. . .”
“Oh, God,” Kim said.
“Shall I go on?” Jesse said.
“No,” Kim said. “No.”
Jesse nodded and put the paper back in his middle drawer.
“How did you find out in the first place?” Kim said.
Jesse shook his head.
“Doesn’t matter,” he said.
“But they’ll know you got their names by watching my house,” Kim said.
“Yes,” Jesse said.
“And you’d question my husband.”
“Yes.”
“So he’d know,” Kim said.
Jesse waited. Kim’s eyes began to fill.
“Why can’t you just leave us alone?” Kim said. “We’re not harming anyone.”
“Just looking for a name,” Jesse said.
Kim looked at Molly. Molly smiled encouragingly. Kim looked back at Jesse, and quickly around the small room.
Then she said, “Seth.”
“Seth?”
“Seth Ralston,” she said.
“He ever watch you?” Jesse said.
Kim’s face reddened again.
“Yes.”
“Others?”
“We all talk about how he mostly doesn’t want to actually do it.”
“We?”
“All the girls,” Kim said.
“So what does his partner do while he’s watching?” Molly said.
Kim shrugged.
“Sometimes she does a three-way with Hannah and Hannah’s partner.”
“Hannah is?” Jesse said.
“Seth’s wife,” Kim said. “Hannah Wechsler.”
Jesse nodded.
“Thanks, Kim,” he said. “That’s a great help. Do you need a ride home?”
“No,” she said. “I have my car.”
Jesse stood and put his hand out. Kim shook it. Molly stood, too.
“I won’t have to come again, will I?” Kim said.
“Oh,” Jesse said. “No. Of course not.”
34
“YOU MEAN that?” Molly said.
“What?”
“That she won’t have to come in again?”
“No,” Jesse said. “I didn’t. I just figured we’d squeezed her enough for today.”
“Yes,” Molly said. “She was going to break down on us if we pushed her more.”
“I still have the issue of the kid to deal with.”
“We skirted around that pretty good,” Molly said.
“We did,” Jesse said.
“Course, Kim’s not the brightest bulb in the string,” Molly said.
“You think she likes swinging?” Jesse said.
“No.”
