The dynamic duo,” Special Detective Leonard Handel said to Jesse as they walked together through the Public Garden. The day was warm and clear. The garden’s pathways were crowded with Bostonians grateful for the chance to once again turn their faces toward the sun.

“That’s what you call Clarice and Thomas,” Jesse said.

“In my lighter moments,” Handel said.

Handel was a member of the Boston PD’s elite vice squad, a veteran of twenty-plus years on the force. He was a burly man in an ill-fitting suit, one he had purchased prior to having put on an additional thirty pounds.

“Thomas Walker,” Jesse said.

“Scumbag number one,” Handel said. “An ego the size of Ethiopia.”

“And he’s the king?”

“Not hardly. Everything flows upward. Directly to Gino Fish. He’s the king.”

“I thought Gino wouldn’t touch prostitution.”

“Gino likes to believe that his hands are clean. Makes it easier for him to go to church on Sunday. But despite his avowed contempt for what he calls human trafficking, that contempt doesn’t extend to the proceeds. They flow further upward through Gino’s enterprises, straight into the coffers of the national organization.”

“So what’s gone wrong?”

“Thomas Walker is what’s gone wrong. When the new mayor had us turn the heat up on the street walkers, the girls were forced to go indoors. Thomas misjudged things. He thought he could just rent a bunch of houses and operate them uncontested. But we were always onto him and he had to change locations frequently. We made some very significant busts along the way. And we hassled his customers big-time. Business dropped off, and Gino got pissed because the drop-off was noticed at the national level.”

Spotting an empty bench at the edge of the garden, Handel pointed to it and sat. Jesse joined him.

“So what happened,” Jesse said.

“Fat Boy Nelly is what happened.”

“I met that guy,” Jesse said.

“You met Fat Boy Nelly?”

“I did.”

“How in the fuck did you do that? This kid doesn’t meet anybody.”

“Thomas Walker introduced us.”

“Thomas Walker introduced you to Fat Boy Nelly?”

“He did.”

“Lemme tell you something about this Nelly guy. He’s one of the more interesting characters in the story. He came out of nowhere with a very smart head on his shoulders and started making deals with the kids who were managing the street for Thomas Walker. He offered them better money. Once Nelly got his toehold, there was no stopping him. Turns out that he’s some kind of technological whiz kid who’s got big plans for bringing the sex trade into the twenty-first century. Computerization is his mantra. He’s not a believer in the snatch-’em-and-drug-’em way of doing business. His recruits are handsomely paid and well treated. They’re free to come and go. He’s the opposite of Thomas Walker, and he’s earned himself a whole bunch of fans in high places.”

“And Thomas?”

“No match for this kid. He’s too old-school. Strictly cash and carry. He’s also a bit slow on the uptake, if you get my drift. My guess is that if he hasn’t already read the writing on the wall, Clarice has.”

“And?”

“She’s playing it very close to the vest.”

“Meaning?”

“She created Thomas. Nobody knows him better. But he’s been corrupted, and the irony is he did it to himself. Does the expression ‘too big for his britches’ ring a bell with you?”

Jesse smiled.

“My guess is she’s already figured out how she’s gonna go forward without him.”

“You mean if he were to become unexpectedly dead.”

“You’re a whole lot swifter than you look,” Handel said.

“You think?”

“I know that you won’t pay the slightest bit of attention to my suggestion, Jesse, but I’m going to risk it anyway. Stay the fuck out of this. You don’t want to get caught in the crossfire.”

“That’s very good advice, Lenny,” Jesse said.

“I know it’s very good advice. But will you take it, is the question.”

“Stay tuned,” Jesse said.