lie," Jesse said.
Sunny smiled.
"True," she said. "But I thought I'd rather not conspire in a kidnapping."
"I'll keep the parents in mind," Jesse said, "if the kid turns up missing."
"They didn't press it," Sunny said. "They asked if maybe I could find her and talk with her."
"The Renewal is not exactly secret," Jesse said. "How come they don't know where to find her?"
"I think the whole thing scares them," Sunny said.
Jesse nodded.
"Do you have any reason to think the Renewal is dangerous?" Sunny said.
"No."
"People are scared by things they don't understand," Sunny said.
"Yep."
"You know what else I think?" Sunny said.
"No," Jesse said. "I don't."
Sunny made a face at him.
"I think they're scared of the kid," she said.
"Physically?"
Sunny shook her head.
"No," she said. "I think they don't want her to be mad at them."
"I would have guessed she might be a little mad at them already," Jesse said.
"Leaving home and joining an unorthodox religious group?" Sunny said.
"Seems like there might be some sort of anger in there."
"Rebellion?" Sunny said. "Yes, I suppose. Maybe it's justified."
"Maybe it is," Jesse said.
"You're a big help."
"I try," Jesse said.
"So, where do I find this group?" Sunny said.
"Down near the Gray Gull," Jesse said. "I'll take you down."
Sunny looked at her watch.
"Good heavens, where does the time go," she said. "It's noon."
"Lunch?" Jesse said.
"It's right near the Gray Gull anyway," Sunny said.
"Sure," Jesse said.
"We can eat lunch and head over to the Renewal."
"Spike work the lunch hour?" Jesse said.
"Lunch is a little early for Spike to be up," Sunny said. "But you and I are enough."
"Funny you should show up so close to lunch," Jesse said.
"I'm a bear for timing," Sunny said. "You mind?"
"No," Jesse said. "I like it."
4
T
HEY HAD ICED TEA and lobster rolls. Jesse had french fries with his. Sunny didn't. Sitting across the table from him, Sunny studied Jesse. He was very much of a piece, she thought, like Richie. Compact, graceful, all his movements both precise and easy.
He looks so perfectly integrated,
she thought.
"Anything from Jenn?" she said.
Jesse shook his head.
"We're not in touch," he said.
"She's really gone?" Sunny said.
"She's really gone," Jesse said.
"How do you feel about that?"
Jesse shook his head.
"You and Dix," he said. "We've both had too much shrinkage."
"Clever dodge," Sunny said.
Jesse nodded.
"Okay," he said. "I'll talk about it if you want. But afterwards you gotta talk about Richie."
"God, you're tough," Sunny said.
"Of course," Jesse said. "I'm the chief of police."
He ate a french fry.
"Okay," Sunny said.
Jesse nodded.
"Whaddya want to know?" he said.
"How you feel about her being gone?"
"Part of her I miss," Jesse said. "Part of her was--still is, I guess--simply sensational. Funny, charming, smart, quick, loving, sexy. It's the part of her I loved--probably still love, I guess. I'll probably always miss that."
"Of course you will," Sunny said. "Anyone would. . . ."
"But finally, I guess, it came with too much else."
"Like?"
"The desperate need to be . . . what? Important?" Jesse said. "Successful? Special?"
"The need to be noticed?" Sunny said.
"Yes," Jesse said. "It ate her up, and she couldn't seem to overcome it."
"You know why?"
"Why she needed to be noticed?" Jesse said.
"Yes."
"No."
"Does she?" Sunny said.
"I don't know," Jesse said. "She still needs it."
"And you were not enough," Sunny said.
Jesse drank most of his iced tea and gestured to the waitress. She poured him some more. He added some sugar and drank another swallow and looked at Sunny.
"No," he said. "I wasn't."
"Does that bother you?"
"That I wasn't enough?" Jesse said.
Sunny nodded.
"A lot," Jesse said.
"Think it's why you drink?" Sunny said.
Jesse was silent for a moment, looking at his iced tea.
"I think I always drank too much," Jesse said. "But it got away from me when Jenn and I started having problems."
"How you doing now?"
"Pretty good," Jesse said. "Normally I have a couple at night after work, before I have supper. I haven't been drunk for a long time."
Sunny reached across and patted his hand.
"Why do you--" she said.
Jesse's cell phone rang.
"Excuse me," he said, and answered it.
He listened for a moment.
"Okay," he said. "I'll come along."
He looked at Sunny.
"Business?" she said.
"Yes."
"Go ahead," Sunny said. "I'll take care of the check."
"That doesn't seem right," Jesse said.
"Spike has never charged me for a meal," Sunny said. "I sign the check, and he tears it up."
Jesse stood.
"Boston, too?"
"Boston," Sunny said, "here, doesn't matter. Spike loves me."
"Maybe I should try that," he said.
"Spike doesn't love you," Sunny said.
"But he does you?" Jesse said.