Robert Parker - Split Image

Robbie Moynihan opened the door, wearing black slingback heels and a short black linen sundress.

"Chief Stone," she said.

"Mrs. Moynihan," Jesse said.

"Oh, fah!" she said. "I've told you and told you, call me Robbie."

"Sure," Jesse said.

He followed her toward the living room.

"Say it," Robbie said.

"Robbie," Jesse said.

"Very good," she said.

She gestured for him to sit in a chair.

"Sit," she said.

"Can you say Jesse?" he said.

She smiled.

"Sit, Jesse," she said. "Jesse, Jesse, Jesse!"

"Okay, Robbie, I guess we are pals."

"Absolutely," she said. "Would you like coffee? Or a drink?"

"Late for coffee," Jesse said. "Early for a drink."

"And you're on duty," Robbie said.

"Technically, I'm always on duty," Jesse said. "But in fact I'm here to see how you are."

"Not official business?" Robbie said.

"No."

"Well, then, you should be able to have a drink," she said.

"I'm going to have some champagne, and I'll be offended if you don't at least have a little glass."

Jesse was silent for a moment.

Then he said, "Thank you, I'll have a glass."

"Good," she said. "Champagne is fun."

She went out and came back soon carrying two champagne flutes and an ice bucket with a bottle of Krug in it.

"I think opening champagne bottles is man's work," she said.

"I do, too," Jesse said.

Jesse opened the bottle, poured some into her glass and some into his. He raised his glass to her.

"Here's to better times," he said.

She smiled and raised her glass.

"Yes," she said. "You're very sweet to stop in. I admit I was feeling kind of blue."

"You have every reason," Jesse said.

He took a small sip. At least it was champagne. He found champagne easier to resist than other things.

"It's been hard," she said. "But my sister is here."

She drank the rest of her champagne and held her glass out. Jesse carefully filled it. Then she raised her glass to Jesse.

"Here's to you," she said. "And to catching the guy who did it."

She drank. Jesse took another restrained sip.

"It's slow going," he said.

"Do you have any leads?" she said.

"This and that," Jesse said. "Nothing very solid. We're assuming that the two murders are connected."

"Two? Oh, of course, poor Petey."

"You liked him?" Jesse said.

"Oh, yes. We both loved Petey."

"You and your sister."

She held out her glass, and Jesse filled it. The bottle was nearly empty. The flutes didn't hold very much, but she wasn't malingering.

"Yes," she said.

"You haven't heard from Ray Mulligan, have you?"

She leaned forward toward him with her forearms resting on her thighs, holding the flute in both hands.

"Jesse," she said. "Are you questioning me?"

"I don't mean to," Jesse said. "I guess I've been a cop too long."

She nodded and smiled. Her eyes were shiny.

"Plus, you are the chief of police," she said.

"That makes it worse," Jesse said.

"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.

THEY 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.

IN 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."