Sea Change

“Show them the pictures,” Jesse said.

Suit stepped to the table and showed them to the blonde.

Jesse watched her face. It was why he had Simpson show the 6 9

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pictures, so he could stand and look for a reaction. She barely glanced at the photographs.

“Nobody I know,” she said and looked back at Jesse.

“How come he’s wearing a uniform and you’re not?” she said, and emptied her champagne glass and held it out toward the crew member in charge of pouring. He refilled it.

“I’m the chief,” Jesse said. “I get to wear what I want.”

Simpson showed the picture to the man beside the blonde. The blonde drank some champagne.

“And you chose that?” she said.

Jesse was studying the face of the man looking at the pictures.

“They do call it plain clothes,” Jesse said.

She drank again and shifted a little so he could see the line of her thigh better. Jesse kept his eyes on her companions, as, one at a time, they looked at the pictures.

“Are you carrying your gun?” the blonde said.

“In case of pirates,” Jesse said.

The blonde took a cigarette from a silver cigarette case.

The man next to her snapped a lighter. She inhaled deeply and took a drink of champagne and let the smoke out through her nose while she swallowed. Simpson showed the pictures to the final person at the table. No one recognized them and no one had shown any reaction to them.

“There, now can you have a nice drink?” the blonde said.

“Show it to the crew,” Jesse said to Simpson.

“Well, isn’t he a good big boy,” the blonde said, “doing everything the chief says.”

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Jesse was studying each crew member as the pictures were shown. No recognition, no reaction.

“Why do you keep staring at everybody,” the blonde said.

“Clues,” Jesse said, “I’m looking for clues.”

“Oh pooh,” the blonde said. “Why don’t you join us for a nice cocktail?”

“What could be better?” Jesse said. “Except I’m afraid that Suit here would rat me out to the Board of Selectmen.”

“Why do you call him Suit?” the blonde said.

Amazing, Jesse thought, no matter what she says, she manages to make it sound like a challenge. Jesse nodded at Suit.

“My name’s Simpson, ma’am, and there used to be a ballplayer named Suitcase Simpson, so the guys started calling me that, and it sort of got shortened to Suit.”

She laughed and finished her glass of champagne and held it out toward the pourer.

“What a boring answer,” she said.

“Begging your pardon, ma’am,” Simpson said. “The question wasn’t all that interesting, either.”

The blonde had a full glass again. She drank, and took in a big inhale and held it for a while before she let it out slowly, blowing the smoke out in a thin stream toward Jesse and Simpson. She shook her head.

“Local yokels,” she said and turned away back toward her lunch mates.

Darnell had been standing throughout the picture showing.

Now he stepped forward. He was taller than Jesse and exag-gerated the difference in height by bending forward to speak.

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“If there’s nothing else,” he said.

“Can’t guarantee that,” Jesse said. “But there’s nothing else right now.”

He took a card case from his jacket pocket, took out a number of cards and tossed them on the lunch table.

“If anyone has anything, remembers anything, sees any of these people, whatever, please call me.”

The blonde ostentatiously reached out, picked up one of the cards, looked at it for a moment and then tucked it into the top of her bikini bottom.

“Maybe I’ll call you, Jesse,” she said.

“Or e-mail me,” Jesse said. “Localyokel.com.”

Hanging from the corner of the dining area, there was an ornamental brass monkey sitting on an ornamental brass tra-peze bar, with a long brass ornamental tail. Jesse stopped to look at it.

“Not anatomically correct,” Jesse said. “Must have been very cold somewhere.”

He chucked the monkey under its chin, smiled at the lunch crowd and went down the ladder behind Simpson.

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16

J esse was in his office watching the Florence Horvath sex video when Je

entered without waiting.

“Jesse, I . . .”

She stared at the screen.

“Jesse, you pervert,” she said.

“Evidence,” Jesse said. “Care to watch?”

Je

“Oh, ick!” she said.

Jesse clicked the remote. The image froze. He clicked again. The screen went dark. Je

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“I’m looking for something,” Jesse said.

“I hope so,” Je

“I think a gang bang requires more people,” Jesse said.

“This is more a ménage à trois, I believe.”

“It’s a ménage à yuck,” Je

“Something I saw on a yacht yesterday afternoon,” Jesse said. “A brass monkey with a long brass tail, and I have some sort of subliminal memory that I saw something like it, or part of it, or something brass, on this tape.”

“A brass monkey tail,” Je

“Yeah,” Jesse said. “And the couch on the boat where they were eating lunch was the same color as the bed she’s having her liaison on.”

“Blue-and-yellow stripe,” Je

“Wow, you journalists are observant.”

“I think the correct phrase is still weather weenie, ” Je

“Okay, ween,” Jesse said. “You’re still observant, want to help me watch?”

“Okay,” Je

Jesse clicked the remote again. The tape proceeded. Jesse and Je

“There,” Je

Jesse froze the frame, but it was past the flash. He rewound, 7 4

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and went forward and froze the frame again, and this time he got it. Curling into the picture was a brass monkey tail.

“Every person on that boat said they didn’t recognize anyone in the pictures,” Jesse said.

“It doesn’t actually prove that it’s the same boat.”

“No, but it’s a pretty good coincidence,” Jesse said. “And coincidence just isn’t useful in cop work.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Get some stills made,” Jesse said.

“Then what?” Je

“First I think I’ll check more on the boat. Some of those yachts are rented. These people may not have been aboard when Florence was. I need to be sure it has been around these parts long enough. She was in the water awhile.”

Je

“Why do you think she made that tape?” Je

“I don’t know,” Jesse said. “Could have been money.”

“That seems more like a home movie,” Je

“You would know amateur from professional?” Jesse said.

Je

“I’ve seen a few porn films,” she said.

“And?”

“And nothing,” Je

“But your date thought you would?” Jesse said.

Je

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“I have known women,” he said, “who were interested in seeing themselves having sex on film.”

“With two men at the same time?” Je