“Then let’s up the ante for you. While you’re helping me find my witness, I’ll be protecting you from Ramirez.”
I almost said I didn’t need protection, but that was absurd. I needed all the protection I could get. “What happens when Dorsey picks up Ramirez and I no longer need your protection?”
“Ramirez will be out on bail and twice as hungry. He has some powerful friends.”
“And how are you going to protect me?”
“I’m going to guard your body, Sweet Cakes.”
“You’re not sleeping in my apartment.”
“I’ll sleep in the van. Tomorrow I’ll wire you up for sound.”
“What about tonight?”
“It’s your decision,” he said. “Probably you’ll be okay. My guess is Ramirez wants to play with you a while. This is like a fight for him. He’s going to want to go all ten rounds.”
I agreed. Ramirez could have come crashing through my bedroom window any time he wanted, but he chose to wait.
“Even if I wanted to help you, I wouldn’t know where to begin,” I said. “What could I do that you haven’t already done? Maybe the witness is in Argentina.”
“The witness isn’t in Argentina. He’s out there killing people. He’s killing everyone who can place him at the scene. He’s killed two people from Carmen’s apartment building and failed in his attempt to murder a third. I’m also on his list, but he can’t find me while I’m in hiding, and if I go public to draw him out, the police will get me.”
The light bulb went on. “You’re going to use me as bait. You’re going to dangle me in front of Ramirez and expect me to extract information from him while he’s coaching me on his torture techniques. Jesus, Morelli, I know you’re pissed because I scored you with the Buick, but don’t you think this is carrying revenge too far?”
“It’s not revenge. The truth is… I like you.” His mouth softened into a seductive smile. “If circumstances were different, I might even try to right some past wrongs.”
“Oh boy.”
“I can see when this is all over, we’re going to have to do something about that streak of cynicism you’ve acquired.”
“You’re asking me to put my life on the line to help save your ass.”
“Your life is already on the line. You’re being stalked by a very large man who rapes and mutilates women. If we can find my witness, we can link him to Ramirez and hopefully, put them both away for the rest of their unnatural lives.”
He had a point.
“I’ll put a bug in your foyer and bedroom,” Morelli said, “and I’ll be able to hear throughout your apartment, with the exception of the bathroom. If you close the bathroom door, I probably won’t be able to hear. When you go out we’ll hide a wire under your shirt, and I’ll follow at a distance.”
I took a deep breath. “And you’ll let me collect the finder’s fee on you when we get the missing witness?”
“Absolutely.”
“You said Carmen was an informant. What sort of stuff was she informing about?”
“She sold whatever scraps came her way. Mostly low-level drug stuff and names of posse members. I don’t know what she had for me when she called. I never got it.”
“Posse members?”
“Jamaican gang members. Striker is the parent posse, based in Philly. It’s got its finger in every drug deal in Trenton. Striker makes the mob look like a bunch of pussies. They’re bringing in shit faster than they can sell it, and we can’t figure out how they get it here. We had twelve deaths from heroin overdose this summer. The stuff is so available the dealers aren’t bothering to cut it down to the standard.”
“You think Carmen had information on Striker?”
Morelli stared at me for a few beats. “No,” he finally said. “I think she had something to tell me about Ramirez. She probably picked something up while she was with him.”
MY PHONE RANG AT SEVEN A.M. The machine got it, and I recognized Morelli’s voice. “Rise and shine, Badass,” he said. “I’ll be at your door in ten minutes to install equipment. Put the coffeepot on.”
I started the coffee, brushed my teeth, and pulled on running shorts and a shirt. Morelli arrived five minutes early, carrying a toolbox. His short-sleeved shirt had an official-looking patch on the pocket that suggested he worked for Long’s Service.
“What’s Long’s Service?” I asked.
“It’s anything you want it to be.”
‘Ah hah,“ I said. ”A disguise.“
He tossed his shades onto my kitchen counter and headed for the coffee. “People don’t notice repairmen. They remember the color of the uniform and that’s it. And if you do it right, a uniform’ll get you into almost any building.”
I poured myself coffee and dialed the hospital for a progress report on Lula. I was told she was in stable condition and had been moved out of ICU.
“You need to talk to her,” Morelli said. “Make sure she presses charges. They picked Ramirez up last night and questioned him for aggravated sexual assault. He’s out already. Released on his own recognizance.”
