“Of course, it’s illegal,” Molly said.
“Nobody’s perfect,” Jesse said.
Molly nodded slowly.
“You cut some corners, Jesse.”
“Sometimes you have to, if you’re going to do the job right.”
“So you do something wrong to do something right?”
“Sometimes,” Jesse said.
“I’m not sure Sister Mary Agnes would agree,” Molly said.
“Sister Mary Agnes a cop?” Jesse said.
Molly smiled.
“She taught Philosophy of Christian Ethics at Our Lady of the Annunciation Academy.”
“Certainties are harder to come by,” Jesse said, “in police work.”
“But there’s a danger, isn’t there,” Molly said, “that you start cutting corners and you end up doing bad, not good?”
“Yes, there is,” Jesse said.
“Do you worry about that?”
“Yes,” Jesse said, “I do.”
1 1 0
S E A C H A N G E
“But you’ll do it anyway.”
“Sometimes,” Jesse said. “I trust myself to keep it clean.”
“Pride goeth before a fall is what Sister Mary Agnes would say.”
“Sometimes,” Jesse said, “it goeth before an indictment.”
Molly smiled at him.
“I guess, if I’m going to have somebody bending the law on me,” she said, “I’d just as soon it be you.”
“Better than Mary Agnes?”
“Sister dealt mostly in theory,” Molly said.
“Like when they do marriage counseling,” Jesse said.
“Do I hear anti-Catholicism?”
“No,” Jesse said, “anti-theory-ism.”
Molly smiled again. “You better hide your tracks,” she said, “in case you do get them in court. You don’t one of those fruit from the poisoned tree things.”
“You’re still taking those law courses,” Jesse said. “Aren’t you.”
“One a semester,” Molly said.
“Different than Philosophy of Christian Ethics?”
“Just as theoretical,” Molly said.
“But more commonly applied,” Jesse said.
“By people like us,” Molly said.
“You’ll be DA someday.”
“I was thinking more about president,” Molly said. “How are you planning to search the boat without getting caught.”
“Everybody,” Jesse said, “goes to the Stiles Island Clambake.”
1 1 1
R O B E R T B . P A R K E R
“Second Saturday in Race Week,” Molly said.
“Which is tomorrow,” Jesse said.
“Midpoint of Race Week,” Molly said.
“Was Race Week ever just a week?”
“I think so,” Molly said, “but sometime back when my mother was in high school it started expanding at both ends.
The small boats the first two weeks, the big yacht races the second two. With the clambake in the middle.”
“But they still call it Race Week,” Jesse said.
“Race Month just doesn’t sound right,” Molly said.
