“Me either.”
“I mean, have no interest in seeing a man with his clothes off,” Molly said.
“Not even certain Native Americans from the Apache tribe?” Jesse said.
“Oh, hell,” Molly said. “Will you ever let up on that?”
“I have no plans to,” Jesse said.
“One little indiscretion,” she said. “Why did I ever tell you?”
“I’m the chief of police,” Jesse said.
Molly nodded.
“Sad but true,” she said. “So, is this part of my case?”
“We gotta hang on to the pictures,” Jesse said. “They’re evidence. But I don’t want a bunch of male cops looking at nude pictures of them. I don’t want those women humiliated any more than they have been.”
Molly nodded again and picked up the folder. She stood for a moment, looking at Jesse.
“You’re not so bad,” she said. “For a guy.”
“If only I were Apache,” Jesse said.
Molly looked at him for another moment.
“Oh, fuck you,” she said.
“Hey,” Jesse said. “How ’bout a little respect.”
Molly grinned.
“Oh, fuck you, Chief,” she said, and left the office.
30
JESSE BROUGHT a copy of the Night Hawk’s letter with him when he went to see Dix.
“Could you read this for me?” Jesse said.
Dix nodded and picked up the letter. He read it carefully and handed it back to Jesse.
“The serial home invader in Paradise?” Dix said.
“Yes. There were pictures of his victims, but I didn’t bring them.”
“No need,” Dix said.
“Whaddya think?” Jesse said.
Dix tipped his chair back with his elbows resting on the arms and his fingers laced across his flat stomach.
“He seems to understand himself,” Dix said.
“You don’t think he’s crazy?” Jesse said.
“I do,” Dix said. “And that is what he seems to understand.”
Jesse nodded.
“Anything in there that will help me catch him?”
“Not much,” Dix said. “Tell me about the women.”
“Married, mothers, all around forty, dark hair, good-enough-looking, but not head-turners.”
“Three so far,” Dix said.
“Yes.”
“So we may have some idea of what kind of woman he favors.”
“Kind of a small sample,” Jesse said.
“It’s all you have at the moment,” Dix said. “Theory of the case?”
“Guy likes to take pictures of naked women,” Jesse said.
Dix smiled.
“Hard to argue against that,” he said.
“Anything you see in the letter?” Jesse said. “Besides he knows he’s crazy?”
“He promises to keep doing it,” Dix said.
“It’s my impression that it is unusual for Peeping Toms to graduate to home invasion,”
Jesse said.
“That is my impression as well,” Dix said.
“But it happens.”
“Yes,” Dix said.
“And it happened with this guy,” Jesse said.
