“And none of this tells us if either or both of them murdered Florence Horvath,” Molly said.
“Sad but true,” Jesse said.
He turned and began the trip back up the room toward Molly.
“In fact,” Molly said, “we can’t really prove that she was murdered at all.”
2 1 1
R O B E R T B . P A R K E R
“She was murdered and Darnell was involved,” Jesse said.
“How about Ralston?”
“Yes,” Jesse said.
“Him, too?”
“Yes.”
“You’re so sure,” Molly said.
“I know them,” Jesse said. “I understand them. Darnell and Ralston killed her.”
“Together?”
“Don’t know.”
“But you know they did.”
“Yes,” Jesse said.
He was standing beside Molly. She looked up at him.
“Intuition?” she said.
“I’ve been a cop for a long time,” Jesse said.
“There’s something else,” Molly said.
She had turned in her chair and was facing Jesse, looking up at him as he stood in front of her.
“Maybe I’m a little bit like them,” Jesse said.
“The hell you are,” Molly said.
Jesse shrugged.
“I mean it,” Molly said. “You are in no way like either of those two scumbags.”
“Scumbags?” Jesse said. “Strong language for a Catholic girl.”
“Scumbags,” Molly said, “all of them. The men, the women, the damned victim. All of them. After I just talk about them, for God’s sake, I feel like I should take a long shower.”
2 1 2
S E A C H A N G E
“We do know more about them than anyone would want,”
Jesse said. “That’s how murder investigations sometimes go.
You accumulate evidence and accumulate evidence and a lot of it makes you want to puke and most of it doesn’t solve your case.”
“So how are you going to solve this one?”
“Same old way,” Jesse said. “Keep asking. Keep pushing.
Try to scare them. Maybe somebody will roll on somebody.
Maybe somebody will do something stupid.”
“Little hard to get somebody to roll on a murder rap by threatening them with stat rape,” Molly said.
“You might if you were willing to let one of them walk,”
Jesse said.
“Are you?”
“No,” Jesse said.
“Accomplice testimony doesn’t get you anything in court, anyway,” Molly said.
Jesse sat on the edge of the conference table near Molly.
“Doesn’t matter,” Jesse said. “I’m going to get them both.”
They were quiet. Molly doodled a frowning happy face on her yellow pad. Jesse sat on the table edge and let his feet swing.
“You and Jenn okay?” Molly said.
“Yes.”
“Living together is okay?”
“Yes.”
