What still surprised Suit was not that he’d walked back into a building knowing he was very probably going to die inside. Nor was it that he’d done it only several months after getting married and finding true happiness for the first time. It was that when he walked into the old meetinghouse, it had nothing to do with winning Jesse’s approval or respect. It was all about doing his duty and doing what was right in spite of being choked with fear. He had done it because that’s what a good cop did.
“Did you hear about Cole?” Jesse asked, as Suit swallowed the last bite.
“No. What?”
“He’s going into the State Police Academy next month.”
Suit felt a twinge of something when Jesse said that and saw the smile light up his face. Suit hadn’t much liked Cole when he arrived in Paradise. Truthfully, Cole hadn’t made it easy for anyone to like him. And though Suit had earned everything he wanted from Jesse, he guessed what he felt was a touch of jealousy. Suit had always acted the part of Jesse’s surrogate son/younger brother, and a piece of him didn’t want to relinquish that just yet.
“Good for him,” Suit said, in spite of himself. “How do you feel about it?”
“Proud and scared. I’m going to throw him a party before he goes in.”
Suit changed the subject. “How did it go in Boston?”
“Mixed.”
“What’s that mean?”
“What it means,” Jesse said, “is that we’re going to change tactics tomorrow.”
“How so?”
“We’re going to put some people on notice at the high school.”
“We are?”
“We are. You have tomorrow off, right?”
Suit nodded.
“Want some overtime?”
“Sure, Jesse.”
“How long are the periods at the school?”
Suit thought about it. “If things haven’t changed, the periods last fifty minutes. With ten minutes between classes.”
“And school starts at seven?”
“Seven, yeah.”
“You meet me for breakfast at Daisy’s at nine.”
“Then what?”
“Then we’re going to the high school to shake the trees and see who falls out.”
“Whatever you say, Jesse.”
Jesse retreated into his office. Suit tried to go back to his book but felt too guilty about his reaction to Jesse’s pride over Cole. Suit had to laugh at himself for the irony of his petty jealousy. But he no longer had to walk around in silence, burdened by his thoughts and feelings. He had a wife at home to talk to and share with. Now he smiled at the prospect of talking to Elena, and the guilt disappeared even faster than the jelly donut had.
Forty-four
At eight, before heading to Daisy’s for breakfast to discuss what he wanted to do at the high school, Jesse was at the stationhouse, talking to Molly.
“Peter have any luck yet with the Grimm kid’s computer?”
Molly shook her head. “None.”
“We probably won’t find anything on it, even if we get into it.”
“I’ve gone over his cell phone records,” Molly said. “Nothing there either. I checked the numbers in and out.”
Jesse took out his notepad and tore off a sheet. “Get the home and cell numbers for these kids and match them against Chris Grimm’s records. He was using prepaid phones, but when addicts are desperate, they don’t tend to follow the rules. My guess is some of their numbers will show up.”
Molly paled when she read the names on the list.
“My girls are on the field hockey team with Sara York and they’ve known Carl Bedell since they were little. We are in a supper club with the Bedells.”
Jesse hadn’t thought it through and realized he should have had someone else handle this aspect of the investigation.
“Molly, I can have Suit do this tonight.”
“No, Jesse, absolutely not. I can do my job. But are you sure about them?”
“I got their names from a reliable source.”
Molly was clearly upset, simultaneously angry and sad.
“But you can’t say anything to these kids or their parents, and definitely not to your girls. Not yet. We can’t compromise the investigation.”
Molly bit her bottom lip. “I understand.”
Jesse knew better than to ask again or to make Molly promise not to share the information or warn the kids’ parents. Molly didn’t frequently go ballistic, but when she did it was ugly, and Jesse was usually on the receiving end of her wrath. He moved on.
“I want you to go through the evidence from Chris Grimm’s room. Look for receipts from Quinn’s Self-Storage in the Swap. Also, see if you can find a key to a storage unit from Quinn’s. I don’t know if their units have their own locks or if the renters have to supply them. In any case, write up a search-warrant application for Quinn’s and leave the unit number out. I want it ready for when we get that info.”
Jesse rarely touched Molly, and when he did it was never in a manner that could be misperceived by anyone watching as even remotely romantic or sexual. It was the same when they were alone. They loved each other, deeply, in a way that would be hard for either one of them to explain or for anyone else to understand. From early on they understood that they were professionals and that the job was always the most important thing. Before heading to his office, Jesse put his hand on Molly’s shoulder and left it there for several seconds. They did not look at each other. No words passed between them, but Molly knew Jesse was acknowledging how difficult it was for her to be a mother, a wife, and a cop.
When the phone rang, Jesse lifted his hand from her shoulder and went into his office.
Forty-five
Jesse sat with Suit and Gabe at a booth at Daisy’s. Cole waited on their table. Suit, who had discussed his jealousy with Elena earlier that morning, stuck out his big hand to Jesse’s son.
“Congratulations on getting into the academy. I know we haven’t gotten on so well, but I’m happy for you.”
Cole smiled and shook Suit’s hand. “I didn’t exactly make it easy for you or anybody else to like me. I’m sorry about that.”
Jesse smiled but said nothing.
Gabe was confused. “What am I missing here?”
Suit said, “Jesse’s son is going to be a Statie.”
Gabe scowled. “A Statie! Watch out, kid, us local cops hate the Staties.”
There was a second of hesitation and confusion on Cole’s part. When the three cops at the table saw it on his face, they burst out laughing.
“Get used to it, Cole,” Suit said. “These guys give you any trouble, come to me.”
“Thanks, Suit. Now, what do you want for breakfast.”
Once Cole had walked away from the table, Jesse thanked Suit for his gesture.
“That was a nice thing to do, Suit.”
Suit deflected Jesse’s praise and asked about what the plans were for the high school.
Jesse said, “I’ve been playing it low-key. I didn’t want to cause a big stir after Heather Mackey died. The kids needed time to mourn and reflect. I also didn’t want to send people running for cover. But since now I’m certain Chris Grimm was the connection and he’s already split or dead, we’re going to serve notice today and make people nervous.”
Gabe, a former Boston cop, understood perfectly. “We’re going to put on a show.”