Time Enough For Tears
Chatper Three- The Long And Winding RoadLula's eyes widened. "That little skinny-ass white boy? I still got me a mind to kick his scrawny ass." She paused for a moment, and looked back at me. "What'd he do?"
My mouth twitched, almost in perfect imitation of Ranger's almost-smile. "Held up a convenience store."
"What!" Lula said. "What the hell possessed him to do that?!"
Connie and I grinned at my earlier words.
"Who knows," I said, "but it's early. If we hurry, we can get to his parents' house before he goes to work. He probably still is going to work."
Stuart Baggett thought his charm could get him out of anything, and that the world should definitely accomadate him, if not just for his charm alone. It made me ill. I was already feeling the beginnings of a twitch in my right eye, and I put my finger there to stop it.
"You got that eye twitch again?" Lula asked. "You should get that looked at."
"I'm fine," I said. "Come on, let's get going. With any luck, we'll get Stuart booked within the hour."
Lula grinned. "This should be fun. I'd like to put his bony ass behind bars."
Just then Connie went stock still and stared outside at the sidewalk. Lula sucked in a deep breath, and the hairs stood up on my forearms. Only one man made the hairs on my arm stand up just from being on the same block. Ranger.
The man in question stopped close behind me and placed his hand on the small of my back. Possessive. Gentle. "Babe," he said softly, making goosebumps on the back of my neck.
He smelled edible. I knew now that he used a shower gel called Bulgari. His housekeeper, Ella, bought it for him after smelling a sample her sister gave her. She thought then that it suited him, and I had to agree. If we had been alone, I might have had trouble not ripping his clothes off him. But then there was Morelli.
That brought a stab of pain to my heart, and I stiffened. Ranger must have sensed something because he leaned in close and brushed his lips across my ear. "I want to talk to you. Outside," he said, and left.
Connie fanned herself with a file folder. Lula had almost bitten through her bottom lip. "I swear, that man looks at you like you're dessert," she said. "I'm wetting myself."
I rolled my eyes at the both of them. Truth was, I was pretty close to wetting myself, too. The thought of Ranger's lips on any part of my body had me in a state. And, thanks to living in his apartment, I now had the mental image of him without underwear. Yeesh.
Ranger was standing outside, leaning against his black Porsche Turbo. Dressed in his usual black, his hair slicked back in the usual pony tail, he looked tall and dark and dangerous. And completely sexy. No amount of grief over Morelli could turn off my feminine reaction to him. I mean, I wasn't dead, and that's what you'd have to be to not respond to Ranger.
"I'm guessing you heard what happened," I said, not quite able to look him in the eye. I settled for a point directly over his left shoulder, pretending to be staring at someone walking down the street.
"Babe," he said, pushing off the car. For a minute I thought he might try to pull me to him. When he didn't, I was almost relieved. I may have dissolved in a puddle of waterworks, and that would have been embarrassing. Ranger was really good at being a tough guy, but no matter how long I had done this job I was still really crappy at it. I figure that balances us out.
"It was Terry Gilman," I blurted out, not entirely sure my brain was still connected to my mouth. "Joe called her after we had our fight. I, um, I punched him," I finished lamely.
That got me the full-on, thousand watt, Ranger smile. "I heard. He's got a hell of a black eye."
My mouth dropped. "I gave him a black eye?"
He just went on smiling.
Wow. I had given Morelli a black eye. I guess I was pretty mad. Come to think of it, I was still pretty mad. I had rage to work off.
"So," he said casually, "I guess it's a good thing you're not living with him, then."
"Yeah, no more moving out." Truthfully, I was really torn up about all this. My life was upside down. Morelli and I were done. For good, this time, not just off-again.
And it was breaking my heart. Dammit. I needed to do something. Something very possibly violent.
"Need a sparring partner?" I asked, and Ranger smiled again. He seemed to really be enjoying this.
"Probably not safe. My health insurance doesn't cover manmade disasters."
I gave him my best pissy look.
"I do have a job for you, if you're interested," he said, ruffling my hair.
I crossed my arms and leaned against his Porsche, trying to imitate his stance. I failed miserably, but his smile stayed in place.
"What do you need me to do?" Ranger's jobs most of the time involved throwing people around, and out windows. I had worked for him once before but decided it was in everyone's best interest if I terminated our partnership. Apparently, that was a one-sided feeling, or Ranger wouldn't be asking me this.
"Distraction. The guy's name is Vino Santinni. I've been employed to recover a certain object from his room at a local hotel. He spends most of his time in the lounge. All you have to do is keep his attention long enough for us to get up to his room and find it."
"And what is this object you've been hired to find?" I asked.
He just looked at me. I blew out a sigh and looked down at my shoes. I could really use the extra money. I was thinking I needed a whole new wardrobe to combat my sudden Morelli-lessness. Something to make me feel sexy.
"I could make you feel sexy again," Ranger said, and my mouth dropped.
"How do you do that?"
He raised an eyebrow at me.
I huffed and tried to look annoyed. "Okay, when is this job?"
"I'll pick you up tonight at six. He's staying at the Ritz, downtown."
"Fine by me. How much of a distraction are we talking about, exactly? I mean, full-on slutty or just a little make-up and heels?"
He looked at me and his eyes darkened, making my pulse race under his stare.
"Babe," he said. And he was gone.
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Lula and I stopped at Stuart's parents' house first. We got lucky on the first try. His mother answered the door and looked blankly at us.
"Hello," I said, nervous because I didn't know if Lula was going to do something crazy. "We came by to say hello to Stuart. We heard he was in some sort of trouble and thought maybe we could help." I bit my tongue hard, trying not to wince at how easily the lie had slipped off my tongue.
His mother nodded and opened the door, leading us into the living room. I shifted the cuffs out of my back pocket and held them behind my back, ready for use. If I lost one more pair Vinnie was going to start taking a percentage.
"Wait here," she said, "I'll let Stuart know he has visitors." She looked suspicious, but there was nothing she could say.
A few seconds later Stuart poked his bland face around the corner, saw us, and bolted for the back door.
"Shit," I said, sprinting after him. "Lula, get the car!"
Lula surprised me. She could move pretty fast for her size. All I saw was a blur of pink and green out the corner of my eye as I burst through the back screen door. Stuart was running down the sidewalk at full speed, and I was chasing after him. Again.
Just then Lula's firebird jumped the curb right in front of Stuart and stopped. His brakes didn't work quickly enough to keep him from smacking right into it. "Whoof!" he said, his air expelling from his lungs.
I was on him in a second, both his hands cuffed behind his back. "Hey, wait a second," he said, smiling suddenly. Trying the charm. Unh. "I have to be at work soon. You wouldn't want to make me look bad for my boss, would you?"
Something about him reminded me of something about Morelli, and I slammed him against the side of the car. Hard. "Shut up," I said.
In the driver's seat, Lula's eyes went wide. She managed to close her mouth by the time I stuffed him in the backseat and dropped in next to her. "What was that?" she asked me, putting the car into drive.
"I don't wanna talk about it," I said, looking out the window.
"Talk about it, hell," Lula said. "I'm only your partner after all. Why should you talk to me? Hunh," she said, miffed.
"Morelli and I had a fight last night," I said, managing to keep my voice at a monotonous level. No hysteria at all. "He went to a bar after he thought I left and started making out with Terry Gilman. I punched him in the face and I left." The last bit came out a bit rushed.
Lula screeched to a stop at the next intersection and gaped at me. "He did- you- what!"
"Yeah, that was my reaction," I said sullenly, still staring out the window.
"This subject ain't closed. We're dropping pasty off at the clink and then you and me are going to talk. Over fries and a milkshake," she added.
Fine with me. I could probably benefit from telling someone how seriously pissed off I was. I didn't want to think about the hurt part of it yet. That was for later. When I had Tastykakes. And maybe some Cheez Doodles. Yeah, it was definitely a subject for comfort food.
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I dragged Stuart out of Lula's Firebird at the jail and turned to face her. "You're going to be here when I get back. Right?"
Lula nodded vigorously. "You bet. Would I ever leave you stranded? Nope, not me. I'll be right here. Waiting."
I rolled my eyes and hauled Stuart inside. He'd gone surprisingly quiet and it had me worried.
"I'm going to jail," he said despondently, probably not to me in particular. I think he was just trying it out to qualify it was true.
"Yeah," I said, without much sympathy. Seeing his face a second time had done nothing for my mood. I did actually feel bad I slammed him up against the car, but I was a woman on the edge. "Maybe you shouldn't hold up any more convenience stores."
"Yeah," he repeated back to me. "I guess robbery isn't really my thing."
"Maybe you should go back to being Mr. Cluck," I said, not comfortable with the moody Stuart.
"Yeah."
The one-syllable thing I figured was going to turn repetitious, so I left him waiting to collect my body receipt.
Fifteen minutes later I was outside the jail, body receipt in hand. I'd made a little money today. Life was good.
And Lula was gone.
Huffing, I pulled my cell phone out of my pocketbook and punched in a number. Just as quickly I disconnected. Shit. Out of habit I'd dialed Morelli's number. That was no longer a valid option for me. So I called Lula.
"Get your ass back here and pick me up," I said through clenched teeth.
"You know, I'd love to, but Connie's got me filing my ass off. Besides, you know I have a thing about cops. They give me the runs."
Disconnect.
It took extreme self control not to throw the phone against the wall. Unfortunately, that wasn't a good vent for my anger because then I'd just be without a phone, and I couldn't exactly afford a new one at the moment.
My only other option was Ranger, unless I wanted to call a cab. And frankly, Ranger scared me a lot less than the cab idea did.
I punched his speed dial number before I lost my courage and forced myself to stay on the line.
"Yo," he said.
"Yo, yourself. I don't suppose you're available…"
"She left you, didn't she?" he said. I could almost see the corners of his mouth tipping up.
"She does this every time! Do I learn? No!"
"Babe," he said, and disconnected.
Two minutes later his black Porsche purred to a stop at the curb. I angled in next to Ranger and looked at him. "Thank you," I said. I really hoped he hadn't been in the middle of something when I called. Of course, I hadn't thought about that either. If I had I would have lost my courage and never made the call in the first place. Mentally, I slapped myself. Coward.
"I smell burning rubber, babe," Ranger said, glancing at me in the rearview mirror. "You're thinking again."
I sent him a pissy look, and he smiled. Shortly after, he slipped into his driving zone, and I was left with my thoughts. Leaving me with my thoughts wasn't a good thing, because the second I had time to think it was about Morelli. Damn. Like that was what I needed right now, moping in front of Batman. Geez.
We pulled up to the office, but he left the car idling. "Thanks a lot for the ride," I said. "I'll see you tonight!"
Before I could get out of my seatbelt he grabbed my wrist. His eyes were very dark, and the line of his mouth was tight. "You deserve better, babe," he said. He lifted my wrist and placed a kiss on the inside of my palm. "See you at six."
I could only nod a reply, before I scuttled my ass out of the car. Under normal circumstances, Ranger kissing my palm would have gone straight to my doodah. Instead, it went to an entirely different place, much much further north. I was in serious danger of crying in front of him, and that was not an option.
When I reached the relative safety of the office, Lula and Connie were looking at me expectantly. There were fries, burgers, and milkshakes in front of them. My lip started trembling, but I bit down on it. No way in hell was I crying. Nope.
Lula saw the danger signs first and passed me a McDonald's bag and a big shake. "Here," she said. "Eat something. You can't cry if you're chewing. It's a scientific fact."
Connie nodded her head in agreement. I didn't feel much like eating anymore, but what the hell, it was worth a try. And there was nothing better than greasy McDonald's fries.
The first taste of the salt and grease in my mouth and I knew it was true. I was already feeling better. I looked at Connie and Lula. "So I suppose you're wondering what happened," I started. I wasn't really into going over this yet, but if I didn't do it now it would have to be later. Now was better. Now I was still numb, and the whole breakdown thing hadn't happened yet.
So I told them the story, right up to punching him in the face. I left out the part about me crying myself to sleep because it wasn't pertinent information.
"What a bastard," Lula said, wiping her greasy fingers. "I should have sat on him when I had the chance."
Connie nodded. "The gorgeous ones always are." She was calmer than Lula, but I think she was still mad at him for my benefit. "I have relatives," she said conversationally, taking a sip of her shake and studying her bright red manicure. "I could make a phone call."
"No!" I said. "No phone calls! I don't want him taken care of," I said, rushing to prevent Morelli's fate being decided by the Mob. Even if he was a rat, he didn't deserve that. Not yet, anyway. Maybe when the breakdown came. No! What was I thinking? I needed a doughnut. I needed ice cream. Tastykakes. Anything.
"I think I should go try for another skip," I said, announcing it more to myself than anyone else. I needed to keep myself busy, or I was going to go insane. "Maybe I'll try for that Deusenheufelsel-whatever-his-name-is." Then I remembered he was up for rape and assault. "Is this a first-time conviction?" I asked Connie.
She shook her head. "Nope, this is his third time. He gets convicted this time he's going far, far away."
"Maybe you should let Ranger handle this one," Lula hedged. I think she was remembering how I slammed Stuart against the car.
"No, I'll take him. It's a pretty high bond too. I could use the money." And I'm really pissed off, I thought to myself. Just pissed off enough to actually do something right for a change.
"Well, I ain't lettin' you go off and mess with no rapist alone," Lula said, hauling her ass out of the chair. "I'm goin' with you. I got my Glock all nice and ready to go, right here," she said, patting her purse.
"Probably we won't have to shoot him," I said, picking up my stuff.
"He should be home right now," Connie volunteered. "He's got no job, so that's probably your best bet."
I nodded and stepped outside. My Escape didn't look as badass as Ranger's Turbo, but at least it was mine.
Lula cranked up Godsmack and we motored off to Arnie D's house. I think Arnie D is a much better name than whatever the heck that was. Trendier. He'd probably thank me. Or he'd try and shoot me, whatever came first.
We pulled up in front of a very large, very scrubby looking apartment building exactly fifteen minutes later. Windows had blankets hanging over them to replace broken glass. Somewhere I heard a baby crying. I had to double-check to make sure we weren't on Stark Street.
"This place gives me the creeps," Lula said, shifting from foot to foot.
I had to admit, it gave me the creeps, too. Maybe giving this to Ranger wasn't such a good idea.
Just as I finished the thought, a very familiar black car pulled up behind my Escape. Ranger angled out from behind the steering wheel, looked at the building, and looked back at me. "Babe," he said, shaking his head.
"What are you doing here?" I demanded. I silently thanked him for saving me the embarrassing phone call.
"I stopped by the office to pick up a check. Connie said you were on your way here." He stepped closer and looked at my pocketbook. "Where is your gun?"
"Lula has one," I pointed out. This didn't look good for me. I was going to apprehend a very dangerous rapist without a gun. I needed to take a step back and think once in a while.
He looked at me, full eye of the tiger thing going, and the corners of his mouth tipped up a fraction. He went to the car and pulled out a .38 revolver. The same gun I had at home in my cookie jar. When he turned to stalk closer to me it took everything I had not to yelp and run away. Miraculously, I stood my ground.
I didn't yelp until he put his arms around me, pulled my t-shirt out of my waistband, and stuffed the gun there. The imprint of his hand all but burned my skin and made me want to rip his clothes off. Or run away.
He smiled at me and pulled the t-shirt back over the gun. "Better," he said.
Lula's eyes were wide and her mouth was hanging open. She was probably wetting herself again. "Right," I said, "this is an apartment, and it says he lives on the fifth floor, so we don't have to worry about back doors."
"No, just fire escapes," Lula said.
Ranger looked at her. "You stay here and cover the fire escape, in case he goes out the window."
Lula looked like she might say something but, being as it was Ranger, thought better of it and closed her mouth.
"We shouldn't be long," I said, and Ranger and I headed inside.
The minute we stepped inside the confines of the building I was grateful to have Ranger's muscles with me. It was dark and smelled strongly of urine in the hallways, and the reliability of the elevator was definitely in question. "We'll take the stairs," Ranger said. He looked at me. "Unless you'd rather take the elevator."
"We could get stuck," I pointed out.
"That's what I was hoping," he said, and flashed me a smile.
Flustered, I set off up the stairs ahead of him. The stairwell was very narrow, and now I had another problem. My ass was directly in Ranger's line of vision. I was going to start having a fit. Or I was going to faint. Or trip. And then suddenly all I could think was no underwear!!!
I could hear him laugh softly behind me, and it made me wonder how he always knew what I was thinking.
The flights of stairs seemed unending, and I was puffing by the time we got to the fifth floor. Ranger flashed me a look. "Don't even consider telling me I should run, or I'll stun gun you." He grinned and went to apartment 5C.
"I want you to stay out of the way of the door," he said. "You aren't wearing a vest, are you?"
I smiled.
"Shit," he said, and knocked on the door.
A sullen-faced black man cracked the door. He had a black do-rag on, and a big scar through his right cheek. This didn't look like any Arnie Deusenheffel-Duesenfel- Hell. He wasn't no Arnie D that I ever thought of, that's for sure.
"Arnold Deusenhafel?" he asked, and I gaped out of sheer wonder that he could even pronounce the word.
"Who wants to know?"
"I work for Vincent Plum bonds, and you're in violation of your bond agreement."
Slam. Right in Ranger's face.
Ranger sighed and put his boot to the door. It flew open just in time to see Arnie throwing open the window. He was headed for the fire escape. Ranger grabbed my stun gun, crossed the room in three strides, and pressed it to Arnie D's retreating ass. The guy gave a slight "Unh," and went down like a stack of bricks.
"You stun gunned him in the ass," I said.
Ranger smiled. "He was evading."
Fifteen minutes later we had Arnie D trussed up in the back of my Escape.
"Thanks a lot," I said to him as he stepped over to his car.
His eyes darkened, and he straightened my jacket collar before tucking a stray curl behind my ear. The slight touch went straight south, and my knees almost buckled. "You owe me, babe. And I can't help thinking that guilt problem isn't such a problem anymore." He got into his Turbo and drove away. I wondered briefly if he was going to the Batcave.
Lula and I stopped for lunch at Cluck In A Bucket after getting my check from Connie. My bank account had just expanded more today than it had in the last six months. And now I wanted to go shopping.
"Let's go to the mall," I told her. "I need shoes. And new underwear. And a new wardrobe."
Lula grinned at me. "Yeah, if I were you I'd want more basic black too."
"I just need new clothes. You know, a fresh start. Or maybe I just want to spend some of this money that's burning a hole in my pocket."
"Fuckin' A."
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