“Agree,” Jesse said.
“I talked to the Dorseys,” Jesse said. “They said we can sit in their upstairs guest bedroom and watch your house.”
“Why them?” Molly said. “I’m a lot closer to the Hanleys.”
“No kids,” Jesse said. “I don’t want everybody in the Paradise public school system to be talking about this.”
“Good point,” Molly said. “I’ve not told my kids anything about it. Tell Arthur to be in civilian clothes riding the bus, or they’ll wonder. If he’s just another adult, they won’t even notice him.”
“How ’bout your husband?” Jesse said.
“I told him. He’ll keep it to himself.”
“How’d he handle it,” Jesse said.
“It’s probably good he’s not here,” Molly said. “I think he’d hide in the bushes and jump the first guy that approached the house.”
“Don’t blame him,” Jesse said. “You fight?”
“No,” Molly said. “Now and then I’m reminded of what kind of man he is. He said he knew I was a cop when he married me. He knew I could take care of myself. And he knew we couldn’t have the marriage we have unless I was free to do what I needed to do.”
“He said that?” Suit said.
Molly nodded.
“He understood why you had to do this?” Suit said
“There’s a reason I married him, you know,” Molly said.
“I’ve talked to Peter Perkins,” Jesse said. “He doesn’t know quite what’s up, but he’s prepared to run the shop while you and me and Suit are on, ah, special assignment.”
“That’s it?” Molly said.
“Yep, even in the department, I don’t want more people to know than have to.”
“You and Suit and me,” Molly said.
“You’ll wear a gun, all the time, like we agreed.”
“Under my clothes,” Molly said. “So if it gets to that, I can get it as I disrobe.”
“Where you gonna wear it?” Suit said.
“None of your business,” Molly said.
“And the wire?” Jesse said.
“Mike in my bra, transmitter pack in the small of my back. He won’t see it unless you’re late getting there.”
“You’ll turn it on the minute he shows,” Jesse said.
“I will.”
“We need to time this right,” Jesse said. “I want him to make his move, so there’s no doubt that we got him.”
“Hey, Moll,” Suit said. “What if we’re a little late getting there and when we bust in to rescue you, you’re standing around in your underwear?”
“I thought of that,” Molly said. “So I’ve ordered up some new cute undies and charged it to the department.”
Jesse smiled.
“We won’t be late,” he said.
“We won’t?” Suit said. “Damn!”
72
IT WAS a nice morning. The Night Hawk carefully screwed the stolen license plates onto his Crossfire. He had already put his plates on the little red Audi convertible that he’d stolen these plates from. If he was lucky, especially if it was a woman’s car, she wouldn’t even notice that her plates were wrong. The Audi looked like a chick car. There was a big smiley face hanging from the rearview mirror. When he finished putting on his new plates, he got in the car and looked at himself in the rearview mirror. He had a heavy beard. And he hadn’t shaved since he went underground. His beard was already sufficiently thick. He liked the beard, even the gray streaks. Distinguished. He put on some sunglasses. He felt the small weight of his derringer in the pocket of his black windbreaker. He liked the derringer. He’d never actually fired it, but he had dry-fired it enough. And it was romantic. It was the right gun for the Night Hawk.
He put the car in gear and prowled out from behind his scruffy building and onto the highway. Time to reconnoiter. He drove carefully, keeping inside the speed limit, cruising easily in the right lane. He turned off into Paradise and passed within a block of his condo. That was over. He’d miss Hannah, maybe, a little. But he knew her secret far too well. He smiled to himself. And she knew his. It had probably been a mistake to marry her. But he’d believed the pretense. He’d thought her open and nonjudgmental surface was real. He’d thought maybe she could help him. But she hadn’t. She hadn’t helped him with any of it. He was probably not the marrying kind. It was a mistake he wouldn’t make again. He never thought ahead very far; mostly it was from one escapade to the next. Discovery to discovery. But now, for the first time in a while, he was ending something and moving on. To what? Jesse knew who he was.
So did Hannah. Soon it would be common knowledge. He’d have to go a far distance and start over. He wouldn’t probably have much luck getting an academic job. Hard to get references. He had some cash. He’d been putting cash aside for years, in case. He didn’t know where yet. Anonymous city, small room, practice his craft of
