“In other words, forever,” Jesse said.
She laughed, her smile lingering. Although it was a beautiful smile, the most alluring he had ever seen, Jesse had to admit that some of the neon had gone out of it. Whether that was in the smile itself or in his head, he couldn’t say.
Diana nodded. “By the time the pyramid collapsed, Vic would have been dead or out of the country. Frazetta’s name wasn’t on any of the documentation, so he was insulated. Not now, not with Vic testifying against him. The insulation is gone.”
“How about Harry Freeman?” Jesse said. “Vic or Frazetta cop to that?”
“No. They wouldn’t, would they? With Breen dead, there’s no link to them. At least you solved your murder. Have you spoken with the dead girl’s parents?”
“A few days ago.”
“What was that like?”
“Like living their girl’s death all over again,” he said.
“Closure is overrated.”
“Closure doesn’t exist.”
Diana nodded in agreement. “It’s a myth. We humans like our myths. Do you believe Vic’s story about the reunion? He says he hoped to talk to you about turning himself in and you working out a plea deal for him. Then, when Breen murdered the Penworth girl, it all blew up.”
“Vic says a lot of things. It doesn’t matter whether I believe him or not.”
“Any news on Mr. Peepers?”
Jesse shrugged.
Diana said, “I guess he’s gone with the wind. Breen’s girlfriend described him the same way everyone else did.”
“Nobody gets out alive, Diana. There are times I take comfort in that.”
“Yeah, he’ll die eventually or get himself killed. Your guy wounded him.”
Jesse laughed. “Suit’s in a hospital bed with his guts shot out and that’s all he’s talking about.”
“Breen’s girlfriend says he sacrificed himself for her although he could have run. I wonder why he did that.”
“Love makes people do strange things,” he said.
“Tell me about it.”
“You going back to the Bureau?”
“I’m resigning. I probably would have gotten fired, anyway. Technically, I’ve been lying to them for more than a year now. I don’t think I ever really belonged there, and now I’m sure I didn’t. I’m heading back to D.C. to get things in order and then I’m going to New Mexico to be with Kayla for a while.”
“Good. You know, I’m down two cops,” he said. “I could use someone like you.”
She leaned over and kissed him hard on the mouth. “I love you, Jesse Stone. Maybe someday I’ll come back here and we can work on that. First I’ve got to work on me.”
“I don’t know. You seem more than okay to me.”
She kissed him again. This time softly on the cheek.
“Good-bye, Jesse.”
“You sure you don’t want me to drive you to the airport?”
“No, but don’t. I’m not sure I could get on the plane if you were there, and I really need to get on that plane.”
“Okay.”
He stood and put his arms around her. He called her a taxi, and when it showed he walked her outside. He lingered until the cab’s taillights were two tiny red dots in the distance.
When he forced himself to come back inside, Molly handed him a large brown envelope.
“Messenger brought it,” she said.
“Anything else going on?”
“All quiet on the western front. Why’d you let her go, Jesse?”
“She needed me to.”
“You’re an idiot.”
“What was that?” he said.
“You’re an idiot, Chief.”
“Better.”
At his desk, he opened the envelope. Inside was an 8×10 color photograph of his ex-wife, Jenn. It was a candid shot of her in the sun at an outdoor café. Although he had finally and successfully broken the unhealthy ties between them, seeing her face made his heart jump a little. Jenn wasn’t as stunning as Diana, and she was beginning to show some age, but Jesse didn’t suppose a day would ever come when he wouldn’t think her beautiful. When he flipped the photograph over, Jesse went cold. The note read:
Do you ask a praying mantis why?
Jesse reached for his phone and punched in Jenn’s number.
—
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Chris Pepe, David Hale Smith, Helen Brann, and the Estate of Robert B. Parker. Of course, none of this would have been possible without Mr. Parker’s creation of Jesse Stone novels. Thank you also to Michael Brandman.
Thanks to Jim Born. He knows why. To Tom Schreck, Ace Atkins, S. J. Rozan, Peter Blauner, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Daniel Woodrell, and Peter Spiegelman for helping me through the process.
Special thanks to Otto Penzler for asking me to write an essay on Jesse Stone for In Pursuit of Spenser and to Judy Bobalik, who helped stoke my interest in the character. A nod also to Marjorie Tucker.
As always to Rosanne, Kaitlin, and Dylan. None of it would happen or mean a thing without them.
Robert B. Parker's Blind Spot Page 29