Stranger in Paradise

Jesse sat in his living room with Amber and Jenn. Jesse had scotch. Jenn had a glass of wine. Amber was drinking coffee. She was wearing the same clothes she’d come to the jail in, and the same tear-streaked eye makeup.

“I can drink booze,” Amber said.

“Not with me,” Jesse said.

Amber was looking around the condo.

“How long I gotta stay here?” she said.

“You don’t have to stay here at all,” Jesse said. “You can leave right now…but where you gonna go?”

“I could find someone to stay with,” Amber said.

“You have someone to stay with,” Jesse said.

“You?”

“Me.”

“Why’s she here,” Amber said.

“Jenn and I used to be married,” Jesse said. “She’s come to help me with you.”

“Why do you need help with me?” Amber said.

“Because you’re a fourteen-year-old girl and there needs to be a woman here, too,” Jesse said.

“Oh, man, are you drab.”

“Drab,” Jesse said.

“Who cares about who stays with who. Man, try being free, you know? Jesus.”

“Jenn is a television reporter,” Jesse said. “She’s doing this in hopes of a story.”

“Story about what,” Amber said.

“About you,” Jenn said. “And your parents. And the Horn Street Boys. And maybe the Crown estates project…like that.”

“What the hell kind of story is that?” Amber said.

“We’ll see,” Jenn said. “I had some vacation time coming and the station gave me a couple weeks to see if there was a story.”

“So am I gonna be on TV?” Amber said.

“We’ll see,” Jenn said.

“I don’t want to go to my father,” Amber said.

“Okay,” Jesse said.

“And I don’t want to go back to Esteban, the lying fuck.”

“Okay there, too,” Jesse said. “I’ve been talking to a friend who’s a lawyer, and she’s going to put me in touch with specialists in child custody and placement.”

“Child custody? I’m not in fucking child custody,” Amber said.

“Officer Molly Crane will be with you and Jenn much of the day,” Jesse said to Amber. “I will be with you most of the rest of the time. Occasionally, one of the other cops may fill in. There will always be a police officer with you.”

“So my old man won’t get me,” she said. “Or Esteban.”

“Or anyone else,” Jesse said.

“What about Crow?” Amber said.

“What about him?”

“Is he gonna be around?”

“Crow pretty much does what he wants to,” Jesse said. “If I see him, I’ll ask him.”

“So what am I supposed to do all day while you’re all watching me?”

“What would you like to do?” Jesse said.

“I don’t know.”

“There’s a start,” Jesse said. “How about taking a shower?”

“Here?”

“Yes.”

“I got no clean clothes,” Amber said.

“Tomorrow you and Jenn and Molly can go buy some. Meanwhile, you can wear one of my shirts for a nightie.”

“What should I do with my other clothes?”

“We could burn them in the fireplace,” Jesse said.

“Throw them out of the bathroom,” Jenn said. “I’ll put them through the washer.”

“Another thing we have to consider,” Jesse said. “Jenn will be in my bedroom. Amber will be in the guest room. I will be on the couch. There is one bathroom.”

“So?” Amber said.

“So keep it in mind,” Jesse said.

“How come you and her don’t sleep together?” Amber said.

“Too drab,” Jesse said.

46.

Suitcase Simpson came into Jesse’s office and closed the door and sat down in a chair facing Jesse. His face was red, and he seemed to be looking steadily at the top of Jesse’s desk.

Jesse waited.

Suit didn’t say anything.

Jesse waited.

“I’m having sex with an older woman,” Suit said.

“Miriam Fiedler,” Jesse said.

Suit raised his eyes.

“How’d you know that?” he said.

Jesse shrugged.

“I’m the chief of police,” Jesse said.

“Molly told you,” Suit said.

“No,” Jesse said. “She didn’t.”

Suit looked back at the desktop.

“Suit,” Jesse said. “Mostly, I don’t care what you do with your dick when you’re off duty.”

“I know,” Suit said.

“So?”

“So she’s asking me a bunch of questions,” Suit said.

“About?”

“You, the department, the Crown estate deal,” Suit said.

“Like what?”

“Were you a good cop,” Suit said. “Did I think you’d ever take a bribe? Did you have a relationship with Nina Pinero? Was it true you were fired in L.A.? What’s going on with you and Jenn? She wanted to know anything I knew about the murder. Did I think there was any Hispanic involvement?”

“Concerned citizen,” Jesse said.

“I figured you should know.”

Jesse nodded.

“She is very committed to this problem,” he said.

“She is,” Suit said.

“Why?” Jesse said.

“Real-estate values?”

Jesse shrugged.

“Maybe,” he said. “Seems awful important to her.”

“You think there might be something more?”

“Maybe,” Jesse said. “How’s she compare to Mrs. Hathaway?”

Suit reddened again.

“Come on, Jesse.”

“No kiss-and-tell?” Jesse said.

“Or whatever,” Suit said.

“Good boy,” Jesse said.

“Miriam says so, too,” Suit said. “Want me to break it off?”

Jesse shook his head.

“I’d like you to stay with it,” Jesse said.

Suit grinned.

“Undercover, so to speak,” he said.

“So to speak,” Jesse said. “See what else you can learn.”

Suit grinned again.

“Tough dirty work…” Suit said.

Jesse nodded.

“But somebody’s got to do it,” he said.

47.

Romero was driving. Esteban was beside him. Two men from Miami were in the backseat, and Larson was way back in the third seat.