“Or not,” Molly said.
“Call them every day,” Jesse said.
“Give you something to do
while you’re on hold with the airlines.”
“If I time it right,” Molly said,
“I can be on hold with both at
the same time.”
“Lucky we have two lines,” Jesse said.
“Suit, you call the San
Mateo cops, see if you can find anything at all about Mr. or Mrs.
Arlington Lamont. If they can’t give you anything try San Francisco.”
“While we’re doing all this
phoning,” Suit said, “what are you
going to do?”
“I have several donuts to eat,” Jesse said.
72
“How’s the
drinking?” Dixsaid.
“I haven’t had a drink in three weeks and four days,” Jesse
said.
Dix smiled. “And there are several minutes every day when you
don’t miss it.”
“Not that many,” Jesse said.
“And you recently escaped death,” Dix said.
“I did. Anthony deAngelo didn’t.”
“How do you feel about that?”
“I should have had more cops on the
scene,” Jesse
said.
“Tell me about that,” Dix said.
“I could have had state police support. I chose not to. I wanted
to do it ourselves.”
“Because they had done their crimes in your town?”
“Because they had killed Abby Taylor.”
Dix nodded.
“I took it personally,” Jesse said.
“You’re a person,” Dix said.
“Meaning?”
“Meaning it is impossible not to take things, at some level,
personally.”
“So what about professional?” Jesse said.
“Things exist simultaneously,” Dix said.
“Meaning I can take it personally and be professional?”
“Meaning you need to be two contradictory things at the same
time.”
Jesse sat quietly.
Then he said, “You know about that.”
“Of course.”
“It’s what you have to deal
with.”
“What do you think all the rigmarole of psychotherapy is
about.”
