Split Image (18 page)

Authors: Robert B. Parker

BOOK: Split Image

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"We believe in you, Jesse," she said. "We believe we can depend on you."

"Thank you," Jesse said.

They were quiet for a moment. Jesse could feel a subliminal sexual charge begin to seep into the room. He didn't know how he knew it. But he knew it. He'd felt it before, and he'd never been wrong. Jesse also noticed that she had not answered his question about Ray Mulligan.

She remained leaning forward, looking at him.

After a while, she said, "Do you like sex, Jesse?"

"Yes."

"Do the women you know like sex?"

"I think so," Jesse said.

She smiled.

"Do you approve of women who like sex?"

"Yes, I do," Jesse said.

The subliminal sexual charge was now nearly stifling. She picked up the champagne bottle and poured the little that remained into Jesse's glass, which was still more full than empty.

"Have you ever had sex with more than one woman, Jesse?" she said.

"Not at the same time," Jesse said.

She smiled and picked up the empty champagne bottle.

"I'll get us some more," she said.

She had drunk most of a bottle of champagne, but there was no slur to her speech, and her walk was perfectly steady as she went out of the room.

What happens when she comes back?
Jesse thought.

T
HEY CAME IN TOGETHER, both wearing the little black sundress and the slingback heels. One of them carried a bottle of champagne. Even side by side, it was difficult to tell them apart.

"You ladies hang around the house together in the same outfit?" Jesse said.

"Actually," one of them said, "we do, sometimes. But when you called to say you were coming, we thought we might have some fun with you."

Jesse nodded.

"For instance, Robbie let you in. But I brought in the champagne."

"So you would be Becca," Jesse said.

"Yes," she said.

"How do you know?" Jesse said.

They both laughed.

"Would you like to see what's next?" Robbie said.

"Sure," Jesse said.

Robbie turned away from Becca. Becca unzipped the dress in the back. Then Robbie unzipped Becca, and they both turned toward Jesse and simultaneously slid the sundresses down and stepped out of them. Neither twin was wearing anything under the sundress.

"Heavenly days," Jesse said.

They both smiled. It was like watching a well-rehearsed dance team. They even stood alike. They radiated sweetness.

"Now," Robbie said, "we go in the bedroom. You undress and see if you can keep track of who's doing what to whom."

"Why would I want to?" Jesse said.

"It's part of the fun," Becca said.

Jesse sat and looked at them thoughtfully. They were gorgeous. And identical. They moved in a little circle, and Jesse lost track again of who was whom.

"The Bang Bang Twins," Jesse said.

They spoke in unison, "Don't say that."

"We don't like that name," one of them said.

How bizarre is this?
Jesse thought.
I'm interrogating two naked women.

"You play this game with Petey?" Jesse said.

It must be hard,
he thought,
to stand around naked in front of someone fully clothed and be interrogated.

"Jesse," one of them said. "You said this was a social call."

"Or Knocko?" Jesse said.

Again, they answered simultaneously.

"Don't be ridiculous," they said.

"What's wrong with Knocko?" Jesse said.

"He was a pig," one of them said.

The other one nodded vigorously.

"How about Reggie?" Jesse said. "He a pig, too?"

"No," they answered, and looked at each other and giggled.

"Stop thinking about that stuff," one of the sisters said. "Let's play."

"We could do it right here," the other sister said. "If you'd rather."

Jesse put his nearly full champagne glass on the coffee table and stood up.

"It's an exciting offer," he said. "But rule three in the chief-of-police manual says: no gang bangs."

The twins stared at him as he walked out.

I
N THE GRAY GULL, at their table for two, they could look at the harbor and across at the Neck. It was early evening, and the boats in the harbor moved gently at their moorings. The light at that time of day had a faint blue tone. Sunny was drinking a glass of Riesling. Jesse sipped a beer.

"Both of them," Sunny said.

"Yep."

"Buck naked," Sunny said.

"Well," Jesse said. "They had shoes on."

"How was that?"

"New and different," Jesse said.

"Was it, ah, sexually stimulating?"

"Yes."

"But you didn't follow through," Sunny said.

"No."

"Why not?"

"It didn't seem like a good idea," Jesse said.

Sunny smiled.

"I haven't met many men," she said, "who think about how good an idea it is when confronted by a naked woman."

"I know," Jesse said. "I'm a little surprised, myself."

"Were you daunted by the fact there were two?"

"Maybe," Jesse said. "Never did anything but the standard one-on-one that I can recall."

"Maybe you were daunted by the fact that they might be murderers."

"That's daunting," Jesse said. "It's also daunting, if I ever got them into court, to explain to their defense attorney that yes, I did have sex with them both."

"The old cluster-fuck defense," Sunny said.

"That one," Jesse said.

"How did they take it?" Sunny said.

"The rejection?" Jesse said. "They just stared at me and didn't say a word."

"And you left," Sunny said.

"Yep."

"Probably hadn't heard 'no' before," Sunny said.

"A lot less than they've heard 'yes,' I'd guess," Jesse said.

"So, what'd you learn in this exercise?" Sunny said.

"You don't have to have sex with anyone who wants it?"

"Girls know that from puberty," Sunny said. "What'd you learn that might help you with the case. I assume that's why you got yourself into that situation."

"Clearly they were banging Petey," Jesse said. "Clearly they were not banging Knocko."

"Molly was right," Sunny said.

"Apparently," Jesse said. "And I would guess they're both banging Reggie."

"Infidelity and murder are not incompatible," Sunny said.

"Wow," Jesse said. "I wish I'd said that."

"Hell," Sunny said. "You wish you could."

They both laughed. The waitress brought them each another drink.

"Spike sent these over," she said.

"Tell him thank you," Jesse said.

"Want to hear about the menu?" the waitress said.

"Not yet. I'm right at a crucial point in the seduction," Jesse said.

"Oh," the waitress said. "You want some oysters."

"I'll let you know," Jesse said.

The waitress smiled and went away.

"One scenario," Jesse said. "His wife's bopping Petey. Knocko finds out. Kills Petey out of jealousy. Then finds out she's been bopping Reggie. Makes a run at Reggie and isn't good enough."

"What about Ray Mulligan?" Sunny said.

"Yeah," Jesse said. "That bothers me, too."

"It's sort of funny he gets rid of his boyhood friend and bodyguard and gets murdered right after," Sunny said.

"It is," Jesse said. "Maybe the girls helped get rid of him."

"Why?"

"Maybe they wanted Knocko dead," Jesse said. "Maybe they liked Petey."

"So, who you think pulled the trigger?" Sunny said.

"Reggie?" Jesse said. "Or had Bob do it?"

"Revenge for Petey?" Sunny said.

"Maybe," Jesse said. "Maybe the Bang Bang Twins got him to do it."

"And what have you got to take to the DA?" Sunny said.

"Not much," Jesse said.

" 'Not much' is a wild exaggeration," Sunny said. "You have nothing."

"Well," Jesse said. "Yes."

Sunny finished her first glass of wine and put it aside. She moved the glass that Spike had sent in front of her. Jesse was already on the second beer.

"Be nice if you could find Ray Mulligan," Sunny said.

"Yes," Jesse said. "If I can."

"You're the chief of police," Sunny said.

"Oh, right," Jesse said. "Of course I can find him."

The waitress returned.

"You ready to order?" she said.

Jesse looked at Sunny. Sunny nodded.

"Yes," Jesse said. "We can order."

"You want those oysters?" the waitress said.

"Bring him a dozen," Sunny said.

The waitress smiled and shot at Jesse with her forefinger.

I
'VE BEEN THINKING?" said.

Dr. Silverman nodded and cocked her head slightly, ready to listen.

"We talked a while ago about being incomplete," Sunny said.

"We talked of how you
felt
incomplete," Dr. Silverman said.

Sunny nodded.

"Anyway," she said, "I was thinking of my mother and sister."

Dr. Silverman gave a small encouraging nod.

"Your sister is older?" she said.

"Yes, and she's a mess, like my mother," Sunny said. "You know what they're like, I've told you about them."

"Might be useful to talk about them again."

"You've forgotten?" Sunny said.

"I do forget things," Dr. Silverman said. "But in this instance it's more of a therapeutic tool. If you reexamine the same thing in a different context, new things sometimes appear."

"My mother knows very little, and fears many things. But she pretends to know a lot and fear nothing."

"That must be difficult for her," Dr. Silverman said.

"It makes her hysterical much of the time," Sunny said. "Although of course she would deny it."

Dr. Silverman nodded.

"And my sister is much like her. She doesn't know much, either, but she substitutes beliefs. She believes in having gone to a good school. She believes in being with a man who's gone to a good school . . . and has prestige . . . and money."

"And that has not worked out for her."

"No, she's gone through husbands and boyfriends and careers without any success in any of them."

"So what she believes hasn't worked for her," Dr. Silverman said.

"God, no," Sunny said. "She doesn't believe in anything real. But her failures have simply made her more entrenched in her silliness. Both of them are, like my father says, often wrong but never uncertain."

"Is she hysterical much of the time as well?"

"Absolutely."

"Would she admit it?" Dr. Silverman said.

"Absolutely not," Sunny said.

They sat quietly. Dr. Silverman was as pulled together as always: dark skirt, white shirt, very little jewelry, conservative heels. Probably part of the work wardrobe. Don't distract the patient. Her makeup was subtle and quiet. Her nails were manicured and polished.

"They're emotionally disheveled," Sunny said.

Dr. Silverman nodded.

"And they were my role models growing up," Sunny said.

"So you assumed that all women were emotionally disheveled?"

"I didn't want to be like them," Sunny said.

"Who did you want to be like?"

"My father. I don't mean I wanted to be a man. I mean I didn't want to be disheveled."

Dr. Silverman nodded.

"What part did your father play in all this?" she said.

"He took care of them," Sunny said. "Still does. Maybe he enables them, I don't know."