“Absolutely,” Molly said.
Wearing gloves and carrying evidence bags, they went stateroom to stateroom together. Jesse never split a search. It was Jesse’s view that two people searching the same room made it less likely that either would miss something. The videotapes were right where Jesse had left them. There were two more. He took the tapes, including the empty substitute that he had substituted, so everything would look kosher.
“There is a selection of controlled substances here,” Molly said. “Some weed. Some, I assume, coke. Couple of other things I’d need help with.”
“Pack it up,” Jesse said.
“We going to arrest them for possession?”
“I might find it useful as leverage,” Jesse said.
In the night table of the master cabin, Jesse found a Browning Hi-Power and a box of shells. He took the pistol and left the shells. In the crew quarters he found a shotgun.
He left it. Most boats had a long gun aboard. He didn’t think it would do much for him. They confiscated a video camera.
They found sex toys in most of the staterooms. There were several vibrators, some anatomically correct. Molly turned one over in her hands, looking at it from all angles.
“When I was in parochial school,” Molly said, “we weren’t 1 4 0
S E A C H A N G E
allowed to wear patent leather shoes, for fear someone might look up our dress in the reflection.”
“I was always hopeful about that,” Jesse said. “But I never saw it work.”
“But it probably kept you alert,” Molly said.
“I don’t want you sneaking home with that thing,” Jesse said.
Molly rolled her eyes at him, and put the vibrator back where she found it.
“Ah, the stories it could tell,” he said.
“What exactly is this,” Molly said.
“That’s a ball gag,” Jesse said, “and those are restraints.
Fetish toys. You can order them on the Internet.”
“Ick,” Molly said.
“You and hubby don’t use those?” Jesse said.
“There are times, I think, he might want to stick that gag in my mouth,” Molly said. “But not during sex.”
“Irish Catholic girls have sex?” Jesse said.
“When we go bad,” Molly said, “we go way bad.”
When they were through the search it was midway through the afternoon. Jesse made an inventory of what they’d confiscated, in duplicate, and signed it. Then he called Hardy on the cell phone.
“What did you take?” Darnell said, when they reached the deck.
“Stuff,” Jesse said. “Uncuff him, Suit.”
Simpson unlocked the cuffs on Darnell. Jesse separated 1 4 1
R O B E R T B . P A R K E R
the two sheets of his inventory and handed the carbon sheet to Darnell.
“You can’t take the tapes. They’re private property.”
“We’ll need you to come in and do a lineup,” Jesse said.
“All of you. Crew as well. We’ll arrange a date and get back to you.”
“Those tapes aren’t even mine. Somebody left them on board. I don’t even know what’s on them.”
“We’ll take a look, let you know. Meanwhile, if you leave the harbor I’ll have the Coast Guard impound the boat.”
“I want a lawyer,” Darnell said.
“Sure, when you get one, tell him you are suspected of forcible rape. In fact, all of you are suspects.”
“Those aren’t my tapes,” Darnell said again.
“Have a swell day,” Jesse said, and waited at the rail while Molly climbed down to join Suit in the harbor boat.
“Can the Coast Guard impound his boat?” Molly said as they headed back through the moored boats toward the town pier.
“I don’t know,” Jesse said. “I probably ought to ask somebody.”
1 4 2
30
K elly Cruz sat at the bar of the Boat Club, at the marina, near the causeway in Fort Lauderdale, sipping a Diet Coke. The bar-
