Sea Change

That must seem important.”

Kelly Cruz put the notebook into her purse beside her gun.

“It does,” she said. “Trouble is, then another crime comes along and you’re slogging along again.”

“This is the most important thing I’ll do today,” Mrs.

Plum said.

Kelly Cruz didn’t say anything.

2 2 2

S E A C H A N G E

“The money, you know. The money guts you. After a while all you have left to do is look nice, and drink.”

Kelly Cruz stood and put her hand out.

“Thank you very much,” she said.

Mrs. Plum shook her hand and smiled absently and began to look for the waiter.

2 2 3

47

J esse was on the phone with Carlos Coca in Sag Harbor.

“Who’d you say you were?” Coca said.

“Jesse Stone. I’m chief of police in Paradise, Massachusetts.”

“And why do I want to talk with you?” Coca said.

“So I won’t get a couple of big mean New York state troopers to come over and yank you out of your swimming pool,” Jesse said.

“I’m not in my pool.”

“Figure of speech,” Jesse said. “Tell me about Corliss and Claudia Plum.”

There was silence. Jesse waited.

S E A C H A N G E

“Dumb and dumber,” Coca said after awhile. “Yeah, they were here.”

“When.”

“Early in the summer. Memorial Day weekend, I think.

Kinda cool. Not good party weather.”

“How long did they stay?”

“Too long,” Coca said. “I kicked them out after about three days.”

“Why?”

“They didn’t fit in,” Coca said.

“How so?”

“They’re fucking crazy, awright? They were drunk by noon. Walked around topless. I got a lot of top-drawer people here. Christ, I got the president of a real estate development company. Big company. International. He’s sitting outside with his wife, having a cocktail before lunch. One of them, who the fuck knows which one, topless, thong bikini bottom, goes and sits in his lap. Takes a drink from his glass. Man!”

“Wasn’t she cold?” Jesse said.

“Who, Missy Hot Bottom? I don’t know. Why?”

“You said it was cool.”

“Well, hell,” Coca said. “I’m not even sure what weekend.

All my weekends are pretty lively. But I’m pretty sure nobody was swimming.”

“So the bikini was for effect.”

“Sure, those two assholes don’t do anything except for effect. For crissake, some of my important guests left because of them.”

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R O B E R T B . P A R K E R

“And how do you know them?” Jesse said.

“Their sister.”

“Florence?”

“Yeah. Now there was a babe. She was even wilder than the twins, but she had a little class. You know? She never of-fended any of my guests. And she could hold her booze.”

“She brought her sisters to party with you?” Jesse said.

“Not this year, they came on their own, but yeah, they used to come with her. Hell, they were still jailbait when they started coming here. The jailbait twins.”

“They get along?”

“Sure. It was like Florence was showing them the ropes.