Chapter Eleven

I went a little overboard at the Tasty Pastry on my way to pick up Mini Velasquez. I could have used the excuse that the doughnuts were for Lula and Connie too, but it was Saturday. Lula didn't usually come in on Saturday unless we had plans, and Connie would only be working a half day. And if I was being honest, the dull aching in my stomach really wanted more than two doughnuts. You can't go after felons on an empty stomach, after all. It just isn't done.

A familiar green SUV was pulling up next to my Audi when I came out through the glass front doors. Morelli smiled when he saw me. He grabbed Bob's leash and let him lollop down from the front seat. Bob was a big, prehistoric shaggy red dog that was part golden retriever, part wholly mammoth, but mostly garbage disposal. He bowled into my legs in greeting, wagging his tail with a dopey Bob grin. I leaned down to ruffle his ears.

"I like the new ride," Morelli said, coming up to help me with the bakery bag. "I wasn't sure what to expect after the truck went down, but this is nice."

"You heard about that?"

"Yeah. From Constanza. He and Big Dog responded to shots fired yesterday. Saw the front windows of the bonds office. Connie filed the police report. I would have stopped by to see you, but this new task force I'm on is brutal. This is the first air I've gotten in days." He peeked inside the bag. "Meeting up with Lula?"

"No."

He looked up at me with a grin. "Cupcake, there are a dozen doughnuts in here. You eat all those by yourself you're gonna look like you're eating for two."

I choked on my latte. Then panicked when Morelli gave me a curious look. "Are you calling me fat?"

His grin came back. "Never. Though, there are some benefits to putting on a little weight," he said, hooking a finger in the collar of my navy blue t-shirt. He pulled it out enough to see my boobs. "Did you get a new bra? Or has it just been so long since I've seen them that they're starting to look bigger?"

Oh god. Please let it be that he's just horny. I never thought I'd hope so hard for my boobs to stay small. "New bra," I said, praying my voice wasn't shaking.

Our eyes held. A flash of mischief in his. He'd noticed. "You miss me."

I did. But that wasn't what had me trembling. Thankfully, Morelli's one track mind jumped to its own conclusion. He leaned into me, brushing his lips across mine. "If nothing goes to hell today, maybe you could come over tonight. Bob really misses you."

"Don't you usually have Saturdays off?"

"Yeah, but nothing's been usual the last few weeks. They've got us coordinating with Vice. I can't go into detail, but let's just say I can't wait for this thing to be over."

Him and me both. I had a better than good idea what he was working on. Not that he could tell me. Morelli wasn't really supposed to share information about an open investigation. He didn't know I was on it too and I didn't think it was wise to tell him, since I was working with Ranger. He wouldn't exactly be thrilled about that.

Morelli's dark eyes warmed and he pressed me into the side of the car. "What are your plans for today? I was just taking Bob to the park, and then I have about an hour before I have to head back to work."

"Tempting. But I've got to go pick up a skip."

"It's not another drug dealer, is it?"

"Kind of. Mini Velasquez."

This time Morelli smiled. "Good luck with that one. You're not taking Lula?"

"Do you think I need to?"

"Probably not. I just hear she's wily." He gave me another kiss, this time with enough heat to curl my toes. His hand slipped into the back pocket on my jeans to pull me against him and I was suddenly thinking Mini could wait. Then Morelli's pager went off. "Shit." He checked the read out. "Looks like I might have to withdraw that offer."

"That's unfortunate. I was seconds from accepting."

"Did you really have to tell me that?" I shrugged. Morelli shook his head in disgust, but I could see he didn't mean it. He kissed me again. "You sure you're alright? Most girls would be freaked out if a drug dealer drilled holes in their car."

"I'm not most girls."

"No kidding." He moved back to look me over. "Skeezer isn't someone you want to have problems with, and he's not even the worst one out there right now. You're gonna be careful, right?"

"When am I not careful?"

The look he gave me wasn't flattering. Then he glanced around. "No more escort? Must mean Ranger's back, right?" I shrugged again. Didn't seem like a smart move to answer that with any details. Morelli shook his head. "At least I know he'll be too busy for a while to cause much trouble. You'll want to steer clear of him. From what I hear, he's even deeper in this shit than I am."

Morelli peeked in the bakery bag again and snitched a jelly filled. He gave me one more kiss and took Bob back to the SUV.

o o o

The little two story house Mini Velasquez shared with her boyfriend was in a rundown neighborhood a few blocks from Olden, on a street that looked like it had more feral dogs than people. The tiny yards were parched and studded with discarded lawn furniture and broken children's toys. Paint peeling on the sad wooden siding. The house was even smaller than my parent's place. Little more than two bedrooms and a kitchen.

I pulled around the corner and parked two houses down from the backyard. Mini was a first time offender. That meant she wasn't likely to know what to expect when I show up at her front door. Usually first timers buy the whole rescheduling thing. Just in case she didn't, though, it was smart to have a backup plan. Like chasing her down and dragging her to the car when she cut out the backdoor.

I was walking up her front path when the thrum of a high performance engine turned up the street. Ranger's 911 stopped at the curb. For a brief second I felt a flutter in my stomach, and then lower. Then my brain caught up with my body and my stomach was suddenly wishing I hadn't eaten four doughnuts on the way here.

Ranger angled out of the Porsche and started toward me. "I'm betting this isn't a social call."

"Mini Velasquez is staying here. I thought I'd just invite her to reschedule her court date."

"And you didn't think you should bring Lula?"

"Mini's only 5 feet tall. Seemed like overkill. What are you doing here?"

"I got a call from the control room when they saw you break from your normal pattern. Thought it was worth checking out."

"What do you mean break from my normal pattern?"

His eyes crinkled at the corners. "You're unpredictable, Babe. But even you have patterns. If you stray off the beaten path, you're usually after a skip, and since you didn't head to the bonds office or pick up Lula, that meant you were alone."

I didn't like that he had me all figured out. "Do you have patterns?"

Our eyes held, a smile pulling at one corner of his mouth. "So, what's the plan here?"

"I was just going to knock on the door. See if she's home."

"And then?"

"Figured I'd play it by ear."

"Babe."

"What? You have a better plan?"

"I always have a better plan."

"Yeah, but your plans are for high stakes bonds. Bust down the door and throw them against the wall if they resist arrest. Mini's barely worth pizza money, and she's not likely to be dangerous."

"Humor me."

"Alright, fine," I said, stepping back from the door. "Be my guest."

He almost smiled. "Smartass. How about you do your thing here. I'll cover the back."

I watched him vanish around the side of the house and then listened for some indication that he as in position. It was futile, really. Ranger was a black panther. A silent shadow even in broad daylight. I counted to thirty and knocked on the door. Nothing. I was about to knock again when the door opened. Ranger had let himself in.

"Nobody home." He grabbed the strap on my messenger bag and dragged me inside. I thought I would end up pressed against him. Maybe with my back against the door and his hands up my shirt. But he let me go the second I bounced off his chest. He caught my shoulders to keep me from falling, and then stepped back to scan the room, all business. "She might be staying, but she doesn't live here. Not a lot of personal effects. I suggest we split up. Cover more ground. You want top or bottom?"

I caught the almost smirk and rolled my eyes at him. The double entendre was encouraging, though. At least I knew things weren't completely ruined between us. Maybe there was still a chance this whole thing would blow over and he would go back to normal.

Well. Normal for Ranger.

"I'll take top," I told him. "Wouldn't want you going through her underwear and getting ideas."

This time I got his full attention. He swung his eyes to me, searching my face like he was trying to figure out if I was teasing him or not. "You usually like it when I get ideas."

"Do I?" I asked. Couldn't help it. And judging from the wolf grin, I'd hit the flirting mark. Yikes. I whipped around and hurried up the stairs before I dug myself any deeper. At least the chemistry was still there, underneath the awkwardness.

I wondered for a wild second if he was going to chase me up the stairs. Lucky for me, he's more professional than I am. Getting caught having sex while breaking and entering would probably have some very bad consequences.

I started in the master bedroom. If you could call it that. There were only two rooms upstairs with the bathroom, and they looked to be about the same size. But one had a full sized bed on a battered old composite bed frame. There wasn't a whole lot else in the room. I looked through the mismatched dressers, hoping to find something that would tell me where Mini might go during the day. Maybe a schedule with the boyfriend's hours so I could catch her at home without dealing with all six feet of him when I tried to apprehend her.

I even went so far as to look under the bed and inside the toilet tank in the bathroom. Ranger was right. She had some clothes in the closet. A toothbrush and some toiletries. But she didn't live here. Might not even spend most nights here, considering all her makeup and personal items were tucked up in a bag instead of set up on the counter.

I moved on to the second bedroom. It was half office, half gym. The weight bench and an old treadmill were stuffed in next to the desk. I went over the desktop. Found a ledger written in some kind of chicken scratch code I couldn't read, but little else. Nothing of interest in the drawers. Nothing taped under them either. For someone who was arrested for possession with intent, I thought I'd see more evidence of drugs around her boyfriend's house. Maybe he wasn't as good-for-nothing as her mother seemed to think.

I thought about going back down the stairs to Ranger, but something was bothering me. I turned back to the room. It all looked normal. Nothing obvious or out of place. Then I saw that the corner of the weight bench was peeling up. I looked closer. The upholstery rippled in a weird way over the bench seat. I felt along the underside and found a lip. When I lifted it, all the padding and vinyl swung loose revealing a dozen plastic wrapped pouches filled with green buds. Each had a little white label with a symbol in black. I couldn't read it, but it reminded me of the code in the ledger.

I stepped out onto the landing. "Find anything?" I called down to Ranger.

He appeared at the base of the stairs. "I've got the boyfriend's schedule for the next week and a phone number for somebody named Jean. You?"

"You might want to see this."

Ranger climbed the stairs and joined me in the office. He looked down at the weight bench. "Nice. Good find, Babe."

"There's this too." I handed him the ledger. "I can't read it, but I'm guessing it's a record of sales."

"Looks like our girl's been busy." He flipped through a few pages. Then he leaned down to look closely at the black symbol that labeled each package.

"Think you can crack the code? If it has details like dates and locations, we might be able to find her pattern too and figure out where to pick her up."

"I might be able to do you one better. How about I take you out tonight."

"Like on a date?"

The grin brightened. "I'll pick you up at 9. We'll go dancing. Wear something…distracting."