High profile

“As far as we know,” Jesse said, “Weeks wasn’t in the military. He wasn’t licensed to carry a gun. He didn’t have a security clearance.”

“So?”

“So why do we have Walton Weeks’s fingerprints in the system,” he said.

Molly was silent for a moment.

Then she said, “I’ll look into it, Chief.”

25

Su

“Dog’s very territorial,” Spike said.

“She needs her space,” Su

“Dog weighs thirty pounds,” Spike said. “I weigh about two-fifty. I need a little space myself.”

“You wish you weighed two-fifty,” Su

“Sort of,” Spike said.

“I’m going to circle the block, see what he does when we’re gone.”

“You recognize him?” Spike said.

“I can’t see him well enough.”

“Want me to go ask him about himself?” Spike said.

“God, you’re aggressive,” Su

“Just a thought,” Spike said.

Su

“Want a drink?” Su

“What about Rosie?” Spike said.

“We’ll go to the Four Seasons,” Su

They sat at the bar downstairs. Su

“So what do you think of Je

“I think I’m the perfect bodyguard for her.”

“A tough fairy,” Su

“I can protect her, and she can’t seduce me.”

“You think she would?”

“It’s what she knows how to do,” Spike said. “I don’t know if she’d want sex or not, but she’d use it to get what she wanted. If I was straight, I’d follow her around like a beagle.”

“She has a lot of juice.”

“And she generates a lot of heat,” Spike said.

“Spike, I didn’t think you noticed things like that.”

“I notice,” Spike said. “I just don’t care.”

“Jesse said she wouldn’t like you because she couldn’t use her sex on you.”

“Jesse’s right,” Spike said. “I think she’ll accept me. I’m big and strong, and she’s scared. But I know women like Je

“Some women like that.”

“Yes, many. They are comfortable with a guy who’s got no interest in seeing them naked. Je

“You think she’s promiscuous?”

Spike sipped some bourbon.

“Honey,” he said, “I don’t even know what promiscuous means anymore, except I’m probably in favor of it. I think she likes sex and will sleep with someone because she does.”

“Nothing much wrong with that,” Su

“You should know,” Spike said. “But I don’t think she’s ever, what, driven by sex. She can have sex or not. But she never takes her eye off the prize.”

“Which you think is more than a good time?” Su

“Yes.”

“You know what the prize would be?” Su

Spike sipped more bourbon and held it a moment in his mouth before he swallowed.

“No,” he said. “I’m not sure she does. But it’s not about achieving orgasm.”

“You only spent about three hours with her so far,” Su

“Three hours is a long time if you pay attention,” Spike said.

“And you’re smart,” Su

“That too,” Spike said. “Plus, she reminds me of someone.”

“Me?”

“No,” Spike said. “I’m not sure you know what the prize is, but you don’t use sex to get it.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“So who’s she remind you of?”

“Me,” Spike said.

Su

“Well,” she said finally, “the physical resemblance is striking.”

Spike shrugged. Su

“How would you like to be in love with Je

Spike shook his head slowly.

“Oh, Mama!” he said.

26

Suit came into Jesse’s office and sat down.

“Molly said you wanted me to run down Weeks’s fingerprints,” he said.

Jesse smiled.

“She’ll be chief someday,” Jesse said.

“What?” Suit said.

Jesse shook his head.

“What have you got?” he said.

Suit took out his notebook.

“Walton Weeks was booked for public indecency in White Marsh, Maryland, in 1987.”

“And fingerprinted at the time,” Jesse said.

“That’s what it says.”

“Who booked him?”

“Baltimore County police.”

“Got a name?” Jesse said.

“No.”

“Phone?”

“Molly just said to find out why he was in the system,” Suit said. “Is this going to delay my promotion to detective?”

“Probably,” Jesse said and leaned forward and pulled the phone to him.

“You going to pursue the investigation yourself?” Suit said.

“I like to keep my hand in,” Jesse said and dialed 411.

It took two holds and one second phone call before Jesse was talking to the sergeant in charge of Precinct 9 of the Baltimore County Police Department in White Marsh.

“We busted Walton Weeks,” the sergeant said.

“Nineteen eighty-seven,” Jesse said, “public indecency.”

“For crissake,” the sergeant said, “what’d he do, wave his willy at somebody?”

“I don’t know,” Jesse said. “I thought I’d ask you.”

“Oh, oh,” the sergeant said. “A test of our record-keeping.”

“Anything you got,” Jesse said.

“Where’d you say you were from?”

“Paradise, Massachusetts,” Jesse said.

“Outside of Boston, right? Where Weeks got popped.”

“You read the papers,” Jesse said.

“And watch TV and listen to the radio,” the cop said. “Good luck to you guys.”

“Thanks.”

There was silence. Jesse could hear the computer keys tapping.

“New system,” the sergeant murmured.

“They’re all new to me,” Jesse said.

“Yeah,” the sergeant said, “ain’t that the truth.” More tapping.

“Shit!” the sergeant said. His voice raised. “Alice, will you come over and run this goddamned thing for me.”

Jesse heard a woman’s voice murmur in the background.

“Walton Weeks,” the sergeant said, “public indecency, 1987.”

The woman’s voice murmured again. The computer keys tapped. Jesse waited.

“Come on, come on, come on,” the sergeant said.

Jesse knew he was talking to the computer.

“Okay,” the sergeant said. “Here it is. Goddamn. Way to go, Walton.”

“What,” Jesse said.

“Got a couple of complaints at the White Marsh Mall. Officer went out and found Walton bopping some girl in the back of a Mercedes sedan.”

“How old was the girl?”

“Bo

“What was the disposition?”