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Chapter Four

I woke up the next morning with a heavy arm slung over me and Diesel's chin resting on my shoulder. Past experience taught me well enough that I'd gone to bed in a Trenton PD T-shirt and running shorts, with granny panties underneath, just in case. I flung his arm off of me.

"Coffee," he grunted, without opening his eyes.

I stepped over the pile of clothes he'd left on my floor, including a pair of boxers with the NASCAR logo printed on them. Shuddering, I slipped out of my bedroom and found Givens wide awake, drinking coffee with Tim. "How did you get here so fast?"

"I flew." Tim poured a cup of coffee. "And before you get too excited, it was an airplane. There was a prisoner transport to New York, so I hitched a ride, then picked up a car from their motor pool."

Givens shot a look at my front door. "Guess the man of mystery is still out there."

I jabbed a thumb towards my bedroom door. "He's in there." Then I added loudly, "And he's getting dressed."

Tim's eyes went wide. "You and the alien?"

"Nothing happened!"

"I'll say. Those granny panties are gonna give me nightmares." Diesel staggered out of my bedroom, yawning. "What do we have to eat around here? I'm starving."

I watched the marshals sizing up Diesel as he rummaged in the fridge. He emerged empty handed and went to the cabinet where I kept my breakfast cereal. There was a box of healthy bran flakes and a box of Fruit Loops. Diesel grabbed the Fruit Loops.

"Which of you made the coffee?" Diesel asked, crunching a handful of cereal.

"I did." Tim was grinning now, clearly amused by Diesel. Givens, on the other hand, looked ready to open fire. "So you're some kind of super powered bounty hunter, huh?"

"Sort of." He helped himself to a cup of coffee. "I'll bet you're wondering how I got past you when you were wide awake and watching the door."

"There's a fire escape outside Stephanie's window," Givens said.

"It's rusty. You'd have heard me."

"You rappelled down the building and came in her window."

"Sounds like too much work." Diesel shrugged and planted himself on the couch.

Tim was obviously enjoying himself. "You Apparated."

"You read too many kids' books," Diesel told him. "But you're close."

I dropped grapes into each hamster tank. Getting the second tank after Raylan the hamster got knocked up was closing the barn door after the horse got out. Still, it made me feel better. There was something else that was going to make me feel better. "I'm taking a shower and then I'm taking my skip to the pokey. I need a volunteer to help me."

Diesel kept his eyes on the box of Fruit Loops while Givens and Tim engaged in a silent debate. After what seemed like an hour, Tim sighed. "Fine, I volunteer."

I hoped he was good with kids.

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Raylan's Interlude

Diesel didn't seem to have much interest beyond watching daytime television, sitting on his ass and emptying Steph's fridge, despite his declaration last night about needing an early start. I wanted to take a shower but I knew the second I turned my back, he'd leave. Leave. Not vanish. Not Apparate, whatever the hell that meant. Leave. There was nothing special about Diesel except his brand of bullshit and I planned on proving it by running his prints.

When he snuck out last night, I'd gone through his duffel bag. It was all ordinary guy stuff, like a razor, a toothbrush and deodorant and some extra clothes. Not that it proved anything, just that Diesel had to worry about smelly breath and armpits just like the rest of us.

Finally, he shut the television off and stood up, stretching. "I'm gonna go take a shower."

Nearly half an hour later, the shower still hadn't started running and Diesel hadn't emerged. I rapped lightly on the door. No response. The door was unlocked. I braced myself for a potentially embarrassing moment and turned the knob.

Empty.

What really pissed me off was that I saw him go in, I never saw him come out - and I'd been watching - and Stephanie's bathroom didn't have a window.

Sighing, I went back to my overnight bag to take out Diesel's beer bottle so I could bring it to the lab. Predictably, it was gone. I swore loudly and then decided it was time to ask Morelli what he knew.

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"This Diesel guy doesn't bother you?"

"Good morning to you, too, Raylan." Morelli took one of the cups of coffee I'd brought and stepped aside to let me in. "I've been up all night, so please, make it quick."

I waited while he locked the door behind us, dodged his shaggy orange dog's attempt to bury its nose in my crotch and took a seat at his kitchen table. Morelli's kitchen was as unlike Morelli as it could possibly be. It was bright and cheerful, with curtains on the window. I was sure he didn't decorate it and equally sure Stephanie didn't either. "So, Diesel," I prompted.

"Does he bother you?" Morelli asked.

"He shows up outta nowhere, tells Steph he's lookin' for a guy named Gerwulf Grimoire, for Christ's sake, and she lets him stay in her apartment."

Morelli nodded. "You showed up, told Stephanie you were looking for a Crowe and you're probably staying in her apartment. What's the difference?"

"I'm not going around talking about Unmentionables!" How the hell could Morelli not care about this?!

"I hope not. They're not supposed to be mentioned." He yawned loudly. "I need to go to bed. If you think there's a problem, I give you carte blanche to deal with it."

I wondered if shooting an Unmentionable could get me suspended.

End interlude