Robert Parker - Split Image

The ninth book in the Jesse Stone series, 2010

MOLLY CRANE STUCK her head into the open doorway of Jesse's office and said, "Chief Stone, there's a private detective from Boston here to see you."

"Show him in," Jesse said.

"It's a her," Molly said.

"Even better," Jesse said.

Molly smiled and stepped aside, and Sunny Randall came in, carrying a straw shoulder bag and wearing a green sleeveless top with white pants and color-coordinated sneakers.

"Wow," Jesse said.

"Wow is good," Sunny said, and sat down.

"And accurate," Jesse said. "It couldn't have been easy getting into those pants."

"For whom?" Sunny said.

Jesse smiled.

"Shall I close the door?" he said.

"No," Sunny said. "I'm actually here on business."

"All work and no play," Jesse said.

"We'll address that at another time," Sunny said.

"That's encouraging," Jesse said.

"It's meant to be," Sunny said. "Do you know of a small religious organization here in Paradise called the Renewal? Or the Bond of the Renewal?"

"I'm the chief of police," Jesse said. "I know everything."

"Exactly why I'm here," Sunny said.

She smiled.

"Tell me about the Renewal," she said.

"They're located in a house near the town wharf. Nice house; one of the elders owns it. They all live there in a kind of communal way, run by a guy who calls himself the Patriarch. About forty, with gray hair, which Molly Crane claims is artificial."

"He dyes it gray?" Sunny said.

"What Molly claims," Jesse said. "There's a couple of so-called elders, 'bout your age, I would guess."

"Hey," Sunny said.

"I mean they're not very elder-ish."

"Okay," Sunny said.

"Rest of them are mostly kids," Jesse said. "All of whom, far as I can tell, are old enough to do what they want."

"What do they do?"

"They preach, they hand out flyers, they go door-to-door, raising money."

"They got some kind of special belief?"

"They're in favor of renewal," Jesse said.

"What the hell does that mean?"

Jesse grinned.

"Renewing the original intent of Christianity," Jesse said. "At least as they understand it. Love, peace, that kind of thing."

"Wow," Sunny said. "Subversive."

"You bet," Jesse said. "Town hates them, want me to chase them out of town."

"Which you haven't done."

"They haven't committed a crime," Jesse said.

"So, what's the complaint?"

"They're not one of us," Jesse said. "And they're kind of r atty-looking."

"They preach on the streets?" Sunny said.

"Yes."

"That can be annoying," Sunny said.

"It is," Jesse said. "It's annoying as hell, but it's not illegal."

"And you're hung up on the Constitution?" Sunny said.

"Old school," Jesse said.

"And the town council understands?"

"I don't believe so," Jesse said.

"And you care what the town council understands," Sunny said.

"Not very much," Jesse said.

They were quiet for a moment. The silence was comfortable.

"You want to know why I'm asking?" Sunny said, after a time.

"Yep."

"But not enough to ask," Sunny said.

"I knew you'd tell me."

SUITCASE SIMPSON DROVE the Paradise police car across the causeway to Paradise Neck, with the sun bouncing brightly off the open ocean to his right and the sheltered harbor to his left. He always thought the ocean reflected the sun more brightly than the harbor, but Jesse always laughed at him when he said it, so he didn't say it anymore. Still thought so, though.

He had the morning shift, seven to two on the east side of town, along the water. Arthur Angstrom was on the west side. It was noon. A Cadillac Escalade was parked at an angle on the roadside, just past the Paradise Neck end of the causeway. Simpson pulled up behind it and got out. The car was empty, and there were no keys in sight. Suit tried the door. It was unlocked. He got in and sat in the driver's seat. He opened the glove compartment. The car was registered to Petrov Ognowski. He found the button inside the glove compartment and popped the tailgate. Then he got out and took a look.

There was a dead man.

The back of his head was black with dried blood. Suit felt for a pulse in the man's neck. There was none. And his skin was cold. Suit went back to the cruiser and called it in.

"Molly? Suit. I got a stiff in the back of a Cadillac SUV, out at the Neck end of the causeway."

"You want an ambulance?" Molly said.

"Pretty sure he's dead, but no harm," Suit said. "Where's Jesse."

"He's out of the office," Molly said. "I'll send him when I find him."

"Okay."

"You know who it is?" Molly said.

"Car's registered to Petrov Ognowski," Suit said. "I don't know if the stiff is him."

"You haven't searched him," Molly said.

"No."

"Don't blame you," Molly said. "Here we all come."

The first to arrive was Arthur. He pulled his cruiser in behind Suit's and walked over and looked in the back of the SUV.

"Back of his head's all fucked up," Arthur said.

"I figure that's where he got shot," Suit said.

"Nice police work, Suit."

Simpson grinned.

"But there's no exit wound that I can see."

"So?"

"Just observing," Suit said.

Behind them, from the Paradise end of the causeway, there was the sound of a siren.

"You search him?" Arthur said.

"We got people to do that, don't we?"

"Sure, State ME will inventory everything."

"So why don't we let him search?" Suit said. "'Less you want to?"

"Search him?"

"Yeah."

"We can let the ME do it," Arthur said.

The siren faded as the ambulance pulled up and two EMTs got out. One was a woman. Her name was Annie Lopes.

"Whaddya got?" she said.

"Looks like a murder," Arthur said.

Suit said, "Unless he shot himself in the head and then climbed into the back and pulled the tailgate shut."

"That how you found him?" Annie said.

"Yep."

The two EMTs went and looked at the body. Annie put her hand to his throat and put her hand on his face. She picked up his right arm and let it fall.

"He's already starting into rigor," she said.

"So he is dead," Arthur said.

"Mostly they are," Annie said, "when they're in rigor." The second EMT was a guy named Ralph.

"Find any keys?" Ralph said.

"Nope."

"How'd you open the back?" Ralph said. "Car was unlocked," Suit said. "I popped the tailgate." Annie laughed softly.

"Wow," she said.

"Cops have their ways," Suit said.

More sirens sounded across the causeway.

ONE MEMBER of the Renewal is a kid named Cheryl DeMarco. She just turned eighteen, and her parents want me to get her out."

"Whether she wants to get out or not?" Jesse said.

"I explained that if she didn't want to leave," Sunny said, "there wasn't a lot I could do."

"And?"

"They asked if I knew anybody who could remove her forcibly."

"Which of course you do," Jesse said.

"I told them I didn't," Sunny said.

"A white lie," Jesse said.

Sunny smiled.

"True," she said. "But I thought I'd rather not conspire in a kidnapping."

"I'll keep the parents in mind," Jesse said, "if the kid turns up missing."

"They didn't press it," Sunny said. "They asked if maybe I could find her and talk with her."

"The Renewal is not exactly secret," Jesse said. "How come they don't know where to find her?"

"I think the whole thing scares them," Sunny said.