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you, Alexis?”
    â€œI’m an ambitious careerist who finds herself in a strange town and has discovered a mysterious man whom she finds attractive.”
    â€œI don’t think it’s such a good idea.”
    She looked at him.
    â€œWhy,” she said.
    â€œI’m unreliable,” he said.
    â€œMe, too,” she said.
    â€œI’ll run at the first sign of trouble,” he said.
    â€œMe, too,” she said.
    â€œAw, hell,” he said.
    He kissed her. Then he kissed her again.
    â€œBe tender, Jesse,” she said.
    He looked at her for a moment.
    Then he picked her up and carried her upstairs.
    Â 
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    A fterward they feasted on Chinese. Jesse wore his boxer shorts; Alexis wore his T-shirt. They ate prodigious amounts of kung pao shrimp, chicken in garlic sauce, and barbecued beef, which they washed down with several bottles of Tsingtao beer, which Jesse kept on ice.
    â€œHow is it you’re not spoken for, post-Jenn,” Alexis said.
    â€œI thought I was. But I don’t think so anymore.”
    â€œWho?”
    â€œA private detective from Boston. I met her on a case. She’s somewhere in Europe now. Have you heard of the movie actress Moira Harris?”
    Alexis shrugged.
    â€œMoira Harris was shooting a picture in Boston, and Sunny was hired as her security.”
    â€œSunny?”
    â€œSunny Randall,” Jesse said. “Moira got a movie shooting in London and Prague. She asked for Sunny. That’s where she is now.”
    â€œDo you love her?”
    â€œThat’s a loaded question. There was a time when I thought we’d be together. She thought so, too. But somehow things didn’t go that way.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œHistory, I guess. Each of our marriages had ended badly. We were both damaged goods. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men . . . We couldn’t be put back together again. We tried. Then she took the movie. When she left, I thought I’d miss her, but I don’t, really. Out of sight, out of mind, I suppose.”
    â€œAre you over her?”
    â€œI don’t know,” Jesse said.
    Alexis didn’t say anything.
    â€œAnd you? Have you ever been married,” Jesse said.
    â€œGod, no. Married to a job, perhaps. I’m not a good catch. I’m an anathema. Guys take one look at me and start clutching their balls.”
    They sat silently for a while.
    â€œThank you for being honest,” she said.
    Jesse didn’t say anything.
    Alexis stood up and walked over to his chair. She insinuated herself onto his lap.
    â€œThat kind of honesty is rare in a man.”
    Jesse didn’t say anything.
    She leaned back and looked at him. She traced his cheek with her finger. She kissed him.
    After a while they went back upstairs.

23
    W hen Jesse arrived at his office, Molly was already on her feet.
    â€œCoffee,” Jesse said.
    â€œDogs,” Molly said.
    â€œExcuse me?”
    â€œTwo of’em. Necks broken. Different parts of town. Owners phoned this morning.”
    â€œCoffee,” Jesse said.
    â€œI’ll walk with you,” Molly said.
    With Molly at his side, Jesse headed for the coffeemaker. As he poured himself a cup, he noticed a box of donuts sitting on the sideboard. He grabbed one.
    She watched him. He took a bite.
    â€œYum,” he said.
    She stared at him, disapprovingly.
    â€œThose’ll kill you,” she said.
    â€œYeah,” he said. “But what a way to go.”
    â€œDeath by lard,” she said. “How pleasant for you.”
    He looked at her. Then he went back to his office. She followed.
    â€œI’ve been meaning to ask you something,” Jesse said.
    â€œWhat,” Molly said.
    â€œWe do have intercom capability on our phone system, don’t we,” he said.
    She looked at him.
    â€œWhy have we stopped using it,” he said.
    â€œWhy have we stopped using the