to the arresting officer, you know, the guy busted Weeks. And Franks says he was around for a while, made detective, and then quit. Went into private security. So I say, for nothing, what was his name?”
“Lutz,” Jesse said.
“You knew?”
Jesse smiled.
“No,” Jesse said, “but the way you were ready to wet your self telling me, who else was it going to be? Rumpelstiltskin?”
“Man, you know how to ruin stuff,” Suit said.
“So you followed up,” Jesse said. “And it’s our Lutz.”
“Yes. Conrad Lutz,” Suit said. “Be some kind of coincidence if it was a different Conrad Lutz.”
“If it came to that, we could fingerprint him,” Jesse said.
“He’d be on file.”
“So whaddya make of that, Jesse?”
“Good police work by you, sloppy by me,” Jesse said. “I should have asked when I called them.”
“Does this mean a salary increase for me?”
“No.”
“Even if it turns out I’ve cracked the case?” Suit said
“Puts you right at the top of the list for detective.”
“Soon as we have detectives,” Suit said.
“Right after that,” Jesse said.
Suit shrugged.
“It means Lutz lied to us,” he said.
“Or at least left stuff out,” Jesse said.
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R O B E R T B . P A R K E R
“We maybe should ask him about that?” Suit said.
“Sooner or later,” Jesse said.
“First, you want to get all your ducks in a row?”
“I’d settle for getting them herded into the same area,”
Jesse said.
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30
Jesse stood with Sunny Randall, leaning on the railing at the town wharf, looking down at the dark water. The day was overcast again, and the wind off the water was cooler than it should have been in May. Jesse was very aware that their shoulders touched. On her leash, Rosie sat at Sunny’s feet in her bull-terrier sit, with her rear feet splayed
