Jesse nodded.

“Anyway,” Hasty said, as if finishing a difficult chore,

“I wan,xl you to know that I don’t blame you. I apologize for my wife.”

“Sure,” Jesse said. “No

problem.”

Again they were quiet, the two men looking’t the black harbor, forearms resting on the railing, each holding an empty plastic cup in his hand. The tender had reached the wharf and disappeared. Its running lights were out. The

‘darkness between the men and the town across the water was unbroken and palpable. Hasty clapped Jesse on the back.

“Well, look at all that food,” Hasty said.

“Better go in and get some before they eat it all up.”

“That’s right,” Jesse said.

“That’s what we better do.”

tugal in.

“Remember me?” Portugal said.

“Sure,” Jesse said. “Have a

seat.”

“They’re cleaning out the

house,” Portugal said.

“Where you and Tammy lived?”

“Yeah, and I had to come in from Springfield to get some stuff I lef there. Probably hoping it would give me an excuse to come back. So I thought I’d stop by, see how the case was coming.”

“Not much hard evidence,” Jesse said.

“You got her diary?”

Jesse was silent for a moment. Then he got up and walked around Portugal and closed the office door.

When he was back behind his desk again he said, “Di-

“Yeah. You didn’t mention it when you was in Springfield, but I figure, cops. You know? I’m not badmouthing the police, I’m just figuring you got it and don’t see reason to talk about it with me.”

“She kept a diary.”

“Long as I knew her, every night, last thing. Even if had sex, when we was done, she’d write in the freaki:

“You ever read it?” Jesse said.

“No. It was one of those leather ones with a lock on She wore the key on a chain around her neck. Little gl key. She had a lotta ambition. I think she thought she col write down everything she did and someday she could, someone to help her and they’d write a book about all 1 exciting adventures.”

Portugal shook his head and smiled grimly.

“Like getting knocked up by me.”

Jesse was quiet.

“So if you had the diary I figured it might tell you son thing, who she Was seeing, who she went out with [ night.

Something. She wasn’t somebody to stay home: watch TV.”

Jesse shook his head slowly.

“You don’t have {t, do you?”

Portugal said, slowly prised.

“No. Did you see the drawer where she kept it?”

“Yeah, sure. It’s what made me think of it. It wash‘ there. You find the key on her when you… found her Jesse shook his head.

“You might have missend it.”

“No.”

“She always had it on her.”

“She .was stark naked,” Jesse said as

gently as he co

“We’d have seen it.”

Portugal sat still a minute, looking at nothing.

“Yeah, sure,” he said after a moment,

“you’d have seen it. You find her

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