"That would be nice," Jesse said.
"Follow me," she said.
Jesse followed her through the house, which looked very much like the Galens' house. Her backside looked very much like Rebecca's.
"So, whaddya need from me, Stone," Knocko said, when Jesse was seated.
He was a big man gone soft. You could still see what he was, Jesse thought, though it was disappearing fast. Robbie sat beside him and looked attentive as he spoke.
"Fella named Ognowski was killed around here, couple days ago," Jesse said. "We're just canvassing the neighborhood."
Knocko laughed.
"You're canvassing me and Reggie," he said.
"It's where we've begun," Jesse said. "You know Ognowski?"
"Petey? Sure I know him. He worked for my brother-i n-law."
"Any reason you know that somebody would kill him?" Jesse said.
"Not a clue," Knocko said. He looked at his wife. "You, sweetheart?"
"Petey." Robbie shook her head. "Petey was the nicest man."
"As leg breakers go," Jesse said.
"That's not so," Robbie said. "Petey was a sweet man."
She smiled at her husband.
"Like Francis," she said.
"Francis," Jesse said.
"My real name," Knocko said.
"Where'd Knocko come from?" Jesse said.
"When I was a kid," Knocko said, "I used to be kind of a rough guy."
"Petey do any work for you?" Jesse said.
"I'm retired," Knocko said. "He used to run some errands now and then for Robbie."
"Like what?" Jesse said.
Knocko looked at his wife.
"Honey?" he said.
"Oh, pick up something at the market, take something to the cleaner's. He did the same for Becca."
"That was it?" Jesse said.
"You know Reggie was in the rackets once," Knocko said. "Everybody knows that. You're in the rackets, even if you ain't anymore, you need some security."
"Which Bob's in charge of," Jesse said. "For Reggie."
"Yeah."
"We all know you were in the rackets once," Jesse said. "Who does your security?"
"Security's kind of a fancy word," Knocko said, and winked at Robbie. "Got a buddy walks around with me."
"What's his name?" Jesse said.
"Ray Mulligan," Knocko said. "Met in grade school. Nuns seated us alphabetically, you know? I was always right next to Ray."
He patted Robbie's arm. She smiled at him.
"You're Rebecca Galen's twin sister," Jesse said.
"Yes, identical twins. Unless we dress differently, even we have trouble telling us apart."
"What was your, ah, birth name?" Jesse said.
"Why you wanna know that?" Knocko said.
"'Cause I don't know," Jesse said. "You been questioned before, Knocko. You know that cops ask questions to see where they lead."
"You ever been a cop anyplace but here?" Knocko said.
"Why you wanna know that?" Jesse said.
"'Cause I don't know," Knocko said.
Jesse smiled.
"I worked robbery homicide in L.A. for a while," Jesse said.
"So you done something but hand out traffic tickets," Knocko said.
"Not much," Jesse said. "What was your maiden name, Mrs. Moynihan?"
She looked at her husband. Knocko nodded.
"Bangston," she said. "Roberta and Rebecca, the Bangston twins."
"And how'd you two meet?" Jesse said.
Knocko shook his head.
He said, "Enough, Stone. You got no reason to suspect us of anything. We got no reason to sit here and blab about our private lives with you."
"I know," Jesse said. "Just curious how twin sisters ended up marrying a couple of thugs like you and Reggie."
"Thugs is kind of a harsh word," Knocko said.
"Extralegal entrepreneurs," Jesse said.
"Better," Knocko said.
"You guys ever adversaries?" Jesse said.
"No, no problem with Reggie and me. He had the North Shore. I had the South… 'fore we retired."
Jesse shrugged.
"Still kind of odd," he said.
"Are you married, Chief Stone?" Robbie said.
"No."
"Ever been?" she said.
"Yes," he said.
"Then perhaps you have noticed," Robbie said, "that love is odd."
"I have," Jesse said.
14
JESSE MADE his first drink of the day carefully. Tall glass, a lot of ice, not too much scotch, a lot of soda. If he got it right, it always resulted in a nice drink that made him feel fresh.
He took the glass to his living room and sat at the bar. He raised his glass toward the picture of Ozzie Smith.
"Howya doing, Wizard," he said, and took a swallow.
He'd done it right; it was dry and clean and cold.
The room was silent except for the soft sound of the air-conditioning, which somehow made everything seem more silent. He drank again, looking across his living room and through the French doors at the diminishing daylight that now had a faint blue tinge to it. He liked the silence, and the bluish light, and being alone. He might have liked being alone more if there was someone else in the house, or expected home.
"Maybe I should get a dog," Jesse said.
He drank.
"Except who takes care of it when I'm working. If I had a wife, she could take care of it. But if I had a wife, I wouldn't need the dog."
He drank.
"I'd want a dog anyway," Jesse said.
Ozzie Smith had no reaction. Jesse's glass was empty. He went to the kitchen and made another. He felt like getting drunk. Why was that? Often he was happy with a couple of drinks and supper. He took his drink back to the living room.
"Who's here to tell me no?" Jesse said.
What would Dix say? Jesse would say that if behavior changed, there was probably a reason for it. And he would say he had no way to know what that reason was. But Jesse knew Dix would think it was still about Jenn.
"The hell with Jenn," Jesse said.
So why today, and not, say, two days ago, or last Thursday. Why tonight did he feel pretty sure he wouldn't settle for two drinks?
He looked at Ozzie Smith again.
"I'da made the show, Oz," Jesse said. "Hadn't busted up my shoulder, I'd have made the show."
He took a swallow.
"I'm a good cop, too… sober."
How did it happen that two thugs like Galen and Moynihan ended up with two beautiful women who seemed devoted to them? And he had ended up with Jenn.
"Whoops," he said.
He put his drink down and sat back in is chair… That's why he wanted to get drunk.
He was jealous… No, jealous wasn't quite it… He had seen the marriage he wished he'd had, and he'd seen two of them in two days. It underscored the failure of his own marriage. They had gotten women who wanted to make their husbands happy. He'd gotten one who wanted to be famous. He was an honest cop. They were mobsters.
He went to the kitchen and made himself another drink.
Love is odd, all right… and unfair… and it sucks… Doesn't always suck, though. Working really well for Reggie and Knocko… Thought I was through worrying about it… Jenn's history… Thought I was past that… Guess I'm not… Maybe I can drink it into submission.
He drank some more.
15
THE PHONE RANG. Jesse ignored it. His mouth was very dry, but he was too asleep to get any water. The phone rang again.
"Shut up," Jesse said, and didn't answer it.
He slept some more and then someone began pounding on his front door. He ignored it. The pounding continued. He could hear someone's raised voice. He rolled over onto his back and opened his eyes. It was day. He looked at the digital clock: eleven-thirteen.
His head ached and his stomach was queasy. The pounding and yelling at the front door continued. He sat up. He was fully dressed, shoes and all. He stood. The room swam a little and then steadied. He walked slowly to the front door and opened it. Molly Crane was there. She looked at Jesse and then came in without a word and closed the door behind her.