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"Or a strapping thug like Petrov Ognowski," Jesse said.
"They played it with you," Su
"Who can blame them for that," Jesse said.
"Not me," Su
"I'm going to see if I can find Bob Davis," Jesse said.
"Will you do something for me?" Su
"Sure," Jesse said. "Who's he?"
"The Patriarch of the Bond of the Renewal."
"Jarrod Russell," Jesse said.
Su
"Good luck," Su
Jesse patted her on the backside.
"To us both," he said.
58
WEARING PINK – AND – WHITE sneakers in case she needed to move quickly, and white shorts and a pink tank top to go with the sneakers, Su
The Patriarch received her in the Renewal office, with a view of the harbor. He was wearing the same kind of white linen he'd worn when she'd seen him before. Must be his Patriarch uniform. He gestured for her to take a seat. She shook her head.
"I've come to pick up Cheryl DeMarco's stuff," she said.
The Patriarch blinked.
"Cheryl?" he said.
"Cheryl DeMarco," Su
"Cheryl has run off," the Patriarch said.
"Yes, she has," Su
The Patriarch leaned back in his chair. It was a good chair, ergonomic in design.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Randall," he said. "But Cheryl DeMarco's stuff belongs to Cheryl DeMarco. It is not mine to give, nor yours to take."
"Wow," Su
"Excuse me?"
"You're good," she said.
"I'm afraid I don't understand," the Patriarch said.
"You truly sound like a kind man concerned with the individual rights of your people," Su
"Yes," the Patriarch said.
"But you are actually a man who will prostitute out young girls for money."
Su
"What…" He seemed to be trying to catch his breath. "What… are you… saying?"
"I'm saying you're a pimp," Su
"No," the Patriarch said. "No. Wait."
His voice had grown hoarse. Su
"No, we'll get them right away. Just wait a minute. I'll have someone get them right now."
Su
"Darlene," he said. "This is an emergency. Get a couple of the girls to go to Cheryl DeMarco's room and pack everything up and bring it to my office."
He paused, listening.
"Use whatever is necessary," he said. "Suitcase, plastic bag, whatever, just hurry up."
He hung up the phone.
"It will be here very soon," he said.
Su
"But we have to talk. We have to make some arrangement," he said. "First of all, no such thing has ever happened. In fact, I categorically deny everything."
"Categorically," Su
He shook his head as if there was something in his ear. "Who on earth," he said, "has told you such a terrible thing?"
Su
"Jarrod," she said. "Jarrod. Don't any of you jerks ever learn? What gets you in trouble, remember, is not so much the crime, it's the damn cover-up."
"You called me Jarrod," he said.
"I feel that I know you," Su
"I prefer to be called Patriarch," he said.
"Frankly, Jarrod," Su
"What are you going to do?" he said.
"When your minions bring it to me," Su
Blink.
"Are you…" he said. "What are you… Are you going to cause trouble?"
"Oh, absolutely," Su
Two blinks.
"Surely," he said, "we can work something out."
The door opened and a short woman in jeans and a T-shirt came in carrying a black plastic trash bag. She looked at the Patriarch. He nodded, and the woman put the bag in front of the desk and backed out of the room.
"It would be good if you gave me a list of your principal donors," Su
"Oh my God," he said, "no. That's privileged information."
" 'Privileged,' " Su
"We, ah, don't do an a
"I think you're supposed to," Su
"IRS?"
"You do a
"We're simply a small, private spiritual organization," the Patriarch said.
Su
"And whorehouse," Su
59
THIS TIME IT WAS Normie who brought Jesse in to see Reggie. He didn't say anything, but Jesse could feel Normie's attitude like an aura.
Reggie was sitting in the backyard under an awning with a glass of iced coffee. Both the Bang Bang Twins were with him, dressed alike in yellow sundresses. If they had any memory of appearing naked before him, Jesse couldn't detect it. They were as charming and composed as they were before the incident.
"Can I get you some iced coffee, Chief Stone?" one of the twins said.
"Yes," Jesse said. "Thank you."
She went to get it. Jesse looked at the remaining twin.
"Robbie?" he said.
She laughed.
"You had a fifty-fifty chance," she said. "Actually, I'm Rebecca."
"Mrs. Galen," Jesse said.
"Got that right," Reggie said. "I think."
Everybody laughed. Robbie came back with the iced coffee. Jesse added sugar and milk.
"Why I stopped by," Jesse said, "is to inquire after Bob Davis."
"Bobby," Reggie said.
Jesse nodded.
"Damn, I miss him," Reggie said.
"Where is he?" Jesse said.
"Don't know."
"Why isn't he here?" Jesse said.
"He quit," Reggie said. "Told me he wanted to kick back a little. Go to the track, play golf, look at the ocean."
"Golf," Jesse said.
"What he said."
"You have a replacement?" Jesse said.
"Normie Salerno," Reggie said. "For the moment."
"Seems to me that he's no Bob Davis," Jesse said.
"No," Reggie said. "He's not. But he's here until I get somebody else."
"You know where Bob is?"
"Nope."
"No forwarding address?" Jesse said.
"Nope. Told me he wanted a clean break. Shook my hand and"-Reggie shrugged-"went."
"We all miss him," one of the twins said.
"He was sweet," the other twin said.
"Knocko's guy goes," Jesse said. "Then yours."
"Yeah."
"Then Knocko went," Jesse said.
Reggie looked at Jesse in silence for a long time.
Finally he said, "Meaning?"
Jesse made an airy motion with his hand.
"Just reviewing the facts of the situation," he said.
Reggie nodded.
"Well," he said. "If there's nothing else…"
"No," Jesse said. "Nothing else. I'll find my way out."
All three of them watched him leave. As he reached the corner of the house, Jesse turned and looked back.
"Watch your back, Reggie," he said.
None of them spoke.