“Oh God,” Jenn said. “Not that.”
Jesse smiled. “How about, ‘it’s not the size of the dog in the fight . . .’?”
“I’m serious. It interests me. You interest me.”
“If you’ve been a cop,” Jesse said, “especially a big city cop, like I was, after awhile you sort of expect to handle it.”
“But he’s twice your size.”
“It’s not really about the other guy,” Jesse said. “It’s about yourself.”
“So what’s your secret?”
Jesse grinned.
“Usually it’s backup.”
“And this time?”
“Well, Suit was there, but the guy was out of control and the place was crowded . . .”
“And he gave you attitude,” Jenn said.
“He did. So if you’re going to go, do it quick. You gotta get a guy like Radford right away or you’re going to have to shoot him.”
“What did you do?”
“I hit him in the balls with Suit’s stick.”
“Ouch,” Jenn said. “And that was it?”
“Essentially it was,” Jesse said.
9
R O B E R T B . P A R K E R
“I was talking to the bartender before you arrived,” Jenn said.
“Doc,” Jesse said.
“Yes, he said you didn’t press charges.”
Jesse drank some iced tea, and grinned at her as he put the glass down.
“This morning when he was sober with a deadly hangover, we gave him the choice: district court or clean the squad car.”
“Clean the squad car?”
“He puked in it.”
“Oh yuck,” Jenn said. “So much for dinner.”
“Don’t kid me, you’re about as queasy as a buzzard.”
“But much cuter,” Jenn said. “Did he do it?”
“He did,” Jesse said. “And we let him walk.”
“With his hangover,” Jenn said.
“Awful one, as far as I could tell.”
“You would know about those,” Jenn said.
“I would.”
They ate their lobster salad for a time. It was mediocre.
Jesse always thought the food at the Gray Gull was mediocre, but it was a handy place, and friendly, and had a great view of the harbor on a summer night sitting on the deck.
Jesse didn’t care much what he ate anyway.
When they finished supper they walked along the water-front for a stretch. The street were full of people, many of them drunk, some of them raucous. Jesse seemed not to notice them.
“I brought my stuff,” Jenn said.
1 0
S E A C H A N G E
“For an overnight?”
“Yes,” Jenn said. “I’m not on air until tomorrow after -
noon.”
“You bring it in the house?”
“Yes, I unpacked in the bedroom.”
“That sounds promising,” Jesse said.
“It is promising, but I need to walk off my supper first.”
“You never were a love-on-a-full-stomach girl,” Jesse said.
